Sarah Jane Farmer: Champion of Peace

It has been deeply moving to feature books on Baha’i Blog that were published posthumously; to spotlight the dedicated efforts of friends and family who have recognize the importances of the manuscripts and who worked tirelessly to bring them into the hands of readers. Sarah Jane Farmer: Champion of Peace is one such book. It is written by Bahiyyih Randall Winckler and its recent publication is due to the love of Anne Perry. I am grateful to Anne for sharing with us all about this new biography:

Can you please tell us about the incredible process of putting this book together?

I had been aware of Bahiyyih’s manuscript for decades—in fact, years ago I used it and other materials from the National Baha’i Archives and the Eliot Baha’i Archives as the basis of our book, Green Acre on the Piscataqua. The manuscript and other things Bahiyyih pulled together established the Sarah Farmer collection in both archives, so other researchers had no doubt come upon it as well. But still, it was just a typed document on yellowing paper that writers occasionally photocopied and used as source material. 

I had been working on writing a middle-grade version of the Sarah Farmer story, when I started thinking about how valuable it would be to publish Bahiyyih’s manuscript first. So, I had it keyboarded and then began the process of editing it. Horace Holley had given reasons why it couldn’t be published, back in the 1940s, among them the fact that they couldn’t afford to print it during the “emergency years” (following World War II). I thought about how disappointing this would have been for Bahiyyih to have done the work and not have it published. So many years had passed—more than 80! I added a foreword to give it a contemporary context, some photographs, and some excerpts from Green Acre on the Piscataqua that amplified aspects of the narrative.

I also took the Wilmette Institute course on writing biographies, and that was helpful, especially working with my mentor, Janet Fleming Rose, who proofread the work and consulted with me on some of the book’s aspects. I also have a writing partner, Michelle Goering, who gave me feedback and encouragement. 

Many people admire Sarah Farmer and knew Bahiyyih Winckler, so there’s been quite a bit of interest in the book. 

Can you please tell us a little about Bahiyyih Randall Winckler and your collaboration with her? It must have been amazing! Her account of her childhood pilgrimage to Haifa to meet Abdu’l-Baha is one of my favourites!

I met Bahiyyih at Green Acre in the 1980s and was fascinated by her tales of the early days there, of meeting Abdu’l-Baha, and of her father’s role in helping to maintain Green Acre before it became a Baha’i school. She had come to Green Acre as the guest of Mildred Mottahedeh on the latter’s 80^th birthday, after some time away, and they recounted how the two of them had run the summer programs at Green Acre for several years, back in the day—Bahiyyih focused on the housekeeping and Mildred on the kitchen; they both worked on the program. 

Later, Bahiyyih was one of the speakers at the Baha’i World Congress in New York in 1992, sharing her memories of meeting the Master in a charming and articulate way. 

After she died, I regretted the fact that I had never gone to South Africa to visit her, to sit at her feet, and to learn more from her. At some point when I was working on the book, I realized that I should ask permission from Bahiyyih’s family to publish it. I tracked down her daughter in South Africa, Beth Witham, who put me in touch with her own two children, Roland Witham and Kim McQueen. They all read the book, gave me permission, and provided some details I had not known. 

Roland, now serving at the Bahá’í World Centre, found and sent me a 1942 article from The Portsmouth Herald about Bahiyyih working on the book. At this point, I was moved by the mystery of our connection, how we both loved Sarah Farmer and had written about her, about how I was now able to bring her work to fruition, interwoven with mine.   

I know it will be difficult to choose, but what was one thing you learned in the process of putting this book together? Something about Sarah Farmer or about writing–any lesson learned would be lovely to hear about!

I think the most important thing I gained is an appreciation of the art of biography and of the individual voice of authors. As I mention in the book’s foreword, Bahiyyih’s book is not authoritative or academic, but a collection of material she gleaned through personal interviews and accounts, newspaper clippings, programs, and the like, and it reflects her own voice and telling of Sarah’s story. It will be important to have many voices describe the role that Sarah played in the movement for peace and justice, interfaith dialogue, and interracial unity, before these became common undertakings. Her role in the establishment of Green Acre, as a Disciple of Abdu’l-Baha, and as an early heroine of the Baha’i Faith will also be seen with increased interest and awareness.

In addition, I appreciated the “collaboration” the three of us had across time and geographic locality. When Sarah died in 1916, Bahiyyih was only nine, and she passed away in 2000, so we have lived at different times and places but shared a common vision that somehow bound us together. 

What can we learn from Sarah Farmer in our efforts to build vibrant communities today?

Sarah created a unique center of learning where everyone was respected and validated. She worked tirelessly for peace, for unity, and for progress. Dedicated to spiritual ideals, she carried them out in practical ways, praying for and anticipating transformations of the human heart. Studying her life, we find so much that can be applied to circumstances today. Her commitment to outreach, to envisioning change and seeing potential in everyone, and in giving of herself were unbounded.  

Abdu’l-Baha wrote at least 28 tablets to her, providing guidance, encouragement, and confirmation. In one tablet He wrote that He hoped she would be “the envy of queens of all regions and the rival of the celebrated people of the world.” When He was with Sarah at Green Acre, He reportedly said that she would be revered above all American women one day. Part of my motivation in writing about her is to hasten that day. 

How do you hope readers will feel when they finish reading?

Inspired, uplifted, galvanized, and hopeful. We have much work to do in this world, and Sarah is a role model in terms of both vision and action. 

Thank you, Anne, for taking the time to share this with us!

You can purchase Sarah Jane Farmer: Champion of Peace on Amazon. It is also available from the US Baha’i Book Distribution Service.

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.