The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-04-25

His first sermon was preached in |
Iowa, his home state and one that he |
thinks one of the finest, even though |
he now lives in Indiana at Winona |
Lake.
The rest of his career is fairly well |
known. He was ordained a Presbyte-
rian minister on April Is, 1908, almost
10 years ago, and in the years from
1904 to 1907 he received from 1000 to
5000 converts a month. His biggest
and most spectacular success was
made in his invasion of the big east
ern cities few Gears before the war.
Record Crowds.
Statisticians themselves are author
ity for the statement that the Rev
Mr.. Sunday holds all records for the
number of persons addressed by al
single man. In the evangelistic meet
ing at New York he spoke to more
than three million people; two mil
lion heard him at Chicago and two
million heard him at Philadelphia.
In 1912 he received his only college
degree, a honorary D. d. from West
Minister college. New Wilmington, Pa.
On Sept 5, 1888, Billy married Helen
A Thompson in Chicago, and they
have had four children, ranging in aga
from IA to so. Mrs. Sunday, known
as Ma Sunday, has been an almost
constant companion and help in the re-
ligious campaigns which have taken
the family all over the continent
One of the proudest moments in
the lives of Mr.. and Mrs. Sunday is
when they talk of their four child
rem. their daughter, oldest child, and
their three sons
Marries Editor.
Helen Sunday. 80, named after her
mother, is the wife of Mark P. Haines,
editor and owner of The Daily Jour
nal, published at Sturgis, Michigan.
Miss Sunday was graduated from Nc
| Kinley High School, Chicago, as class
valedictorian, and she and her hus-
band were classmates at DePauw Uni
versity, Greencastle, Ind.
George M. Sunday, is the oldest of
the sons. He is married and has
two sons, of 6 and s years respectively.
Mr. Sunday is in the building and
contracting business and lives in Los
Angeles, Calf. ma" and Dad" re-
Gently gave each of their married
children fine homes.
William A. Sunday, Jr., is 20 years
old and lives in Detroit, where he is
salesman for the John Hancock Life
| Insurance company. He started in to
study law at Butler University,
! Indianapolis, but decided that he did
not care for the legal profession. He
/! is said to be ga chip off the old block"
| Paul Sunday, IA, baby of the family
| lives at the Sunday family home at
| Winona Lake, Indiana, when his par
ents are home, and in the winter at
tends the public school at Warsaw,
| Ind. In the entrance examinations
| for High School in Kosciusko County,
which had the highest average of
any of the boy scouts, and of this rec
ord his mother is justly proud
| Go to Ranch.
Once a year Billy and Ma Sunday
become ranchers. During the season
| that the East swelters under the
scorching rays of the sun, Billy may
| be found hoeing potatoes and Mrs.
| Sunday pruning fruit trees on the
| 70-acre Sunday ranch seven miles
from Hood River, Oregon. in the
| heart of one of the most famous ap-
pie countries of the west
! A good deal has been written about
BILLY" Sundays acrobatics. Many
have said he affects all that He is
never still one moment while he is
preaching. His platform is usually
made fifteen feet long and eight or ten
| feet wide, covered with carpet. In
the middle of the front edge is pine
box that serves as a desk. But it and
the platforms are doubly REINFORCED
with braces and stays. If they
weren't, Billy would knock and
stamp and shake them down.
His knuckles and the palms of his
| hands are covered with thick callous-
es from pounding and humping that
pine desk. It resounds like a sound
| ing board with the whacks he gives it.
Once in a while he leans over and
/ slaps the side of it with his palm.
You wonder he doesn't break the
bones of his hand.
SPEAKS Rapidly
! People who have seen him in action
wonder if he will ever loose his bal
ance and fall from the platform. He
rushes at it, slides three feet across
the carpet, brings up on the edge,
i leans over 1t, one leg behind him in
! the air, and you feel sure he is gone.
But he never falls. He gyrates, spins
4 like a top, leaps, stamps, his arms
| whirl, the cords of his neck stand
out like hard braided whip thongs,
his face puppies, the sweat runs down,
4 he shucks his coat and filings it far
from him, and all the time he is talk
ing rapidly, the words coming like
volleys from machine gun.
Hardly a day passes but what Mr..
Sunday receives requests from some
other city here or abroad, to favor
them with an evangelistic campaign.
} He has bookings for nearly two years
ahead. "I'll not quit until l drop,
/ he says.
Belfast, Ireland, and Honolulu, Haw-
ali, are both besieging the evangelist
for visit, and Billy says he will sure
go to Belfast, and may go to Homo
lulu. Other cities which have bid for
) his services are Sacramento, San
Diego, and Fresno, Cal, Louisville,
KY, Selma, Alaska, Seattle, Wash,
Passaic, N j., Nampa, Idaho, ITALIA
hassee, Fla, Muskogee, Okla, and
Reno, New And this is only about
one-tenth of the list.
Judges Audience.
Mr.. Sunday has preached in every
state in the United States except
Maine. In his long experience with
such varied audiences he finds they
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