1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to you stuff you missed in history class from 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and we're 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: going to talk about an evangelist today, and evangelist who 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: broke all kinds of barriers and rose to incredible popularities 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: in the nineties and then vanished. And there are still 7 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: mysteries surrounding that disappearance, but they might not be the 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: mysteries you would expect, and just an interest of expectations management, 9 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: we're not really gonna dig particularly deep into this evangelists 10 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: religion and doctrines. We'll talk about it as it relates 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,319 Speaker 1: to the events of her life, uh, and sort of 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 1: how she became famous and then had this sort of 13 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: huge public turning point. But in the interest of time 14 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: and sticking to history rather than theology, we're not going 15 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: to break down her views in relation to other Christian views. 16 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: And there were certainly some debates and disagreements within the 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: church about sort how she handled things versus how other 18 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: sets handled things, and we're not really digging into that. 19 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: She's also a person whose life is extremely well documented, 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: So if you have heard of this person, and you 21 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: may know her story. You may be like, hey, they 22 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: didn't mention x, y or z. Uh. That's because this 23 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: podcast runs very long already, and we're kind of just 24 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,839 Speaker 1: trying to cover what sort of led as I said, 25 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: to her fame and sort of how that built up 26 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: and then how her life shifted pretty suddenly. Uh So, 27 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: if we've left anything out, it's really for the interest 28 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: of time and kind of trying to keep the story 29 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: on track, because there are many, many different things we 30 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: could talk about in relation to her. But the person 31 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:41,839 Speaker 1: we're talking about, in case you were wondering or maybe 32 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: even guests, is Amy Simple McPherson. And she was absolutely 33 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: a really extraordinary figure in early twentieth century religious landscape. 34 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: She preached both in the US and abroad, and at 35 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: a time when most women were expected to stick to 36 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: the roles of wife and mother, Amy dedicated herself above 37 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: all to her ministry and opened the door for other 38 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: women to be religious leaders on that sort of huge 39 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: scale public level. Uh So, first we will talk about 40 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: sort of her origins. Amy Elizabeth Kennedy was born on 41 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: October nine, eight nine, in Ontario, Canada. Her parents were 42 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: James Morgan Kennedy and Mildred Pierce Kennedy, and they were 43 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: very religious. James was the organist and choir director of 44 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: their Methodist church, and Many, as her mother was called, 45 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: had been raised by Salvationists after being orphaned as a child, 46 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: and Amy was a little bit rebellious by nature. Early 47 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: on in her life, she kind of went through a 48 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: phase where she chewed her parents religion. Uh. That appears 49 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: to have been brief and kind of just one of 50 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: those developmental phases where like young adults sort of test 51 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: their parents and their boundaries, because later she rebelled even 52 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: more vehemently against the teaching of evolution in her school. Uh. 53 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,359 Speaker 1: She really spoke out against the theory of luction a 54 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: lot throughout her life. That's another thing that we're not 55 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: going to go into depth in, but if you wanted 56 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: to research that, there's certainly a wealth of information about it. 57 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: By the time she graduated high school, though, Amy was 58 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: very devoted to her faith. When Amy was just seventeen, 59 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: she got married for the first time. Her groom, Robert Simple, 60 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: was an Irish Pentecostal missionary that she'd met at a 61 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: revival that had been really pivotal and cementing her commitment 62 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: to her religion. He was ten years older than she was, 63 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: and the two of them got married on August twelfth, 64 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: nine o eight, in the Kennedy's Apple Orchard. Robert's missionary 65 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 1: work took them to Stratford, Ontario, and then London, Ontario, 66 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: and eventually Chicago, Illinois in early ninten nine, and there 67 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: they were both ordained as ministers. They started touring the 68 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: United States and Canada on evangelical tours, and back when 69 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: Robert and Amy were still courting, they had actually hatched 70 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: this dream together of serving as missionaries in Nina, and 71 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: after their or datement and their early faith tours in 72 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: North America, they really felt like they were ready and 73 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: it was time to make their move into international ministry ministry, 74 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: so in nineteen ten they left Chicago, and her autobiography 75 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: The Story of My Life, Amy described the final exchange 76 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: in their decision to leave for Asia as her husband 77 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: putting his arm around her and saying, Darling, I feel 78 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: the time has come for us to leave for China, 79 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: and her reply was I am ready, Robert, anywhere in 80 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: the world with you. And the Simples did not go 81 