Old Order Hymn Composer Has Valley Roots

This rare photo of Harry Showalter, with oldest daughter Esther (on his right) and surviving sister Mary Beery, was taken at a reunion six weeks before his 100th birthday. (photocopy courtesy of granddaughter Elizabeth Showalter)

Not to the strong is the battle,

Nor to the swift is the race,

But to the true and the faithful

Vict'ry is promised through grace.

- Harry Showalter, 1957*

Harry Showalter, a little known Old Order Mennonite (a member of the Ohio Wisler group), composed the words and melodies of 18 gospel songs and hymns, and wrote tunes for four more. He lived to be over 102, and wrote most of his published songs and hymns when he was in his 80's and 90's.

Born on August 13, 1889, Harry was the fifth child of Hettie (Rohrer) and Daniel Pennybaker Showalter who lived near Singers Glen, just north of Harrisonburg. His parents named him Henry R. (for Rohrer), after Hettie's oldest brother, but growing up with his four older siblings (and later four younger ones), he acquired the nickname "Hen," which he very much disliked. So over time he became known by his family and others as "Harry," the name he went by for the rest of his life.

Harry's parents' farm along Snapp's Creek was not far from the village of Singers Glen, sometimes referred to as the birthplace of gospel music in the American South. It was here that Joseph Funk had set up a printing press over fifty years earlier and published, among other works, Mennonite Hymns and the Harmonia Sacra. Joseph Funk's mother was the daughter of Jacob Showalter, Hettie's ancestor who emigrated to the new world in 1750, so the two families were related.

Music was always an important part of Harry's life. According to his sister Mabel, "When Harry was just a boy, he sat on the back step with a songbook while other children played." And at the early age of ten, soon after his family moved to a farm near Rushville, he attended his first singing school at the Bank Mennonite Church, taught by Jake Showalter, which added to his interest in hymns and hymn singing.

Harry and his siblings were known to have strong voices that blended well. He enjoyed singing tenor with his siblings at home, harmonizing with his brother John, who sang bass, and his sisters Ida and Annie, who sang alto and soprano.

In December of 1910, at age 21, Harry embarked on a year-long trip by train that took him all the way to California, visiting relatives and working part-time jobs along the way. Upon his return he became a baptized member of the Pleasant View Old Order Mennonite Church near Dayton, but in the summer of 1913 he moved to Columbiana, Ohio, and became an active part of the Wisler Old Order group, with whom he lived and served the rest of his life as a song leader and trustee.

One of his primary reasons for his move to Ohio was his romantic interest in Sadie Weaver, and the couple were happily married at her home in November 24, 1914. It was was during the year prior to his marriage that he composed his first song that was later published, one that seems fitting in its references to both the blessings and griefs that were to become a part of his remarkable life:

Often when we sit and ponder o'er the cares that life may bring,
We can only look to Jesus, our Redeemer and our King;
Tho sore trials may surround us, or our way may be more smooth,
'Tis by these blessings or afflictions that He doth our motives prove.

While mistakes are ever near us, and our motives miss their aim,
We should not become discouraged, but believe that Christ, the same;
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, will forgive us if we come
With hearts possessing godly sorrow and an honest, pleading tongue.

Disappointments may surround us, chastenings may come severe,
But we have the blessed promise that a comforter is near;
Whom the Lord loves He will chasten, and He scourgeth every son
Whom He receiveth into glory, ever say, "His will be done."

In our upward, pilgrim journey, may we to each other show
Love unchangeable, unfading, that in peace we onward go;
Till the summons at death's portals shall our weary eyelids close,
Then may we meet those gone, immortal, who are free from cares and woes.

Harry and Sadie were blessed with their first child, Esther Virginia, on December 18, 1915. Tragically, their joy turned to grief as Sadie developed a high fever, became extremely ill and died the day after Christmas, leaving Harry to care for little Esther with the help of friends, relatives, and Sadie's sister Melissa.

