Bahá'í Library Online
. . . .
.

Search for tag "Pioneer"

from the chronology

date event locations tags see also
1916 summer Mr Vasily Eroshenko, a young blind Russian, visited Thailand, the first Bahá'í to do so. Thailand First travel teachers and pioneers
1917 3 Apr 'Abdu'l-Bahá's exhortation on China was published in the Star of the West on the 28th of April, 1917. "China, China, China, China-ward the Cause of Baha'o'llah must march! Where is that holy, sanctified Bahai to become the teacher of China! China has most great capability. The Chinese people are most simple-hearted and truth-seeking." and "China is the country of the future." [SotW_Vol-01 (Mar 1910)-Vol-10 (Mar 1919) p2127/2922]
  • See as well PG99-100 for His Tablet to Chen Ting Mo.
  • China Chen Ting Mo; Abdul-Baha, Life of; Abdul-Baha, Writings and talks of; Pioneering; Travel teaching
    1921 (In the year) Mohi al-Din al-Kurdi, (Sheikh Muhyí's-Dín Sabrí) a Bahá'í from Egypt, from the noble elders of Al-Azhar, arrived in Tunisia to make known the message of Bahá'u'lláh. [Website of the Bahá'ís of Tunisia]
  • 100 year later this event was commemorated. [BWNS1577]
  • Tunisia Mohieddine Kurdi; pioneering
    1924 (In the year) Miss Nora Lee, who became a Bahá'í in New Zealand, was the first Bahá'í to travel to Fiji, working as a nanny in Labasa from 1924 to about 1930.
  • Gretta Lamprill became the first Bahá'í in Tasmania in the latter part of the year. [SBR162]
  • In 1924 Clara and Hyde Dunn spent three months in Hobart together with two Melbourne Baha’is. Their visit attracted a small number of individuals to the Bahá'í Faith, the first of whom was a nurse, Gretta Lamprill. She was gradually joined by others in Hobart, Launceston and Devonport. The first Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Hobart was established in 1949, providing the basis for the effective functioning of the Baha’i community since that time. [Australian Baha'i Community site]
  • Fiji; Tasmania; Hobart; Launceston; Devonport, Australia First Bahais by country or area; First travel teachers and pioneers; Clara Dunn; Hyde Dunn
    1935 Aug Mary Maxell pioneered to Germany. Her first meeting with the Bahá'ís was at the Esslingen Summer School. [WMSH45] Germany Mary Maxell; Pioneer
    1936 (Latter half of the year) Mrs Randolph Bolles and her daughter Jeanne, two American Bahá'ís, (aunt and cousin of Mary Maxwell respectively), were sent to Budapest by Shoghi Effendi to open Hungary to the Faith. At the time of their departure there were seven Bahá'ís in Budapest, mostly of Jewish background. [Rebirth: Memoirs of Renée Szanto-Felbermann p103-5] Budapest; Hungary First travel teachers and pioneers
    1939. 7 Feb In a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of India the Guardian encouraged the concept of expansion by settlement to which he applied the name "pioneering". [MSEIp179] BWC Pioneering
    1939 8 May Philip and Laili June Marangella arrived in Cuba, the first Bahá’í pioneers to the country. Cuba First travel teachers and pioneers
    1939 18 Sep John and Rosa Shaw arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, from San Francisco, the first Bahá’ís to visit the country. Kingston; Jamaica First travel teachers and pioneers
    1940 (in the decade) The first Bahá’ís to reside in the Belgian Congo (Zaire) were Mr Rajah Ali Vahdat and Mme Marthe Molitor. Belgian Congo First travel teachers and pioneers
    1940 (In the year) Marcia Atwater, from the United States, arrived in Santiago, Chile, as the first long-term pioneer. Santiago; Chile Marcia Atwater; First travel teachers and pioneers
    1940. 13 May American Baha'i John Stearns sailed from Los Angeles to Guayaquil, Ecuador to take up his pioneer post. He took up residence in Quito and became the first established pioneer in Ecuador. [Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 p.vii; p1] Guayaquil; Ecuador Pioneer; John Stearns
    1940 27 Dec Elizabeth Cheney, the ‘spiritual mother of Paraguay’, arrived in Paraguay, the first pioneer to the country. Paraguay Elizabeth Cheney; Names and titles; First travel teachers and pioneers
    1944. (In the year) Gerardo Vega, of Costa Rica, was the first Latin-American native to pioneer when he began work in Panama. [BN No 171 November 1944 p4-5] Costa Rica; Panama Pioneer; Gerardo Vega
    1947. 20 Feb Ugo and Angeline Giachery moved from New York to Rome. [BN No 192 Feb 1947 p1]
  • The first native believer under this new Seven Year Plan, had declared himself. He is Signor Augusto Salvetti of Italy. Signor Salvetti heard of the Faith from a Persian believer while he was a prisoner of war in India. After returning to his native Italy he corresponded with the International Bureau and the office of the European Teaching Committee in Geneva. Since he was living in one of our "goal" countries, Mrs. Graeffe put him in touch with our pioneers, Mr and Mrs Giachery. [BN No195 May 1947 p1]
  • Italy Ugo Giachery; Angeline Giachery; Pioneer; Augusto Salvetti
    1948 (In the year) Pauline Campbell arrived in Bermuda, where her husband was stationed at the United States Air Force Base. She was the only Bahá’í in Bermuda until 1951. Bermuda First travel teachers and pioneers
    1950 Dec Jalál Nakhjavání arrived in Tanganyika, the first Bahá’í pioneer to the country. [BW18:79]

    History of the Bahá’í Faith in Tanzania says that Claire Gung was the 1st pioneer of the Bahá’í Faith in the country. Her biography, Claire Gung: Mother of Africa p14 confirms that she disembarked the The Warwick Castle sometime in February, 1951.