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: directly to China. They first went to Belfast, Ireland to 82 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 1: visit Robert's home and his family, and from there they 83 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: traveled to London. They also traveled to the Suez Canal 84 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: before eventually making their way to Asia and they arrived 85 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,160 Speaker 1: in Hong Kong in June of nineteen ten, and at 86 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: this point Amy was pregnant. She was very pregnant. She 87 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: UH was into her third trimester. Just a few weeks 88 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: after they got to Hong Kong, both Amy and Robert 89 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: got sick and they had both contracted malaria. While Amy recovered, 90 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:12,840 Speaker 1: Robert eventually died from his illness on August, so young 91 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: Mrs Simple found herself pregnant and penniless in a foreign 92 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: country and a widow at the age of nineteen. And 93 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: because at this point she was so late in her 94 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: pregnancy UH and she was still in a week in 95 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: state from her own bout of malaria, she had not 96 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,720 Speaker 1: recovered fully, but she was close to recovery, Amy had 97 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: to stay in Hong Kong even after Robert had died, 98 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: and so she gave birth to her daughter, ROBERTA Star, 99 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: just a month later, still in Hong Kong, on September seventeen. 100 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: And although Robert was gone, he continued to be a 101 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: really significant influence in her life. Yeah, there have been 102 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: some discussions, Uh if you read in various autobiographical accounts 103 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: of hers and also biographies written by others that kind 104 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,280 Speaker 1: of hinted the fact that because Robert died when they 105 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: were still very early in their marriage and she was 106 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: very young, and uh, he became a little bit idealized 107 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: in her head and kind of became this model of perfection. 108 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: And there have been some debates among historians about if 109 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: Robert had lived, would she has still held him in 110 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: the same high esteem for the rest of her life, 111 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: or would they have settled into a more mundane sort 112 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: of equals relationship instead of sort of the hero worship 113 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: that she carried with her um. But not long after 114 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 1: the arrival of her daughter, about a month after ROBERTA 115 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,120 Speaker 1: was born, Amy made her way back to the United States, 116 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: and this time she settled in New York City and 117 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: her mother joined her there, both to help the new 118 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: mother out and because many had an interest in working 119 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: with the Salvation Army, Amy also did the same thing, 120 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: and they both worked to collect money, like they would 121 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 1: go into movie theaters and collect money and they also 122 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: served food in the rescue mission there. It wasn't long 123 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: before she met an accountant named Harold Stewart mcphe gerson 124 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: in the city, and the two of them became friends 125 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: and then gradually started courting. Many wasn't really enthusiastic about 126 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: the relationship. She was concerned that Amy's involvement with Harold 127 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: would lead her away from her religious calling. Yeah, all 128 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: of their work with the Salvation Army had really cemented 129 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: certainly for Many and to Amy as well, that you know, 130 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: ministry of one former another was going to be her 131 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: her life's work. And even though Many did not oppose 132 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: Harold as a person, she didn't find anything wrong with him. 133 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: She was just worried that, like falling in love again, 134 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: was going to kind of derail the vision that Amy 135 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: had for her life. And uh, in fact, that kind 136 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 1: of came true for a bit. Uh. In nineteen eleven, 137 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: Amy moved with her daughter Roberta, to Chicago, where she 138 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: married Harold on October twenty four of that year, and 139 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: less than a year into their marriage, the McPherson's moved 140 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: to Providence, Rhode Island, and on March twenty third of 141 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: the couple welcomed their son, Ralph Potter McPherson. He eventually 142 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: his middle name changed from Potter, which had been I 143 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: believe the doctor who delivered him, to Kennedy, which had 144 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: been her maiden name, and away from Potter. Amy had 145 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: been involved with their church in Chicago, but her religious 146 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: fervor really intensified after Ralph was born. She made a 147 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: go of a life as a housewife and providence for 148 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: several years, but to be really blunt, she was unhappy. 149 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: Harold had hoped that she would find fulfillment in motherhood 150 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: and in life as his wife, but it just didn't 151 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:38,079 Speaker 1: work out that way. And at one point, one thing 152 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 1: that comes up repeatedly throughout any biography of hers is 153 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: that she sort of had like a long series of 154 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: just odd health struggles. Uh. And at one point during 155 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:52,079 Speaker 1: this time, Amy became very very ill. She required to 156 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: his direct me, she had to have surgery for an appendicitis. 