On August 19, 1920, Harry married Melissa, and the couple had five children together, three girls and two boys. Their first child, a daughter, lived only two days, and the fourth, a son, died of pneumonia at five months of age. Then his beloved Melissa died of heart failure on June 27, 1963, leaving him a widower for the second time at age 73.

Esther, his firstborn daughter, looked after her father as long as she was able, but died December 16, 1990, nearly two years before Harry's death on August 10, 1992. Harry was buried on what would have been his 103rd birthday, three days later.

Harry had composed only one other published hymn, Not To The Swift Is The Battle, by 1957, and it was not until he was a widower in his 80's and 90's that he went on to write texts and tunes for a total of 16 others. He also composed tunes for four other texts, two written by his granddaughter Elizabeth. John Overholt, publisher of the Christian Hymnary, did most of the four-part harmonizations for his songs.

All of these 22 hymns and gospel songs were published by his son Elmer Showalter in 1988 as Hymns of Tribute. Six of the hymns can also be found in Overholt's Christian Hymnary, and eight in the 1987 Zion's Praises. 

Here is the last verse of Harry's final composition, Love of Jesus, written in 1986, when Harry was in his late 90's:

Why not work for Jesus while it's called today,
For the night will come when when work is done away;
You'll receive a bright reward, To be present with the Lord,
And the saints that reign throughout eternity.

His granddaughter Elizabeth wrote the following tribute:

To write a hymn is not so hard

When inspirations come.

Take up your pen and write them down

To fit the tune you hum.

This talent God has given you

Will be remembered long;

For near and far hearts will be blest

Who sing your sacred songs.

Sources

"The Swift Years Come and Go--Life of Harry Showalter" by Naomi Rosenberry and Alta  Showalter, self published 1989.

"Hymns of Tribute II" published by Elmer Showalter in 1988 (second printing 1991).

Phone conversations with granddaughter Elizabeth Showalter of Columbiana, Ohio and with niece Lois Showalter of Dayton, Virginia.

* These words, the first lines of verse one of Showalter's Not to the strong is the battle, appear to have been borrowed from the refrain of  Fannie Crosby's Conquering now and still to conquer. Crosby lived from 1820-1915.

Brad Wins A Song Writing Contest--Again

Over the past number of years our Pittsburgh-based singer-song writer son has submitted an entry in the annual Just This Guy Song Writing Contest, where he has frequently been one of the winners. This time the theme was, aptly, "song contests," and each entry was to include the following:

1. The motivation for participating or not participating in a song contest.
2. A difficulty of song contests.
3. A positive aspect of the song contest competition.
4. The words SONG, LOCAL, CONTEST, REQUIREMENTS, PRIZE and CHALLENGE.

And as always, Bonus Points for using the word MONKEY.

Here's the result, for which he earned the $400 first prize this year:

a SONG CONTEST is an oxymoron,
find some chords you can hang your heart on,
you’ll never lose anytime you sing the truth
I sent my song and my $30
to be turned down by a team of scholars,
or their intern, Bob, whoever they gave that job to?..

now I’ve never been a fan of keeping score,
if you tell me that it’s free, I’ll have some more,
when somebody wants to hear the song I sing,
that’s all the PRIZE that I hope for,
but there are moments when we all want to be loved,
want someone to tell us that we’re good enough,
in those moments I have sent my best songs off,
like throwing darts into the dark…
play it like a scratch card,
maybe you could win a new guitar?…

now I’m a sport and I like a CHALLENGE,
but I’m not sure how to strike a balance
between making art, and all that other “tryin’ to make it” part,
I’ve never been accused of selling out,
if all the MONKEYs say it’s cool, I have my doubts,
I want a song to wake me up, and call my bluff,
and break my heart, and make me shout,
but there are moments when we all say, “what the hay?”

