Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Wednesday, November 27, 2024
A life centered on faith. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Legendary Iowa broadcaster Jim Zabel was best known for the thousands of sporting events he covered on the radio, but his career included far more than sports. Jim Zabel, 50 years of broadcast memories, is a 2-CD set including not only famous game calls, but interviews with celebrities and politicians, all personally selected by Zabel himself. Get your copy of Jim Zabel, 50 years of broadcast memories exclusively at TotallyIowa.com. Sarah Pollard was born in Bloomfield on November 27th, 1862. You won't recognize her by that name because early on she decided she didn't like it, and instead went by Adelaide Pollard. A deeply religious woman, by the time she was 40 years of age in 1902, Adelaide wanted to travel to Africa to become a missionary, but she could not raise the needed money. Discouraged, she attended a prayer meeting one evening and was inspired by the meditations that night. She went home and wrote a hymn, which millions have sung in the century since it was written, "Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Hold me and make me after thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still." Adelaide wrote more than one hundred other songs, but since she seldom sought credit, we don't know how many for sure. Just before World War I she did reach Africa, but the fighting forced her to retreat to Scotland. She returned to the U.S. after the war and continued preaching until her death due to a ruptured appendix just before Christmas 1934 at the age of 72. She's buried in a cemetery in Fort Madison. You may not recall her name, but you've no doubt sung her hymns. Adelaide Pollard, born in Iowa, on this date in 1862. And that's Iowa Almanac for November 27. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.