REV. HAROLD AND MARGARET RICKARD
MISSIONARIES TO OKINAWA AND JAPAN, 1951 - 1982

The Early Years... C. Harold Rickard was born to Carleton H. "Tex" and Daisy (Wilson) Rickard on May 17, 1918, in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Rev. Tex Rickard was a Methodist Episcopal circuit rider and minister, and also served as an executive with the Boy Scouts of America. Tex received his ordination through the Conference Course of study and went on to pastor several church congregations in Oklahoma. While the son of a preacher, it was only in his college years that Harold realized his own call to ordained ministry.
Above: The Rickard Family: Margaret (Bauman) Rickard, Harold, Carleton H. "Tex" Rickard, Marvin (Harold's brother), Katherine, and Daisy Edith (Wilson) Rickard.
On the other hand, Harold's wife Margaret (Bauman) Rickard seems to have 'inherited' a calling for Christian missionary service. Margaret was born on September 28, 1915 in Concepcion, Chile -- the middle of five children born to Methodist Episcopal missionaries Ezra and Florence Bauman! Ezra and Florence had married in Chile after their respective mission efforts had brought them together. Each of Margaret's five siblings were also born in South America while their parents were on mission there.

Above: Margaret's father Ezra and Step-mother Euretta Bauman (~ 1952).	Ezra was a District Missionary for the Methodist Episcopal Board of Missions effort in his area, and was a founder of El Vergel ("the paradise"), a mission farm that continues to this day. In 1924, Florence's declining health brought the Bauman family to California and then to Colorado, where they settled in Ft. Morgan. Florence died of complications with tuberculosis when Maragret was only 13. Ezra would later remarry. Margaret's step mother, Euretta (Meredith) Bauman, was also a missionary in Chile, Peru and Ohio prior to joining Ezra in Colorado. From such upbringings it seems only natural that such kindred spirits as Margaret and Harold would meet in college -- and go on to spend their lives together working in Christ's name!
It was at Southwestern College, a Methodist Episcopal sponsored school in Winfield, Kansas, that Harold and Margaret met. Harold had studied one year at Oklahoma A & M, later to become Oklahoma State, before transferring to Southwestern. It was a decision which changed a lifetime.

Both Margaret and Harold graduated from Southwestern College with Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Sociology -- Margaret in 1938, and Harold in 1939. Margaret was always on Harold's mind - and naturally he asked for her hand in marraige. Her response? "You'd better think about that!" Margaret had spent the first year following her graduation at the Houchen Settlement in El Paso, Texas. Houchen was a project of the Board of Mission's Womens Society		Above: Part of the Bauman family and Harold in 1938: L-R, Melvin Bauman and son Johnny, Ezra Bauman, Sally, Margaret (Bauman) Rickard, Vic Bauman, and Harold Rickard.
for Christian Service (WSCS). Margaret assisted in kindergarten, working with Spanish-speaking children who came to El Paso.

Above: Harold at the YMCA in Boston (~1941).		Harold did think about it as Margaret worked at Houchen two more years while he began theological studies at the Boston University School of Theology. The two were always in touch, however, and in 1941 Margaret indeed married Harold! The wedding was held in Ft. Morgan, Colorado, on August 28, 1941. They then drove back to Boston where Harold continued his studies while working at the YMCA. Margaret took a job working for Goodwill Industries. They had been married less than four months when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, signaling the start of American involvement in World War II (WWII). Harold graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) Degree in January, 1943. Margaret and Harold had already begun a new challenge by that time, though.
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