110 years ago....The First Classes of PBTS

The location of the first classes of PBTS

A picture of one of the first classes of PBTS (most likely not on Main and Arch)

It was 110 years ago that the first classes of Practical Bible Training School were held. Only months after receiving the dollar bill from Mrs. L.A. Crossan, John A. Davis held the first classes of PBTS over a store on the corner of Main Street and Arch Street in the city of Lestershire (Johnson City), NY. One of the first students was Harvey H. Wagner. Attending the first PBTS class sessions that summer, he studied in the classes of 1901 and 1902 and graduated with a perfect score [100 in all of his tests] in 1903.

From the 1934 Theologue about first classes of PBTS:

Between eighty and ninety people came to this first class. They all were believers, more or less interested in learning how better to study the Bible. The class was called together by Mr. Davis. After brief introductory remarks, he gave the first lecture. The succeeding sessions were carried on in much the same general way. Mr. Davis was the only teacher for the term. The attendance grew, until there were about one hundred and twenty students in the class.

The subjects taught were those in which Mr. Davis was a master, namely, “How to use the Bible”; “Personal Work”; and some introductory studies in Doctrine.

That summer some evenings were cool and pleasant while others were hot and sultry. However, the attendance never dropped nor did the interest flag throughout the whole period. God had need for a school and He inspired Mr. Davis to make this start; and He took care of the interest and the attendance and gave Mr. Davis students to work with from the very beginning. Mr. Davis’ teaching was so inspirational, so absorbing in every detail, that it mattered not whether the evening was sultry or pleasant; the students were attentive to the utmost degree, intensely interested in catching the words of life and power, coming from God’s servant.

During the closing weeks of that first term the class permanently organized and the feeling became general that the work must not be allowed to drop, but that a permanent school building should be obtained and a Bible school established which would give instruction for both day and evening students throughout the year.

It was from these first classes that the school grew to what it is today.

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110 years ago today....(Part 2 of 2): The Confirmation

Only five days had passed since God had laid on John A. Davis' heart the need for a Bible School on the East Coast. John had left Hazleton, Pennsylvania and after a brief stop in Binghamton had traveled onto Elmira, NY to continue to preach the word. Now it was Tuesday, April 10, 1900 and John would be preaching in the Elmira Tabernacle out of Matthew 7:24-27, it was the sermon that he had entitled The Two Foundations. John had preached this sermon on a few other occasions over the years as many traveling preachers and evangelists would do. Tonight however the fountains of the school would be laid.

Mrs. L.A. Crossan

As John A. Davis was arriving in Elmira to prepare for the revival meeting, God had already set into motion events that would confirm the creation of the Bible School. Days earlier, as God was laying the Bible school on John's heart, a poor wash-woman by the name of Mrs. L.A. Crossan was given a dollar bill. She thanked God for it upon receiving it and she prayed that she could use it to the glory of God. Soon the LORD was going to give her an opportunity to use it in a mighty way.

1899 Silver Certificate (most likely the kind given to Mrs. Crossan)

Now it was the late afternoon of Tuesday, April 10, 1900 and Mrs. L.A. Crossan went to hear the 28 year old evangelist John A. Davis at the Elmira Tabernacle. She was ready to soak in the word with many others that attended. John A. Davis stood up and in his rich powerful voice resonated throughout the church as his enthusiasm for the Word of God vibrated the windows of the church and the souls of the people. He began by reading from Matthew 7:24-27.

Matthew 7:24-27~

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

The beginning of that sermon from A God Enthused Man:

This parable is recorded by only two of the writers of the gospels, Matthew and Luke, and are words from the Savior's own lips in that memorable sermon on the mount. The truth is here put in a nutshell; simple, practical, and easy to be understood, and ought to have a greater power over each one of us, and I sincerely hope that the Holy Spirit will carry home to each heart the truth that God would have them to learn. May I say at the very beginning that I believe that the message was given to me from the Lord and I hope that our hearts may be in a receptive condition, and that God will help us to profit by the words of the message, for this work of building (character building) is something we all are or at least ought to be interested in.

Later on in the sermon...

We must Build on Something. That is common sense. We cannot build on air; we all know that we must build on some foundation. It is true that at times all build what they call “air castles,” but they do not amount to anything. So then, if all are building and must build on some foundation how very important it is to know what we are building.

As Mrs. Crossan listened to the sermon she was moved by God to give Mr. Davis the dollar bill. She wrote out a quick note and slipped it into an envelope with the dollar bill and continued to listen to the powerful message beginning delivered by this young man.