    Tanganyika (Tanzania) Jalal Nakhjavani; Pioneers; Claire Gung
    1951 (In the year) Portuguese Bahá’ís Mr António and Mrs Ema Rocha, Mrs Guedes DeMelo Rocha and Mrs D. Laura Rodriquez, the first pioneers to Angola, took up residence in Luanda. Luanda; Angola First travel teachers and pioneers
    1952 (In the year) Aziz Yazdi from Persia joined Ted Cardell in Nairobi. In 1953 they were joined by Ursula Samandari from England. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2] Nairobi; Kenya Pioneering; Aziz Yazdi; Ted Cardell; Ursula Samandari
    1952 Feb Eric Manton and his son Terry arrived in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), the first Bahá’ís to settle in the country. They settled in the Copperbelt region from where he was able to raise a number of native believers who took the Faith to other parts of Zambia. [A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nance Ororo-Robarts and Selam Ahderrom p2]
  • The first local convert was Christopher Mwitumwa in 1954. [Wikipedia]
  • Northern Rhodesia; Zambia First travel teachers and pioneers; Eric Manton; Terry Manton
    1953 25 Mar Enayat Sohaili, an Iranian, arrived in Mozambique from India, the first Bahá’í pioneer to the country. [BW13:290]
  • He was imprisoned and deported in June 1953. [BW13:290]
  • Mozambique Enayat Sohaili; Pioneers; Persecution, Mozambique; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; First travel teachers and pioneers
    1953 3 – 6 May The All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Chicago. [BW12:133]
  • For the texts of Shoghi Effendi’s messages to the conference see BW12:133–41 and MBW142–6.
  • Twelve Hands of the Cause were present. The Guardian was represented by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. [BW12:143; CBN No 82 November, 1956 p3]
  • At the conference, five members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States resigned from that body in order to go pioneering: Elsie Austin, Dorothy Baker, Matthew Bullock, Mamie Seto and Dr William Kenneth Christian. [ZK102]
  • Extract from the second message to All-American Intercontinental Conference from Shoghi Effendi... [MBW150]
    .....the lands contributed in Latin America for a similar purpose approximate one-half of a million square meters, ninety thousand of which have been set aside near Santiago, Chile, for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of South America..
  • Chicago; United States; Santiago; Chile; America Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Teaching; Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Pioneering; Elsie Austin; Dorothy Baker; Matthew Bullock; Mamie Seto; William Kenneth Christian; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Santiago; Purchases and exchanges
    1953. 28 May In a message addressed on the eve of the 61st anniversary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, at the opening of the Ten Year Crusade, Shoghi Effendi encouraged 70 pioneers to arise to fill the goals promising that a Roll of Honour with their names would be deposited at the entrance door of the inner Sanctuary of the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh. [MBW48-49]
  • He further elaborated in a message addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada. See the message of the 8 June 1953. [MtC177]
  • See 1992 28 May.
  • Haifa; BWC Pioneers; Knights of Bahaullah; Roll of Honour; Bahaullah, Shrine of
    1953 (Late August) Soon after becoming a Bahá'í in Kampala, Enoch Olinga, together with fellow new believers Max Kanyerezi and Samson Mungono, responded to the Guardian’s call and left his home in Uganda, to fulfill pioneering goals accompanied by Persian pioneers Ali and Violette Nakhjavání. Leaving in late August 1953 they traveled for almost 3 months, covering a distance of over 5000 kilometers.

    The first leg took them to Samson Mungono’s post in Kamina, in the Katanga region of the Belgian Congo. They then took a grueling route to Brazzaville, where Max was dropped off and continued through the thick forests of French Congo and Gabon, hoping to pass through French Cameroons and finally reach the British Cameroons. The car broke down in the tropical forest of Gabon leaving the three remaining friends unable to continue. Enoch volunteered to walk to a town 50 miles ahead through the forbidding jungle to get help. Upon arrival Enoch was so ill he was hospitalized for two days and could not travel for a week. He told of a dream he had in which Shoghi Effendi took him in his arms to comfort and reassure him in his desperation. In mid-October they reached the British Cameroons on the very evening of the conclusion of the Holy Year.

