Heavenly Visions

MEMORIES OF ELDER W. A. SPICER

BY Ernest Lloyd

PICTURE-W. A. Spicer

IT WAS in the old General Conference office in Battle Creek, Michigan, that I first met Elder W. A. Spicer. What a kindly man he was! He seemed actually to be interested in me, a poor lad attending school there. Later we met again, and I was especially impressed with his easy mention of my name. I learned he was like that with all the people he knew, young and old, and all appreciated his wonderful memory. He never forgot our names through the decades that followed. We noted, too, that he could recall with apparent ease innumerable events connected with our denominational history. HEVI 77.1

Elder Spicer’s widowed daughter, Mrs. Helen Menkel, of Loma Linda, California, tells of a gray-haired sister attending an Oregon camp meeting many years ago introduced herself to the elder. He looked at her for a few moments and remarked, “Of course I know you. The last time we met, you were a small girl in—, and you were wearing a little red coat and bonnet.” Sometimes when meeting an old acquaintance he would recall some little circumstance connected with their first meeting. HEVI 77.2

In the early years, when Elder Spicer was secretary of the Mission Board, he wrote letters to all our foreign missionaries, knowing most of them personally. He traveled much, and when visiting mission stations he took along little gifts for the children of the missionaries. He kept in touch with these families, and his letters brought cheer and courage to their hearts. He never forgot them-and how could they ever forget him! HEVI 77.3

Elder Spicer came up through his early years with fixed habits of economy and industry. He trained himself in frugality. He never incurred indebtedness. He never spent money for things he did not need. He was the author of many books, and all of them were written first in longhand. His family wished to purchase some folders and cabinets for his writing work, but all he wanted was little plain envelopes. His method, you see, was more economical. He liked to save money so he would have more to give to the cause. He was careful about his expense account when traveling over the earth. He was also a careful eater, following the simple rules of healthful living and adhering to the principles of health reform. And what a fine-looking specimen of manhood he was! HEVI 77.4

Elder Spicer never rode in Pullman cars, but always took the day coaches to save money. I well remember the night I met him on a train near Omaha, Nebraska, many years ago. I was passing through a day coach and recognized the dear man as he was resting with a pillow under his head. Just as I approached his seat, he lifted his head and glanced my way, smiled his recognition, and made me sit with him for a little visit. The elder was a good sleeper, and the pillow, obtained from the train porter, cost him about 25 cents. I learned much from Elder Spicer. HEVI 77.5