the REQUIREMENTS of life seem much too great,
that’s when we need a song to tell us it’s okay,
no matter what the judges say…
on the road for 3 days,
to play 2 songs on the main stage?..
and I’ve got friends who swear they’ll never enter one again,
and other friends who’ve done them all, and often win…
a song contest is a strange procession,
step right up, make your plain confession,
you can’t lose anytime you sing the truth…

You can hear it here http://www.bradyoder.com/songs/song-contest/. And here's another of Brad's recent songs I really like: 

https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2018/07/jose-and-maria-at-southern-border.html

Jail Uses Restraint Chair For Suicidal Inmates

Charged with being drunk in public, a young woman was recently kept in a restraint chair for hours in the holding unit of our local jail. This was because she was in a highly confused and suicidal state after having been sexually assaulted while allegedly under the influence of a date rape drug.

In spite of her repeated pleas to be able to go to the bathroom and to have the straps on her arms and legs adjusted due to her severe discomfort, the officers present kept her in the chair, following jail protocol.

This led me to submit another FOIA request to Sheriff Hutcheson regarding the frequency of the use of the restraint chair. As always, the sheriff's response, via one of his officers, was professional and timely, a summary of which follows:

Use of Restraint Chair, January 1 to June 30, 2020

The restraint chair was used a total of 57 times. Thirty-one of these were for individuals who were highly combative (often under the influence of a mind-altering drug) and who were danger to others. The other twenty-six times were for "medical reasons," cases where people were deemed be in danger to themselves, as in the incident above.

The total number of hours the restraint chair was used during this six-month period was 231.5 hours, with 4.06 hours being the average length of use. The longest time was 8 hours and the shortest a mere ten minutes.

I have great respect for the sheriff, and have had numerous conversations with him about these and other concerns. My appeal has been that the jail, through its contract with our local Community Services Board, provide a trained person to be a calming and therapeutic presence fo an inmate who is in a delusional or highly depressed state. I've also suggested that a group of local mental health counselors be on call on a volunteer basis for such situations.

In a community of caring people and one that is rich in available resources, we should be able to come up with humane ways of responding to people in severe emotional distress.

An Eco-Friendly Way To Help Celebrate Gemeinschaft Home's 35th Anniversary

Can you save some once-used grocery bags for
our take-out celebration August 28?

Here's the latest on Gemeinschaft Home's 35th Anniversary Dinner set for August 28!

For our fundraiser and celebration we are inviting all of our supporters and friends to a "Picnic With Gemeinschaft" meal that can be picked up in a-drive through between 4:30 and 6 pm Friday or Saturday evening at the Park View Mennonite Church just north of EMU.

Meals must be reserved online or by calling Gemeinschaft Home at 434-1690 by August 20. In honor of our 35th year of operation we are suggesting a minimum donation of $35 (we hope everyone will give more!) per meal.  The proceeds will go toward our 2020 Vision Campaign Goal of $220,000.

The meal will be catered by Jan Henley of Lucien's Catering (formerly with A Bowl of Good). The choices are beef or chicken barbecue, with bun, coleslaw, baked beans, and potato salad, with a lemon bar for dessert, or a vegetarian or vegan meal featuring a kale salad and sourdough bread instead of the beef or chicken option.

You can help, not only by dropping off some clean carry-out bags several days before the event but by inviting your friends and by sharing information about the celebration on social media and in whatever ways you can.

The Gemeinschaft address is P. O. Box 288, Harrisonburg, VA 22803.

The Gospel According to Ruth

Ruth, a very ordinary peasant, is at the heart of God's story.

Not to the strong is the battle,
Nor to the swift is the race,
But to the true and the faithful,
Victory is promised through grace.

- by Harry Showalter, an Old Order Mennonite hymn writer 

That an obscure peasant, a woman, and a non-Jewish foreigner at that, should be the main character in a book of the Hebrew Bible named after her is beyond extraordinary. 

