The Great Hickey Search, Part 1

hick-ey   [hik-ee]  –noun.   Slang.  A reddish mark left on the skin by a passionate kiss.

The summer of 1987 brought the Friends United Meeting (FUM) Triennial Sessions to Greensboro, NC.  For those not familiar with Quaker "alphabet soup," FUM is a worldwide organization of Quakers that gathers every three years for business and worship- thus the whole triennial name!  This particular gathering was of special interest to me for several reasons.  It was in our backyard, so it was a great opportunity to experience the grand diversity that is Quakerism.  There would be silent Quakers and dancing Friends and everything in between!  It was also the first Triennial to have a full-blown youth program rather than the typical "baby-sitting" that goes on at these large adult events.  The youth (teenagers) would meet and stay at the Greensboro Airport Marriott, a very nice hotel.  There would be speakers, musicians and comedians brought in especially for youth.  And finally, I was interested because I had been asked to lead the music at worship times.  I looked forward to bringing some students from Springfield Friends Meeting and enjoying the event.

The youth program had been planned by a committee of youth workers from around the country, made up primarily of people who held the kind of Yearly Meeting position that I had previously held in New England.   Friends of mine such as David Tebbs, Tom Klaus and Brent Bill were among the leaders.  (Come back Saturday to learn the real scoop on those three at this event!)  The on-site leader of the event was a man named Steve Pedigo, who led the Chicago Fellowship of Friends.  The FOF was a youth based church begun with Young Life style youth program in one of the worst projects in Chicago- Cabrini Green.  Steve, his wife Marlene, and a number of their youth had made the trip to Greensboro.  I had worked with Steve before at Quaker Lake, and knew the circumstances of his ministry.  Once I had some 10 year old FOF kids in my cabin at QLC, and one night some of the other kids started showing their scars from bike wrecks and skate boarding accidents.  The kids from Chicago showed us their bullet wounds...

Needless to say, Steve saw things in a different light than those of us who spent our time working with mostly white, middle class students.  This different point of view is what led to the long night now known as The Great Hickey Search.  All of the youth participants had boarded buses and headed out for a night of Putt-Putt.  As we returned to the Marriott, Steve was standing out front greeting everyone and telling them to head straight for their rooms.  As he did this, he spotted a teenage couple of the back of one bus, where they appeared to be (in the words of Harry Potter) "snogging."   Steve was outraged.  As everyone stood up and began to exit the bus, he could no longer determine who had been in that back seat.  He called all of the adults together and informed us as to what he had seen.  He wanted the offenders brought to justice that night.  When we asked him how we were supposed to know who had been involved, he told us that from what he had witnessed he was certain that the young lady would have a hickey on her neck.  It was 11 PM or so, and he gave us all a task:  Find the hickey, and the young man who had given it.  Tonight!  The Great Hickey Search was on...(to be continued)