MKUFOHU MAIL TrllBUNE. MEDFORD. ORE
THUHSDA'. . MAhCH Jo, ltfb
Father Divine Still Draws
Horde of Devoted Followers
Philadelphia-iUPIl-A tall 14
year-old girl came into the
room with a bowl of red and
white roses and placed it in
front of the iitUe man who
sat like a small bronze
Buddha at the head of the
taoie.
He smiled. The 10D women
iJnH?Men me" seated a"d
standing around the long ban
quet table smiled with him.
He smiled," a woman mur
mured. "Wonderful!" exclaim
ed several softly. "God Al
mighty!" This was the man who
signs his name "Rev M J
Divine, MS.D., D.D. (better
known as Father Divine),"
the Negro evangelist who
made headlines in New York's
Harlem in the deDressinn
1930's and, by worldly stand
ards, snould now be some
where between 84 and 95
years old. He has recently
been reported dead, or far
gone in senility.
But he has rung a heavy
dinner bell with vigor, greet
ed a guest in a soft but clear
voice and eaten his chop suey
and baked apple without evi
dent tremor. He now sat with
five shaving mirrors in a
semi-circle before him and a
mirrored buffet behind, with
Mother Divine, his 35-year-old
"Holy spotless virgin
bride" at his right hand and
a blue-eyed, red haired secre
tary, Miss Dorothy Darling,
on his left.
Birth of Freedom
His followers began to sing:
"We have a new birth of
freedom . . . only God can
give . . . Abraham Lincoln
spoke about it; Father Divine
brought it about . . . now we
have a new birth of freedom,
under God."
They clapped in rhythm
and stamped their feet, re
peating the verse, over and
over, in hypnotic crescendo.
A woman broke from the
standing crowd in a writhing
primitive dance, crying out
her love for God. A young
white woman with a pale,
pinched face looked briefly
over her shoulder at the com
motion and continued singing
quietly, her hands primly
folded. A tambourine joined
the din. After 10 minutes the
singing ended.
The man had sat without
and holy shrine. It is known sary business. In the group'!
expression.
Then the girl, Trudi Pin
nock, wearing the pink satin
dancing dress in which she
had just been graduated from
Junior High school, stood up
in her place and began to
speak to him:
"I want to thank you for
finishing nine years of school.
If it wasn't for you I wouldn't
have finished. Thank you for
blessing me further on to fin
ish high school, too. I just
want to say, Father dear, that
I love you with all my heart."
Father Divinie spoke for
the first time. "So glad!" he
raid.
Parly at Home
Trudi gulped down a sob
and went on: "The children in
school asked me was I staying
for the party. I said unh-unh.
... I was going to have my
party at home."
Trudi could hardly have
wanted for partners at a
ninth grade dance. But her
party was the 2 p.m. Holy
Communion banquet al the
Circle Mission church of
Philadelphia.
She is one of Father Di
vine's "Rosebuds," pledged to
make "every deed and action
express virginity." She wears,
on occasion, a scarlet jacket
emblazoned with a large
white letter V.
Father wore a rosebud in
the buttonhole of his blue
gray business suit, above a
small brass star, one of sev
eral emblems lining his lapels.
And everyone called him
"God."
The sect has retreated from
the public eye, perhaps de
liberately, since the years be
fore World War II when the
"Angels" turned out 8,000
strong for a razzle-dazzle
Easter parade in New York's
Harlem, enchanted employers
with their scrupulous honesty
and heavenly names-Sweet
Peace, Sunshine Flowers, Je
rusalem Phnisc ( a more re
cent convert, Miss Peaceful
Intcgration)-and gave collo
quial currency to their stand
ard greetings: "Peace," "peace
brother," "peace, it's wonder
:'ul!" 15 Million Followers
One estimated during this
period numbered the follow
ers at 15 million.
In the early 1940s. Father
Divine left New York rather
than pay a S4.47B judgment
won by a defected angel who
claimed she had contributed
that sum to the Communal
Heaven and wanted to take it
with her. He set up residence
in Philadelphia.
