Harlan R. Waite and Anna S. Waite, Publishers

Told through family letters, news clippings, firsthand memories of his eldest son, and his own words, this intimate memoir chronicles the life of Oren Bradshaw Waite, a pastor, professor and educator, from his 1867 birth in Ontario, Canada, to his death in Los Angeles, California. The multi-generational history follows his itinerant childhood as the son of a Methodist Episcopal pastor in Iowa, then travels west to Denver, and ultimately to California, where he played prominent community roles in the early days of Hemet, San Jacinto, and Pacific Palisades. Fans of historical biographies will get a fascinating view into the everyday life of a family of faith, in the days between the Civil War and World War II.