God willin' and the creek don't rise, my story about itinerant Methodist "circuit rider" preacher Elijah Pilcher will be in the December Ann Arbor Observer. That's worth a subscription right there. :D
He was a driven man who did not have too high of an opinion of the pioneers he preached to, nor of the rude log-cabin, bed-buggy accomodations they kindly offered him, not having anything better, on his route.
I seem to gravitate over and over to these stories of vinegary, difficult, grouchy, obstreperous people. Brain echo: 'Some say that every artwork is a self-portrait.'
Hmmmmm.....bah, "some" don't know what they're talkin' about. Grrr.
Elijah Pilcher is one of my favorite figures from this time. One can imagine that this prickly and rigid greybeard's demeanor and message might not go down too well with my fellow United Methodists of today.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to go back 140 years and hear him preach in his prime.