In 1946, he married a 21-year-old
b lo n d e Canadian,
Edna Rose Ritchings. a "Rose
bud" who, his followers have
said, acquired the spirit of
the first mother Divine when
she asked Father to relieve
her of immortality.
In 1953 the group pur
chased a steel magnate's man
sion on Philadelphia's main
line as headquarters, home.
as "Woodmont
In 1953, Father emerged
from seeming retirement to
order his followers to stop
using the New Jersey turn
pike, because of what he con-
. siaerea an unjust speeding
1 fine.
Last year he was reported
admitted to a Philadelphia
hospital in a diabetic coma,
and released a week later, re
covered. Philadelphia civic leaders,
questioned about the group to
day, reply almost in chorus:
"Haven't heard anything
about them for years."
Very Premature
But the suggestion of de
mise appears very prema
ture. The sect keeps no member.
ship rolls. Its members will
not specify even the number
of chairs around the banquet
table for the years of their
age.
"It may sound really silly
to you," said Miss St. Mary
Bloom, "but we don't count
our blessings."
Real estate records and the
group's own publications in
dicate that as of today, the
Divine churches, which arc
incorporated, and groups of
Divine followers own and op
erate 23 churches, schools and
residences in Philadelphia,
ranging from a 400-room
hotel to converted private
homes.
In addition, there are 14
similar establishments in Now
Yark City and surrounding
counties, 10 in Newark, N.J.,
smaller churches in Chicago
and Los Angeles and estab
lishments of varying size in
Switzerland, Germany, Aus
tria, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, The Canal Zone and
the Republic of Panama.
On hand for Trudi's party
-she herself came from Pan
ama with her mother some
years ago-were women on pil
grimage visit from Australia
and Switzerland. A 21-year-old
German boy, Siegfried
Kranich Goeppingcn, said he
had come as an immigrant to
live with the group.
Hallelujah Revivalism
Theologically, the cult ap
pears to have borrowed bits
and pieces of Hallelujah re
vivalism, Christian Science
healing, Mormon sharing and
Roman Catholic celibate mar
riage to the church. Peculiar
to it also are a fervid Amer
ican patriotism, apparently
expected even of foreign fol
lowers, and a conscious work
ing demonstration of racial
integration.
Followers refuse to use
what they call "segregated
words" such as white ' and
negro. Negroes only slightly
outnumbered whites as par
ticipants al the recent 2 p.m.
banquet this writer attended.
The faith is not handed
down from father to son. One
tenet of the International
modest code (CAPS I, M, C)
who which all followers must
adhere reads: "No undue mix
ing of sexes." This means no
relationship except on neces-
establishments, men and wo
men are housed on separate
floors and occupy separate sit
ting rooms. They sit at the
same table, but in groups by
sex.
Miss Darling notes realis
tically that there are still
plenty of people being born
to keep the faith going, and
anyway "Father doesn't ad
vocate death."
Other tenets of the code
are: "No smoking, no drink
ing, no obscenity, no vulgar
ity, no profanity, no receiving
of gifts, presents, tips or
bribes."
Mostly Women
About 90 per cent of the
followers appear to be wo
men, who call their god
"Darling.' "Dearest," and
"Sweet.'
'We believe as the nuns do
across the street,' said Miss
Darling, 'that we're married
to the church."
The followers admit no
mortal history for Father Di
vine, and carry a chip on
their shoulders toward report
ers who insist on recording
such facts as are known.
Early records indicate he
was born George Baker near
Savannah, Ga., and about the
turn of the century was work
ing in Baltimore as a handy
man when he came under the
spell of another evangelist
and joined him as a helper.
In 1919, in the name of Major
J. Devine and wife, Penninah,
he purchased the home at
Sayville, N.Y., and began
gathering followers. The name
became Divine some years
later.
Then as now, the Holy Com
munion banquet was the sects
only rite. Members sat down
to lavish meals-fried chicken,
pork chops, salads, vegetables
and desserts of all descriptions-blessed
by Father as the
platters started down the ta
ble with a crack from his
heavily ringed hands or the
plopping of a serving spoon
into the dish.
