By ENOCH DOUGLAS DAVIS
"And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder set on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: And, behold, the angels of God ascending on it . . . and he called the name of that place Bethel."
-- Genesis 28:12,19
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 79-63135
Printed in the United States of America
Valkgrie Press, Inc.
St. Petersburg, Florida
Dedication
To the members of Bethel Community Baptist Church, who have helped me to help them for 46 years, and to the memory of my saintly mother and godly father, Abram and Mozell Davis, this book is dedicated.
Acknowledgements
To the late Reverend Dr. William A. Smith-scholar, educator and pastor-who encouraged me to write the Bethel story; to the Reverend Lacy Harwell, pastor of the Maximo Presbyterian Church, who encouraged me into going far beyond my original intentions in writing On The Bethel Trail; to the Reverend Dr. Martin C. Bascom, Douglas Memorial Community Church, Baltimore, Maryland; and my son, Leroy D. Davis, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., who went through the first portion of my manuscript with a fine tooth comb, deleting whatever appeared to be ambiguous or redundant; to the typists-too numerous to mention-for typing and retyping the manuscript; to Mrs. Mamie Brown, librarian of the Central Library of St. Petersburg, Mrs. Florence L. Jones, librarian of the St. Petersburg Junior College, and Mrs. Helen Edwards, librarian of the James Weldon Johnson Library, for locating and providing reference materials; to my wife Hazel,who, among many other obligations, assisted me in a variety of ways; and to Mr. Mike Richardson of the St. Petersburg Evening Independent for putting the manuscript in final form; I am deeply grateful. ENOCH DOUGLAS DAVIS
Copyright ©1979 by Enoch Douglas Davis. All rights reserved.
© 1998-99 University of South Florida. All rights reserved.
© 1998-99 Design: Rochelle Lewis Lavin, St. Petersburg, FL. All rights reserved.