How I Became a Baha’i by Don Calkins
How I Became a Baha’i by Don Calkins, submitted July 17, 2022
Many people speak of a very important day in their life which changed everything. For many Baha’is it was the day they declared or were enrolled. Not me.
It was a day in April 1953, 6th grade, just after my 12th birthday. I looked around at how people were acting, treated each other and said to myself, “I’m not like them, I don’t have to act like that.”
That led to an incident in January (?) 1963.
I’m in a late night barracks bull session at Goodfellow AFB Texas. I say something and an airman I vaguely know, Dave Petit, says, “You sound like a Baha’i”. About all he knows is his cousin is one and they have a temple in Wilmette. I go looking for him a couple days later and find he shipped out the next day. Never saw him again. I know this is important and I have to investigate.
August 1963, I am on leave pending transfer to an overseas duty station. I go to Chicago to see some friends I worked with there. Nobody seems to be around on Sunday, so I decide to check out this Baha’i temple and head home to Iowa.
There are quite a few people there. I later find out that this was a going away party for Hugh Chance. He had been elected to the Universal House of Justice, but due to his responsibilities as secretary of the USNSA and his Rock Island law office, he was only just completing what was needed to make a move to Haifa. There were a lot of Baha’is from Iowa there and I met three I remember – Kay Andreason fm Des Moines, Virginia Finch, then the NSA State Service Rep, and Dick Snider, then the NSA Youth Rep for Iowa. Dick and I spent the afternoon outside talking about the Faith, a several hours long fireside. In the evening he said I might as well stay for the pot luck supper they were having. I also picked up a copy of Baha’u’llah and the New Era and the current book brochure.
I get to Germany and nobody knows I’m coming or what I’m doing there. I have a top secret code word clearance so that put me in the comm center. As a result I was one of the people who notify much of the USAF in Europe of the assassination of Kennedy. Come January 1964 and they figure out I was sent to the wrong place, should have been Italy. Told I have 3 days to get there. LOL not a chance. Orders amended to allow a week.
In the process of packing, I see BNE and sit down and read the whole thing again. Result – late night packing and not much sleep. But a decision that I have to check this out once I got to Italy.
So I have a book, BNE, the publishing trust price list and their address. I start sending for books each month. I’m not all that impressed by much of the Scriptures. Prayers and Meditations are pretty good as is the Hidden Words; but the others don’t make much sense to me. But Shoghi Effendi – now that guy can write! So I read all of Shoghi Effendi, in chronological order plus God Passes By. And then re-read the World Order letters and ADJ. Come August 1964, I’m convinced.
So I write a letter to the Publishing Trust saying I want to be a Baha’i. They reply I have to apply to the Italian NSA and are contacting them. AHA! There are Baha’is in Italy. Not all Italians are Catholics. LOL
The nearest LSA is in Bari, and I am soon contacted by Maria Montana (professional singing name, born Ruth Kellog Waite} a U S Baha’i pioneer. I’m invited to spend some time w/ her. That presents a bit of problem because I’ve been named to “critical status”. My assignment in Brindisi is to an intelligence unit and there is no one to cover for me. No leave/vacation time authorized and even have to sign out when going to town. But I finagle a 72 hour pass in early October and am introduced to Hossein Avaregan, retired Iranian air force and pioneer. We spend a long after noon talking, mostly me listening, and he decides I really know what I’m doing. It so happens there is a scheduled LSA meeting the next night. I meet the Assembly and am enrolled. Catch the train back to Brindisi and am back on base w/ a few hours to spare. I am a Baha’i.
[Over the next nearly 2 years, I only get a few 3 day passes and no leave time. I actually completely process out and get nearly 30 days leave time en route plus they pay me for an add’l 60 of unused leave.]