Hordes of Pilgrims
As the depression hit Har
lem in the early 1930s, word
of this and Father's success
in getting jobs for his follow
ers, brought hordes of pil
grims to Sayville. The neigh
bors rebelled at the heavy
traffic and Divine was sen
tenced to jail for maintaining
a public nuisance. If the cult
had needed a boost, this pro
vided it. Supreme Court Jus
tice Lewis J. Smith, apparent
ly in the best of health when
he sentenced Divine on June
5, 1932, died four days later.
"Our Lord done struck
down the judge!" cried the
devoted followers. Released
on appeal a few months later,
Divine moved into the city's
teeming Negro slum in lavish
style.
Followers contributed their
savings and earnings to the
movement, as they still do,
set up cooperative businesses
of all kinds, as they still do,
and weathered both the de
pression and its particular
Harlem bitterness.
EVANGELIST - Falhcr Divine Ilio N.irn !.,. lid
made headlines in New York's Harlem in the depression
ihju s, is now living in Fhiladc nhia where l i s recent nhnto
was made. His age is estimated at between 84 and i)5 vears.
(UPI Tclcphoto)
BLM's 1962 Timber Sale
Plans To Be Reviewed
A preview of the 1962 lim
ber sale plan will be present
ed al a public meeting sched
uled Tuesday, March 21, at
1:30 p.m., according to Ross
A. Youngblood, district man
ager of the bureau of land
management.
An annual event, such pub
lic meetings give interested
persons the opportunity to
offer comments concerning
proposed timber harvests, ac
cording to Youngblood.
The BLM, which is an
agency of the U.S. Depart
ment of the Interior, admin
isters approximately 905,000
acres of land which constitute
the Medford district. These
lands include remnants of the
original public domain and
Oregon and California rail
road grant lands which were
revested by the federal gov
ernment. Proposed Improvements
Following suggestions dur
ing the public meeting, pro
posed improvements in the
tentative sale plan will be
considered by the Medford
district advisory board which
is composed of representa
tives of the public. Compila
tion of the final plan will be
the responsibility of the Med
ford district subject to ap
proval by the Oregon state
supervisor, according to
Youngblood.
The tentative sale plan for
fiscal year 1962 contains 65
tracts containing approxi
mately 225 million board
feet of timber. It is the bu
reau's policy to harvest tim
ber on a sustained yield basis,
Youngblood said. Damaged or
overmature timber is given
top harvesting priority, but
the sale plan will include
timber to be removed in com
mercial thinnings.
Representatives of both the
district and state offices of
the bureau will be present to
discuss any suggestions of in
terest to the persons attend
ing the public meeting.
Youngblood stated that the
meeting is open to all those
who wish to attend. The meet
ing will be held at the BLM
timber sale hall on Armory
dr.
Steel Room To House
22-Inch Cyclotron
Davis. Calif. - IliPIl - A 20
ton steel room has been plac
ed on the Davis campus of the
University of California to
house a 22-inch cyclotron
which is scheduled for opera
tion next fall.
The room was built in Sac
ramento of 1 Vi-inch steel. It
is 12 by 12 by 8 feet in size
and will act as a magnetic
shield to keep the cyclotron's
magnetic radiation from inter
fering with the beta ray spec
trometer already in use in
the physics department.
American Speller Has New Popularity
Peppcrell. Mass. - il'PH - A
Massachusetts woman artist
has given a 178-year-old best
seller a new lease on life.
Noah W e b s t e r's quaint
"American Speller'' was first
published in 1783. Eventual
ly more than 100 million
copies were sold - a record
equaled only by the Bible.
Several years ago, Mrs.
Barbara Coonoy Porter, an
artist, came across a copy of
the old speller. She got the
idea of reprinting it, with il
lustrations, and her modern
' ized speller now is sharing
I some of the popularity of the
I original.