    Confirmations of the monumental efforts these first African pioneers made soon followed: Enoch, Max and Samson all successfully brought many local people under the banner of the Greatest Name. [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p4]

    Belgian Congo; Brazzaville; Cameroon Pioneering; Max Kanyerezi; Samson Mungono; Ali Nakhjavani; Violette Nakhjavani
    1954 Feb Shirin Fozdar arrived in Saigon, the first pioneer to Vietnam.
  • In June 1954, her daughter-in-law, Parvati Fozdar (wife of Jamshed Fozdar's) and their young son, Vilay, came to Saigon from the United States to help Ms. Shirin Fozdar. Jamshed Fozdar arrived on July 18, 1954. A month later. In August Ms. Shirin Fozdar returned to New Zealand. Mr. Jamshed Fozdar found employment and the family lived for a long time in a small apartment at 88 Le Loi Street (the old Bonard).
  • Pham Huu Chu was the first person to accept the Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam. [Bahá'í Religion in Community Education in Vietnam by Vu Van Chung]
  • Saigon; Vietnam Shirin Fozdar; pioneer
    1954 25 Mar The passing of Marion Jack (General Jack) (b. St. John, New Brunswick) at her pioneer post in Sofia, Bulgaria at the age of 87. She had been at her post since 1931. [BWNS385; Never be Afraid to Dare p. 227]
  • Shoghi Effendi called her ‘a shining example to pioneers of present and future generations of East and West’. [CF163]
  • For her obituary see BW12:674–7.
  • See also BFA2155; MC359.
  • For a photo of her gravestone see CBNOct1972p.10.
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles for a biography.
  • For a photo by the Bahá'ís of Sofia see BW5p464.
  • See also Marion Jack: Immortal Heroine by Jan Jasion
  • See CBN October1979 for tributes as well as a photo of her gravesite.
  • Sofia; Bulgaria Marion Jack; Pioneers; In memoriam; Births and deaths; Pioneers; BWNS
    1954 (April) A mere eight months after settling in British Cameroons, Enoch Olinga, along with the community of new believers at his pioneering post received a cable from Shoghi Effendi asking for African believers to settle in British Togoland, French Togoland, the Ashanti Protectorate and in the Northern Territories Protectorate before the following Ridván.

    Although Bahá'ís for only a few months, their response was instantaneous; the largest difficulty arose in limiting themselves to the four names required to fulfill the designated posts. This was determined by a vote. David Tanyi, Edward Tabe, Benedict Eballa, and Martin Manga were duly selected. Samuel Nyki was sent to French Cameroon. Each one established a Local Spiritual Assembly in their assigned posts within two years. [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p4; KoB71]

    Cameroon; British Togoland (Ghana); French Togoland (Togo); Ashanti Protectorate (Ghana); Northern Territories Protectorate (Ghana) Pioneering; David Tanyi; Edward Tabe; Benedict Eballa; Martin Manga; Samuel Njiki (Samuel Nyki)
    1955 2 Jun The first pioneer to settle in Laos, Dr Heshmat Ta’eed, arrived in the country from Thailand. Laos First travel teachers and pioneers
    1956 (In the year) Kedarnath Pradhan, from neighbouring Sikkim, arrived in Nepal, the first pioneer to the country. [Bahá'í Faith In Nepal by Prof. Anil Sarwal] Nepal; Sikkim; India First travel teachers and pioneers
    1956 Jan The first Bahá’í pioneer in what is now the Central African Republic, Samson Nkeng, arrived in Bangui from the British Cameroons1 Central African Republic Samson Nkeng; pioneer
    1956. 21 Feb The first Bahá’í pioneer, Marguerite Allman, (later Miners), formerly of Hamilton and her pioneer post in the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii), arrived in 1956. She taught the second Icelandic Bahá’í, Erica Petursson. [BN No 487 October 1971 p20; BN303 May 1956 p13] Reykjavik; Iceland; Hamilton, ON Pioneer
    1956 (Early) In early 1956, Rudolfo Duna, his wife Angelica, and eleven year old daughter Julia, early Mozambican Bahá'ís, undertook the arduous train journey from Johannesburg, South Africa to Luanda, Angola, covering over 5,000 kilometers. Within a week after their arrival in Luanda, a community large enough to establish a Local Spiritual Assembly was formed.

    Another example of a new African believer arising was the case of Dorothy Chivunda in Zambia. When word of the Faith reached the church Dorothy attended, it aroused the curiosity of the congregation. The church decided to send Dorothy to investigate the claims of this new religion. Within three weeks, she declared as a Bahá'í, promptly organizing a teaching trip to her native village in Kawiku, in Chibwakata area of North Western Province. This trip, and the others that followed, involved over 300 kilometers of travel over rough terrain. It set in motion a process that would lead to the enrolment of thousands of her fellow tribesmen, the Lunda of Zambia, into the Faith.

