They successively lived in Pittsburgh, Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, North Tarrytown, Yonkers, Fleischmanns, Ellenville, and Kingston, New York.
In those years he held several part-time jobs, such as high school debate coach, short-order cook, washing machine salesman, motorcycle policeman, streetcar conductor, and truck driver.
Eventually in 1927 he received his BA in English, won a Chi Phi's 1927 Sparks Scholarship Medal, and started some graduate work at Ohio State University in the summer.
[3] By Autumn 1927 Appley was appointed speech instructor and debate coach at Colgate University, where he worked for three years.
In that year he joined the United States Civil Service Commission as advisor and lecturer on personnel problems.