Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-08-16
THE SIMPLE LIFE OF A COMMONER
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

have a good horse and cutter, and If
you say so, l will obtain permission
to use the buildings, and we will
start out la Moody and Sankey and
see what good we can do. We can
leave here in time in the evening,
and returning after services be ready
for business next morning. OF
course | readily assented and we
began our meetings in the Presby-
terian church at Onslow. We met
with good success there and leaving
Nsx meetings to be continued by
o,T.Ns, We began in another place,
wes.V town. For several weeks
meetih e. were held in different
places, u I the entire surrounding
country We, awakened and many
were converted and added to the diff
ferent churches. In the spring, soon
after the meetings were closed, a
purse of money was presented to me
by the people at the places where
the meetings had been held, a slight
token of their appreciation as they
said.
1t was about this time that re-
ceived letter from the Rev. Will
liam Lease, Presiding Elder of the
Marshalltown district, Offering me
the pastorate Of the church at Tole-
do which had become vacant through
the resignation of the preacher, who
had received and accepted a call to
pulpit in Baltimore. l gladly ac-
cepted the invitation and at once
went to Toledo, where | was to Off
ciate the following Sunday, by way
of trial. Our people there said
they thought l might do and so the
following week We removed to the
new field. How little we know of
what is before us, and how true are
the words of Israel's great bard:
weeping may endure for a night,
but Joy cometh in the morning." 1t
proved so to me for the future that
| had so much dreaded the autumn
before and had entered upon with
so many misgivings, proved to be
very different from what l had pic
tured it. So far from suffering in
any way from lack of funds to pro-
vide for the family, as I had feared,
the year, all things considered, prov
ed to be one of the very best of my
ministerial life. We received more
money and were presented with more
useful and valuable gifts than ever
before, and so the days passed hap
PLY and busily until we took our de-
parture for the new field. After that
experience / often used as text
those blessed words of Paul, which
were shown to be SO true in our own
case: and we know that all things
work together for good to them that
love God"
| Among the many friendships we
enjoyed at Wyoming there were none
that we more highly priced than that
of DR.. M. Fl. Calkins and family, who
were so kind to us in our time of
need.
Our pastOrate at Toledo was not
marked by anything deserving of
special mention, so far as the work
in the home church was concerned.
Special religious meetings were held
each winter but without any extra
ordinary results. There were sew
eral colored people connected with
the church, some of whom were old
fashioned Methodists, who had been
slaves before the war; One of them,
a local preacher by the name of
Lewis, occasionally officiated among
his own people at Des Moines and
other places farther south where
there were colored people in num-
bers sufficient to form congregations.
Nanny Lewis, his wife, was a de-
voted friend Of the preachers fam
ily for whom she was always trying
to do something in her motherly
way. She never seemed to forget
the relations between the whites and
the negroes in the South, and was
always respectful as in the olden
times. She insisted on doing our
washing and taking care of the chill
|, dren. Mrs. Green delighted to have
: her with us. 1t reminded her OF heI
! childhood when she was cared foI
by an old colored nurse in a border
state, TO whom she became much at
tached. Nanny" Lewis steadily
refused to take pay for her services
and it was seldom we could induce
her to take money or anything more
than some half worn clothing, or 8
little corn bread and bacon. She was
good hearted old soul who com
pletely won our hearts by her un
selfish devotion to the family. Wha
picture she presented seated at tn,
back door Of the parsonage, Groom