    [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p3]

    Luanda; Angola Pioneering; Rudolfo Duna; Angelica Duna; Julia Duna; Dorothy Chivunda
    1956 Ridván After their pilgrimage Harlan and Elizabeth Ober travelled to South Africa where they helped form the first all-African Local Spiritual Assembly in Pretoria as had previously been request of them by the Guardian. They returned in December as pioneers. [BW13869] Haifa; Pretoria Harlan Ober; Elizabeth Ober; pioneers
    1959. 7 May Donald Corbin, a pioneer to Grenada Island, made a trip to Dominica specifically to try to reach the Carib Indians. [BN No 343 September 1959 p10-11] Dominica; Grenada Pioneer; Donald Corbin; Indigenous people
    1962 Apr Virginia Breaks, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Caroline Islands, moved to Saipan, the first pioneer to the area. Saipan Virginia Breaks; Knights of Bahaullah; Pioneers
    1965 (In the year) The first pioneer to the San Andrés and Providencia Islands settled there briefly. San Andres and Providencia Islands First travel teachers and pioneers
    1965 1 Aug Mrs Ridván Sadeghzadeh and Mrs Parvine Djoneidi and their children arrived in Niamey, Niger, from Tihrán, the first Bahá’ís to settle in the country. Niamey; Niger First travel teachers and pioneers
    1966 29 Sep Frances A. Foss, the first pioneer on St Maarten, arrived in Philipsburg. Philipsburg; St Maarten Frances A. Foss; pioneer
    1967 c. Egbert Barrett arrived on Carriacou from Grenada, the first pioneer to the island. Carriacou Egbert Barrett; pioneer
    1967 (In the year) Mr O. T. Shelton arrived on St Eustatius in the West Leeward Islands, the first pioneer to the island. West Leeward Islands First travel teachers and pioneers
    1967 – 1968 Rhoda Vaughn arrived on Bonaire and remained for nine months, the first Bahá’í to visit the island. Bonaire First travel teachers and pioneers
    1968 9 Sep Gerald (Jerry) Van Deusen, a 24-year-old American Bahá’í from the Windward, Leeward and Virgin Islands and the first pioneer to Upper Volta, arrived in Ouagadougou. Ouagadougou; Upper Volta Gerald (Jerry) Van Deusen; pioneer
    1968 (Late in the year) Two Chilean Bahá’ís, Aníbal Soto, a telegraph operator in the Chilean Navy and his wife, Norma Soto, were posted to a Chilean base in Antarctica. Antarctica Pioneering
    1972 (In the year) Derek and Sally Dacey, the first resident pioneers on Montserrat in the East Leeward Islands, arrived at their pioneer post. East Leeward Islands First travel teachers and pioneers
    1974 Aug The first Bahá’í to settle on Christmas Island, Stanley Foo, arrived from Malaysia. Christmas Island First travel teachers and pioneers
    1975. 20 Apr Michael Cooper, a Bahá'í from Northampton, U.K., who had never had a passport, never been out of his country , and never been on an airplane, volunteered to pioneer to Iceland. He on April 20th, just in time to become the ninth member of a Spiritual Assembly. [BN No 544 July 1975 p17] Iceland Pioneering; Michael Cooper
    1976 to 1985 British pioneers Ron, Thelma, Simon and Suzanne Batchelor lived in Kathmandu, Nepal. [Thelma Batchelor on Bahá'í History UK] Kathmandu; Nepal Pioneers
    1977 May Paul and Jane Jensen arrived on Andros Island in the Bahamas, the first Bahá’ís to reside on the island. Andros Island First travel teachers and pioneers
    1998 29 Jul The passing of actor and writer O. Z. Whitehead at the age of 87 in Dublin. (b. in New York City on 18 March 1911).
  • His most acclaimed performance and best remembered role remained that of Al in John Ford's classic 1940 film version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
  • After the World Congress in 1963 he pioneered to the Irish Republic where, among other services to the Faith, he served on the National Spiritual Assembly.
  • He published three volumes of pen portraits, Some Early Bahá'ís of the West (1976), Some Bahá'ís to Remember (1983), and Portraits of Some Bahá'í Women (1996).
  • He is remembered as a champion of the Arts. [Bahá'í Studies Review Vol8, 1998]
  • See Robert Weinberg's O. Z. Whitehead (1911-1998):Actor and writer that was published in Bahá'í Studies Review No 8 in 1998.
  • Dublin; Ireland O Z Whitehead; Pioneers; NSA; Biographies (general)
    2000. 2 Nov The passing of Creadell Johnetta Haley (b. 4 Jul 1916 in Pawhuska, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA) in Washington, DC. She was buried in the Quantico National Memorial Cemetery, Virginia. [Find a grave; ObeisanceBaha]
  • Her passion included mechanic and learning to fly. While studying for her pilot's license war broke out and so in September 1942 she joined the Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) of the Army. After military service, she enrolled in Wilberforce University, and also returned to the airfield where she was able to quickly receive her private pilot’s license.
  • She later left Wilberforce University to enroll in the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, and later continued her music education at San Jose State University. It was during her time in California that she was introduced to the Baha’i Faith.
  • In the spring of 1967 she pioneered to Venezuela where she remained until her return to the United States in 1999. She then took up residence at St. Mary’s Court Apartments in the Foggy Bottom section of Washington, DC.
  • She is well-remembered for writing Bahá'u'lláh and There Is Only One God, both of which appear on the album Fire and Snow. Other songs include ("Love, Love, Love"; "Sing His Praises"; "It's Time To Be Happy"; "Baha'u'llah Is The Promised One"; "A New Race of Men" and "God Is One".
  • See Pioneering pilot's missions carried her skyward by
  • Pawhuska, OK; Washington DC; United States Creadell Haley; Pioneer; Songs
    2003 20 Jun The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Ursula Samandari (b. Ursula Newman 29 December, 1909 in Mitcham, Surrey, England) at her pioneering post in Buea, Cameroon.
  • In 1953 she and Dr. Mihdi Samandari moved to Nairobi, Kenya, and a year later went to live in Mogadishu, Somalia where they stayed until 1971. At the request of the Universal House of Justice, they had pioneered to Cameroon. [BWNS230, BW'03-‘04pg237]
  • Buea; Cameroon; Nairobi; Kenya; Mogadishu; Somalia Ursula Samandari; pioneer; Mihdi Samandari; In Memoriam; BWNS