157 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: Her condition was very grave. They had called her mother 158 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: to the hospital because they thought she was going to die, 159 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:03,959 Speaker 1: so Harold had made sure the family knew was going on. 160 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: And during this time, when she was you know, lingering 161 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: near death, Amy describes being called to by a voice, 162 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: which she believed to be God, saying now will you go, 163 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,559 Speaker 1: and she felt that she would answer with yes, she 164 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: would indeed go. She knew it would either be to 165 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: the afterlife or to ministry, and at that point she 166 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: just gave herself over to whatever was going to happen. Uh. 167 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: And she immediately, she said, felt the pain leave her body. 168 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 1: And after that, over the course of the next several weeks, 169 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: she made a full and rather wrapping into some descriptions, 170 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: almost miraculous recovery. Her health turn around convinced Amy that 171 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: the only path for her was full time ministry. She 172 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: packed up the kids and left Harold while he was 173 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: out one night in June of nine. First, she went 174 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: to her parents farm in Canada, where she dropped off 175 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: the children, and then she sent Harold a telegram that read, 176 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: I have tried to walk your way and have field. 177 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: Won't you come now and malt walk my way? I'm 178 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: sure we will be happy. Amy had basically chosen the 179 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: ministry over Harold, and in turn, Harold, when he received 180 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 1: this note, decided he would choose Amy over life. In 181 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 1: Rhode Island, he followed her and he joined her in 182 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 1: her ministry. Um traveling from tent revival to tent revival, 183 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 1: and he would travel ahead of her to the new 184 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: sites and make sure that they had all the required 185 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:29,559 Speaker 1: permits to have these revivals, and that you know, tents 186 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: were set up and all the needs are arranged, so 187 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,080 Speaker 1: that her ministry could just run smoothly and she could 188 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,080 Speaker 1: focus on the religion and her message and not have 189 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: to worry about all the sundry, mundane sort of nuts 190 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,680 Speaker 1: and bolts of setting up these events. After the first 191 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,680 Speaker 1: two years of traveling revival ministry, Amy also started up 192 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: a magazine called The Bridal Call to spread her messages 193 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,839 Speaker 1: and her teachings through the written word. So much of 194 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: the modern day personality might try to expand their reach 195 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: using social media to engage with an aunts. Amy's magazine 196 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: drew her new followers. Yeah, it was very popular. Uh. 197 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: And while she felt that she was following her calling 198 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: and doing all of this, Harold really always felt like 199 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: he was just following Amy. He continued to hope that 200 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: she would somehow find happiness in their family and fulfillment 201 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: in their marriage, but his hopes never manifested. Uh, you know, 202 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: he sort of recognized that he was just kind of 203 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: a a secondary part of her life, and Amy remained 204 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: devoted to her ministry and to some degree to her 205 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 1: deceased first husband, who had really sparked this passion for 206 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: evangelical preaching in her, and those elements combined with this 207 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: life on the road which was really rudimentary. Read about 208 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: them kind of washing their clothes and streams and sleeping 209 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: outside at night and having to deal with you know, 210 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: bugs out in camping situations, and just you know, it 211 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: was not a life of luxury by any means, and 212 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: it really started to take a toll on their marriage. 213 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:02,440 Speaker 1: So Harold event returned to Providence and they were divorced 214 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:07,319 Speaker 1: late in the summer of From nineteen nineteen on, Amy's 215 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: ministry really took off, and her approach had always been 216 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: really entered denominational, but she wound up being credentialed by 217 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: a number of churches as though she was actually affiliated 218 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: with their official ministries, even though she had never sought 219 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 1: out those credentials. She was very well liked and gained 220 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: a devoted following, so a lot of churches just wanted 221 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: to have her associated with them in some way, And 222 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,439 Speaker 1: in addition to being welcoming to all people, her revivals 223 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 1: and sermons were different from a lot of what had 224 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: come before, and that they were very positive in tone. 225 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: She focused on the loving, accepting image of Jesus rather 226 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: than preaching as many ministers did at the time, and 227 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: had for many years of sort of the more vengeful 228 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 1: fire and brimstone vision of God. And faith healing was 229 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 1: also an important part of her ministry, and her sort 230 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: of uplifting spirituality and her passionate but upbeat and cheerful 231 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 1: approached the whole thing was incredibly appealing in post World 232 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: War One America. It was different and it was fresh, 233 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: and people were really drawn to it. On top of 234 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:12,080 Speaker 1: her traveling ministry and her magazine, Amy also started publishing 235 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: books in the late nineteen teens. She was a prolific 236 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: writer and produced numerous volumes about herself and her teachings 237 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: over the years, including This Is That and Divine Healing Sermons. 