A month before the date chosen to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our church I was asked to write this book. I asked all those around me for stories and anecdotes but few were forthcoming, so forgive me if my own family features a bit more than it should. I knew a little of the history of the pioneer farming families and the gum digging days, and thought this was a great way to make sure some of that history of the area and the little country church was not lost.

For nearly half a century, the greater Lawndale area was the vibrant, spirited center of Jewish life in Chicago. It contained almost 40 percent of the city's entire Jewish population with over 70 synagogues and numerous active Jewish organizations and institutions. This book will bring back memories for those who lived there and retell the story of Jewish life on the West Side for those who did not.

"Drawn from two conferences of the Vernacular Architecture Forum--one held in Charleston in 1994, and the other in Ottawa in 1995"--Back cover.

In Habits of Devotion, four senior scholars take the measure of the central religious practices and devotions that by the middle of the twentieth century defined the "ordinary, week-to-week religion" of the majority of American Catholics.

In Lone Star Steeples: Historic Places of Worship in Texas, Carl J. Christensen Jr. and Pixie Christensen present sixty-five captivating and historically significant structures in exquisite watercolor illustrations accompanied by brief summaries and convenient, handcrafted maps. Ranging from stately edifices of brick and stone located in urban centers to more humble wood-frame chapels in rural surroundings, the houses of faith shown in these pages have one important trait in common: They have all served as centers of cultural identity, spiritual comfort, and public service to the communities in which they arose. In their introduction, the Christensens write, “The journey behind Lone Star Steeples crisscrossed the state along back roads, farm roads, and state highways. In these journeys and in the stories that were told, certain patterns began to emerge: the pride of the people in building their churches debt-free, the perseverance of the people who endured their beloved church being destroyed by natural disaster once, twice, or even three times . . . the people’s recognition of the church as their cultural foundation, their moral foundation, their social center.” As the Christensens demonstrate, Texas is home to a remarkable diversity of people, and their places of worship reflect and celebrate that diversity.