    from the chronology of Canada

    date event locations tags see also
    1930 (In the year) Marion Jack departed Canada for pilgrimage in Haifa and then settled in Sofia, Bulgaria. [OBCC307] Sofia, Bulgaria Marion Jack; General Jack; Pioneering
    1931 Apr Marion Jack arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria, to begin her pioneering service. Sofia, Bulgaria Marion Jack; Pioneering
    1933 Dec The arrival the first resident Bahá'í to have lived in Newfoundland, Nova Scotian John Redden.

    John was born in Martock, NS and is credited with being the first resident Bahá'í. After he attended university he worked at the Sydney steel plant in Cape Breton. His life at the plant was gruesome for his arm was caught in machine and cut off. He moved to the United States where he found the Faith some time between 1917 and 1922. He returned to Canada in poor health and settled in Windsor, NS. John left the province to take a job in Newfoundland as a representative of the Penn Oil and Steel in Newfoundland and died of a heart attack three months later. His body was returned to Windsor. [OBCC109-110]

    He is also credited with being the first Bahá'í to have visited Cap Breton.

    NL; Martock, NS; Cape Breton, NS; Windsor, NS Pioneering; John Redden
    1934 (Apr or before) The first homefront pioneers in Canada were Rowland and Stella Estall (née Delanti) who moved from Montreal to St Lambert in 1934. Rowland remained until 1935 and Stella Estall until 1938. St Lambert, QC Pioneers; Rowland Estall; Stella Estall; Stella Delanti
    1939 Apr Jean Doris Skinner became the first Bahá'í to settle in Calgary, AB. She had become a Bahá'í in Vancouver in 1936. She left Calgary in 1949 to pioneer to NL. [OBCC184] Calgary, AB; Vancouver, BC; NL Doris Skinner; pioneering
    1940 (In the year) Mary E. Fry moved to Edmonton from Vancouver. [OBCC217] Edmonton, AB; Vancouver, BC Mary Fry; pioneer
    1946 - 1950 Helen Poissant who had learned of the Faith in Winnipeg from Lillian Tomlinson, pioneered to Saskatoon. [OBCC186] Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK Helen Poissant; Lillian Tomlinson; Pioneering
    1949. 8 Oct Margaret Reid of Toronto re-located to St. John's becoming the first Bahá'í pioneer to that province. [BN No 227 January 1950 106BE p5] St. Johns, NL Pioneering; Margaret Reid
    1950. April (Near end) After much discussion involving Dagmar Dole, Edna True and the European Teaching Committee, the local assembly of Copenhagen as well as the national spiritual assemblies of the United States and Canada as well as Shoghi Effendi, it was agreed that American Pioneer and violinist Nancy Gates would be transferred from Denmark, where she had been for three years, to the Canadian overseas goal in Greenland. [Citizens of the World: A History and Sociology of the Bahá'ís from a Globalisation Perspective by Margit Warburg p203]
  • While travelling back to the US to get a visa she attended the Canadian National Convention for one day. [CBN 13 May 1950 p11]
  • Denmark; Greenland Pioneer; Nancy Gates
    1950. (Summer) Angus and Bobbie Cowan relocated from Pickering, Ontario to St James, Manitoba. [CBN 15 September 1950 p9] St. James, MB; Pickering, ON Pioneer; Angus Cowan; Bobbie Cowan
    1950 (summer) Nan Brandle, formerly of Ottawa, was transferred by the Department of Indian Affairs to their new hospital at Moose Factory, about three miles from Moosonee, ON. The settlement consisted of the hospital, a Hudson's Bay Post, an Anglican Mission, and a Roman Catholic Church. This large hospital will be used as a base for outpost station in the Eastern Arctic. [CBN 15 September 1950 p9]
  • Nan was later joined by Garry Rea-Airth who was employed as a bookkeeper. [CBN No 18 March 1951 p10]
  • She served several years as a pioneer to the native people in Department of Indian Affairs hospitals at Fisher River and Hodgson, Manitoba and at Moose Factory and Ohsweken First Nation, Ontario. Note: At this time there were a great many First Nation and Inuit people in the Hamilton Sanitorium. [MC2p13; CBN No 47 December 1953 p4]
  • See this comment about Nan Brandle in Messages to Canada 1999:

    He was very happy to know that the work in connection with the Indians and the Eskimos is receiving special attention, and he would like your Assembly to please express to Miss Nan Brandle1 his deep appreciation of the unique service she is rendering the Cause, and of the exemplary spirit which is animating her. He hopes other believers will follow in her footsteps, and arise to do work in this very important field of Bahá’í activity. [MC2p13]

  • Ottawa, ON; Moose Factory, ON; Fisher River, MB; Hodgson, MB; Ohsweken, ON Pioneer; Nan Brandle
    1950. Sep It was reported that Mr E Blair Fuller was appointed as Canada's first pioneer to Greenland and that he was on his way to take up his post. [CBN15 Septmeber 1950] Greenland Pioneer; Blair Fuller
    1950. 22 Oct The National Spiritual Assembly met with interested Bahá'ís in the Toronto area to report the slow progress of the Five Year Plan and to solicit ideas and take action to remedy the situation. One of the results of the meeting was the appointment of a Pioneer Training Committee to better prepare volunteers for service. [CBN No 16 November 1950 p3] Toronto, ON; Pioneer; Training, pioneer; Pioneer Training Committee
    1951. 6 Jun Palle B. Bischoff, Canada's Greenland pioneer from Copenhagen, arrived in Egedesminde where he took up his duties as manager of a fishing station. [CBN No 21 August 1951 p2; CBN No 23 November 1951 p5]
      Should in Greenland the fire of the love of God be ignited, all the ices of that continent will be melted and its frigid climate will be changed into a temperate climate-that is, if the hearts will obtain the heat of the love of God, that country and continent will become a divine garden and a lordly orchard, and the souls, like unto the fruitful trees, will obtain the utmost freshness and delicacy. Magnanimity is necessary, heavenly exertion is called for.
    Egedesminde, Greenland Pioneer; Palle Bischoff
    1953 c. Jul Emmanuel Rock, the first to fill a Canadian post overseas, found employment on a short termcontract as Assistant Audit Officer for the Samoan Government. [CBN No 44 September 1953 p2]
  • The Winnipeg Assembly has adopted Emmanuel Rock in Samoa. [CBN No47 December 1953 p1]
  • Samoa Pioneer; Emmanuel Rock
    1954. 14 Jan Miss Greta Jankko sailed from Vancouver on the S.S.Oronsay - destination the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. [CBN No49 February 1954 p2]
  • Greta Jankko arrived March 5th after visiting friends in San Francisco, Samoa and Papeete. She reported a warm hospitality from the friends wherever she went. [CBN No51 Apr 1954 p4]
  • Greta Jankko reportedly left the island for Finland. [CBN No61 Feb 1955 p2]
  • Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia Pioneer; Greta Jankko
    1954. 14 Jan Miss Lilian Wyss, a former member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand, arrived in Samoa and became an adopted Canadian pioneer. She hoped to obtain employment so that she could remain and hold the goal when Emmanuel Rock's contract expires next January. [CBN No 49 February 1954 p2]
  • Emmanuel Rock and Lilian Wyss have organized the Bahá'í Group of Apia, are making regular contributions, are helping with Samoan translations and have been able to do a good deal of teaching. They may well establish the first local assembly of the region. [CBN No51 Apr 1954 p6]
  • Apia, Samoa Samoa; Lilian Wyss; Pioneer
    1954 Apr They were unable to obtain visas for the Comoro Islands and so Rosemary and Emeric Sala set their new pioneering destination to Basutoland (Lesotho).[CBN No53 Jun 1954 p2] Basutoland (Lesotho) Pioneer; Rosemary Sala; Emeric Sala
    1954 May - Jun Rosemary and Emeric Sala departed for their pioneer post in Africa via Cardiff, Wales, Oxford England, and Esslingen, Germany. In Europe they boarded the Kenya Castle and made a stop in Cairo before arriving in Mombassa and taking the train to Nairobi and back. They obtained visas for entry in South Africa in Mozambique, traveled to Durban by bus and then took a bus for the 90 some miles to their destination in Eshowe. [TG122-126]
  • See Rosemary's letter CBN No59 Dec 1954 p1.
  • St Lambert, QC Pioneering; Rosemary Sala; Emeric Sala
    1954. 18 Aug - 6 Oct Marjorie Wheeler of Chicago arrived in the Yukon but found it necessary to leave on the 6th of October because of her mother's ill health. [CBN No 117 October 1957 p1] Yukon Pioneering, Yukon; Marjorie Wheeler
    1954. 17 Sep - 6 Nov Rex King from Tucson, Arizona arrived in the Yukon and stayed until the 6th of November. He also made two brief visits in April and May of 1955. He made the first Bahá'í radio broadcasts in the Yukon. [CBN No 117 October 1957 p1] Yukon Pioneering, Yukon; Rex King; Radio broadcasts
    1955. 23 Feb - 21 Oct Roy and Jean Ziegler of Vancouver pioneered to the Yukon. [CBN No 117 October 1957 p1] Yukon Pioneering, Yukon; Roy Ziegler; Joan Ziegler
    1955. 17 Sep - 15 Mar 1958 Vicki Rusk of Calgary pioneered to the Yukon. [CBN No 117 October 1957 p1] Yukon Pioneering, Yukon; Vicki Rusk
    1588 (In the year) Ken and Mary (Zabolotny) McCulloch (married Aug 1958) moved to Baker Lake where they lived for over 20 years with their daughter Laura. While there they established Bahá'í House, promoted translation of Bahá'í materials into Inuktitut, and, above all, conveyed the spirit and principles of the Faith to their neighbours with tireless devotion. (CBN No109 Feb 1959 p4)
  • Mary died 1996 and Ken in Dec 2020. [Contributed by Leslie Cole]
  • Baker Lake, NU Pioneers; Mary McCulloch; Ken McCulloch; Bahai House; Translation, Inuktitut
    1963. June (Mid) Tom Garraway arrived in Cambridge Bay.
  • Ethel Martens, then of Eastview, was also in Cambridge Bay for the summer on a special assignment for her job. [CBN No163 Aug 1963 p1]
  • Cambridge Bay, NU Pioneer; Tom Garraway
    1967. 25 Oct The passing of Canadian pioneer and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Catherine Huxtable (b. 6 January, 1932 Carlwood, Surrey, England) at her home in Jamestown, St Helena. Her life had been shortened due to muscular dystrophy. She, husband Cliff and son Gavin had arrived on St. Helena some nineteen months before. [LNW169, BW14p313-315]
  • See A Conqueror for St. Helena: A Tribute to Catherine Huxtable by W. G. Huxtable.
  • See A Love That Could Not Wait for the story of her marriage and pioneering experiences.
  • See Wikitree.
  • See Bahaipedia iiiii
  • Jamestown, St Helena Catherine Huxtable; pioneer; Cliff Huxtable; Gavin Huxtable; In Memoriam
    1996 10 Jan The passing of Ruth Eyford in St. Albert, AB. (b. Ruth Monk 12 June, 1930, NS). [Find a grave]