238 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: In one Amy decided that it was really time to 239 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: find a permanent home for her ministry, and she bought 240 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 1: land near the Echo Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, 241 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 1: to begin fulfilling a mission that she believed God had 242 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: given her, which was building the Angels Temple there, and 243 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: this was a time when Los Angeles was growing at 244 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 1: a really incredible rate. So Amy was sort of smart 245 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: slash fortunate, uh one or the other or both to 246 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,680 Speaker 1: secure the land for the temple. When she did, she 247 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: kind of got in just as the real estate market 248 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: was really about to explode. To raise funds for the construction, 249 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: she spent the next two years a rigorous tour, first 250 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: driving back and forth throughout the United States, traveling as 251 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: was usual with her mother and children in the car. 252 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,080 Speaker 1: Then she expanded her ministry and the financing of the 253 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: temple with a tour of Australia. And it was while 254 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: she was touring the US in two so during this 255 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: sort of fundraising tour that Amy, while she was giving 256 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:27,400 Speaker 1: a sermon in Oakland, California, was inspired to envision what 257 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: would eventually become the Four Square Church which she founded. 258 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 1: And this was based on the four identities of Jesus 259 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: that she was preaching about as a savior, as a healer, 260 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: as a baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and as the 261 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: coming King. Finally, on New Year's Day of nineteen three, 262 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: the Angelus Temple was dedicated. It could seat five thousand 263 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: three hundred people, and the Four Square Church was founded there, 264 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: although it took several years for that to be formally incorporated, 265 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: and later in ninety three she also founded the Lighthouse 266 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: for International Four Square Evangelism Bible College so that she 267 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: could educate others to be evangelists. In ninety four, she 268 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: gave a sermon on the radio for the first time 269 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: at Los Angeles station kf s G. Later she'd become 270 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 1: the first woman to be issued a license to operate 271 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: a radio station. And yeah, she was really reaching out 272 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 1: into new markets. She's often talked about is something of 273 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: a contradiction because in many ways she was preaching really like, 274 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,920 Speaker 1: you know, old school values, but with a very sort 275 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 1: of modern approach to how she was spreading this word. 276 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 1: And so like the magazines and the books and the 277 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: radio appearances, it was all sort of some people found 278 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: it hard to reconcile her traditionalist values and her modern 279 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: approach to spreading them. Um. But basically, her popularity was soaring, 280 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: and just as it reached a fever pitch, she was 281 00:15:57,680 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: one of the most famous people in the United States, 282 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 1: and indeed she had a pretty big global following. She 283 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 1: vanished and before we talk about what happened and sort 284 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: of how that all played out. Did you like to 285 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: take a word from a sponsor? So back to Amy 286 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: Simple McPherson. By the mid nineteen twenties, she was preaching 287 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: up to twenty sermons a week and her writing was 288 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: regularly published. She was overseeing the training of her ministerial proteges, 289 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: and she was sort of running the business of the church. 290 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: And she was, as we said before the ad break, 291 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: just incredibly popular. On May eighth, Amy, who was working 292 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:35,080 Speaker 1: on a sermon, went to the beach at the urging 293 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: of her mother to take a much needed break from working. 294 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 1: She went with her secretary, Emma Schafer, so that she 295 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: could keep working on her sermon, and reviewer notes, Amy 296 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: decided she needed a break and she went into the 297 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: water for a swim, and she did not return from 298 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: that swim. At the services that were scheduled that evening 299 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: for Amy to preach at, she did not appear, and 300 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: instead her mother, Minnie, gave the sermon in her place, 301 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: and at the end of the service, many quietly announced 302 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: what had already been rumored throughout the city all afternoon, 303 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: and it was now appearing in the local evening papers. Sister, 304 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: as Amy was called in her ministry, had gone to 305 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,360 Speaker 1: the beach at Ocean Park and had vanished while swimming. 306 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: Sister is gone, many announced to the congregation, we know 307 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: she is with Jesus. The next day, a full tilt 308 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: investigation went into gear. There were dozens of reporters and 309 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: hundreds of onlookers that appeared on the beach to see 310 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: what was happening. As the investigation got underway, the Coast 311 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:39,440 Speaker 1: Guard had boats traversing the coastline. They were looking for something, 312 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: anything that might offer a clue as to what had 313 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: happened to this beloved evangelists. Teams of divers scoured the 314 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: waters in search of a body or of clues, and 315 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 1: one diver actually lost his life in the search effort. 