Simpson College - Zenith Yearbook (Indianola, IA)

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I Trri i it (. it titi nuiiimuiinmiu i 7 (La the Jftannarg af Jitsrplt Brttsmt Harris Jftrieuir af Cituntliatt, Brafltar af all jifctt, Vrimttt af Chu (Llta Class af Nineteen aufr fclnnt Befrirafa this Baak.

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GKO. Made and arranged by A. Miller Printing Co. Dcs Moines, Iowa

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In Tribute. By Rev. W. H. Shipman. TUDENTS who attended Simpson from the fall of 1 895 to that of 1 899, during the pastorate and presidency of Joseph Benson Harris, will never forget his slender form, and his attenuated features, because they can never forget the kindness that always beamed from his blue eyes and illuminated his countenance; nor can they forget the good will that gave a warm vigor to his hearty handshake. Kindness and intelligence were in him the most conspicuous qualities of a beautiful character which strongly influenced, during the years of his active work, a very broad range of conditions and persons. Born July 1 4, 1 859, in Belmont County, Ohio, he died April 29, 1 905, in Boone, Iowa, just when the full maturity of his powers gave promise of the most skillful and fruitful work. The fact that when not over twenty-one years old he had attained the position of assistant train despatcher at Creston, showed that he had an alert and accurate mind. His resignation of a good salary and certain promotion for the probable penury of the ministry, showed that he was dominated by high ideals and a conscience as strong as it was sensitive. Brought by the force of circumstances rather abruptly into the pastorate after only three years of special study at Simpson, nevertheless by the gentle force of a refined tact, a well bal- anced judgment, and clear thinking, he reached the most commanding position in the pastorate in the Des Moines Conference. His preaching was of the didactic type rather than the oratorical. Ebul- litions of rhetoric, or declamatory flights of eloquence had little place in his pulpit efforts. Calm and thoughtful expositions of scripture; solemn, pathetic, pointed and vivacious discussions of principles; flowing through all, the under- current of a mind singularly pure and deeply tinged with the most genuine sympathy for the people,—these constituted a type of preaching always heard with pleased attention, and with a profit that still lingers warmly in many memories. His pastoral work among his people reinforced his pulpit efforts with a power that more than doubled his influence for good. His ability to meet any type of character without wearing the artificial mask of a simulated smile or mechanically effusive handshake, but on the basis of a genuine good will that