Visiting Ata_Grandma
Part 2
Sunday, May 16
Tom and Garcia took us on an interesting tour of Winona Lake, the home of Grace College and Theological Seminary. This is Grace College’s Rodeheaver Auditorium
Homer Alvan Rodeheaver (October 4, 1880 – December 18, 1955) was an American evangelist, music director, music publisher, composer of gospel songs, and pioneer in the recording of sacred music.
He was music director for Billy Sunday. Will Rogers said of “Rody”, he could make you sing whether you felt like it or not.
Billy Sunday’s Winona Lake home.
The Sunday family home, named “Mount Hood” is a California bungalow furnished in the Arts and Crafts style. The family collection has remained at Winona Lake since the home was built in 1911.
Before walking around town, we stopped for ice cream.
A beautiful fountain area.
This statue is called “The Student”.
The Billy Sunday tabernacle had been located in the area behind this photo – back right. Billy’s “sawdust” tabernacles were not built to be long-lasting.
We saw these beautiful iris as we walked around town.
A creative flower pot between the flowers
Looking at the canal
I asked if the canal had a name. Gracia said it is just called the canal.
Gracia had another thing she wanted me to see – the back of her father’s tombstone. After seeing this you will understand her Xanga profile picture.
This was her grandparents Oriental Rug shop in California.
Then we went to another area of the cemetery to see the burial place of Virgil Prentiss Brock and his wife, Blanche Kerr Brock, who wrote and put music to “Beyond the Sunset.”
I found this interesting story on the Internet:
The song “Beyond the Sunset” was born at the dinner table of the Brocks’ home one night in 1936. Before dinner, text author Virgil Brock and his composer-wife Blanche watched a very unusual sunset at Winona Lake, Indiana, with a blind guest Horace Burr and his wife, Grace. Burr was Brock’s cousin. A large area of the water appeared ablaze with the glory of God, yet there were storm clouds threatening gathered overhead.
Upon return to his home, at dinner, they still talked about the unusual spectacle they had earlier witnessed. What was amazing was what their blind guest excitedly commented, that he had never seen a more beautiful sunset.
The blind Horace’s reply was simple and touching: “I see through other people’s eyes, and I think I often see more; I see beyond the sunset.”
The striking inflection in his blind cousin’s voice forcibly deeply moved Brock. He began to write the first few measures of what is now “Beyond the Sunset” at the same time he started singing with his coined words. A spot-on inspiration.
His wife loved it, they went to the piano, and enhanced the first verse. The blind Horace Burr strongly urged that a verse about the storm clouds be added. A third verse was further added. Before dinner ended, all four stanzas had been completed and sang by them.
After an interesting visit to the garage which Tom owns, they took us out to supper.
We enjoyed meeting their friends who join them for supper most Sunday evenings.
Thanks Tom and Gracia, we were blessed by your hospitality.
After saying goodbye to them, Cerwin and I drove to Elkhart, Indiana, where we had a motel room reserved for the evening.
(Though I attached a smiley – the man obviously has serious problems and need our prayers.)