316 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:56,640 Speaker 1: There was also another fatality when a young woman who 317 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: had been a member of the Church of the Four 318 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,440 Speaker 1: Square Gospel, who was just grief stricken at the loss 319 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: of their spiritual leader, actually drowned herself. On Memorial Day, 320 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: which was twelve days after the disappearance, the angelist temple 321 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: was packed. More than twenty five thousand people showed up 322 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: at the beach where Amy had vanished to grieve and 323 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,639 Speaker 1: set out remembrances. Police were concerned at what might happen 324 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 1: if her body were to be found that day, so 325 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: they worked on action plans for handling that kind of 326 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: grim discovery that did not happen, but they were definitely 327 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: like ready to kind of address potential crowd control issues. 328 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: And eventually, you know, this was now a couple of 329 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: weeks in church members finally accepted that Amy must have died, 330 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:42,959 Speaker 1: and in an effort to recover the body, they actually 331 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 1: the church actually paid to have the bay dynamited in 332 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: the hopes that the body would surface somehow, but it 333 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: did not. Some members of the church believed that she 334 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,679 Speaker 1: would be resurrected, and so they prayed and waited for 335 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: her to return, and many Her mother arranged a memorials 336 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: of us at the temple, and that was scheduled for 337 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: June twenty and more than seventeen thousand people showed up, 338 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: far too many than they could fit in the building. 339 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,479 Speaker 1: While all of that morning was going on, there had 340 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: been a whole other school of thought about what had 341 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 1: happened to Amy. Rumors began to circulate that Amy had 342 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: probably not died, but had instead purposely removed herself from 343 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 1: the public eye for some possibly nefarious personal reason. There 344 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: were whispers of plastic surgery, talk of affairs, a pregnancy 345 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: that she might intend to abort, and all of these 346 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: rumors made their way around California and eventually the country. 347 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: Really a detective claimed to have spotted her at a 348 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: train station, and more sighting started to crop up after that. 349 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: This will no doubt sound familiar if you've listened to 350 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: our Judge Craater episode or any other missing person's story. 351 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: Almost every day throughout the United States, papers ran stories 352 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 1: of the latest Amy sightings. There were also two rants 353 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: letters that came about. The first one that Minny Kennedy, 354 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: Amy's mother received, made it clear that police should not 355 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: be involved and that she should turn over fifty thousand 356 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 1: dollars if she wanted to see her daughter again. The 357 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: second letter, which came a bit later, said that Amy 358 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: was going to be sold into slavery if a ransom 359 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: of half a million dollars wasn't paid. But they really 360 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 1: thought she was dead at this point and that these 361 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 1: might be hoaxes. Three days after her memorial service, Amy 362 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: simple McPherson emerged from the Mexican desert and Agua Priates 363 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 1: the Sonora, a small Mexican town just south of the 364 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:40,639 Speaker 1: border from Douglas, Arizona. She collapsed after telling a couple 365 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: that she had escaped from kidnappers and had been traveling 366 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:48,159 Speaker 1: on foot for hours. Amy was of course rushed to 367 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: the hospital and after that a phone call was made 368 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: to her mother, and authorities working with her mother were 369 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,360 Speaker 1: able to confirm the evangelists identity based on information Many 370 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,240 Speaker 1: provided about a scar that was on Amy's finger, and 371 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,239 Speaker 1: after Amy was able to provide the name of her 372 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 1: pet pigeon, which many wanted for validation that it was 373 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: it was the correct person. So at this point the 374 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: lost beloved Minister was found. After she was able to recuperate, 375 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,200 Speaker 1: she gave an account of what had happened to her. 376 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,159 Speaker 1: She said she had been lured by a couple to 377 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: their car as she got out of the water from swimming. 378 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: They told her they had a sick baby that they 379 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: wanted her to pray over, and when she leaned into 380 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: the back seat to see the child, which was not there, 381 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,480 Speaker 1: she was she was pushed down into the floorboards and 382 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:37,160 Speaker 1: then driven away, and according to her account, she had 383 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: held been held by a woman named Rose a man 384 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: named Steve and another man, and she said that she 385 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,840 Speaker 1: had been drugged and tortured and kept in a shack, 386 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,680 Speaker 1: and that she had eventually escaped. She wriggled out of 387 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,120 Speaker 1: the ropes that she had been tied with and ran 388 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: through the desert and estimated twenty miles before she reached 389 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,040 Speaker 1: Agua Prietta. Douglas, Arizona, where Amy was hospitalized, became a 390 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:05,080 Speaker 1: focus of national attention. Reporters and followers poured into the town. 391 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: The telegraph lines were overloaded with well wishes, and her 392 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: story was headline news. But for some people that tide 393 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: actually turned uh. Similar to how there were people that 394 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 1: didn't think her disappearance quite added up. There were some 395 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,640 Speaker 1: people that thought her reappearance also had some suspicious elements 396 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:29,159 Speaker 1: to it. The Coaches County sheriff was suspicious of her story. 