Papers of William A. Drury - Collection 492

1 Box (DC, .2 cu feet) Audio Tapes, Photographs, Video

Restrictions:

TRANSCRIPTS TO THE INTERVIEWS OF T1 THROUGH T10 ARE AVAILABLE. PORTIONS OF INTERVIEWS T5 AND T7 ARE RESTRICTED UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2030.

Biography

Full name: William Adolph Drury (born Adolph Drury)

Birth date: June 3, 1926

Death date: December 23, 2005

Conversion: Process began with a conversation with his brother John at Moody Bible Institute and ended in 1949, when he was born again

Education: Dropped out of public school at the age of 14; attended National Bible Institute, New York (later Shelton College) and Temple University, Pennsylvania

Military Service: Drafted June 1944; served as an infantry private in the European theater of World War II, honorable discharge in 1946

Other significant information: Held evangelistic crusades in various cities on an irregular basis; at various times also had evangelistic programs on radio. Ordained as a minister by the Fundamental Churches of America.

Scope and Content

The heart of this collection consists of the interviews with Rev. Drury, but it also contains other audio tapes, brochures and newspaper clippings, a video and photographs about his life and ministry.

William A. Drury was interviewed by Robert Shuster five times between 1993 and 1996. The events described in the interview cover the time period ca. 1936-1996.

T1 (74 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Family background, character of parents, experiences growing up in New York City in the 1920s and 30s, place of Catholicism in the family's life, contrast between Catholic and Evangelical Protestant Christianity, personality of his mother, the way abundant materialism blunts the will to survive in the young, influence of materialism on Christianity in America, dream of paying his father's bills, experiences as a boy as a tout and con artist at the race track, the importance of treating his father to a hamburger, the suffering his stutter caused him in his youth, difficulties his stutter caused him when he was in the Army, being drafted into the Army

T2 (17 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Drafted into the Army in 1944 and experiences in basic training; shipping to France, arrival at the replacement depot and assignment to the 8th Infantry Division; re-enlist-ment in order to visit children he had gotten to know in Belgium and canceling of re-enlistment

T3 (65 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Meeting his wife Dorothy; a sermon in her church led Drury to a conviction of his own sin, which led him to commit his life to Christ; work in New York City for the Diebold Safe and Lock company; first exposure to street corner evangelism when he heard John J. Gallo in the late 1940s; his first public preaching during one of Gallo's meetings; development of his own street corner meetings; problems in street corner preaching (police, noise); reaction of his wife to his conversion and preaching; Drury's attendance at the National Bible Institute; fellow student Al Kelly; learning Greek from Dr. Daniel Fetler; conversion of Drury's brother John and its influence on Drury; reactions of other family members to Drury's conversion and Protestantism; description of the street corner evangelism meetings he and other NBI students were involved in; criticism from one of his professors; attendance at NBI ended when his company transferred him to Philadelphia; memories of J. Oliver Buswell II; qualities that made a good street preacher; story of a convert; methods for getting people's attention; sample of a typical street sermon; the need to bring people to a point of decision; the difficulty of getting churches to do follow-up with converts

T4 (43 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Overlap from the end of tape T3; use of a sidewalk artist in evangelism; Crayton Dunlop {sp?] and Jack Wyrtzen; leading an outdoor summer evangelism campaign for the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia; conversion of a seminary student; reactions of seminary students to outdoor evangelism; the need to avoid lengthy preaching in street corner evangelism; Billy Graham's sermon at Percy Crawford's funeral; the need to avoid religious jargon and give a simple, brief message; how to handle threats and violence when preaching; examples of men who used every opportunity to tell others about the need for salvation; becoming a speaker for the Christian Businessmen's Club in Philadelphia; CBMC's sponsorship of Percy Crawford youth rallies (Youtharama) in Philadelphia; Drury's involvement in the rallies; description of how he joined Crawford's ministry full-time in 1957; debts and other problems of Youtharama

T5 (67 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) First impression of Percy Crawford; Crawford's energetic nature and his heart condition; Crawford's death on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1960; Crawford's children; "the life of an evangelist is a lonely life"; Drury's meeting with J. Howard Pew; an evangelist's family; difficulties involved in constant traveling; Crawford's decision-making style; contacting Billy Graham to preach Crawford's funeral sermon; Crawford's effectiveness in preaching to bring people to a point of decision; example of Crawford's speaking style at Pinebrook Camp; Crawford couldn't speak in Los Angeles in 1949 and suggested Graham; Jim Vaus and Crawford; Jack Wyrtzen and Crawford; an attempted strike at Pinebrook Camp; example of Crawford as an administrator; Crawford's influence on Drury; part of Ruth Crawford in the ministry; Crawford always thinking about several things at once; Drury's duties as a kind of general manger for Youtharama; comments on fund-raising; inviting white inner city kids to a Youtharama rally; complaints from the Youtharama board about them; Drury's involvement with handling referrals from the Parents Youth Aid referral Committee

