Portrait of a Quaker, Levi T. Pennington (1875-1975) a Critical Biography (review)

60Quaker History Kingdom of God on earth? Their witness to truth was a living witness which nothing can destroy. Kennett Square, PennsylvaniaHorace Alexander Portrait of a Quaker, Levi T. Pennington (1875-1975) a Critical Biography. By Donald McNichols. Newberg, Or., The Barclay Press, 1980. 180 pages. Illustrations, bibliographical note, index. $12.50. This reviewer approached this book with a certain wariness. Who could do justice to Levi T. Pennington, that giant of a man who achieved so much in so many fields? How formidable must have been the voluminous correspondence to be covered—with friends and colleagues, students, and with national figures such as Herbert Hoover! Could this be done by someone who, though a friend and a Friend, knew the subject of his "critical biography" a relatively short portion of the century-long lifetime of "Prexy" Pennington? My doubts were allayed! This is a slim and careful biography, that reveals a fascinating life of a dedicated Quaker with roots in the midwest, an educational career in the Far West, and considerable recognition among eastern Friends as well. Chapters describe early training and education in Michigan and at Earlham College, the Struggle as president of Pacific College in Oregon for institutional survival and growth, service with the Five Years Meeting, estrangement from emerging leadership of Oregon Yearly Meeting, and finally wide public recognition in his later years. The narrative is somewhat truncated and disjointed, but the thread is clearly traced of a life devoted to Quaker education, with the use of his remarkable talents as an orator, administrator, preacher, writer and fundraiser . He confronted many setbacks, but his patience and persistence brought remarkable achievement. We are told how Pacific College under his leadership survived war and depression, becoming a recognized institution of higher education, for which the president had to raise enough money to keep the school open and also gradually to build an endowment. He had to administer a complex institution, attract students, satisfy various and sometimes conflicting constituencies, and take his turn at teaching. His commitment to Quakerism as he understood it was complete and he applied his considerable talent to fostering it in Indiana, in Oregon and throughout the Society. Levi Pennington promoted great causes: peace, justice, learning and unity. He supported those organizations that he felt were fostering Quaker testimonies: the American Friends Service Committee, the Five Years Meeting and its successor, the Friends United Meeting, and many others. He lived a busy and varied life, but not frenetically. He knew enough to take time to recreate—to rest and pray, to fish. He had a remarkable sense of humor, was a raconteur and orator of wide recognition. For the Quaker historian there are some clarifying analyses and several useful documents. The author's account of the decision of Oregon Yearly Meeting to withdraw from the Five Years Meeting in 1926 is detailed, since Levi T. Pennington was central to die controversy. McNichols slights the Book Reviews61 growing conservative trend within the Yearly Meeting and the evangelical leaders' campaign to remove the more humanitarian and liberal leaders such as Pennington in favor of those regarded as "sound." He does mention the early argument with the parent Yearly Meeting of Indiana over boundaries. Later he describes the painful ousting of Pennington's successor as president of Pacific College, Emmett W. Gulley. Levi maintained a vigorous campaign to save his yearly meeting from what he regarded as both narrow provincialism and narrow theology. He never lost his love for the Faith nor his service to it, particularly in his home meeting in Newberg, Oregon. Until his death he continued to serve it Sundays from the facing bench, often by a moving message or benediction, some of which are printed in the biography. One could wish for more reference to LTP as a great teacher of Bible, of philosophy, of Shakespeare, or that his skills in writing, from journalism to poetry, might have been expanded upon. But this volume well portrays and illustrates the life and times of a great leader in the Society of Friends, whose contribution spanned the last century and encompassed much of American Quakerdom. Earlham CollegeLewis M. Hoskins ...