True Loves

Harold and his first love, Patsy “Pat,” grew up in the same small town, where they became high school sweethearts and married soon after. The newlyweds moved to Aggieland and made the Bryan Army Air Field their first home. “I was planning to attend Texas A&M one way or another,” Harold recalled.

All four years, Harold worked a part-time job at the Texas A&M Exchange Store, in addition to keeping up his studies, and Pat worked at the Exchange Store as a clerk. His senior year, he also worked part time in the Department of Entomology within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “If you want to get through college, you have to work your way through,” he said.

Money and schedules were tight, but the young lovebirds enjoyed weekend afternoon visits to see the latest picture show in Bryan, where first runs often played. The two remained inseparable following Harold’s graduation. The summer after graduation, he began scouting cotton for insects and had contracts on about 5,000 acres. “I put in a large number of hours working at these jobs during and after college,” he said. “The income helped a lot with our expenses.” When Pat passed away, it was a devasting blow to family and friends.
 

Ever since Harold was a young kid, he loved agriculture. He would help milk cows at his father’s farm—a chore he was not fond of. When the farm later began using electricity and an automatic milking machine, Harold’s father allowed him to try his hand at managing the crop production at age 12, and the new responsibility was a perfect fit. His uncle, an extension agent and entomologist, further stoked his love for agriculture during college. “Texas A&M is blessed with a great agriculture department and those working in the field,” Harold said. “They helped develop agricultural techniques and equipment and have shared their knowledge to help growers.”

After college and serving in the U.S. Army, Harold sold agricultural chemicals to the American Dusting Company. They made Harold a deal. “They told me, ‘If you start a spraying business and sell our chemicals, we’ll finance it,’” he said. The entrepreneur successfully ran his business out of Vernon, Texas, for more than 35 years. And it all began at the Bryan Army Air Field, now the RELLIS Campus, where he started his education in agricultural production.

Reflecting on his time in Aggieland and in agriculture, Harold decided to gift his life insurance account to the Texas A&M Foundation, which will fund the Patsy and Harold Hardcastle ’53 Endowed Scholarship for full-time undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences after his lifetime. His service in the U.S. Army led him to include a preference for student veterans, and the time he and Pat spent working influenced him to note a preference for students with financial need.