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Robert J. Hastings

Born: 1924 Marion, Illlinois
Died: 1997 Springfield, Illinois

Pen Name: None

Connection to Illinois: Hastings is a native of Marion. He also lived in Carbondale and Springfield.

Biography: Robert Hastings was an ordained Baptist Minister who wrote books about his boyhood during the Great Depression. He was the editor of the Illinois Baptist news journal from 1967 until his retirement in 1984. A former president of the Southern Baptist Press Association, he authored more than 15 books, including 'A Nickel's Worth of Skim Milk' about his boyhood in southern Illinois during the Depression, which received an Illinois State Historical Society award of merit in 1973; a 160-page manual, 'How I Write;' 'Tinyburg Tales' and 'Tinyburg Revisited;' and 'Samuel: The Amish Boy Who Lived,' about an Amish couple's eight-week beside vigil at their critically injured son's bedside. In ministry, he was the first pastor of University Baptist Church in Carbondale, Illinois, serving there from 1950-55 and from 1965 until being named editor of the Illinois Baptist. Before assuming his Illinois editor's role, Hastings was secretary of the Kentucky Baptist Convention's department of stewardship promotion, 1960-65, and assistant director of church finance at the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, Nashville, Tenn., 1955-60. He was a graduate of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, who later earned a doctor of theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas.


Awards:
  • -- A Nickel's Worth of Skim Milk - Illinois State Historical Society award, 1973

Primary Literary Genre(s): Fiction; History; Non-Fiction

Primary Audience(s): Adult readers

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Selected Titles

A nickel's worth of skim milk :
ISBN: 0809313057 OCLC: Carbondale, Ill. :

Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Ill. : ©1986.

A penny's worth of minced ham :
ISBN: 0809313030 OCLC: Carbondale, Ill. :

Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Ill. : ©1986.

  Glorious is Thy name! :
ISBN: 0805472304 OCLC: Nashville, Tenn. :

Broadman Press, Nashville, Tenn. : ©1986.

O happy day and other Tinyburg tales /
ISBN: 0805457410 OCLC: Nashville, Tenn. :

Broadman Press, Nashville, Tenn. : ©1992.

Samuel :
ISBN: 1563524376 OCLC: Marietta, Ga. :

Longstreet Press, Marietta, Ga. : ©1996.

Just days before his tenth birthday, Samuel Herschberger became entangled in a piece of equipment on his family farm while performing a routine chore. He sustained injuries so extensive that his survival amazed medical personnel called to the scene. Because the Amish have no insurance, Samuel's hospital and medical bills would have meant financial ruin except for the generosity of the surrounding communities. Family, non-Amish friends, and strangers responded to their need with every kind of fund-raiser. What began as a nightmare for the Herschbergers miraculously became an opportunity to trust in the goodness of the modern world and an occasion to share the serenity of their Amish lifestyle with others. Told from the perspective of Samuel's parents, this heart-warming story of tragedy and triumph speaks about the power of community to sustain and affirm the value of life.

  The answer book :
ISBN: 0960070605 OCLC: Springfield, Ill. :

The Author ; Springfield, Ill. : ©1991.

Tinyburg revisited /
ISBN: 0805457356 OCLC: Nashville, Tenn. :

Broadman Press, Nashville, Tenn. : ©1988.

Tinyburg tales /
ISBN: 0805452184 OCLC: Nashville, Tenn. :

Broadman Press, Nashville, Tenn. : ©1983.

 

 

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