Morgan Cline attended Exline schools and was a stellar student. He was able to skip his third year of school because he was so far ahead.  In 1949, Morgan graduated from Exline High School and was valedictorian of his class.  He was only 16 years old. This marked the last class to graduate from Exline's little community school.  Morgan received a scholarship to attend Centerville Junior college, which he did for one year before moving on to Drake University to study Pharmacy.  Morgan worked his way through college – playing piano at a downtown Des Moines bar and working at a local drugstore to pay his way. Morgan would study behind the counter while working nights, and money was still tight. He recalls, “I had a shoe box on the window sill, and in that shoe box were goodies I could eat when I ran out of money for the week – things like sardines, bread, peanut butter and potted meat. I rented a tiny room in a house, too.  I shared a bathroom with a family and another student but I didn’t have a kitchen.  That shoe box was my kitchen.”

Working on his studies while working two jobs was the kind of perseverance needed to succeed. Morgan met that challenge, graduating with honors from Drake University in 1953 at the age of 20. Morgan moved on to the University of Iowa to attend medical school.  After two years, it was sadly evident to Morgan that he was not truly interested in the practice of medicine as a life career, and shortly after, Uncle Sam came calling…..