Letters of Interest

Letters of Interest was a monthly periodical serving primarily North America with news and articles concerning the open brethren (OB) from 1934-1996. The very first issue was in July 1934, as Letters of Interest from The Home Field, edited by William G. McCartney, associate editor of J.H. Williamson, treasurer was R.W. Trotter & assistant treasurer was R.W. Stott.

Offices

• July 1934 - Spring 1936+: home of William G. McCartney, 1205 W. 96th St., Chicago, IL
• +Aug. 1937 - Dec. 1948: 35 S. Dearborn St., "
• Jan. 1949 - Dec. 1953+: 311 West Lake St., "
• +Jan. 1960 - Sept. 1969: 127 South Wacker Dr., "
• +Jan. 1970 - Jan. 1972+: 218 W. Willow St., Wheaton, IL

Printer

• +Jan. 1970 - June 1971+: Christian Publications Registered; 230 Lupien St., Cap de la Madeleine, QC
• +Jan. 1972+: Lithocolor Press, Westchester, IL

Staff

Editor

• William G. McCartney - July 1934 - Mar. 1961
• Donald M. Taylor - Apr. 1961 - June 1970+
• C. Donald Cole - +June 1971+
• James A. Stahr - +Jan. 1972 - 1980's

Managing Editor

"Secretary & Asst. Treasurer" +June 1938 - Dec. 1953+; "Asst. Editor" +Sept. 1969 - June 1970+;

• J.M. Wittkamper +June 1938 - Feb. 1949
  • +June 1938 - (after Sept./Oct. 1942 & before Mar. 1943) co-editor
  • +Mar. 1943 - Feb. 1949 office rebranded as Sec. & Asst. Treasurer
• Donald M. Taylor - Mar. 1949 - 1969+
  • Secretary: Elisabeth Bayles - +Jan. 1960 - Jan. 1961
• C. Donald Cole +Sept. 1969 - June 1970+
• Editorial Assistant: Naomi Bauman +June 1971 - Jan. 1972+
• Secretary: Robert W. Mojonnier +Jan. 1972+

President

• Neil M. Glass +Jan. 1972+

Art Editor

• Art Editor: John W. Sweemer +June 1971 - Jan. 1972+

Treasurer

• R.W. Trotter - July 1934 - Feb. 1935
• Roy W. Stott - May 1935 - Sept/Oct 1942+
  • Asst. Treasurer - July 1934 - Feb. 1935+
• James W. Kennedy +Mar. 1943 - Sept. 1965
• James D. Kennedy - Dec. 1966 - Jan. 1971+

Business Manager

• Dennis Bentz - +Jan. 1972+

Canadian Representative

Also funneled gifts for workers & publication expense in the late 1960's.

• James B. Buchan @ Thornhill, ON - Jan. 1960 - Sept. 1969+
• Andrew Johnston @ Don Mills, ON - +Jan. 1970 - June 1971+

Directors

"Advisory Board" 1935-1942+; "Associate Editor" +1943-1960's; Separate lists (inclusive) of U.S. & Canadian Directors in the late 1960's;

