Clarence A. Westapher, self-styled ‘tract man,’ was a carpenter by trade but wrote several tracts with a combined distribution of over 500,000 copies. My files are packed up, but if memory serves, the Westaphers may have lived in West Nashville for a while. In the 1930s-1940s, B. D. Morehead, publisher of the Nashville-based World Vision magazine printed and distributed multiple thousands of Westapher’s tracts and for that reason I have a file for CAW among my Nashville research. Some years ago I put some of his tracts in the pipeline for digitization and you can download them here.
Biographical sketch of Clarence A. and Loretta R. Westapher, World Vision 17:2 (October 1951), front cover
Clarence L. Storm, “They Were Both Righteous,” World Vision 17:2 (October 1951), page 3.
Clarence L. Storm, “They Were Both Righteous,” World Vision 17:2 (October 1951), page 20.
“Letter from Brother Westapher,” World Vision 13:1 (1947)
This 1951 biographical sketch, with very nice photograph, helps us get to know the Westaphers. With the brief article from 1947, they provide several things:
–biographical information about C.A.W.
–indication that his tract writing began in 1917 (much earlier than the 1930s-1940s when the samples linked to above were published). Should we be looking for earlier tracts, or did it take a few years and a Barney Morehead to bring the manuscripts to the printing press?
–description of his intentional method of crafting tracts using only monosyllabic words. He was college educated, but spent his career with working men. Did he perceive that much of religious communication just is not accessible?
–a hard number (500,000) of tracts distributed. In context with what other fragmentary evidence I can glean about other tracts, this can help craft a description of the tract publishing and distribution.
–two anecdotes about the results of his writing ministry
A pair of brief articles, yes, but they are pregnant with possible usages.
eScriptorium 