Phil 3:17 Portrait - Tessa Colina

Philipians 3:17 - Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

While attending a church book sale a few years ago, I came across the book pictured below. I bought it only for the curiosity of owning an older children's book about the Bible. Finally in preparation for some new articles this Easter, I picked this book up and took a closer look.  It is filled with great poems and stories about the life of Christ for the child's level.

Cover & dust jacket for "Bible Stories About Jesus" by Tessa Colina.
Standard Publishing. 1954

Then I took a closer look at the author's name. "Tessa Colina". It is a distinct name I thought, so I must do some research on her.

Tessa Mae Patterson Adams Colina 

November 16, 1915 - February 24, 2003

Tessa Colina was the author of at least 24 books for children and families about the Bible and biblical teaching. All of Colina's books were published by David C. Cook and/or  Standard Publishing where she was a writer and publisher for over 40 years. Her books touched on arts and crafts ("Fingerplay and How To Use Them", 1952), church youth education & program services ("A Year of Programs For Children's Church", 1962), and adaptations of Bible stories ("Bible Stories About Jesus", 1954).

A lot of information is not available online about Colina's life outside of what is printed in her brief obituary. Also look at her "Find A Grave" page.

The following is not a complete bibliography of Colina's books, but may be close based on what is available in libraries listed in World Cat: This listing is also available in World Cat

Colina, Tessa. 1949. Stories from Daniel. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing.

Colina, Tessa. 1952. Fingerplays and how to use them. Cincinnati: Standard Pub. Co.

Colina, Tessa. 1952. How to conduct the primary department. Cincinnati: Standard Pub. Co.

Colina, Tessa. 1954. How to conduct a vacation Bible school. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub.

Colina, Tessa. 1954. Bible stories about Jesus. Cincinnati: Standard.

Colina, Tessa. 1954. My Bible dictionary: with pictures. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub.

Colina, Tessa, and Vera Kennedy Gohman. 1955. Ark full of animals. Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Foundation.

Gohman, Vera Kennedy, and Tessa Colina. 1955. Ark full of animals. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub. Co.

Colina, Tessa, and Romilda Dilley. 1960. Children in Bible lands: stick-on art. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub.

Colina, Tessa, and Romilda Dilley. 1960. Noah and the animals: stick-on art. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub.

Colina, Tessa. 1962. A year of programs for children's church. Cincinnati: Standard.

Colina, Tessa. 1963. Pattern book: ideas & patterns for decorations, teaching aids, handcraft. Elgin, Ill: D.C. Cook.

Colina, Tessa. 1963. Missionary programs for the church. Cincinnati: Standard.

Colina, Tessa. 1963. Christmas programs for the church. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub.

Colina, Tessa. 1963. Easter programs for the church. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub.

Colina, Tessa. 1965. As we saw it. Chicago: D.C. Cook.

Colina, Tessa. 1965. Tested ideas for presession activities. Elgin, IL: David C. Cook.

Colina, Tessa. 1966. Easter program helper. Franklin, Ohio: Eldridge Pub. Co.

Colina, Tessa. 1968. Tested ideas for socials. Elgin, IL: David C. Cook.

Colina, Tessa. 1969. Christmas program helper number 15: program ideas for the Sunday School. Elgin, Ill: David C. Cook.

Colina, Tessa. 1971. Christmas program helper number 16. Elgin, Ill: David C. Cook.

Colina, Tessa. 1978. Jesus and me: 52 lessons on the life of Jesus with stories, illustrations, and activities. Cincinnati: Standard Pub.

Moncure, Jane Belk, Tessa Colina, and John Bolt. 1980. You and me: a handbook about needs. Elgin, Ill: Child's World.

Colina, Tessa, Jean Shannon, and Dan Loprieno. 1981. Tom's terrible secret. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Pub. Co.

Colina, Tessa, Hertha Depper, and Marianne Lindgren. 1986. Den första julen. Örebro: Evangeliipress.

Phil. 3:17 Portrait - Jack Hamm, Centennial of a Life and Art Dedicated to God

Philipians 3:17 - Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

"Who Wrote The Great Book?" From the Grace Bible Fellowship Collection.