    She became a Bahá'í in Montreal in 1956 and married Glen Eyford in 1957. She and Glen served in Iceland and in India. Returning to Canada she served as an Auxiliary Board Member and as chair of the National Spiritual Assembly as well as a number of local and national committees. [BW1995-1996p313]

    St. Albert, AB; Montreal, QC; Canada; India; Iceland Ruth Eyford; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Pioneering; Auxiliary Board Members

    from the main catalogue

    1. Advent of Divine Justice, by Shoghi Effendi (1971). A letter from the Gurdian to the Bahá’ís of North America, dated 25 December 1938; the Bahá'ís' achievements and responsibilities; the crises affecting the world; the destiny of America. [about]
    2. Aspects of the Bahá'í Teachings, Conditions for Membership, and Voting Rights: Seven various questions, by Universal House of Justice (1991). On Bahá'í status and community membership, spiritual primacy, Most Great Spirit, studying the Covenant, revelation of the Bab, civil elections, and definition of a pioneer. Includes short compilation "Conditions for Membership in the Bahá'í Community." [about]
    3. Bahá'í Faith and Traditional Societies, The: Exploring Universes of Discourse, by Moojan Momen, in dialogue magazine, 1:4 (1987). How misunderstandings can arise between pioneers and the cultures they've moved to; traditional vs. modern ways of communication, and the dynamics of conversion. [about]
    4. Baha'i Pioneers, by Moojan Momen, in Encyclopaedia Iranica (2013). Brief excerpt, with link to article offsite. [about]
    5. Balance in life, and pioneering versus getting an education, by Universal House of Justice (1994). Achieving balance and planning in "each important area of one's life," including balancing the need for education and a profession and pioneering. [about]
    6. Betty Becker, Valiant Servant Pioneer, by Earl Redman (2017). The story of a Bahá’í from Kansas who moved first to Alaska to spread the Bahá’í Faith there and then to Chile. Link to document offsite. [about]
    7. Conqueror for St. Helena, A: A Tribute to Catherine Huxtable, by W. G. Huxtable, in Bahá'í News, 522 (1974). Huxtable, member of the LSA of Toronto, traveled from Canada to fulfil various pioneering goals, all while suffering from muscular dystrophy. [about]
    8. Exploring Universes of Discourse: The Meeting of the Bahá'í Faith and Traditional Society, by Moojan Momen, in dialogue magazine, 1:4 (1987). To communicate, people need to share not just a common language; there must also be a common framework for understanding, a "universe of discourse." Bahá'í pioneers must bridge cultural and linguistic divides when imparting the teachings of the Faith. [about]
    9. Extracts from Letters Written by or on Behalf of Shoghi Effendi Regarding the Absence of Clergy in the Baha'i Faith, by Shoghi Effendi (1998). Compilation included with a memorandum from the House of Justice from 1998/02/11 regarding the abolition of the priesthood. [about]
    10. Footprints in the Sands of Time, by Shahla Gillbanks (2019). Memoir of time as a Bahá'í in Iran and pioneer to other countries around the world, and a historical account of service in the United States, New Zealand, and Czechoslovakia. [about]
    11. Gloriously Tragic Life of Mathew Kaszab, The: Letters from a Pioneer 1939-1942 (2019). The unusual drama of a pioneering life in Central America, revealed through personal letters. This account offers glimpses of a maturing Bahá’í administration in the U.S. and of what was learned through teaching efforts in Latin America. [about]
    12. Los Angeles, Living in, by Universal House of Justice (1996). Bahá'ís have not been advised to avoid living in Los Angeles, but should still recall the importance of pioneering and not congregating in insular communities. [about]
    13. Love That Could Not Wait, A: The Remarkable Story of Knights of Baha'u'llah Catherine Heward Huxtable and Clifford Huxtable, by Jack McLean (2016). The story of the Canadian Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, Catherine Heward Huxtable and husband Cliff Huxtable, who opened the southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia to the Bahá'í Faith in October, 1959. [about]
    14. Message on clusters, institutes, and growth, by International Teaching Centre (2007). Message from the Counsellors on growth and enrollments. [about]
    15. Message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors on the Nine Year Plan, by Universal House of Justice (2021). Features of the new 9-Year Plan, "the first major undertaking in a sacred twenty-five-year venture, generational in its scope and significance," to be implemented Ridvan 2022. [about]