• J.H. Williamson - July 1934 - Mar. 1939+
• Rufus William Trotter - May 1935 - Sept./Oct. 1942+ (b. 1876 Clones, Monaghan, Ireland; emig. 1900; d. 1949 Chicago, IL), son of George Trotter & Jane Pritchard Trotter (b. 1847 Ireland - d. 1921 Chicago, IL). Wife: Anna Helen Scott Trotter (b. 1872 Oshawa, Durham, ON - d. 1952 Chicago, IL), daughter of Robert T. Scott (b. 1843 Ratho, Edinburgh, Scot. - d. 1898 Chicago, IL) & Hannah Kirk Scott (b. 1845 Ireland - d. 1934 Chicago, IL).
  • Nearly 30 years @ Laflin assembly, then commended to full-time service by the Washington Heights assembly as per L&L 1935, via W.G. McCartney, W.H. Brown, Donald W. Johnston, Arthur Miller, Henry Yost & Roy W. Stott.
  • In Oct. of 1930, Trotter preached, alongside Stevenson & Ainslie, at a memorial service for Sarah G. Gilbert who was "given to hospitality", and among the Chicago assemblies 40 years.
  • In 1936, Trotter & Hoy held tent meetings in Sioux City, IA where Sadie Elizabeth Marie Johnson Swanson (b. 1883 Sweden; emig. 1892; d. 1939 Sioux City, IA) was saved, who was later a founder of the assembly there. Sadie was a daughter of C.G. Johnson (Minneapolis, MN). Sadie's husband was Martin Swanson (b. 1878 Pocahontas, IA - d. 1962 Sioux City, IA), son of Joseph Swanson (b. 1840 - d. 1896 Pomeroy, Calhoun, IA) & Elizabeth Anderson Swanson (b. 1853 Sweden - d. 1927 Bone Lake, Polk, WI).
    • That same year, Trotter labored for seven weeks with George Raust in a Gospel effort at Burns, Wyoming where a few souls had been saved, and some were meeting in the home of brother Meisner to break bread. According to L&L 1936, Trotter was "greatly impressed with the work among the children at Burns and at other places in the vicinity".
• Charles Edward Atwood - May 1935 - Sept./Oct. 1942+
  • 1910-1950, Charles was in fellowship at Austin Gospel Hall where in 1944 alongside Alex Wilson, D.S. Anderson, Roy E. Rapsch, Carl Whitinger, Will R. Simpson & Clarence R. Welsher, when that assembly commended Sydney Hoffman to the Lord's work, alongside the assembly at Hawkesville, ON as per L&L.
  • Occupationally, Charles was a national expert on tea, and vice-president & director of the Irwin-Harrisons-Whitney Co., which was the largest exporter of tea from Japan, and also the largest importer of it into the U.S. between WWI and WWII. It was founded in 1884 by Andrew P. Irwin & Robert F. Irwin, sons of Samuel Irwin who was a Civil War vet from Philadelphia with his own coffee & tea business. In 1936, Charles penned The Romance of Tea.
• Charles Howard - May 1935 - Sept./Oct. 1942+
• Peter Hinshelwood - May 1935 - Sept./Oct. 1942+
• Clyde H. Dennis - +Mar. 1943 - Mar. 1944
• Fred Hillis - Apr. 1946 - Apr. 1947
• Andrew J. Cotton - +Mar. 1943 / Apr. 1946 - June 1952
  • aka "Publicity" +Mar. 1943 - May 1943 & "Associates" June 1943 - Mar. 1946
• J.M. Wittkamper June 1938 / Mar. 1949 - Nov. 1951
• Charles W. Pollard - +Mar. 1943 / Apr. 1946 - Mar. 1949+ (ended prior to 1960)
  • aka "Publicity" +Mar. 1943 - May 1943 & "Associates" June 1943 - Mar. 1946
• John Sweemer +Jan. 1960 - Dec. 1960
  • @ Wheaton, IL
• Virgil Hollingsworth, Jr. - Apr. 1946 - Dec. 1961+
  • @ Augusta, GA
• Dena Speering - +Nov. 1962+
  • @ Wheaton, IL
• James W. Kennedy - +June 1962 - Oct. 1965+
  • @ Chicago, IL
• Charles S. Howard - Apr. 1950 - Mar. 1967
  • @ Lombard, IL 1960-1961; Federal Way, WA +June 1962 - Oct. 1963; Lombard, IL +May 1964 - Mar. 1967
• Norman Buchanan - Oct. 1965 - Dec. 1968+
  • @ Cap de la Madeleine, QC
• Robert G. Dunlop - +Oct. 1963 - Dec. 1968+
  • @ Akron, OH
• Robert A. Hanson - July 1953 - Jan. 1965 - Dec. 1968+
  • @ Seattle, WA +1960-1961; Federal Way, WA +1962-1967+
• David T. Harvey - +Oct. 1963 - Dec. 1968+
  • @ Boca Raton, FL +Oct. 1963+; Gainesville, FL +May 1964+
• James G. Humphrey - Apr. 1946 - June 1969+
  • aka "Publicity" +Mar. 1943 - May 1943 & "Associates" June 1943 - Mar. 1946
  • @ Chicago +1943-1965+
• William "Will" Rigg Simpson (b. 1890 Kansas City, MO - d. 1969 Los Angeles, CA) - June 1944 - Mar. 1946; May 1946 - Dec. 1968+
  • "Publicity": +Mar. 1943 - May 1943; "Associates": June 1943 - Mar. 1946
  • @ Kansas City, MO & Los Angeles, CA
  • LOI:1970-1: William R. Simpson: "Will Simpson, of Los Angeles, who died Nov. 26, 1969, was typical of that rarest of breeds, men who in an age when theories are mercilessly debunked, manage to inspire sincere praise and admiration. When word of his death got around many people said what more than one had been saying for years: 'Will Simpson was the finest man I knew', or 'Will Simpson was the kind of man I'd like to be'. That sort of thing. And to those who knew him it was by no means an extravagant as it may sound to strangers. What kind of man was he? In the statement read at the funeral, Dick Matthews, who knew him well, said that he was a quiet man. 'He knew when to speak and when to refrain from speaking'. He gave sound advice, and he had an unfailing sense of humor. He was a father to many, because he loved deeply, and he cared. Dick Matthews said many other things, too, all true, all testifying to the godly integrity of a truly Christian gentleman. Will Simpson was born n Kansas City, Mo., in 1890. When he was 17 he was saved, and that was when he began to serve God. During World War I he spent nearly three years in the U.S. Army, much of that time in France. After the war (1920) he married Caroline Ross, with whom he set up a home that would be renowned for hospitality. God alone knows how many hundreds (if not thousands) of Christians and others were entertained in that home, both in the Midwest and in California. Mr. Simpson is survived by a daughter and her family, a sister, and three brothers, and by many friends and brethren to whom he was a father. 1 Thess. 2:9-12. Before moving to California, Will was an associate editor of Letters of Interest. He became the first president of the Western Assemblies Home, in Claremont, and until his death of heart disease, was an active, beloved elder of the congregation at Ladera Bible Chapel, Inglewood, California."
    • Will's wedding was officiated in 1920 in KCMO by Don Cole's father, Paul Edwards Cole (b. 1897 Dalton City, Moultrie, IL - d. 1962 Chicago, Cook, IL), who himself was a son of Charles David Cole (b. 1867 Dalton City, IL - d. 1935 Topton, Berks, PA) & Maude Mary Gibson Cole (b. 1868 Hamilton, Caldwell, MO - d. 1963 Chalfont, Bucks, PA). Will's wedding was likely at Troost Avenue Gospel Hall.
• James B. Buchan @ Thornhill, ON - +Oct. 1963 - June 1970+
• Ernest Theopil Sandeen @ Oak Park, IL - +June 1962 - June 1972 (b. 1895 Chicago, IL - d. 1986 Oak Park, IL), son of Sven Oscar Sandeen (b. 1864 Frillestad, Skåne, Sweden; emig. 1887-1888; m. 1890 @ Chicago, IL; d. 1930 Chicago, IL) & Emma Johannesdotter Floreen Sandeen (b. 1867 Bolstad, Sweden - d. 1899 Oak Park, IL); 2nd wife: Augusta Amalia Johnson Sandeen. In 1900, Sven was employed in Chicago as a tailor. Ernest had four siblings: Ethel, Oscar, Elmer & Ralph. Sven's parents were Ola Olson/Pehrsson (1823-1907 Frillestad, Sweden) & Helena Svensdotter (b. 1829 Torpa Kronaberghstan - d. 1912 Frillestad, Sweden). The Sandeen family relocated from Chicago to Oak Park in 1913.
  • +1917 employed as a stenographer @ American Bridge Co.. Army WWI vet (1918-1919). 1930-1965 @ Fairbanks-Morse (1823-2020), presently owned by Arcline. Elder @ River Forest Bible Chapel. Wife: Evelyn Emma Beguelin Sandeen. Children: Marjorie Evelyn Sandeen (1927-1933 Oak Park, IL), Ernest Robert Sandeen (b. 1931 Oak Park, IL - d. 1982 St. Paul, Ramsey, MN) & John C. Sandeen (@ Wolfeboro, NH).