Jack Beaumont Hamm (March 5, 1916 - December 22, 1996)

In my honest opinion, all how-to drawing and cartooning books pale in comparison to the finely detailed writings of Jack Hamm. The (still) best selling author, cartoonist, teacher and minister was born 100 years ago this week. In this blog post I would like to share a bibliography of links to biographies and collections of his amazing art so that more would be instructed and touched by how his work and his life were used for God.

"The Bible's Advice" from the Grace Bible Fellowship Collection.

ONLINE BIOGRAPHICAL RESOURCES

Jack Hamm Graphics - Grace Bible Fellowship
Hamm personally gave copies of his art to this ministry for use of spreading the Gospel.
http://www.gbfc-tx.org/Pages/Jack%20Hamm.html
Wayback Machine Link for titles and bio: https://web.archive.org/web/20161106043524/http://www.gbfc-tx.org/Pages/Jack%20Hamm.html 

Jack Hamm biography - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hamm

Jack Hamm profile - Christian Comics International
http://www.christiancomicsinternational.org/pioneers1.html#Anchor-JACK-48213

Dorisnel Hamm Sims - Obituary for Jack's wife of 52 years.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=dorisnel-hamm-sims&pid=138073673

Grave of Jack and Dorisnel Hamm, Gordo, Alabama. "Art and Life Dedicated To God"
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=128120570

Ryan, Terri Jo. "Baylor grad Jack Hamm combined faith with love of illustrating". Waco Tribune
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/waco_history/baylor-grad-jack-hamm-combined-faith-with-love-of-illustrating/article_b738c08a-e131-573c-a208-d714e58ab049.html

"Come Now, And Let Us Reason Together". From the Grace Bible Fellowship Collection.

PUBLISHED BOOKS
Note: Some of the dates listed are of reprints, currently available in libraries worldwide. To find out if your local library has any of these titles please look at my WorldCat listing for Jack Hamm.

Hamm, Jack. 1950. Christian democracy. Waco, Tex: Religious Drawings, Inc.

Hamm, Jack. 1954. Cartoons that live. Wheaton, Ill: Van Kampen Press.

Religious Drawings, Inc. (Waco, Tex.), and Jack Hamm. 1955. Race.

Hamm, Jack. 1958. The living Scriptures; religious drawings. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications.

Hamm, Jack. 1960. Jack Hamm's custom clip art for churches. Antioch, Tenn: Knight Media.

Hamm, Jack. 1961. He will answer; a book of cartoons. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.

Hamm, Jack. 1961. Saints alive; [the best in church humor]. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications.

Hamm, Jack. 1968. Drawing toward God; the art and inspiration of Jack Hamm. Anderson, S.C.: Droke House; distributed by Grosset & Dunlap, New York.

Hamm, Jack. 1974. Jack Hamm's custom clips for churches. Dallas, Tex: Cresendo Book.

Hamm, Jack. 1976. Still-life drawing and painting. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.

Hamm, Jack. 1978. How to draw scenery. Toronto: Coles.

Hamm, Jack. 1978. How to draw and paint still-life. Toronto: Coles.

Hamm, Jack. 1979. How to draw cartoons. Toronto: Coles.

Hamm, Jack. 1980. Drawing scenery: landscapes and seascapes. New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap.

Hamm, Jack. 1982. How to draw animals. New York, N.Y.: Perigee Books.

Hamm, Jack. 1982. Cartooning the head & figure. New York: Perigee Books.

Hamm, Jack. 1982. Drawing the head and figure. New York: Perigee Books.

Hamm, Jack. 1982. Drawing scenery: landscapes and seascapes. New York, N.Y.: Perigee Books.

Hamm, Jack. 1985. Jack Hamm's custom clip art for churches, vol. 2. Antioch, Tenn: Knight Media.

Hamm, Jack. 1985. Jack Hamm's Handy clip art for church bulletin covers: 96 pieces of quality art work for 5 1/2 x 8 1/2" worship bulletins and newsletters on 27 different subjects. Antioch, TN (60 Benzing Road, Antioch 37013): Knight Media.