397 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: He thought that the condition of her clothing was far 398 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:37,119 Speaker 1: too tidy to have been through what she claimed it happened. Additionally, 399 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 1: police from both Douglas and Agua Prieta were unable to 400 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 1: find any traces of the kidnappers or a shack in 401 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: the area that she had described. She even accompanied search 402 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,679 Speaker 1: teams into the desert, but was unable to find the 403 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: shack herself. McPherson had, however, received multiple threats through the 404 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,199 Speaker 1: years as her fame grew, so some people sort of 405 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 1: held that up as you know, evidence that this was 406 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,760 Speaker 1: entirely plausible. There had been people threatening to do things 407 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,120 Speaker 1: to her, to kill her, and even to kidnap her 408 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: for a while. Just a year prior to the disappearance, 409 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,680 Speaker 1: a plot to kidnap Amy had been discovered and foiled 410 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: by the l a p D. Before we talk about 411 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,800 Speaker 1: what happened after she got home, let's have a record 412 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,200 Speaker 1: from a sponsor, and now let's hop back into our 413 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: tale of evangelism. As Amy and her mother headed back 414 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: to Los Angeles from Arizona, the train that they were 415 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: in was basically greeted all along the way by wellwichers, 416 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: So whether they stopped or not, sort of every town 417 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 1: that they went through there were people by the sides 418 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,679 Speaker 1: of the tracks kind of waving, throwing flowers, et cetera. 419 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: But even as they got back to Los Angeles, the 420 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: media circus around her alleged kidnapping was really just beginning. 421 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 1: Not only did papers have new suspicious persons to mention 422 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,359 Speaker 1: on an almost daily basis that they thought could be, 423 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,879 Speaker 1: you know, the possible perpetrators of this kidnapping, but speculation 424 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: about Amy's own possible involvement in some sort of deception 425 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,919 Speaker 1: were also abundant. An engineer at the radio station owned 426 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: by Angelus Temple had disappeared at the same time as Amy, 427 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:13,919 Speaker 1: which led some people to speculate that the two of 428 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,120 Speaker 1: them had been having an affair. The man in question, 429 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:22,880 Speaker 1: Kenneth Ormiston, was married, so this would definitely have been scandalous. Eventually, 430 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,919 Speaker 1: he admitted that he was cheating on his wife, although 431 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: he was adamant that the mistress was not McPherson. Police 432 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 1: dusted a cottage in Carmel where Ormiston and a woman 433 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:37,400 Speaker 1: had been spotted, but none of the prince matched Amy's 434 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:41,639 Speaker 1: and there was even a case assembled UH to press 435 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:46,479 Speaker 1: charges against McPherson for conspiracy and obstruction of justice. So 436 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: there was a trial that was arranged for January seven, 437 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:53,440 Speaker 1: but the charges were dropped before then as the Los 438 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:57,639 Speaker 1: Angeles District Attorney named Asa Keys started to realize that 439 00:24:57,680 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: many of the witness accounts that he had built his 440 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,679 Speaker 1: case upon we're really not credible. And then as another 441 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,119 Speaker 1: side story that sometimes comes up when you're looking at this. 442 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: He had his own sort of legal problems bubbling up, 443 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: but so basically the whole thing fell apart. No arrests 444 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,159 Speaker 1: were ever made in the kidnapping, which remains unsolved, and 445 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,359 Speaker 1: no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Amy McPherson 446 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 1: has ever come to light. She wrote about the event 447 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: in her book In Service of the King, The Story 448 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 1: of My Life, and once the fear of the kidnapping 449 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: and the alleged conspiracy had died down, Amy could still 450 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 1: be found at her ministry. She had in fact been 451 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: there all along, throughout all of these headlines and investigations. Basically, 452 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: she went right back to work as a minister and 453 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,640 Speaker 1: an evangelist and a faith healer when she returned home 454 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: from Arizona. One of the things she became famous for 455 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: is her work feeding the needy. In seven the Angelist 456 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: Temple Commissary opened its doors, and this facility is credited 457 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,680 Speaker 1: with feeding more of than one point five million people 458 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,639 Speaker 1: during the depression, even when it was struggling financially itself. 459 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: Amy's community outreached through the Commissary, was based as her 460 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: ministry on the principle that everyone was up welcome, regardless 461 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,359 Speaker 1: of their position in society, their religion, or their color. 462 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: And she also organized a lot of other um charitable 463 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,879 Speaker 1: work through the Commissary and also just through her ministry. 