Collection Title: Hodges (Rev. Graham R.) Papers

Collection Number: M88

Dates: circa 1920; 1952-2003

Volume: 4.95 cu. ft.

Provenance: Materials in this collection were donated by Rev. Graham R. Hodges between 1969 and 2004.

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Biographical/Historical Sketch:

As a minister, author, storyteller, and civic leader, the accomplishments of Rev. Graham R. Hodges during his eighty-eight years on Earth are far too numerous and varied to adequately describe in a limited space. Therefore, the following sketch should be viewed as an attempt to highlight some of the important dates and events from the life and career of this remarkable man.

Graham Rushing Hodges was born November 20, 1915, in Wesson, Mississippi. He was the third of seven children born to Fred Barry Hodges and Frances Graham Hodges. He grew up on a farm in Wesson, where the family produced most of its own food. In later years, he described his childhood as a “Huck Finn” boyhood.

After graduating from Wesson High School in 1933, Hodges ordered a $6.00 barber set from Sears-Roebuck and Company, which he used to practice the art of haircutting on his younger siblings. It saved the family money, but his brothers and sisters were not totally enamored of the idea. Nevertheless, he acquired a skill that would serve him well during his college years.

He received an Associate of Arts Degree from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 1935, and earned a Bachelor's Degree at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1937. While at Ole Miss, he set up a barber shop in his dormitory room and cut hair for $.25 per head. The idea worked so well, that he repeated the process at Yale University Divinity School, where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity Degree in 1940.

While attending Yale, Hodges met Elsie Mary Russell, a nursing student whom he married on July 21, 1941. The couple became the parents of four children – Graham, Janet, Mary, and Judy.

During World War II, Hodges served in the military as a conscientious objector. As a member of the clergy, he could have accepted the automatic deferment available to ministers, but opted instead to serve his country in ways that did not conflict with his beliefs. During his service, he and Elsie spent two years at Camp Wellston in northern Michigan, where he helped fight forest fires. He also spent two years at Norwich (Connecticut) State Hospital caring for terminally ill male patients and working as a night attendant in the disturbed men’s ward.

In September 1949, Hodges was named pastor of the Congregational Church of Ticonderoga Parish in upstate New York, and in 1952 he became pastor of the church at Crown Point, serving simultaneously at both churches. He was called to serve as pastor of Emmanuel Congregational Church in Watertown, New York, in 1956, a position he held for twenty-four years. While in Watertown, he helped found Jefferson Community College, and was active in such organizations as the American Heart Association, Planned Parenthood of Northern New York, and the New York State Coalition for Family Planning. In addition, he founded a church basketball league, helped found the Watertown Urban Mission, and was active in the Watertown YMCA and YWCA. In 1963 he was voted Watertown’s “Most Valuable Citizen,” and in 1965 he was the winner of the Israel A. Shapiro Award as “Watertown’s Citizen of the Year.”

Beginning in 1971, Hodges served as moderator of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ, a consolidation of Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Moderator was the top position in the organization, which was founded in 1963.

In 1979 Hodges retired, and he and Elsie moved to Liverpool, New York, but he was far from inactive as a retiree. Over the next several years, he served as interim pastor at twelve churches in Central New York. Until the end of his life, he continued to plan for the future, particularly the problems facing inner city youth. For example, he wanted the youth of Syracuse (New York) to have a skate park like the one in Liverpool -- a place that would attract kids who like to "live on the edge." In his view, such a place might steer urban youngsters away from activities that could get them in trouble, or redirect the energies of those who already had juvenile records.

Rev. Hodges died July 9, 2004, at Francis House Hospice in Syracuse, New York. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elsie, who died June 29, 2000. He is survived by his four children and six grandchildren.

Throughout his career, Rev. Hodges wrote numerous articles for religious magazines such as Christian Century, Church Management, Pulpit Digest, and Christian Herald. In addition, he authored a variety of books, many of which consisted of sermons for children. In his books for children, he developed simple sermons based on physical objects or ideas that were familiar to children, and he often used questions that children might pose as the basis for sermons -- for example, "Why don't insects freeze in wintertime?"

Self-published manuscripts by Hodges include a history of his hometown of Wesson, Mississippi; a collection of materials titled "Gleanings: The Ultimate Scrapbook for Speakers and Editors of Newsletters, and for Inquisitive Minds"; a history of Yale Divinity School; A Dark November Day: 100 Americans' Memories of the Day President Kennedy was Assassinated; and Diary of a Minister. Graham and Elsie Hodges also compiled an autobiographical scrapbook titled, "Remembrance of Things Past."

During his lifetime, Rev. Hodges received a number of awards. Among them were the Margaret Sanger Award (which he won twice), and the Yale University Divinity School Distinguished Service Award. On a more personal level, he took pride in the fact that he never lost his southern accent, and that two of his sisters, Frances and Lucile, attended the University of Southern Mississippi (then State Teachers College).

Sources:

Contents of the Collection

Laura T. Ryan and Jennifer Jacobs, "Rev. Graham Hodges, 88, Dies," The Post-
Standard (Syracuse, New York), 11 July, 2004, p. B-8.

_______, "Former Emmanuel Congregational Pastor, Civic Leader Rev. Graham Hodges Dies
at 88," Watertown (New York) Daily News, undated.

Scope and Content:

The papers of Rev. Graham R. Hodges consist primarily of materials created by him, and they constitute a somewhat in-depth look at his career as an author and as a minister. The collection is divided into three series:

Series I: Created Subject Files (Boxes 1 - 2)
Series II: Articles, Sermons, and Stories (Boxes 2 - 3)
Series III: Manuscripts (Boxes 3 - 11)

Series I, Created Subject Files, contains an alphabetically arranged assortment of materials which include general correspondence, correspondence with publishers, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and a variety of materials relating to Rev. Hodges' publishing activities.

Series II, Articles, Sermons, and Stories, is comprised mainly of articles written by Rev. Hodges. Some of the articles are typescripts, and some are copies of articles that appeared in various publications. The series also contains several stories and at least one sermon.

Series III, Manuscripts, includes source materials, galley proofs, drafts, and finished manuscripts for several of Rev. Hodges' children's books and self-published books. This series also contains a few unpublished manuscripts by Rev. Hodges.

This collection should be of interest to researchers of biblically based materials for children. In addition, Rev. Hodges' self-published works provide insight into the daily life of a minister. Finally, Rev. Hodges' history of Old Wesson, Mississippi opens a window on the past of a small southern town.

Other Finding Aids:

Box and Folder List
Photograph Log

M88
Hodges (Rev. Graham R.) Papers
Box and Folder List

Series I: Created Subject Files

M88
Hodges (Graham R.) Papers
Photograph Log

Created by: Yvonne Arnold
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Revised: August 20, 2008