Hamm, Jack. 1985. Jack Hamm's illustrated clip art Bible verses. Antioch, Tenn: Knight Media.

Hamm, Jack. 1987. How to draw the figure. Toronto: Royce.

Hamm, Jack. 1988. First lessons in drawing and painting. New York, NY: Perigee Books.

Hamm, Jack. 1988. Jack Hamm's quality clip art for churches. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman Supplies.

Hamm, Jack. 1989. Jack Hamm's quality clip art for churches #2. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman Supplies.

Hamm, Jack. 1990. Drawing & cartooning for laughs. New York, NY: Perigee Books.

Hamm, Jack. 1991. Drawing and cartooning 1,001 faces, places, and things. New York, NY: Perigee Books.

Hamm, Jack. 1996. The stories and art of Jack B. Hamm. S.l: s.n.

MORE TO COME

I will post more about Hamm in the future and I especially hope to uncover more about his television program the "Jack Hamm Show" which he reportedly traveled over 100 miles weekly to shoot from KBTV and KRTC-TV out of Dallas, Texas.

Phil. 3:17 Portrait - Remembering Jimmie Dodd (1910-1964)

Philipians 3:17 - Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

My apologies for any confusion that may come from the first sentence; this blog article was originally supposed to be posted the first week of October in 2015.

Jimmie Dodd, c. 1955. Photo from non-commercial use source

Saturday, October 3rd was the 60th anniversary of the premiere of the original Mickey Mouse Club on ABC-TV back in 1955.  While the famous opening song declared the mouse as the leader of the club, there is almost no doubt the real leader was singer, songwriter Jimmie Dodd. Watching re-runs of the Mickey Mouse Club late at night on the Disney Channel, I was struck at episodes in which Dodd referenced scriptures from the Bible as he spoke directly to audiences while strumming his guitar.

After several decades it is still not generally known that Dodd and his wife Ruth were born-again Christians and that he served as president of the Hollywood Christian Group in 1958 and 1959.  The Hollywood Christian Group was a collection of movie stars who embraced the Gospel during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s which included celebrities like Roy Rogers, Dale Evans Rogers, and Jane Russell. The closest the Walt Disney Company probably ever came to releasing a Gospel album was the 1957 album "Mouskehymns"  and a 1966 gospel album with songs written or arranged by Dodd.

A few years before he passed, Dodd completed the album Children's Bible Story-Time : Jimmie Dodd for Word Records Incorporated of Waco, Texas.  This album is Jimmie at his best; his narrative voice and easy guitar playing.

A few years ago I included an excerpt of this album for my first digital project on Bible storytelling media.  Click HERE to here Dodd tell "The Parable of the Sower and the Seed"

Christmas Library 2015 - First Televised Church Sevice

Classic Television: The Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Grace Episcopal Church, 1946

According to some sources, the very first televised church service was broadcast December 24th, 1946 from the Grace Episcopal Church at the intersection of 10th and Broadway in New York, NY. Like virtually all pre-1950 programs this landmark broadcast cannot be seen today, but that Christmas  candlelight service was a tiny beginning to the use of television for ministry (like a tiny seed).  Nearly 70 years later, millions of church services have aired around the world reaching millions who ponder about the truth of the Gospel and where they can go to worship.

The Grace Episcopal Church Candlelight service was lead by the church rector, Rev. Dr. Louis W. Pitt, and the choir of 50 boys was director by the church organist and choir director, Ernest Campbell.  The broadcast filmed by WABD, could be seed by audiences in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D. C. via a network arranged by the United States Rubber Company. The program was especially designed to reach hospitalized war veterans.

Until the next entry from The Christmas Library.... Merry Christmas!

Bibliography:

Service to be telecast : Christmas eve service at grace church 1st to be carried. New York Times. (1946, Dec. 22) p. 17.

