The centennial of Mrs. Eddy's birth in 1921

The relatively unnoticed centennial of the passing of Mrs. Eddy on December 3, 2010, brought to mind the perhaps controversial manner in which the centennial of her birth was marked on July 16, 1921. The Christian Science Board of Directors chose to downplay the date, maintaining that Mrs. Eddy would have wanted it that way. Perhaps they were correct in that assessment, but that she was not totally against noting her birthday is seen in her letter on her birthday  in 1882 to Clara Choate: “This is my birthday, a day of such moment to the race and of such a history to one?” (In My True Light and Life: Mary Baker Eddy Collections. Boston: The Writings of Mary Baker Eddy (2002), p. 428.)

Here is the statement from the Board of Directors:

 

However there were others who disagreed, and felt that the centennial of her birth should be marked with a special service in her honor at her birth site in Bow, New Hampshire. Back in 1919 a pyramid had been placed at the site, which by that time was owned by Christian Scientist, James Lord. A majority of the Board did not approve of that pyramid venture, starting with Adam Dickey. From the John Dittemore papers is a copy of the Board’s resolution, followed by John Dittemore’s dissenting comments:

[Board Resolution per John Dittemore papers, ca. 1918]

[John Dittemore’s Dissenting opinion]  

In 1918 a history was prepared on how the Bow site came to be purchased by John Lord for preservation. This history was in the Dittemore papers and was presumably written by him or his ally, Allan A. Beauchamp:

Dittemore, Beauchamp, Mrs. Longyear, Lord, Samuel Greenwood, and some other noted Christian Scientists at that time were devotees of the Anglo-Israel theory that maintained the British and American peoples were the descendants of the lost tribes of Israel and thus had special divine blessing. Connected to that theory was the belief that the “Great Pyramid” in Egypt were so designed as to represent prophecies of the future that could be determined by those specially adept at making such interpretations. Thus the use of a pyramid marker for the Bow site, as we see above, was heavily symbolic and not merely artistic.

The pyramid appears to have been added to the Bow homestead site early in 1919, and here are photographs of some noted individuals at the building of the site:

[Left to right, Allan A. Beauchamp, John V. Dittemore (and James Lord?)]

Here is a postcard of the site before the pyramid was added: 

Here is a photograph of the site after the pyramid had been completed:

On July 16, 1921, a commemorative event took place at the site, and here are photographs of that event:

[John Dittemore and his wife, along with Mrs. Longyear (near the wreath), and others.]

[Sarah Baker, the wife of John Baker, who owned the Bow homestead for many years and who was the son of Mrs. Eddy’s cousin, Aaron Whittemore Baker. (It was to Rufus Baker, the son of John and Sarah, that Mrs. Eddy wrote the letter that included the title of this blog.)]

 [Reporters were there to take note of the event.]

There was even a committee set up to commemorate the centennial, with its own stationery:

Eventually, in 1927, James Lord gifted the homestead land to The Mother Church, as noted in the Christian Science Sentinel:

 

Comments

[Calvin A. Frye]

Very interesting article. As was your previous one on the 3rd.

Would it be possible to use higher resolution photos in the future? It is quite difficult to read some of the letters.

Thanks for all the work you put in to sharing these snippets.

[Craig Beardsley]

Thanks for the post on a subject of interest and intrigue. There's certainly not much that I know about in the public domain on this subject.

Certain items from the estate of Bliss Knapp at Principia pertain to this subject, including an unattributed typewritten manuscript of the history; it alludes to aspects of the back of the one dollar bill as part of the symbolism mentioned in the post. I'd like to see part II of this post which might get a bit controversial for our blogger. I've heard that the CSBD had the pyramid dynamited in 1963; a rousing debate could focus on the merits of the pyramid. Many would hold that the movement needs to avoid the appearance of being, in effect, organized MBE cultists and that such a memorial would be fodder to any faction who would like to make such a case. Others might simply contend that the memorial shows proper respect. Of interest to me are questions such as: 1) If Lord belonged to the coterie that included Dittemore, Longyear, and others of the Anglo-Israel movement, why did he give the property to the church rather than to Longyear--already distanced from the board by her association with JVD; and who in 1920 founded the Zion Research Foundation and Library and who had established the Longyear Foundation in 1923? 2) If the CSBD disapproved of such tributes, why did it endorse similar tributes in 1934 (See the CSM, October 15, 26, and 29 and the CSS 37 (1 December 1934): 271) regarding the erection of bronze tablets in Tilton? The Sentinel article goes on to say "The erection of these tablets is significant because it marks the first action of the CSBD towards identifying sites connected with Mrs. Eddy's experiences...." Maybe Lord stole the Directors' thunder. Or maybe there were other politically expedient matters to consider which were kept from the membership and the public. In any case, interesting stuff.

[Keith]

Hi Calvin, thanks for the suggestion. I have enlarged the copy of the Board statement from 1921 and will try to make sure later posts are a bit more readable.

Craig, I will try to find time to go a bit father on some of the excellent points that you raised.