Mrs. Gus Nichols

August/12/2005 15:17 Filed in: Recent Finds
Nichols_Matilda_small-715724

The World Evangelist -- 1972-2004

Basil Overton published The World Evangelist from August 1972 until May 2004. A one time, it was one the largest circulated publications among churches of Christ. It was with sadness, we learned that it would not longer be available.

Through the kindness of brother Overton, he is making it possible for the paper to be preserved and made even more useful. He has agreed to allow the paper to be scanned and put into PDF format. A special scanner was purchased to accommodate the 11x17 format. Five years of the paper has already been scanned. James Farris delivered the remaining issues to Henderson on Friday, August 12. In a few weeks, all the issues should be scanned and formatted in PDF format. We hope to have it available to the public in less than a month. The CD / DVD will sell for $25. The Freed-Hardeman Bible Bookstore will handle the sales and all profits will go to Freed-Hardeman. The generosity of the Overtons in their support of Christian education is commendable.

While I am pleased with the possibility of using the World Evangelist as a research source, I am very excited that brother Overton has also made available hundreds of photographs that he used in the publication of The World Evangelist. The photo on this page of sister Matilda Nichols, wife of brother Gus Nichols, is only one of the precious photos in the Overton collection. While it will be longer and slower process to scan and catalogue the photos, we are excited about the preservation and wider circulation of these valuable materials.

--- Tom L. Childers
www.freed-hardeman.com