Dad--Christmas 1941

If I try to reconstruct Dad's story with absolute chronological accuracy, I will never get anywhere. So, as often as possible, hopefully weekly, I will continue to add a few notes.

A letter came to my attention yesterday, a story that included Dad before he was married.
I wondered what he looked like that Christmas of 1941. Three old pictures stood out as possibilities.

In the first he's being silly, but it is summer.

The second, I discovered, is his high school senior picture.

In the third, he's wearing the same tie, so may have been taken at the same time.

An elderly lady (soon to be 87) from Decatur, Iowa, wrote the following:

"Christmas vacation of 1941 this couple and three others [Dad and his brother Lowell among them] came to Leon, Iowa, for a revival meeting.

In August of 1941 my parents moved from nine miles out in the country to Leon, Iowa, and rented a house just across the street and 3rd house north of the church.

My parents did not go to church so consequently I had only been to Sunday School twice before that....

By the time we moved to Leon, Dad's aunt came to town and lived in our upstairs. She was a wonderful Christian lady and they had both attended the Brethren church for many years.

So my sisters and I all began attending the church, Sunday School and church morning and evening as well as Christian Endeavor...

I was saved during this revival meeting. I believe it was December 30, 1941.

My husband died ten years ago. We attended the Leon Brethren Church all the years of our marriage, except five or six when we lived in another county. We were married in that church in June of 1945 and had our 50th wedding anniversary celebration there...

Thanks so much for that team that came to the Leon Brethren Church over their Christmas vacation. They will never know the results of their service until we see them in heaven."

Perhaps Dad does know. He may have already met Mr. Luce.