Minerd.com Memoir: Keep Sweet! How the Lives of Philadelphia Orphan Boys and Their Teacher Were Forever Changed, Part 6

Last month: Inspired by the Christian message lived and taught by their mentor, Roy S. Minerd (seen here), some of the orphan boys at Philadelphia's Northern Home begin to change their attitudes and behaviors. They begin reading their Bibles and self-policing the poor behavior of others. This month, we meet David Barkman and the Wenner brothers.

In a moment I was at [Ellis Pedrick's] side and had some difficulty in satisfying him, but at length succeeded. And it was he who told me of David [Barkman (seen here)] who had been one of the second group and who, as P. put it, was going to give up because he didn't see any use trying, and because he did not understand why we were having groups without him. They had been told about the plan but evidently had not grasped it. I had no chance to see him before I left so I wrote him after I got home, explaining the whole situation and pleading with him to reconsider and stick.

I asked [Barkman] for a reply and enclosed an addressed card, which I received within a few days:

In October one afternoon before Sunday School he said to me, "We were out to see our mother at the hospital Thursday." And before I could ask how she was he added, "And she was pretty near dead." You will recall that it was her having to go to the hospital that made it necessary for the children to be placed in the home early in the summer.

Phila Pa.

Dear Mr. Minerd.

I Did not mean that I thought you did not want me to come up any more, but now know that you do. I will belong to the personal workers band. I hope you are well. I received your letter Wednesday after noon and sent my Wednesday night. Your friend,

David Barkman

David Barkman's postcard to Roy

In a moment he continued: "She gave us each a nickel and then had only five cents left for herself. I wanted to give mine back to her but she wouldn't take it."

On the third of September, Dr. O., a very fine old Episcopal minister who has been holding services at the Home for many years, and who has the welfare of every boy and girl very much at heart, gave a most helpful talk to them in Chapel on the "Pharisee and the Publican." He emphasized so many of the things I had been endeavoring to drive home and did it in such a way as to clinch them in their minds. During the talk, however, he asked something concerning the time and place of the building of the first temple for the worship of God and because no one could answer remarked, "You children are not taught like you used to be. You don't know the bible as the children did five or six years ago. There's something badly wrong somewhere."

Well, we were about swept off our feet, and when Miss S. the superintendent heard of it she was very indignant and declared she would call him to an account for it. And she did.

"I realize," she said, "that the children do not have such a technical knowledge of the bible, but how many theological students would be able to answer those questions? Instead of trying to find out where Cain got his wife and if there was a rainbow before the flood, we all have been bending every effort to what I think is far more important -- we have been trying to teach these children how to live!"

He was very apologetic and said he had been hasty and indeed felt the mistake so keenly that the next day he called and laid a plan before Miss S. whereby he would give so much time a week to the children in real bible study. She heartily endorsed the proposal and the work is now going forward nicely.

While speaking of the two groups of boys to whom I spoke on the same Sunday afternoon, I should have spoken of the climax of the whole summer's work. That would have been its logical place, but I got sidetracked. However, I'm back on the main line now.

After Chapel on the morning of Sept. 3rd, Dawson and Schofield came to me and reported that they both, independently of each other had, during the preceding week, been formulating a plan for definitely carrying on the Personal Work. Neither had mentioned it to the other till that morning just before Chapel and then they found that they both had almost identically the same ideas in mind. Briefly, it was to effect an organization for the dual purpose of aiding each other in Christian growth and striving to win over those boys who were not already Christians. The plan just as they presented it to me appears below without any alteration and shows to me a wonderful and a surprising insight into the deeper things as well as being built on the soundest of psychologic and pedagocic principles. I was astonished at its completeness and all the more so when I realized that it came unaided from an experienced 14-year-old boy.

Personal Workers Band

To become a member of the Personal Workers Band, one must:

1. Learn the following verses from the Bible, explain their meaning and know where they are found: Matthew 6:33, 7:7-8, 10:32, 11:28-30, 22:34, 39; Luke 13:3; John 3:16 and 6:47; and Romans 10:9.
2. Know the names of the 12 Apostles.
3. Pray three times a day for forgiveness and for help and strength for everybody.
4. Must know the motto.

When he has learned this, he takes his oath with his left hand on his Bible and his right above his head:

I, ______, confess before the members of the Personal Workers' Band that I am willing to let Jesus come into my heart; to do what He would like me to do, and to help other people in all ways. I will also try to become a good Christian and obey the orders of the Band.

After the oath comes a short prayer by the president, and the person's names are put down on the roll. They then are full-fledged members of the Band and true Christians as long as they want to be.

Motto: "Do what Jesus would like you to do."

Every member must have a Bible and read a chapter from it every day. He must also mark the good verses with a pencil.

Requirements of the President

1. He must appoint all meetings and be present unless it is impossible to do so.
2. He must know how to make a personal a member and conduct all services.
3. He must help all people as much as possible.
4. He must obey the oath, and motto and must know the requirements of the Band.
5. He must know the books of the Old and the New Testaments (This is a later requirement of all members.)

Requirements of the Vice President

1. He must know the requirements of the President
2. He must be able to conduct services when the President is not present.

This is verbatim, the outline given me with the request that I take charge of the organizing and become the president. We went over the plan and changed it here and there, clearing up obscure or ambiguous expressions and changing the motto to "What would Jesus do?"

I know not, nor do I care, how this may strike others but to me it is truly wonderful, and coming from a boy who six weeks before was inquiring how to become a Christian shows the property spirit to me. It rings true. And Schofield is younger still, and while he did not write his out, his plan, thought out alone, was almost identical.

How many of us who are older and date the beginning of our Christian experience back a great many more years than these dear chaps have been living, have ever in any ways nearly approached such a systematizing of their own endeavors in Christian work?

Realizing, however, the amount of time that would necessarily be required to carry on such a movement successfully and properly, and taking into consideration the fact that schools were beginning, the work was not definitely organized, altho all the boys were called together and the plan explained by its originators and myself. They all entered heartily into it and all willingly agreed to read and pray daily as required in the requirements.

Next month: One boy, Dawson, learns not to run away from his problems, but rather to face them head-on. Another boy reveals how his mother had completely abandoned him, causing Roy Minerd to rage over such cruel and barbarous behavior, and to share the joy that his own beloved mother had brought him. Roy begins to recount how a third boy, Dick, whose parents were horribly negligent, had been discharged from the Home, and adopted out to a farmer, with disastrous consequences.