T6 (55 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) First experience in ghetto evangelism; Drury's need to find out if Christ was relevant to youth of the inner city; influence on him of Salvationist Lydia B. Ridgeway; spiritual needs of the young people; mortgaging his home to buy the first Teen Haven house; firebombing of the house; racist reactions from friends and neighbors; methods of the Moroccos and other Philadelphia gangs; involvement with various government bodies investigating gangs; contrast between drug pushers and the average Christians; opposition of the board of Youtharama to Drury's work with inner city youth and Drury's resignation; a Christian summer camp reneges on a promise to provide places for sixty of Drury's kids; Charlie Ashman's offer of a camp; reason for and results of the fire bombings of the Teen Haven buildings; setting up a Teen Haven house in Morocco territory; typical activities at a Teen Haven house; the importance of Bible studies and counselor training; the place of the rural camps in Tenn Haven's work; details on how the Teen Haven Bible studies work and their importance; the importance of individual "quiet times" in the program

T7 (68 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Introduction of Teen Haven to Lancaster, Pennsylvania; visit to Buffalo, New York, results in a Teen Haven program there; connection between Houghton College students and the work in Buffalo; use of volleyball and basketball in the Buffalo program; pressure from the Philadelphia city government to make "contributions," problems with governmental red tape; "Fear permeates America when it comes to urban America, the inner city;" beginning of Teen Haven's work in Washington, DC in 1965; driving through Washington in a police car in 1965; finding a house for Teen Haven in Washington; closing the program in Washington in 1970 because of lack of staff; contacts with Washington Bible College; Bill Shade and Teen Encounter; description of the Teen Haven program in York, Pennsylvania; story of how he tried to get a young couple out of the Body of Christ commune in Alaska; attempt to start a Teen Haven program in Baltimore; interest of Ray Berry and the chief of police in getting a program started; attempt to find people at Dallas Seminary to work in the inner city; reluctance of white Evangelicals to visit Watts with Drury; visit to Cleveland; difficulty of recruiting people to work in the inner city; talk with Stephen Olford about the needs of the ministry; a generation of failure in regard to government programs for the inner city

T8 (40 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Proposal to have the National Guard protect streets of Washington and stamp out drug trade; Drury's reason for running in the Republican primary for congressman from Lancaster in 1976; advice from congressmen and senators; Billy Graham's refusal to become involved in politics; description of his campaign and reason for enjoying it; keeping Teen Haven out of the campaign; the flight of Christians from the inner city and lack of interest in the fate of kids there; stories about the impact of Teen Haven on various individuals; difficulty of getting the church involved in the inner city; spiritual needs of young professionals who are moving back to the city

T9 (72 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Drury's experiences as chaplain on a cruise ship; acquaintance with Lyman Coleman; Drury's trip to Korea in 1963 to inspect the King's Korean Mission; street evangelism with John Jesberg of the Pocket Testament League during the 1962 Communist youth festival in Helsinki, Finland; Mitsuo Fuchida; more stories about preaching during the festival; witnessing to a Finnish family; giving an evangelistic invitation in England; contacts with BGEA staff during the 1961 Philadelphia crusade

T10 (43 minutes). (Click to link to the transcript of this tape) Contacts with BGEA staff during the 1961 Philadelphia crusade; Drury's support for the crusade and his heart for evangelism; Carl McIntire's criticism of Percy Crawford for supporting the crusade; Ross Stover; Crawford's lack of follow-up at his meetings; reaction of Philadelphia clergy to the 1961 crusade; comparisons between the 1957 New York Crusade, the 1961 Philadelphia Crusade, and the 1992 Philadelphia Crusade; the mystery of how people come to accept Christ; story of his brother Joe's conversion during the New York Crusade; a humbling counseling experience; Drury's impression of the BGEA staff; need for a new leader at Teen Haven; comments on fund raising

The collection also has a video of a local (probably Lancaster, Pennsylvania) television program about the Teen Haven camp in Brogue, Pennsylvania. The video includes interviews with Bill Drury and two men who were saved through the work of Teen Haven, Darrell Melvin and Greg Brocato. There are also scenes from life at the camp and interviews with kids who were there at the time of the program. Folder 1-1 includes brochures, press releases, copies of newspaper articles and other material about the ministry of Teen Haven.