464 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 1: But despite all of the good work that was going 465 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 1: on in the name of the Angelist Temple, Amy never 466 00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 1: really regained the popularity and the positive press that she 467 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 1: had enjoyed in the early nineteen twenties, and she also 468 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,400 Speaker 1: found that she had some troubles at work that had 469 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: not been there before. At one point, her mother quit 470 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 1: due to arguments over the handling of the Angelist Temple finances. 471 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: The choir also walked out. While many and many of 472 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:55,639 Speaker 1: the choir members returned, there was ongoing tension and strike, 473 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: some of it centering on how Amy's style had shifted 474 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: to more modern and fashitable attire rather than the old 475 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,680 Speaker 1: style of dress that many felt her position really demanded. 476 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: Many who really was indispensable to the Four Square Church 477 00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:13,480 Speaker 1: resigned a second time in nineteen thirty, and just a 478 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,639 Speaker 1: month later, Amy had a nervous breakdown. After the breakdown, 479 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,760 Speaker 1: she took a cruise to tour Asia with her daughter Roberta. 480 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,000 Speaker 1: They stopped in Honolulu and they went to Hong Kong 481 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,360 Speaker 1: to visit Robert's grave before eventually heading to India, where 482 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: McPherson was planning on quote studying the women's movement in 483 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 1: connection with the campaign for independence. In nineteen thirty one, 484 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:39,000 Speaker 1: McPherson married a third time to an actor in one 485 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 1: of the Angeli's Temples plays. His name was David L. Hutton. 486 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: He was nine years younger than she was, and he 487 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,879 Speaker 1: came with all kinds of baggage, including a woman seeking 488 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: legal action against him for breach of promise, claiming that 489 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: he had promised a betrothal to her before marrying mcperson. 490 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,199 Speaker 1: Hearing this news was such a shock to the minister 491 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,639 Speaker 1: that she passed out, hitting head and fracturing her skull. 492 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,840 Speaker 1: And after she recovered from this injury, or was at 493 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: least partially recovered, it was suggested that Amy go on 494 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,400 Speaker 1: a holiday, so she took a recuperative cruise to Europe, 495 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: accompanied only by a nurse. While she was traveling, Hutting, 496 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: much to the chagrin of the church administration, began using 497 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,719 Speaker 1: his status as Amy's husband to promote himself in theatrical 498 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: endeavor endeavors outside the church. He also had a reputation 499 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: as a womanizer, and the whole union was viewed with 500 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: just disease by the church, in part because it was 501 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:38,160 Speaker 1: frowned upon for a divorced person to remarry so long 502 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: as their former spouse was alive. Harold McPherson was still alive, 503 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 1: although he had remarried. In all likelihood, if Hutton had 504 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: been better liked as probably would not have been that 505 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: big of an issue. Yeah, people just kind of saw 506 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: him as a little bit of a con man. He 507 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: was a Vaudilian, and you know, I think there was 508 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 1: a general trust of his sort of theatrical background and 509 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: that he was just playing her. Uh. And On July 510 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 1: eighteenth of nineteen thirty three, the Chicago Tribune ran a 511 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: story entitled quote Hutton seues to divorce Amy for baby hoax. 512 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: Hutton had filed for divorce while McPherson was still out 513 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: of the country, claiming that he had been the victim 514 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: of ongoing mental cruelty in the marriage. He said that 515 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: Amy had told friends before she left for Europe that 516 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: she was planning to divorce him when she returned, and 517 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 1: that she tortured him by pretending to have given birth 518 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: to their child while in Paris, when in fact she 519 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: had undergone an abdominal surgery and if you remember earlier 520 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 1: in this episode, we talked about the fact that she 521 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: had a hys directomy years before this, So it's all 522 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: kind of it takes on a very sort of soap 523 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 1: opera e crazy, he said, she said, drama turn. At 524 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:54,040 Speaker 1: this point, Hutton was also plotting to sell emotion picture 525 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: story that revolved around a female evangelists, but once the 526 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: marriage was behind her, uh MC person seemed to dismiss 527 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,479 Speaker 1: this as a huge mistake. Yeah, I think she started 528 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: to see him the same way everyone else did, as 529 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:08,719 Speaker 1: someone who was just trying to take advantage of her 530 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: name and make a few bucks off of it. Uh. 531 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,560 Speaker 1: And while Amy's work carried on, uh you know, she 532 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: continued to minister, media interest in her ministry really had 533 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: been eclipsed by interest in the more sensational and sometimes 534 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: CD and UM theoretical aspects of her life, like the 535 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,680 Speaker 1: ones that people were just sort of guessing it. Amy 536 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 1: died in Oakland, California, in ninety four at the age 537 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:41,840 Speaker 1: of fifty four, a kidney ailment that had some complications 538 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: combined with the ingestion of seekingal which was sleeping pills, 539 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,600 Speaker 1: and she wound up dying due to an accidental overdose. 