Christmas Library 2015 - Brightest Night (1952)

Brightest Night is a 1952 short film produced by Church-Craft Pictures, Inc. under the ministry of the Rev. Paul G. Kiehl. Church-Craft was a multimedia ministry based in St. Louis, Missouri that produced films strips, for homes, churches and schools.  Their "Storiview" items, similar to the Viewmaster toys, are still collected around the world. In Brightest Night, a mother and father explain to their children the story of the birth of Christ, which is re-enacted with colorful miniatures. Church-Craft would use this technique several times in their film strip productions.

Very little is known about the production of this film, and one wonders if the family are really related and if so who were they.  The film began to resurface on DVD and Youtube within the last decade.

ENJOY!

For more about the history of Church-Craft's Storiview products: LINK

Christmas Library 2015 - "A Book About Jesus"

WELCOME TO THE CHRISTMAS LIBRARY - 2015!

"A Book About Jesus". Exterior front and back cover

"A Book About Jesus" Nine-Year Pupil: Book Two was published by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1959. It has beautiful text and illustrations of not only the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but all stories of his death and resurrection which give a young child a whole appreciation of his birth, and giving the child a real Christmas.

The editor of this text was Robbie Trent (1894-1988) author of numerous Christian children's books who I hope to write more about in the coming months. The illustrations are credited to John White and Dorothy Teichman. Ms. Teichman was also an illustrator of numerous Bible-based children's books.

Classic Radio: Unshackled - Happy 65th Anniversary

Unshackled 

9/23/1950 - present. Syndicated.  
Production: Pacific Garden Missions, Chicago, Illinois
The Longest Running Broadcast Drama In History!
Official website: www.unshackled.org

It was 65 years ago this week that Unshackled debuted over WGN in Chicago with the dramatization of the life of evangelist Billy Sunday.

Above: One of the earliest press articles on "Unshackled" from Broadcasting, March 24, 1952.
Click on the image to read in context of the original magazine.

This broadcast series tells the true stories of countless individuals whose lives were "unshackled" by salvation in Jesus Christ.  Probably none of the original cast and crew members could have ever imagined that radio drama would soon cease on the major networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Mutual,) and only Unshackled would go on to have an audience who would tune in more than a half century later for any of the 7,000 times it is broadcast a week, to listen in 15 languages in over 140 nations.

Unshackled holds a special place in my heart. As a teenager, I was an old-time radio collector and an usher in the church who secretly struggled with an addiction to pornography.  One day as I was fiddling with my radio I was startled to hear a radio drama on a random AM station and the program was telling the story of an alcoholic whose life was transformed and renewed by Jesus Christ.

This program was Unshackled, and I wanted to hear more.  My amazement was from so much more than hearing a current radio drama. This was the first time in my life that I truly understood that not only did Jesus want me free from this addiction, but that he was still with me and if he could do it for that man whose story I heard on the radio, then he could do it for me too. The stories on Unshackled have ministered to me countless times and I have partly created this blog so that more people can learn about the dynamic media ministries like Pacific Garden Missions Unshackled, whom God has ordained to preach the gospel to the world.

I hope that Unshackled will stay on the air for many more years. Unlike 99% of broadcast dramas on radio or television, Unshackled has as its fuel, a theme that will never end.........lives transformed by the Gospels and redeemed by the love of Jesus Christ.

Internet resources for the history of Unshackled:

For a Chicago Tribune Article recognizing the series 65 years:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-unshackled-radio-65th-anniversary-met-3-20150405-story.html

For a more complete history of Unshackled please visit their official history page:
at http://www.unshackled.org/history_1.html 

For biographical information on one of the series earliest scriptwriters, producers and directors, Eugenia Price (1916-1996)
http://www.gacoast.com/navigator/ep2.html


Also seek out these texts from used bookstores and libraries:

Bailey, F. C., & Unshackled (Radio program). (1962). These, too, were unshackled: 15 dramatic stories from the Pacific Garden Mission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House.

Price, E. (1982). The burden is light: The autobiography of a transformed pagan who took God at his word. New York: Dial Press.

Price, E., & Bailey, F. C. (1953). Unshackled: Stories of transformed lives, adapted from "Unshackled" radio broadcasts: stories from Pacific Garden Mission. Chicago: Moody Press.