Provenance

The materials in this collection were given to the Archives of the Billy Graham Center by William A. Drury in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996.

Accession: 93-102, 93-124, 94-49, 95-43, 96-60, 96-95, 96-158

T1 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 74 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on September 15, 1993. The interview is concluded on T2. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T2 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 17 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on September 15, 1993. Conclusion of T1. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T3 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 65 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on December 17, 1993. The interview is concluded on T4. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T4 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 43 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on December 17, 1993. Conclusion of T3. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T5 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 67 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on May 19, 1994. The interview is concluded on T6. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T6 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 55 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on May 19, 1994. Conclusion of T5. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T7 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 68 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on March 22, 1995. The interview is concluded on T8. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T8 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 40 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on March 22, 1995. Conclusion of T7. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T9 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 72 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on June 20, 1996. The interview is concluded on T10. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T10 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, 43 minutes on one side only. Interview of William A. Drury by Robert Shuster, recorded on June 20, 1996. Conclusion of T9. This interview was originally taped on a cassette, which was then copied onto a reel.

T11 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, ca. 75 minutes on one side only. Copies of four tapes of recordings made by William Drury in Finland in July and August 1962, describing his and others' efforts at Christian evangelism during the International Festival of Communist Youth. Includes testimony of M. Fuchida. These tapes were apparently intended to be broadcast, all or in part, over the Youtharama radio program. The tapes are not necessarily in chronological order. This reel copy was made from the four original reels, which were returned to the donor.

T12 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, ca. 72 minutes on one side only. Copies of four tapes of recordings made by William Drury in Finland in July and August 1962, describing his and others efforts at Christian evangelism during the International Festival of Communist Youth. These tapes were apparently intended to be broadcast, all or in part, over the Youtharama radio program. The tapes are not necessarily in chronological order. This reel copy was made from the four original reels, which were returned to the donor.

T13 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, ca. 50 minutes on one side only. Copies of four tapes of recordings made by William Drury in Finland in July and August 1962, describing his and others efforts at Christian evangelism during the International Festival of Communist Youth. These tapes were apparently intended to be broadcast, all or in part, over the Youtharama radio program. The tapes are not necessarily in chronological order. This reel copy was made from the four original reels, which were returned to the donor.

T14 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, ca. 41 minutes on one side only. Copies of three tapes of recordings made by William Drury in South Korea, describing various evangelistic programs there and including testimonies from American servicemen and others. Ca.1963. These tapes were apparently intended to be broadcast, all or in part, over the Youtharama radio program. The tapes are not necessarily in chronological order. This reel copy was made from the three original reels, which were returned to the donor.

T15 - Reel, 3/3-4 ips, ca. 45 minutes on one side only. Copies of five tapes. Three tapes of recordings made by William Drury about a series of evangelistic meetings for young people which he was holding in Mansfield, Ohio, followed by a tape of Rev. Drury interviewing Pennsylvanians at a National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., followed by a brief radio message by evangelist Percy Crawford. The first three tapes were recorded in 1963, the next in the early 1960s, the last sometime before Crawford's death in 1960. These tapes were apparently intended to be broadcast, all or in part, over the Youtharama radio program. This reel copy was made from the five original reels, which were returned to the donor.

T16 - Reel, 3-3/4 ips, ca 54 minutes on one side only. N.d. Two programs (#7805) of the radio show Unshackled. Program one contains the Billy Drury story, a dramatization that takes his life to the point where he began to witness on street corners to his faith in Christ. It is immediately followed by program two, the Luis Centano story, the dramatization of Centano's life, telling about his growing up the son of a poor family in Philadelphia, his involvement in gangs and crime, and how he learned about the salvation offered by Christ through a Teen Haven camp. The program ends with a brief message by Bill Drury on the work of Teen Haven. This reel copy was made from a two-sided cassette.

DRURY, WILLIAM A. Picture of Drury demonstrating a zip gun, portrait photo. 2 b/w. N.d.

TEEN HAVEN. Picture of the Teen Haven camp bus, filled with campers; picture of a group of kids in front of a Teen Haven house, possibly in Philadelphia; Polaroid of the gym at the Teen Haven camp in York, Pennsylvania. 2 color, 1 b/w. 1988, n.d.

V1 - 2 copies, 1 U-matic, 1 VHS, ca. 22 minutes, 1991. A program of the show Thursday Live, produced by the CBS affiliate Channel 8 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This program was about the work of Teen Haven's camp in York County.