540 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 1: With mc pherson's death, the ministry passed to her son, Rolf, 541 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: who served as president of the Four Square Church until 542 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 1: nine at which point he retired, and the Four Square 543 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 1: Church remains today. It has more than nine million members. 544 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: It's still very popular, and it was all started by 545 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: this one woman who had a vision and felt she 546 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 1: had a calling. And it's kind of fascinating to me 547 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: to see how this this sort of grew and kind 548 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 1: of juxtaposed against sort of modern evangelism. It's very interesting. 549 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: She was really groundbreaking in a number of ways. Do 550 00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:24,840 Speaker 1: you also have some listener mail? I do, indeed, Uh, 551 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:26,640 Speaker 1: I have one that I will read and one that 552 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,600 Speaker 1: I will merely reference. These are both related to our 553 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,240 Speaker 1: Halloween Candy podcast. Okay, I'll read this and then we'll 554 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 1: talk about it for a minute. So there are letter 555 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,080 Speaker 1: is from Ron and he says you mentioned Sweetest Day 556 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: on your Halloween Candy podcast and mentioned that Detroit may 557 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: still celebrate it. Being born and raised in the suburbs 558 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: of Detroit and still living there, I can say with 559 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:51,480 Speaker 1: one certainty that yes, we still do celebrate it. However, 560 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 1: it's not as candy centric as as it may once 561 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:57,560 Speaker 1: have been. It now actcess somewhat of a second Valentine's Day. 562 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,840 Speaker 1: Flower shops run specials, restaurants are full, and it is 563 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 1: also a very popular day to have a fall wedding. 564 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: It wasn't until my mid twenties that I finally realized 565 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: that it wasn't celebrated everywhere when I asked a now 566 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: former co worker of mine from New Jersey what he 567 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: was doing with his wife for Sweetest Day and received 568 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: the most awkward blank stare I have ever seen. We 569 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 1: got so much mail about Sweetest Day, in fact, verifying 570 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: that it is alive and well in many many areas, 571 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:31,800 Speaker 1: primarily sort of that you know, uh, like Michigan down 572 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:36,800 Speaker 1: into Ohio. A lot of people from Cincinnati wrote, Yeah, 573 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:38,840 Speaker 1: it's really cool. I love the idea of having a 574 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 1: second Valentine's Day. I love Valentine's Day, uh, I think 575 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: I said before, like completely aside from all of the 576 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:48,920 Speaker 1: the romantic baggage that sometimes comes with it, My family 577 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: always celebrated it kind of as a family holiday, like 578 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 1: it was a date of like probably more like what 579 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:56,520 Speaker 1: Sweetest Day was usually pitched as like, did you know 580 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,520 Speaker 1: give little gifts to friends and family members and just 581 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: kind of a appreciate the people in your life. So 582 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:03,520 Speaker 1: I love the idea of two of those days a year. 583 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:07,400 Speaker 1: That sounds fun to me. Plus sugar. Uh. And on 584 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: the point of sugar, I will um as I said, 585 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,320 Speaker 1: not read, but sort of relay information from an email 586 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: we got from our listener, Michael, and he is responding 587 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: to my sort of questions slash interests, slash theory that 588 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 1: working in the candy industry with all of these sort 589 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: of molten sugar mixtures must have been incredibly dangerous. Michael 590 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:31,680 Speaker 1: did work in the sugar in the candy industry for 591 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: a while, uh, and he verifies and in fact that 592 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,480 Speaker 1: it was very dangerous, and that candy burns happen all 593 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,760 Speaker 1: the time and they can be horrifying. He gave us 594 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:44,480 Speaker 1: some very specific examples, which I will not read because 595 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 1: they're they're intense. I will tell you, Michael, that as 596 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,080 Speaker 1: I was reading this after your email arrived, I was 597 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: at home reading. I was sitting in the dining room 598 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 1: reading my email, and my husband saw me kind of 599 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 1: squirming and clutching my stomach and making horrible faces, and 600 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:00,200 Speaker 1: he thought I had been stricken with an ill us 601 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,320 Speaker 1: and might be sick, but no, it was just the 602 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,840 Speaker 1: horrible physical reaction to the description of some of these burns. 603 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:08,080 Speaker 1: So thank you for verifying that it is in fact 604 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 1: dangerous and he Michael says that even now some of 605 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 1: the smaller companies still don't have that full automation, so 606 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 1: there is still dangerous work going on in the in 607 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 1: making candy. If you would like to write us and 608 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 1: tell us about injuries or burns, you don't have to 609 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: do that. You can share happier and prettier thoughts, but 610 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:28,000 Speaker 1: we don't judge or request that you send one or 611 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,280 Speaker 1: the other. You can do that email us at History 612 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: Podcast at house to Works dot com. You can connect 613 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:36,719 Speaker 1: to us at Facebook dot com, slash missed in history. 614 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,560 Speaker 1: We are on Twitter at Misston History. We're at Miston 615 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: History dot tumbler dot com. 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