Edgar DeWitt Jones
Edgar DeWitt Jones caught my attention from the opening paragraph of his book, The Royalty of the Pulpit.
“I shall long remember the summer of 1948 at Pentwater Michigan, where I summered with my family. To be sure, one cannot easily forget the wonder of “the million-dollar sunsets” that we were privileged to see from our cottage daily, nor the whispering of the wind in the pine trees that nightly soothed us to sleep; but the circumstance that made this particular summer so unforgettable was the fact that I took sixty-seven volumes of the Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching with me and read them, every one, in preparation for this book.”
I’ve been to Pentwater. It’s a lovely little West Coast of Michigan town. Mr. Jones and his family summered in beautiful Pentwater Michigan on Snug Harbor almost sixty years ago. They walked the dog in the evening. They watched sunsets over Lake Michigan. They lay still at night and listened to the wind in the pines. In that context Mr. Jones read over sixty-books on preaching. Each book contained a set of annual lectures on preaching given at Yale. Then he wrote The Royalty of the Pulpit.
What is your idea of the ideal way to spend a summer or a part of a summer? I have an active imagination so I can think of almost unlimited ways. I could hike Pictured Rocks or Isle Royal with my sons and take in wide views of Lake Superior. I could tour Scotland and relive the stories of the brave Covenanters. I could take my daughters to Prince Edward Island. I could bike around Mackinac Island in the company of my wife. These, of course, assume that I have unlimited time and financial resources. When I think of good ways to spend a summer it is hard for me to imagine a way to improve on the way Mr. Jones spent the summer of 1948.
Now you know a little something more about me.
Down the Road from there just a few miles to Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Dad had his summer retirement cottage built on Upper Silver Lake near Grace bible Camp. We would take our children to play for a week or tow on the Dunes. S.S. Young Marrieds retreats. family reunions etc. We attended First Baptist of Hart. Became friends of Lyle and Pat Gale. They were just here a couple months ago for a visit. Many fond memories. We almost bought a B & B in Pentwater until we realized how much work they are.
Ralph, I have a friend who has a cottage in Silver Lake. Pretty place. Have you seen the “Great Lakes Cottage” book? It’s beautiful.