• Neil M. Glass @ Park Ridge, IL - Jan. 1961 - Dec. 1972+

• Robert W. Mojonnier @ West Chicago, IL & Wheaton, IL - Nov. 1960 - Dec. 1972+

• James D. Kennedy @ La Grange, IL - +Oct. 1963 - Dec. 1972+

• Charles Donald "Don" Cole @ Oak Park & Lombard, IL - Jan. 1967 - Dec. 1972+ (b. 1923 Kansas City, MO - d. 2012 Barrington, Lake, IL)
  • see CT's obit.

• Walter Liefeld - +Jan. 1972 - Dec. 1972+

• Robert W. Logan - +June 1971 - Dec. 1972+

• W. Herbert Marshall @ Boston & Belmont, MA - Apr. 1946 - Dec. 1972+

• John McCallum @ Chicago & Oak Lawn, IL - Nov. 1960 - Dec. 1972+

• J. Wilson McCracken @ Elmhurst, IL - +Jan. 1960 - Dec. 1972+

• Kasmir Strance @ Chicago, IL - Dec. 1966 - Dec. 1972+

• Donald M. Taylor +June 1969 - June 1970 - Dec. 1972+

• Donald J. Thomson @ Chicago & Riverdale, IL +Jan. 1960 - Dec. 1972+

• Leroy Yates @ Chicago, IL - Oct. 1965 - Dec. 1972+

Archives

• LOI 1950's