Carlyle Manous

In my early years we lived in a number of places—including the country of Chile where my parents were missionaries. After the early death of my father while living in Chile we finally settled in Tennessee at a school called Little Creek. After I graduated from this school I went to La Sierra College (now University) where I earned a B.A. degree in music. After graduation I went to the University of Michigan where I earned a Master of Music degree in Wind Instruments (Brass).

At that point I was hired by Pacific Union College to teach brass instruments and conduct the band. I taught there for 17 years and during that time I continued my education at the University of Michigan where I earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Horn Performance.

A bad case of professional burnout led me to resign my position at PUC and became self-employed in the ceramic tile business for two years. At the end of that time I got back into teaching at Napa Adventist Junior Academy where I taught band and instrument lessons—and helped supervise recess and lunchtime.

After two years at NAJA we moved to College Place, Washington. Initially I did band, choir, and orchestra at Walla Walla Valley Academy, then gradually took on more responsibilities at Walla Walla College where I taught music until retirement in 2000.

At that point we moved to Jackson, Tennessee to be near a daughter and three grandchildren. After 16 years in Jackson we moved to Newnan, Georgia to be close to another daughter. This is our last move before a nursing home!

In retirement I keep busy doing handy-man jobs for my neighbors. I also have taken up writing, which brings me to the purpose of this website. A wise friend once told me that “writing is thinking.” I also turn that around to say, “thinking is writing,” and since I have a lot of time in retirement to think I also enjoy writing down my thoughts. I hope that what I have written can be of benefit to others.