“Reading is a Joy” – by Dixie Plata – Pathfinder Historian
One of my favorite memories is spending a long chilly Friday evening, after a bath and hot soup, of quietly putting a puzzle together with my sister Delia ( she was three ½ years old than I and really good at puzzles) and sometimes joined by our younger brother David two 1/2 years younger than I. While we searched for the right piece we listened to our mother read a current Reading Course book to us.
Our mother, Dorothy, loved to read and as a child growing up in Eastern Montana, for a time they lived in a railroad car when her father worked for the railroad, and then in a homestead shanty when they moved to try to “make good” on the land so it could be theirs. There was very little money, certainly not any for extras but when she learned to read and had read all the books in the little one room country school, she longed to own a book of her own.
Years later when my parents were young, before my birth, mother ordered a farm magazine and several church papers, though even then there was not a lot of money for books. Later they moved to a ranch in eastern Washington out of Colville where my father, Don, ran a dairy and raised a garden and kids. There were six of us at that time – Donna, Duane, Diane, Delia, Dixie and David so as you many have guessed there was not much money for books. I remember just a few in our home at that time
When I was seven we moved to Auburn, Washington where I attended Buena Vista Church School grades one through three. We also attended Camp Meeting at Auburn Academy and that year our tent number was 1008! How do I remember that? Well I still have two books that mother bought me that summer, my dad was a brick mason then and we had more money than we had on the ranch. On the inside covers mother had written Dixie Louise Biggar, Auburn Camp Meeting Tent 1008. Those books were very special. I imagine that is why I still own them!
How I cherish those memories and the good books, many which I still own. When I was in Pre-Pathfinders (yes, it was called Pre-JMV back then) I loved to read the Primary Reading Course Books. On our birthdays and for Christmas we children usually were given needed clothing but always there was a book or two, for our very own. My older siblings received books for the Junior Reading Course and mother would get Daddy a book from the Senior Reading Course list though it was really for her, he didn’t read much in those days, I suppose he was too tired after work to want to read, but he did listen to her read just as I did.
The first Senior Book Club was begun in 1907 for Missionary Volunteer youth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. At that time there were very few Adventist authors with even fewer books written for children. Various youth leaders were requested to write books. The book club was developed that youth would have good reading materials available to them with guidelines on what books would be the best to read.
My Garden Neighbors Jr Reading Course 1909 Pub 1905 R H
In 1908 the Junior Book Club began. The reading list included mission stories, “Child Life in Mission Lands” and a book on nature, “My Garden Neighbors”. One of the required books for 1910 was “The Story of Pitcairn Island” and “Those Bible Readings”. The first lists of books were ones that today’s youth would not be apt to read for a variety of reasons including, no pictures, often not in story form and more like adult reading.
It was not until later that the requirements changed to a book on mission stories, a book on nature, a biography and two books of your choice all published by Seventh-day Adventist printing presses. Even so not all book were written by Seventh-day Adventists Church members, one case in point are the Sam Campbell books, a wonderful series of nature books that have been loved by generations, beginning with Too Much Salt and Pepper, which was a reading course book in 1946, followed by “On Wings of Cheer” in 1949
Many Church Schools and Church Libraries obtained the books that they could be checked out to be read without having to purchase your own copy. I was fortunate that our mother felt it important that we had our own good books and learned to love to read. Of course there were reading course certificates that were given out at Investiture at Church Schools but reading was a joy to me not something I HAD to do!
I feel blessed that I passed the love of reading to our daughter and she in turned passed it on to her daughters and our eldest granddaughter has shared that love of books with her boys. What a joy to walk into their home and discover a 2 year old running with a book saying “Grama read?”
Look forward to seeing many of the old reading course books in the Library of the AYM Museum when it is completed in Battle Creek, MI. We are still looking for more of those good old reading course books. Let us know if you can help us find them.