IN TRAINING
Army Pvt. James Matcrie,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Materic, 213 Girarri dr., is
undergoing basic infantry
training at Ft. Old, Calif. He
is a graduate of Oregon State
356,104,702 Tons of State Ore Shipped
St. Paul. Minn.-iUI'l) - From to 15 rows of automobiles,
the time of the first shipment: bumper lo bumper, circling
of Minnesota - owned ore in the world at the equator.
1893, until June 3(1, 1960, a .
total of 356,104,702 tons of, Jacksonville, Fla. -(TO- The
ore has been shipped from ; Florida Scll00, Bo.,rd Assocj.
state-owned properties. aljon ac,optcd resolution
Of this amount, 24.792.597 j Wednesday favoring daily
tons were crude taconite. Con- j prayers and other religious
verting this tonnage of iron! observances in state public
ore to steel and the steel into schools. The resolution said
automobiles, the amount of the association would "oppose
iron ore that has been pro-! any move to deny the youth
duced from slate-owned mines! of Florida the spiritual hcrit
in Minnesota would amount age which is rightfully theirs.
Has
Fast Drying of Red Alder Wood Studied
Increased p r 6 d u c tion of
kiln-dried red alder lumber
and reduction in cost of dry
ing may result from a study
being made at the Oregon
Forest Research center, Cor
vallis, according to C. J. Koz
lik, in charge of studies on
wood seasoning. Preliminary
results have indicated that
drying time for red alder may
be greatly reduced without
loss in quality of wood.
Red alder has been the ma
jor species of the expanding
hardwood industry in Oregon
during recent years. Length
of drying time- and loss of
quality of wood dried improp
erly have been serious prob
lems to the lumber industry,
stated Kozlik.
Past work at the Research
center indicated that red al
der could tolerate kiln condi
tions more severe than those
usually followed. Test charges
of red alder were dried at
temperatures up to 200 de
grees F. after an initial treat
ment to raise the temperature
of the wood, Kozlik explained.
A drying period following this
initial treatment lowered the
moisture content of red alder
lumber to seven per cent,
with degrade equal to or less
than lhat obtained by present
commercial methods of dry
ing. Air velocity within kilns
also has been studied.
Red alder lumber of vary
ing sizes is being dried as a
final phase of this study.
Research in seasoning of
wood by scientists al the Re
search center is financed by
a lax on timber harvested in
Oregon.
UP IN AIR OVER ROOFS
Nara, Japan-iUPlI- Priests in
this ancient city have com
plained they have difficulty in
keeping the root's of their two
temples on. Sightseers are con
tinually stripping off the tiles
for ashtrays, they reported.
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EASTER, SHOE VALUES FOR CHILDREN
Patronize This PARK & SHOP MEMBER
DON'T FORGET TO
USE PARK & SHOP
WHEN YOU STOP
AT ... .
Scott V. Davis
Property Owner
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I " " N1V potonl leather or white mJ, tlmStitL to,in ox'or1 wi,n blaclt
9rzrCs limine"" . ""TWIM'IMJI 'f-V "T?"8 imoolh leather. Children's JLUjm If t it quontone team. In black or
jljjg I ti Ha Mapi ' lh"'i,' v'f dar,t blj0WI,a,c,J l,0,h"
Emiw3 SS S1Ii"iiil ! okoLv Anne heel pump In non-
ifvVV "?lV'Vi5v . Siiei S"i lo 3. Iltil BESTr A II cracking patent leather.
lJSSI if ulr' J Sjijl High-riding vamp treatment
yvSf lADre nlAMOND lllllV V ill fl l patent or white or panel
ylWl-jO LARGE DIAIVtUrw m. 11 1!-" k Lfl II 1 lealhen. Children'!
fWj SOLITAIRE 5 99 Wl'" "llfS Ky J 10 to 4, B, C and 0
j
! 122 I. Miin Street Phone SP 3-5348
j Store Houn: 9.30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. Mondavi Till 9 P.M.
565 E. JACKSON - SP 2-733
IN THE MEDFORD SHOPPING CENTER
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