I remember in 1962 when I got the Alaska State Room Scholarship that I used at the UAF.  It payed for my room costs.  It was a real blessing for this 18 year old who lived on a homestead down by Shaw Creek.  We hauled water, burned wood and were poor I guess.  But it was the best time of my life.  I will always cherish those days when we built our log home and greenhouse, cleared land, and plowed it using a 14 inch turning plow pulled by an old 1952 jeep.  The scholarship helped me leave home and make a go of it in the real world.  But looking back I wish I had stayed on the homestead or homesteaded my own land near by.  I didn't realize what we had.