Celebrating 100 years with MSU Texas: Commitment

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - News Channel 6 is celebrating a century with Midwestern State University, and we’re continuing our tribute to the university’s past, present and future with a couple who met at the university and have been together for nearly 59 years. It’s a story of commitment.

“Well we had our first date in November of 61 and it was during Homecoming, building floats, we built floats back then,” Sharon Nichols said.

“It was a very important time for us, not only in our relationship together, but the development of us personality-wise and educationally,” Carl Nichols said. “It was a good time to be here.”

But this love story had to be put on hold for six months when Carl joined the marines.

“I got off that airplane out there and that drill instructor grabbed me and I looked up and said ‘Lord, you get me back to Wichita Falls and I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right.’ I didn’t realize how much I would miss her and miss the activities that we were involved in,” Carl said.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” Sharon said.

Two years after their first date, the pair married and have been together ever since.

“A real commitment,” Sharon said.

“That’s they key as far as I’m concerned,” Carl said. “Do something that makes you happy. Find somebody that makes you happy. We’ve had ups and downs in our life, and we’ll have some more before we die.”

And while life and jobs took them out of Wichita Falls, when they had opportunity to come back, they did.

“We jumped at it and it was a good move,” Carl said. “It was a good move for our kids and it was a good move for us. You just know when things are right, and it turned out that everything was right.”

They have stayed involved over the years.

“Midwestern has always been a part of our lives,” Sharon said. “We’ve always enjoyed being around the people, the surroundings. It’s just us, that’s it.”

Carl also has a special connection to News Channel 6 and a camera that still sits in the News Channel 6 lobby. Ashley Fitzwater had a chance to interview him in 2014 about April 3, 1964 - the day an F-5 tornado made its way through Wichita Falls.

Carl was a cameraman at the news station and took the studio camera out the back door of the station with the weatherman at the time.

They caught the tornado live on air, making News Channel 6 one of the first stations to ever do so.

Seven people died and more than one hundred people were injured, and the damage could be seen for miles. Despite the chaos, the News Channel 6 weather team came together to give the public the best possible warnings at that time.

All MSU Texas centennial celebration stories can be found by clicking here.

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