Think about it. Ruth never led an army, never held any political office, never preached any great sermons or ever wrote a book. Far from accomplishing anything momentous or miraculous, she was in fact among the least powerful people in her community, a widow living on the edge of poverty, a foreign worker doing the most menial and demeaning of tasks, gleaning leftover heads of barley in others' fields.

But hers is a story of how God redeems and saves the the marginalized and impoverished. And this is not through any miracle or magic--no daily manna in the wilderness or ravens bringing needed provisions--but through the kindness and hospitality of God's people. Her story is a preview of coming attractions, when communities of faith generously sell whatever needed in order to make provision for others, so there is "no needy person among them."

This is truly a gospel, a story of "good news" for our time. One that assures us we can all find a place at the welcome table, and that there is enough bread and blessing for everyone in a community that shares generously.

Join Me For A "100-Mile Prayer Walk" For MCC

Since I've been advised against taking part in public events, I've come up with an
alternative to this year's SOS "Hundreds for Hundreds" Walk. 

As a part of the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale's efforts to raise desperately needed money for Mennonite Central Committee during a worldwide pandemic, our SOS (Sharing Our Surplus) Committee is sponsoring a special "Hundreds for Hundreds" Walk August 23. Through this and other means we are hoping to enlist large numbers of people to help make this the greatest fundraising year ever--in honor of MCC's 100th anniversary and in light of unprecedented needs around the world.

My own modest plan for helping this cause is to prayerfully walk a total of 100 miles between now and the date of the Sale, October 3-4, and to enlist as many people of all ages as possible to make generous contributions during this time. But we hope all who can will solicit generous sponsors and donors for the actual two-mile Refugee Walk planned in Harrisonburg August 23, starting and ending at Community Mennonite Church. Representatives from MCC will be present in the parking lot area with information on refugee and other needs and to collect contributions by cash, check or credit card. Walkers will be encouraged to wear masks and to maintain appropriate distance during the walk.

Interested individuals, families and youth groups can also plan their own walks or other fundraising activities,  and make their own generous contributions at any time. For my part, I am not actively seeking sponsors as such, but I will be urging people to visit the Relief Sale donation page frequently during the next months.

We also urge everyone to "Like" the SOS Refugee Facebook page and encourage all of their friends to share the link on social media. The "Learn More" link will connect them to the donation page.

This is not about seeing how successful we Virginians can be at fundraising. Rather, it is about responding to the crying needs of millions whose very lives are at stake due to food shortages, lack of medical care and from the spread of COVID-19, especially in densely populated refugee camps.

Here are among the things I will be praying for on my daily walks, hoping to encourage others to do the same:

1) For an outpouring of generosity worldwide for millions of our neighbors in need.
2) For the efforts of MCC and other relief organizations attempting to meet some of those needs.
3) For an end to wars, persecutions, famines, floods, locust plagues and other disasters that add to the number of people fleeing for their lives.
4) For the health, safety and resettlement of families in crowded and "temporary" refugee camps, some of whose children have lived there for all of their lives.
5) For God's mercy on all of us who remain well-to-do and who live in comfort and ease while so many are experiencing unimaginable levels of despair.
6. For Mark Keller (434-4535), Jason Ropp and others who are coordinating the Walk.

Here are four possible responses: 
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2020/06/four-responses-to-sos-hundreds-for.html

The President's July 3 Speech At Mt. Rushmore

Did the president make his best speech ever, as some maintain, or did he continue to make sweeping statements that polarize and divide? 

I'm posting the middle segment of Mr. Trump's recent address to encourage readers to judge for themselves--and to faithfully pray for him every day:

THE PRESIDENT: ...Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children.