Where are you building? Where art thou? Is the question God asked Adam. Do you hear God's voice asking you the same question? You know where you are. Perhaps you are hiding away behind some excuse that was manufactured long years ago in hell and furnished yon by Satan. Are you trying to cover your nakedness from God's eye with that fig leaf apron of your own works? Rom. 3 :10, 23, says: "There is none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Oh, then, begin to build on Christ.

He continued on bringing the word of the LORD to the people. Many turning over their lives to Him or dedicating their lives to Him. John A. Davis finished by praying Psalm 23.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Amen.

John A. Davis finished the prayer and several people came up to the front of the church and began to shake hands with him and talk with him. Mrs. Crossan worked her way up to him and handed him the envelope. He thanked her as he put it into the pocket of his suit coat. John continued to shake hands and pray with others for another hour after the meeting, before heading out.

He walked back to where he was staying and removed his suit coat when the envelope fell from his pocket to the floor. It had been a busy yet wonderful evening preaching the word that he had completely forgotten about it. He opened it and out fell a one dollar bill. Inside the envelope was also a note. He opened the note and read the following words:

I am a poor washer-woman but God has laid it on my heart to give you this dollar to help you carry out the plan He has revealed to you.

John read the note then looked back at the dollar bill and then back to the note. God had confirmed in this small way that He wanted John to start a Bible School on the East coast. That dollar bill had become his Gideon Fleece. No more confirmation was needed though. He soon was preparing for the first classes of the Practical Bible Training School.

Outrageous Grace: A Story of Tragedy and Forgiveness by Grace L. (Jones) Fabian --Class 1959

Alumna Grace L. (Jones) Fabian, class of 1959, has finished her autobiography about tragedy and forgiveness. Grace just celebrated her 50th class reunion at Davis College in September. Grace and her husband Edmund went to the island nation of Papua New Guinea in 1969 and had four children there. In 1993 her husband was murdered. This book is about Grace's journey leading up to the death of her husband and how God lead her to forgiveness in the days, weeks, months, and years after his death. The book is due out by Christmas time and it can be pre-ordered both from the publishing house and amazon.com

Ambassador International Publishers
Amazon.com

Order your copy today and be challenged by a story of tragedy and triumph in Christ!

Update 12-5-09: Outrageous Grace is now available. Pick up your copy today or order it. It will challenge you!

Thank you to all the Alumni (and current students) of PBTS/PBC/Davis who are also Veterans

A Big Thank You to all Alumni and current students of the College that have not only served their LORD and Savior, but also have served the United States.

THANK YOU VETERANS

Vaporware

Vaporware is defined as "new software that has been announced or marketed but has not been produced" (thefreedictory.com) and it kinda describes the image above. Let me explain. One of the professors here at Davis College, Dr. Walter Schlundt, has been moving his books and items from Patterson Hall over to Academics during the Winter Break and this week. He came across several different items of School history that he knew I would want to look at. One such item that is shown above was for a project that never happened. The M.L. Lowe Memorial Chapel. It was going to placed were King Hall stood. Dr. Lowe was a beloved professor here at the school for many years writing 3 books and preaching many sermons on the return of Christ. This project was headed by the Alumni Society at the school.

This will be a Chapel with a seating capacity of 1,000. It will be approximately 110 feet long, 86 feet wide in the front and 36 feet wide in the back. The front exterior will be mirrored glass, reflecting the beauty of the campus. Inside there will be a balcony, class rooms, music rooms and a projection room. The Chapel will be air-conditioned and will be functional year-round for various activities such as: Bible Conferences, etc. The proposed cost is $550,000.

They hoped to have it finished and dedicate it in 1982, which would have marked the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Lowe's coming to the school. It was a project that did not get off the ground. I had never heard of it until seeing this letter and the illustration. Now we are working on the Ministry Center that is much larger. (See Below)
It will be on the site where King Hall and the Old Administration Building were. To learn more about this and the Library extension project check out: http://davisny.edu/ia/projects.htm

More Screenshots of 16mm films

Here are a few more screenshots to show the color fading facing the 16mm films. The top image is that of King Hall I believe, but I cannot tell from the fading of the color which could be restored. The image below that is a long shot of people outside either the Old Main Building or the Old Administration Building. The three men in the center are from (L to R) Dr. MC Patterson, Mr. John R. Clements, Dr. ML Lowe. The final image is of Dr. Woodrow Brown teaching Theology using Dr. Wagner's Chart. The first two images are from the older of the two 16mm films. The third is from the May 1956 16mm film. Both need to be restored for the future and for better image quality.

