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Inspirational Stories of Women
Who Made a Difference!
April 2008
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Welcome to History's
Women!
Today we are going to take a look way back in
history to discover the faith of a few noble women.
Enjoy the
issue!
Patti
If you have trouble reading
this issue, you can view it
online.
MEMORABLE QUOTE
Find a need
and fill it.
~
Ruth Stafford Peale
Women of Faith
 Ruth
Stafford Peale
Personified Positive Thinking
By Anne Adams
When her college roommate at
Syracuse University introduced Ruth Stafford to a young
minister, her first impression was that when he took her hand he
held it “a fraction longer than is necessary,” as she described
it later. And then, as she put it, “I thought to myself, ‘Now
this is going to be interesting,’” Yet could she become serious
about him? Impossible! “No way did I want to be a pastor’s
wife.”
Yet once she made up her mind
and became Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale, Ruth joined her husband in
presenting the Christian message in an entirely new way to a
seeking world, and in the process becoming an internationally
beloved figure.
Loretta Ruth Stafford was born
in September, 1906 in Fonda, Iowa, the daughter of a Methodist
minister and this “restrictive” (as she called it) childhood was
enough to make she and four friends in college vow never to
marry ministers.
In 1913 the Staffords moved to
Detroit where she took her first job in 1920 selling ribbon at a
local department store for $11 a week. Still, she was a success
when she received a $2 raise at her request after dealing with a
difficult customer. She graduated from Northwestern High School
in 1922 and attended college for a year before dropping out to
work to assist her brother’s attending Syracuse University in
New York. She later enrolled at the same school. There she met
Norman Vincent Peale, then a local Syracuse pastor, through her
college roommate but it took her two years to decide to marry.
She graduated from Syracuse University in 1928 with a degree in
mathematics, then taught high school math. She and Peale were
married in June, 1930. (Ruth later remembered her new minister
husband’s comment when they entered the limousine after the
wedding: “We had such a big crowd, it’s too bad we couldn’t take
up a collection.”)
Two years later they moved to
New York City where Peale became senior minister of Marble
Collegiate Church, leaving their Methodist denomination to join
the Reformed Church of America.
Though it was a decision that
would form the stage where they would receive international
acclaim, it wasn’t an easy one. In 1932 Peale had to decide to
take the pulpit of Marble Collegiate Church or a more prosperous
church in Los Angeles. Family friend Van Varner later wrote that
Peale was so undecided that Ruth finally took him by his hand
into the Syracuse family living room and locked the door.
“You’re not leaving this room until you’ve come to a decision,”
she said. When Peale protested she urged him to do what they
should have been doing all along and that was really praying
about where God wanted them. For several hours they prayed for
guidance and finally Ruth asked if they had an answer. “I think
God wants us in New York,” Peale said. “I think so, too,” Ruth
said as she unlocked the door. “You see, it’s not so hard when
you stop trying to do it all alone!”
However, it was not all success
when they arrived in New York because attendance was minimal. At
that point Ruth suggested that her husband speak at social
clubs, civic organizations and other venues. As he did so,
church attendance grew.
Their daughter Margaret Ann was
born in 1933, son John Stafford arrived in 1936 and their third
daughter Elizabeth Ruth in 1942.
Several years later Ruth
conceived the idea of publishing Peale’s sermons, and from that
suggestion came a number of inspirational publications. In 1940
there was formed the Sermon Publications Committee to distribute
Dr. Peale’s sermons – an organization that became the Peale
Center for Christian Living. Then in 1945 the Peales developed
“Guideposts” magazine, which tells “true stories of hope and
inspiration” and now is read by eight million readers around the
world.
Though a prominent and popular
pastor in New York, Peale achieved international notice when his
book The Power of Positive Thinking was published in
1952. It hadn’t been easy to find a publisher, so after
numerable rejections; he was ready to give up. Ruth retrieved
the discarded manuscript, and urged him to try again. This time
he was successful and in 1956 it was so popular that the book
remained on the New York Times best sellers list for 186 weeks.
In total it sold more than 20 million copies in 42 languages and
was the first of many similar books to come later.
Varner joined the “Guideposts”
staff in 1954 and first met Ruth at that time and in a later
article in the same magazine, he recalled what happened. He
arrived at their New York apartment and found Peale not
interested in his qualifications in religion but only asked if
he was a happy man. Varner supposed he was and Peale called in
his wife with an opportunity. “Ruth, come meet a happy editor!”
“She came in and we met, but I
can’t recall anything about her because I was so excited about
getting a job. It didn’t dawn on me that the ‘adjoining room’
was an office and that it was hers and she and he were
inseparable.” A year later they met again at a reception and
Ruth welcomed him with a gracious handshake and the greeting:
“Well, Van, how’s the happy editor?”
Yet, as Varner described, the
public notice and association with world leaders and celebrities
that their work brought did not affect Ruth. They would be
guests of national rulers as well as presidents, but Ruth
retained her sense of purpose for the Peales’ work. She assumed
administrative duties for the couple and their projects, leaving
her husband to work on his speeches and sermons, and while she
reasoned she did it with the intention of “reducing the stress”
what she assumed were temporary duties became permanent. She
managed the family’s finances, which not only relieved her
husband of the responsibility but even knowing the process. “Dr.
Peale didn’t know how to deposit money into their savings
account. I heard that once he once wrote a check at a bank,
which cashed it even though he didn’t have an account there,”
wrote Varner. As it turned out, it was a bank in their suburban
community where the account was Mrs. Peale’s.
Ruth was the author of two
books: The Adventure of Being a Wife (1971) and
Secrets of Staying in Love (1984) and also received other
honors. In 1963 she was named the “New York State Mother of the
Year,” and in 1969 named “American Churchwoman of the Year” by
Religion Heritage of America.
Dr. Peale passed away in 1993
but Ruth remained active and continued to be honored. The
American Association of University Women named her “Woman of the
Year” in 2000, and a year later she was given the “Woman of
Distinction” honor by her own denomination. Her 2001 book was
titled A Lifetime of Positive Thinking.
Ruth Stafford Peale died in
February, 2008. Yet her work and inspiration live on, as
summarized in her guiding principle: “Find a need and fill it.”
A native of Kansas City , Missouri , Anne
grew up in northwestern Ohio , and holds
degrees in history: a BA from Wilmington
College , Wilmington , Ohio (1967), and a MA
from Central Missouri State University ,
Warrensburg, Missouri (1968).
A freelance writer since the early 1970s,
she has published in Christian and secular
publications, has taught history on the
junior college level, and has spoken at
national and local writers’ conferences. Her
book “Brittany, Child of Joy”, an account of
her severely retarded daughter, was issued
by Broadman Press in 1987 and her 2007 ebook First
of All, a Wife: Sketches of American First Ladies was
published by PC Publications. She also
publishes an encouragement newsletter
“Rainbows Along the Way.”
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|
History's
Women
Book Review |
 |
While these stories are meant for children ages six to
twelve, I thoroughly enjoyed them. Each biography is written in
two parts. The first part is a short biography of the
person's life. The second part is made up of several short
devotional stories taken from the subject's life. Included
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Like all the books this couple writes, Heroes in Black
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|
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Women Newsletter is for informational purposes only.
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