Born on a farm in Colorado during the Great Depression, Gerald Leischuck was determined to prepare himself for a career away from farming and caring for livestock. Encouraged by his parents to obtain an education that prepared himself for opportunities arising from a developing America, he studied to become a teacher and then was steered to graduate work, leading to the doctorate. Because of the Civil Rights Movement led by Freedom Riders in the early 1960s, he was drawn to the south, first to study at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, known as the "Loveliest Village on the Plains," then offered an entry level position in the university's central administration. The story details an increasingly responsible career on the teams of six consecutive Auburn University presidents during difficult as well as easier times, ending with retirement as executive assistant to the president and secretary to the board of trustees.