May 28, 2019
By Donna (Sanford) Bond
“I can hardly remember when the Sabbath Recorder was not a part of my life,” I told Pat Cruzan when she mentioned the upcoming 175th anniversary issue. “Maybe you should write about it for the June issue,” she responded.
So here it is: The Sabbath Recorder no doubt came into our home before I was born. Once I got beyond Dick, Jane and Sally primers, I was ready to take on denominational news (if not inspiring sermons). My favorite page listed Marriages, Accessions, Births and Obituaries. (A later suggestion of a Divorces column went over like a lead balloon!)
Then, “back in the day” (before Facebook) there was always Church News. It was fun to read what was going on in other churches, particularly my dad’s former pastorates or places where I had served in SCSC.
My first job after college was working in Plainfield as half-time secretary to Leon Maltby, Editor of the Sabbath Recorder. Tuesday was layout day for the weekly publication. Rev. Maltby would hover over me while we pasted preprinted columns in place and submitted fresh writing that I had typed. When the Maltbys went to Florida in March, I was on my own for layout day. When they returned, the layout became my project.
When a second part-time job (read: income with benefits) did not materialize, I returned home to Wisconsin and entered the secular workplace, still poring over the Sabbath Recorder.
Time passed. I married Tim Bond (whom I had “sighted” during my stay in Plainfield) and moved back to New Jersey. When God blessed us with two children 19 months apart, I put my career on hold for 11 years and indexed back issues of the Sabbath Recorder. I would turn on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” or “Sesame Street” and go to work with my 60s-era typewriter and a stack of index cards. After wearing out two typewriters at home, I reluctantly returned to full-time work in the local school district and almost immediately thanked God for providing health insurance.
As a preteen, I dreamed of becoming a famous author. That hasn’t happened exactly, but the Sabbath Recorder has afforded opportunities to contribute as Shiloh Correspondent off and on for 45 years, as Contributing Editor of the Women’s Page in the 90s, and just as a person with an interest in the Recorder. After I was sent home from Conference in 1992 for a biopsy on my neck, the Recorder gave me an outlet for expressing thanks for your prayers.
After sharing my article Pass Me a Hymnbook, Please! (ref. October 2009 issue) with a local Baptist pastor, I was invited to submit devotional material to a non-denominational book of daily devotions. Many of these have been reprinted on Recorder pages. It was also my sad duty and privilege to write three obituaries—for Ilou Sanford, Margaret Bond, and Don Sanford—all in 16 months.
I was recently chided for submitting notice of the marriage of a non-SDB niece. I explained to my critic that genealogists and historians frequently consult Recorder pages, finding useful information that may not be available any place else. (The index is also an invaluable resource for Robe of Achievement nominations.)
Now, since I am cursed with a red ink brain, I am one of several critics who proof the Editor’s work before it goes to press. So, yes, if your work is not exactly as submitted, maybe you can blame me. Or someone else.
My prayer is that the Sabbath Recorder will continue to be available on paper as long as I am here to read it. God bless you, Pat, for your talent and your dedication to the task.