Tennis Court on Campus...but where was it?

One of things on the older of 16mm films that is in the worst of condition was that of students playing tennis on campus. The screenshot above is not the best of quality because of the nature of the film that I would love to have restored, but it is decent never-the-less. From what I could tell from this brief segment on the DVD is that the court was behind the Main Building.


The map above shows where I think they were, but I am not 100% positive. Many Alumni from the 1960s do not remember them so I am guessing they were torn down with the building of Chatlos-Davis and Patterson. The building in the photo looks similar to the back of the Main Building or maybe it is the side. Do any Alumni know where it was? I would love to know.

Digital Restoration of two 16 mm films

One of the things that we did a few years ago was getting two 16 mm films from the school transferred to DVD. Now the company here in Vestal that did it only transferred it. There is a company online called Video Conversion Experts. They have a wonderful transfer and restoration process and I would love to have both of these films done by them. The cost is about $1300 to have both of them done. The images above are from the DVD we have now. The first two images on top are from a 16 mm film from around 1946 or so. The quality is very bad. The second two are a couple shot from the 16mm film done in May of 1956 and narrated by Gordon Davis. The quality of film is much better, but it too could be restored. Age has crept upon these precious films and soon the 16mm films will not be able to be restored. I would love to have them done as soon as possible. If you would like to contribute toward this goal please email me at: cadams@davisny.edu

PBTS from the air

This is a scan of the campus of PBTS around 1961 or 1962. It was in the 1980 Theologue. Patterson Hall has been built in this photo yet nothing else has been taken down. There are older pictures which I would love to find of the campus from the air around 1920. They only exist in the Theologue at this time and the quality is low. Does anyone have aerial photos of PBTS out there?
Corey Adams

King Hall

King Hall, the main building pictured above, was the old gymnasium of PBTS. It was used for sporting events as well as graduation. King Hall was the old skating rink of the White City Amusement park. In the article “Reminiscences” by Mary Scotten in the 1932 Theologue, she remarks:

The former skating rink, now King Hall, was the scene of the first gathering when outsiders were with us. While we were eating dinner that day in our new dinning room, terrific thunder storm broke upon the Park, uprooting about thirty trees, and breaking off other. Who is “the prince of power of the air,” and what purpose had he in visiting here just then?

When the building was first converted from the rink it was called “Davis Hall” in honor of John A. Davis the founder. Yet, after Dr. Davis lost his voice in 1912 he became acquainted with Dr. Bryon King.

Rev. Davis received much help from Byron W. King, Ph.D., voice therapist and founder and head of "the world's greatest school of oratory," which was located in Pittsburgh, Pa. In September, 1913, Dr. King gave a series of lectures at PBTS on health and how to keep it. This was the beginning of a long relationship that he had with the school. Until his death in 1924, Dr. King came to PBTS annually to lecture on health and on the use and the care of the voice. The students were always delighted with his Shakespearean dramatizations. (From Dr. Barackman’s book on PBTS history).

In 1919 the building name was changed to “King Hall” in honor of Dr. King. In Dr. Davis’ Education that Educates he tells a little more about Dr. King.

On our beautiful campus here at Bible School Park, New York, we have a building called “King Hall.” It is named after my friend, the late Byron W. King, the noted Lecturer and Teacher. I have heard him stand before audiences and vision a creek, river or lake and with eloquent, descriptive powers, picture its possibilities for power, pleasure, and profit. I have listened as he has told about some filthy old swamp in the center of an island. He would visualize it drained, the island made over and changed into a place of beauty with trees, shrubbery, flowers, beautiful homes, gardens and boats for fishing and pleasure. The swamp was converted into a little lake with a shore line and lovely drive. The creek was dammed up to produce electric power to operate factories, mills, light cities, and furnish clothing, furniture, etc. He saw the land cultivated to bring forth food and wealth. Trees were made into chairs, furniture and carvings. In fact, Byron W. King saw possibilities in everything.

Some of us see only hard, cold, everyday facts; we live in a rut, lose hope and have no vision of better things. Others see the world as a work-shop in which wonderful things can be produced. Someone has truthfully said:

Two men looked out

From behind the bars,

One saw mud,

And the other saw stars.

King Hall was torn down in the 1980s. The stone slabs were the three pillars were still are in the parking area of the where it once stood.

Corey Adams

Anita Harrower's Thoughts and Memories of PBTS (daughter of Woodrow Brown)

The following article is that of the memories of Anita Harrower. Anita is the daughter of Dr. Woodrow Brown who recently went home to glory. To read more about him click on these links at the bottom of this article. I enjoyed her memories of the school in the late 1940s and into the 1950s. Her life as being the daughter of one of the professors at PBTS is an interesting perspective to read. Enjoy the words to follow.