AUDIENCE:  Booo —

THE PRESIDENT:  Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.  Many of these people have no idea why they are doing this, but some know exactly what they are doing.  They think the American people are weak and soft and submissive.  But no, the American people are strong and proud, and they will not allow our country, and all of its values, history, and culture, to be taken from them.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

THE PRESIDENT:   One of their political weapons is “Cancel Culture” — driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters, and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees.  This is the very definition of totalitarianism, and it is completely alien to our culture and our values, and it has absolutely no place in the United States of America.  (Applause.)  This attack on our liberty, our magnificent liberty, must be stopped, and it will be stopped very quickly.  We will expose this dangerous movement, protect our nation’s children, end this radical assault, and preserve our beloved American way of life.  (Applause.)

In our schools, our newsrooms, even our corporate boardrooms, there is a new far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance.  If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras, and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted, and punished.  It’s not going to happen to us.  (Applause.)

Make no mistake: this left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution.  In so doing, they would destroy the very civilization that rescued billions from poverty, disease, violence, and hunger, and that lifted humanity to new heights of achievement, discovery, and progress.

To make this possible, they are determined to tear down every statue, symbol, and memory of our national heritage.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Not on my watch!  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  True.  That’s very true, actually.  (Laughter.)  That is why I am deploying federal law enforcement to protect our monuments, arrest the rioters, and prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT:  I am pleased to report that yesterday, federal agents arrested the suspected ringleader of the attack on the statue of Andrew Jackson in Washington, D.C. — (applause) — and, in addition, hundreds more have been arrested.  (Applause.)

Under the executive order I signed last week — pertaining to the Veterans’ Memorial Preservation and Recognition Act and other laws — people who damage or deface federal statues or monuments will get a minimum of 10 years in prison.  (Applause.)  And obviously, that includes our beautiful Mount Rushmore.  (Applause.)

Our people have a great memory.  They will never forget the destruction of statues and monuments to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, abolitionists, and many others.

The violent mayhem we have seen in the streets of cities that are run by liberal Democrats, in every case, is the predictable result of years of extreme indoctrination and bias in education, journalism, and other cultural institutions.

Against every law of society and nature, our children are taught in school to hate their own country, and to believe that the men and women who built it were not heroes, but that were villains.  The radical view of American history is a web of lies — all perspective is removed, every virtue is obscured, every motive is twisted, every fact is distorted, and every flaw is magnified until the history is purged and the record is disfigured beyond all recognition...

Click here for the full text of the speech.

Guest Post By Professor Neufeldt-Fast: Political Rally At The Foot Of Holy Mountain 1935

Arnold Neufeldt-Fast is Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Theology at the Seminary at Tyndale University in Toronto. Here, with his permission, is a part of what he posted on Anabaptist Collective--A Mennonerds (Facebook) Group. 

1933 postcard courtesy of Professor Neufeldt-Fast: "What the King (Fredrick the Great) conquered, the Prince (Otto von Bismarck) shaped, and the Field Marshal (Paul von Hindenburg) defended, was rescued and united by the soldier (Adolf Hitler)."

Around the time of the summer solstice well over 10,000 people gathered tightly-packed under a gloriously clear evening sky in the outdoor amphitheater at the national “holy mountain” (“Heiligen Berg”).

On June 22, 1935 a key national leader--Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Minister Dr. Joseph Goebbels--arrived by plane and entered the flag-draped stage together with the state governor. Words of thanks were extended to those who worked hard behind the scenes to make this possible.

The event was covered in detail by national newspapers and the following is a composite of the speech.

The iconic rocky monument was birthed out the spirit of the nation and carved out of stone--a visible expression of national vision and inspiration for future generations.

There is no better place to celebrate the nation’s greatness and to pay tribute than beneath this magnificent, incredible majestic mountain. It embodies the nation’s will, and will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our people and our freedom—the most exceptional nation to exist on earth. In hundreds of years people will still come to come to this rocky site and the monument our people created. They will stand in awe, of how it inspired a new national focus for the challenges of this day.

The ruling party’s purpose from its early years has been to protect the state from within. The security of our own people has always been our first task through this term of office.

