156 for one thousand dollars. When Dr. Talbot expressed his surprise at the amount, she said, "I don't want anybody to know about this. The money has .o-.- ·beei;i.-~ the bank at a very low rate of interest, and I am giving it in mem- roy of my mother." These few accounts are really indicative of the immed- iate response to the appeal to help save Biola from foreclosure. To celebrate this victory, a mortgage burning ceremony was held at the Sunday Morning service in the Church of the Open Door, September 11, 1938, only three days before the date on which the buildings were to have been auctioned to one of a number of interested parties. Dr. Talbot held the mortgage papers over an urn in the front of the auditorium, a match was struck, fire caught the corner of the paper, and the flames began to crawl up the side of the document. Many eyes were filled with tears of joy, and many hearts were lifted to God in thanksgiving. This meaningful ceremony opened the door for the next hurdle; the in- debtedness of $548,689 to the Lyman Stewart Trust Fund. This indebtedness had been incurred by numerous advances made to Biola from the Fund, at times when the School was desperate to keep its doors open. Mrs. Lyman Stewart, Trustee for the Fund, realizing the impossibility of the School's being able to repay the full amount due the Fund, agreed to settle the account by ex- ecuting a new note for the sum of $200,000 due upon demand, thus writing off $348,689 of Biola's indebtedness. In addition to this gracious gesture and to challenge the Board of Directors, she agreed to cancel the new note when Biola was able to clear all its other indebtedness. The Board had cleared the second hurdle, and was ready to move on to the next one, which it was able to clear in January, 1940, when the Security First National Bank worked out a new mortgage plan, asking for the reduction of $90,000 on the principle of the mortgage it held. An additional sum was needed by Biola for the annuities and back salaries due the School's imployee : . The Bank was willing to retire the mortgage for a ten-year term, at an
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