My Thoughts and Memories of PBTS

By Anita Harrower

My father Woodrow I. Brown, graduated from Practical in 1948. Maybe because he had been a teacher before he came to Practical he was asked to stay on as a teacher. We moved into a converted barn on campus in 1949, I think. I was eight years old. We had no indoor bathroom so we had to walk across the road to the basement of the administration building and use the bathroom there. It was kind of scary to me because being a basement it was dark. I tried not to have to use it after dark! My father right away started digging in the back yard. He told my brother Ralph and me that he was digging a swimming pool! We were so excited and talked about the day that we would be able to go swimming in the back yard! To our dismay it turned out to be a hole for the septic tank! There were three children and only two bedrooms upstairs plus the new bathroom. When another child was on the way Dad built on a bedroom and garage on the back to give us more room.

We lived right next door to King Hall and Dad was the basketball coach so we stored the basketballs at our house. I could go over anytime and shoot baskets, that was way cool!

Our neighbor on the other side was Mr. and Mrs. Lowe and their three children. Loyd, Paul and Lucy. Loyd was attending school at that time I think. Mom and Mrs. Lowe became fast friends. Whenever I came home from school and Mom was not at home I knew she was next door. When Mom got her drivers license she and Mrs. Lowe would go shopping every week. Dad said that when Mom got her license he lost his car and his wife! After Loyd married Doris and moved to Washington State Paul went to live with them and finished high school there. He then joined the army and was gone for three years so by the time he came home I was a teenager. He asked his mother who that girl next door was and he was surprised to find out it was little Sissy! (That was my nick name for years)

I loved going to the basketball games and cheering for our guys. Dad went out very often to preach in various churches. If it wasn't a school night I could go with him and I loved to go with him. He was always my favorite preacher in the whole world. I consider myself so fortunate to have been raised on the beautiful campus of PBTS. I remember the wonderful singing & preaching. I was able to attend every graduation and retreat for the years I was there. I loved all the activities of graduation and especially the music. I took piano lessons from Mr. Ackerly, the lessons cost 50 cents! I learned so much from Mr. Ackerly. Every once in awhile he would play a classical piece for me. I would listen and watch in awe and wish I could play like that. That would make me practice harder. I play the organ at my church today and I have Mr. Ackerly to thank.

There were always pranks that the students played on my Dad. One time in class a note was being passed around and as it passed the person reading would look up at the ceiling. Dad saw what was happening and he intercepted the note, it read, "Look at the footprints on the ceiling!" Dad had a little Crosley car at one time and several of the guys picked it up and carried it up onto the front porch of the main building! Of course, Dr. Davis called Dad and asked him how his car had gotten there. The guys had a good laugh about that (after they carried it back down). Mrs. Davis was always looking for things for us children to do. She told us that she would give us a penny for every dead bird that we found! She also gave us a penny for every nail we picked up off the road. Mrs. Davis had a niece named Carolee and she was about my age. Whenever Carolee came to visit I was asked to come and play with her. I felt very privileged to eat lunch at the President's house! We would watch Roy Rogers on TV and eat from TV trays!

One time my sister Mary and I were home alone (Mom and Dad were at a prayer meeting) It must have been close to Halloween because two of the students came to our house and knocked on the door. They had scary masks on and when Mary answered the door we both started screaming and shaking. The students were very embarrassed and took the masks off to show us who they were. We never wanted to be alone after that!

We also got to go to all the parties at school including the Halloween party. One year they had an elaborate dark room that went on and on. You had to crawl through part of it and put your hands in bowls of spaghetti (brains) and grapes with the skins off (eyeballs).

Paul and I were married in October of 1956 and we moved to Calif. We had three children and then Paul became ill with lung cancer. He died in Sept. 1963. Even after we married I could not call my mother-in-law anything but Mrs. Lowe because that is what she always had been to me!

The school is so different now. Our house is gone, Lowe's house is gone, King Hall, the main building, the jail, the inner circle, the house that the Ackerly's lived in, the house where the Davis' lived, etc. I'm sure the presence of the Lord is still very much there and I have my memories of a wonderful childhood.

Some links about her father Dr. Woodrow Brown:

A photo of Dr. and Mrs. Woodrow Brown in 2004.
A memory of Dr. Woodrow Brown from Don Hall (class of 1950).
The Obituary of Dr. Brown.