• Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Events
  • Photo Gallery
  • Blog
  • Contact

A Joyful Noise

eden city

Throwback Thursday: In Which History Repeats Itself (sort of)

February 16, 2017 by Melodye Shore

The preacher’s wife drew a long, deep breath, pulling everyone into her orbit before delivering her prophesy of doom.

An army from the North is planning to invade us, she warned. They will slaughter all the Christians and destroy America. God revealed all of this to me in a dream…Can I get a witness?

Her husband stood beside her, nodding as he thumbed through his gold-leafed Bible. By the time she’d finished speaking, he’d settled on the Book of Revelation.

Armageddon is upon us, he said to the frightened crowd. We must build a ‘city of refuge,’ as a fortress against those who would persecute us. It will take some doing…We need money, and we need to move quickly.

In the immediate aftermath of WWII, it didn’t take much for that audience to hear “army from the North” and think: Russia! Pentecostals especially, who believed the End Times were near. This is a sign, the preacher said, and my sweet Nana believed him.

She wasn’t alone.

She handed over every last penny of her earthly possessions, as did most members of that congregation. Sensing immediate peril, they fled their peaceful, tree-lined neighborhoods for a religious enclave in the high desert– a pockmarked wasteland called Eden City. Jewelry, property deeds, pin money and savings bonds…the pastor pocketed all of it.

eveline-and-may-eden-city-at-harvest

In this photograph, Nana and her sisters harvesting corn–backbreaking labor that she performed with a cheerful heart, because she believed it was “God’s will.” A 50-year-old widow at the time, she also bore sole responsibility for my mother, the preteen who’s peering through the windshield of that truck. They slept together in a canvas tent, scratched seedlings into the hardscrabble earth, and stored provisions in the bomb shelter they’d built as protection against an imminent invasion.

Snowy winters. Blistering summers. Strangers, in a strange land. But Nana’s faith sustained her, even when the prophesy never came to pass…even when their religious leader was eventually exposed as a huckster.

ActonCA-2010-05-18-149-copy

And it occurred to me this morning–70 years after Nana’s preacher was hauled into court–that we’ve found ourselves on the other side of the looking glass. In a stunning course reversal, the President speaks in cozy terms about Russia. He’s dividing us from within, using fear as a weapon. We must build a wall, he warns, as a fortress against the imminent threat of Other. He’s leveling our shining City on the Hill, one blatant overreach at a time, and erecting in its place a personal empire. Our nation will be made new–protected by God, Trump says–so long as we believe him over our lying eyes and trust his vision.

 

“End Times” prophesies had a significant impact on my life, as did Eden City. I’ve included both in my memoir, CAN I GET A WITNESS?

Posted in: city of refuge, con man, eden city, End Times Prophesy, huckster, memoir, Russia, Trump Tagged: city of refuge, eden city, memoir, russia, trump

#TBT: Bomb Shelter in Eden City, circa 1946

July 28, 2016 by Melodye Shore

The preacher’s wife rose from her pew one Sunday, said God revealed to her in a dream that an invading “army from the North” would soon overtake America. Russian soldiers would slaughter all the Christians, she warned.

“Come, build with me a ‘city of refuge.'”  That’s what my Nana’s pastor said. (For more about Eden City, follow this link.)

ActonCA 2010-05-18 149 copy

Posted in: 1946, Acton, Bomb Shelter, CAN I GET A WITNESS, city of refuge, eden city, Pentecostal Preacher, Russia, Throwback Thursday Tagged: Acton, Bomb Shelter, city of refuge, eden city, High Desert, memoir, throwback thursday

There and back again

May 19, 2010 by Melodye Shore

Here’s a picture of my Nancy Drew roadster, parked yesterday in the middle of “The Promised Land.”

Each aspect of this story, a stretch of the imagination. Every claim, now proven, more outlandish than I expected.

To be fair, we found beauty in this hardscrabble environment, and we were greeted by fascinating people with generous hearts. But on the whole, the area felt desolate and inhospitable–not at all an oasis. In no way could I ever picture this as a sanctuary of any kind.

Please forgive me if I don’t comment on your blog entries today…I’m still processing yesterday’s discoveries. But if you wanna see something really cool (no exaggeration!), check out the LiveCam images of Mama Phoebe’s adorable new hatchlings! ♥♥♥

Posted in: CAN I GET A WITNESS, eden city, memoir, nancy Drew Tagged: city of refuge, eden city, nancy drew, promised land, roadster

Tracking clues

May 18, 2010 by Melodye Shore

I’m revving the engine of my roadster, in preparation for a day trip to the hinterlands. It’ll be fun, but also arduous, so I’m glad my gal pal Stace (aka “Bess”) is riding shotgun.

I’ve done a great deal of legwork already. Hoo boy, that was quite an adventure! Long story made short (and illustrated metaphorically), it goes something like this:



Sometimes the tiniest shred of evidence yields an inkling of an idea. And questions about a mislabeled photograph might lead you to an unexpected answer.

You may encounter resistence from some corners. 

Matter of fact, some will do everything within their power to shout you down or shut you out. 

But you know Nancy: She’s nothing, if not persistent. And lucky girl, she’s surrounded by loving friends who help clear away the underbrush…who steer her back to center whenever she loses her bearings.

I admit that I’m a wee bit apprehensive. But also? Very excited. It’s not been easy, and I’m not there yet. But I’m beginning to think it’s possible to trace this tangled web back to the original knot.

Images via “Celebrating 75 Years of Nancy Drew,” University of Maryland Library

Posted in: city of refuge, eden city, memoir Tagged: city of refuge, eden city, memoir, nancy drew

Topics

ab 2165 beach billy graham birds can i get a witness christmas dear bully family archives flowers freckles garden gardening harbor seals hope hummingbird hummingbird hatchlings hummingbird nest 2015 hummingbirds jeannine atkins joy joyful noise laguna beach land of medicine buddha memoir memoir writing monarch butterfly nana nancy drew new year's eve ocean orange county peace photography poetry rosa resolution rose sara seals tent revival thankful thursday thanksgiving the author's tent throwback thursday wordless wednesday writing

Recent Posts

  • International Day of the Seal
  • My uncouth neighbors: A murder of crows
  • Smitten with Kittens, by Florence and Wendell Minor
  • Happy Valentine’s Day!
  • Happy New Year, 2022
  • The Badlands
  • TINY BIRD: A Hummingbird’s Amazing Journey

Archives

Copyright © 2023 .

Omega WordPress Theme by ThemeHall