Internal law and order is one of the pillars upon which our state rests and will live eternally. We will never allow an existential threat from within to take root and attack our liberty. The other pillar is our armed forces who secure our borders. Internationally we are sometimes accused of worshipping the state; that’s the furthest from the truth. It’s not about the state, but about our people. We must take care of our nation first.

There is new energy stirring and rising from within to make us great again. Maybe our prayers have not been perfect, but our works have displayed divine blessing (applause). God has helped us. That’s why we have the right and privilege to celebrate in this way this evening. That is why can look full of awe and fervor at these flags and salute. While we carry the responsibility for the nation today, we summon the bravery and determination of our national ancestors.

People across the nation are flocking to our movement because in other parts of this great nation there was nothing of our nation left to be found. But a new age is dawning again. We do not need to be ashamed.

Our party is here to stay, because we alone have the intelligence and the strength and the courage and determination to solve the great tasks that are given to us today. In a world full of enemies, isn’t it a miracle that this movement has been so successful? We know that the problems of future will not be solved alone through understanding and intelligence, but primarily through courage and character. One has to try the impossible to achieve greatness.

We live in the most magnificent country in the history of the world, and soon it will greater than ever before. What makes us stronger than other nations is that we are concentrating our national will to greatness in one direction and on one man. Just think, if our party was not at the helm at this hour, there would be not be seven million but ten or twelve million people unemployed!

We stand united--thousands of men and women stand at this iconic rock site—with hearts that swell with pride, in contrast to our pitiful, capitulating opposition who are ashamed.

Other nations once viewed us with contempt as well. Now they view us with respect. When we started, we made the commitment to fight for liberty and national sovereignty. We’ve stayed true to that commitment, and tonight at the celebration we speak up loudly and strongly to recommit ourselves to that struggle and resolve to defend the integrity of our country.

The newspaper reports described the dramatic music deep in the woods, and bright, flaming lights across the rock faces under the starry sky. In this way the celebration came to a close.

Six weeks later Dr. Goebbels held a larger rally in Essen where he took aim at agitators, the press, and social democrats—and clarified the party's positive stance toward the churches. Again a composite summary of that August 4 address:

It is clear that we know who our enemies are and that we will throw them in the dust (to great applause). The agitators are the radical left-wing (he calls them social democrats, even Bolsheviks) and Germany has the Party to thank that they have dealt with them. Especially if by chance a Jew is arrested and held by police, fake foreign press tries to make a public crisis out of it. If you look at a Jew the wrong way in Berlin, you will hear the cries of injustice in the fake press from London to Beijing. The foreign press does not rule our country, but we do (passionate applause). We will exterminate any anti-government sentiment. Yet we don’t want to stoke a culture war. We know however that there are certain groups that seem to want a culture war. We will ensure that trouble makers will receive draconian punishments.

Just Blessed With My 81st Lap Around The Sun

The birthday mug I received in the mail says "I'm not 81, I'm 18 with 63 years of experience."

Oldest son Brad, better at math than I, suggested I give my newly acquired age as "three to the fourth power" 3⁴ = 81 (3 × 3 × 3 × 3). 

I rather like the sound of that, as I really don't feel a day older than 81, even though today I am exactly that, having celebrated a memorable birthday yesterday.

Besides getting scores of blessings and best wishes from Facebook friends, I had a delightful conversation with each of our children and grandchildren, with the ones from Rochester (via video) singing Happy Birthday and lighting a birthday candle for the occasion.

My 90-year old brother called me from Costa Rica, and my only remaining sister did the same from Cumberland, Virginia. Another former neighbor and childhood friend called me from his home in Madison County, as did a fellow member of our local house church who also sang Happy Birthday for me.

Another longtime family friend and neighbor, Luann (Miller) Bender stopped by with a beautiful arrangement of homegrown flowers (above), without even realizing it was my birthday. Perfect timing!

And my precious wife Alma Jean pampered me all day long, which she pretty much does every day anyway, with good food and lots of love and attention.

It all makes getting another year older totally worth it.