H. Barrett, Andrew Johnson. Lower: Helen Day, Thomas Hannay Jr., Helen Smith. For reunion picture see next page.
The class of 1911 was first to be graduated from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Upper row: Paul Ruske, Elliott
A Reunion for Class Number One
O ne day recently in Pasadena, Calif, two women and a man got together to swap stories days. The occasion: the first re union of the first graduating class (1911) of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It was a gay affair with small talk and laughter and a time of simple, thankful prayer and then lunch at a local restaurant. There were just six graduates— two women and four men—in the class of 1911 (see photo above). Those on hand for this first reunion were Helen Day Shepherd, now 75, Helen Smith Gammon, now 71, and Andrew Johnson, now 67. Mrs. Shepherd hadn’t seen Andrew Johnson in 44 years and Mrs. Gammon for 35 years. Mrs. Gam mon and Johnson had seen each other five years ago. Tom Hannay Jr. died in Africa while doing mis sion work just three years after
saw Jesus in her mind’s eye and before she left she made a complete surrender of her life to the Lord. After graduation Helen Day taught Bible classes full-time until she was married at 35. Her hus band later became a pastor in the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. They have two daughters and now live in Santa Ana, Calif. Her classmate, Helen Smith Gammon, recalls that she decided to be a missionary when she was eight. But she never told her moth er until after her father died. Her mother flatly refused to listen to such nonsense from her teen-age daughter and for a while the desire to be a missionary was pushed out of her mind. After four years of college in the East she came to Los Angeles where shortly after her arrival she was asked to be a per sonal worker during a revival meet ing. She accepted the task but found she was totally unable to
graduation. Ruske became a chiro practor and is now thought to he dead. Barrett became a lawyer and later went into evangelistic work. None of the class had heard any thing about him for 20 years. Both of the women of that first class had been to college before they came to B xo la . Helen Day Shepherd was born in Chicago and grew up in Los Angeles. She was a member of the First Congregational Church but had never done any thing personally about the claims of Christ. She had long pondered the question, what is life? She was 23 when a teacher came to her church who had been under the ministry of G. Campbell Morgan. Soon after this Helen Day found Christ and subsequently enrolled at B io l a . She had many worldly friends and one afternoon she recalls going to a card party that was “ so swell you had to keep your hat on.” All afternoon at that party she
and reminisce about their school
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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