11 January 1944 – “From Appomatox to Chester” was the title of an intensely interesting autobiographical sketch delivered today In the Chester Club as a farewell to his fellow Rotarians by Dr. James H. Franklin, president emeritus of Crozer Seminary, who leaves shortly for Richmond, Va., after nine and a half years in Upland and Chester.
“I began life in a perfectly orthodox way, and as I traveled, my conception of the Deity changed,” declared Dr. Franklin. “A tour through Central Africa, among the unclothed children of the jungle, taught me that the one whom we call God had played no favorites.”
“Born in Appomattox County, Va., the son of a Confederate soldier, Dr. Franklin reminisced over incidents in his early. life, recalling the nickel his grandmother gave him, and how he used it to buy the first banana ever brought into the Virginia county.
“From his “perfectly orthodox” beginnings in Virginia, the young Franklin went on to Theological Seminary, in Louisville, Ky. His first church was in Leadville, Col., a rough and ready mining town. And as Dr.. Franklin recalled those early experiences, he told of the deepand significant; changes that were taking place in his conception of the Deity.
“From the frontier town of Leadville, Dr. Franklin moved on into foreign mission work, which took him into every corner of the world, finally to bring him to Crozer Seminary more than nine years ago.
“Expressing a sense of sadness at leaving, Dr. Franklin stated that his membership in Rotary had given him his principal contact with local business and industry, “I leave Chester with a better faith than I brought to Chester,” said Dr. Franklin, as he concluded his farewell address with the thought that there is “more light to break tomorrow.”
“Rev. Rittenhouse Neisser, of Crozer Seminary, a past president of Rotary, introduced Dr. Franklin. Roger M. Wood, president of Rotary, was chairman of the luncheon meeting.”
Source
“Dr. Franklin at Rotary Club,” Chester Times (Chester, Pennsylvania), 11 January 1944, pg. 4. Photo of Dr. Franklin was included with the story.