Alumni step into history at gospel broadcaster's library

The familiar deep voice of famed radio evangelist H.M.S. Richards Sr., speaking on a 1953 recorded broadcast, resonated throughout La Sierra University's H.M.S. Richards Library on Feb. 28.

La Sierra alumni and other visitors, long familiar with the Seventh-day Adventist gospel pioneer, streamed in to the library to peruse Richards' memorabilia and reminisce the past during an open house for La Sierra's Homecoming weekend. They viewed shelves of his books and a broadcasting desk complete with an old CBS radio microphone. They pored over a binder of his original notes and listened to his former administrative secretary, Lorraine Hudgins Hirsch, describe four years of work with the founder of the Voice of Prophecy, Adventism's 80-year-old flagship gospel radio show. Richards provided Hirsch three months of notes at a time for his published writings, written in a sort of brief code. "He knew I knew his format," Hirsch said.

La Sierra alumnus Dwight Randall and his wife, Francis Randall, were among the library's visitors. "Her mother's a big contributor to the Voice of Prophecy," giving $1,000 a month to the program, Dwight Randall said, referencing his mother-in-law, Vera Wayman. Francis Randall's grandfather, Frank Wayman, was a member of the site selection committee that chose the land for the construction of La Sierra College and its agricultural endeavors. "He could see this could be good land for the college," Randall said.

Dwight Randall attended La Sierra in 1953 and again in 1955, eventually enrolling in law school at the University of California, Los Angeles. Randall's niece attended La Sierra as a music major before transferring to Pacific Union College. Both of his sisters, Eleanor and Elizabeth, attended La Sierra University, as did his three brothers-in-law, Randall said.

PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)