    16. Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986: Third Epoch of the Formative Age, by Universal House of Justice (1996). [about]
    17. Moths Turned Eagles: The Spiritual Conquests of Sabri and Raissa Elias, by Gamal Hassan (2008). Introduction of the Bahá'í Faith to Ethiopia and Djibouti, and the activities of Gila Bahta. [about]
    18. Notes on Words of the Guardian, by Virginia Orbison (1956). Ten pages of notes, preserved as an appendix to Orbison's lengthy manuscript "Diary of a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Made by Virginia Orbison, January 15 to February 11". [about]
    19. Pioneering, by Universal House of Justice (2007). Short letter to the Bahá'ís of the world. [about]
    20. Pioneering, by Penelope Walker (2007). [about]
    21. Pioneering in Latin America, by Hooper Dunbar (1994). Experiences pioneering in Central and South America. [about]
    22. Pioneering or Education?, by Universal House of Justice (1968). To Bahá'í youth in every land: deciding whether to pioneer or continue with higher education. [about]
    23. Pioneering Over Four Epochs: An Autobiographical Study: Poetry and essays, by Ron Price (1944). Table of Contents for a memoir of six decades of teaching & international travel, an extensive personal account of the experience of a Western Bahai beginning in the 2nd epoch, 1944 to 1963, of the teaching Plans. [about]
    24. Pioneering, Language, Arts, Example of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, by Universal House of Justice (1998). Pioneering; Serving parents; Serving where need is; Gardens; International Auxiliary Language; Arabic pronunciation; study of Persian; Some references in Writings of Bahá'u'lláh; Folk art; External affairs; Daily living; Abdu'l-Bahá as divine exemplar. [about]
    25. Pioneria Internacional en le Plan de Cinco Años, by Universal House of Justice (2002). [about]
    26. Quickeners of Mankind: Pioneering in a World Community, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (1980). Quotations about the theory and practice of pioneering and "travel teaching." Includes stories about pioneers, and a small selection of texts from Marion Jack. [about]
    27. Reflections on the Principle of Unity/Oneness, Some, by Hooshmand Badee, in Lights of Irfan, 19 (2018). Reflections on the message of Bahá'u'lláh creating the oneness of humanity and a global society that is based on unity and love rather than factors such as economic and political gains. [about]
    28. Roll of Honor Bahá'í World Crusade 1953-1963, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 20 (1986-1992) (1998). A scroll listing the names of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [about]
    29. Servants of the Glory: A Chronicle of Forty Years of Pioneering, by Adrienne Morgan and Dempsey Morgan (2017). Memoirs of a black couple from the United States who lived and spread the Bahá’í Faith in across parts of east Asia and Africa in the 1950s-1980s. Text by Dempsey Morgan, poems by Adrienne Morgan. Link to document offsite. [about]
    30. Signs of God on Earth, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1963). Talk presented at the First Bahá'í World Congress in London, 1963, about pioneering, teaching indigenous people, and about her memories of the Guardian. [about]
    31. Three Teaching Methods Used During North America's First Seven-Year Plan, by Roger M. Dahl, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 5:3 (1993). Teaching methods used by American Bahá’ís to spread the Faith; firesides and teaching campaigns evolved during the 1930s; pioneer settlements were not used systematically until the Seven-Year Plan; difficulties caused by the race question in the South. [about]
    32. Unrestrained as the Wind: A Life Dedicated to Bahá'u'lláh (1985). Compilation of quotations on topics of especial interest to Bahá'í youth. [about]
    33. Virgin countries and territories opened during the first year of the 10 Year Crusade 1953-1954, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954) (1956). [about]
    34. Virgin Territories Opened by the Knights of Baha'u'llah 1953-1990, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 20 (1986-1992) (1998). List of names and dates of pioneers and the NSAs responsible for opening territories. [about]
     
    See all tags, sorted numerically or alphabetically.

    See all locations, sorted numerically or alphabetically.

    Home Site Map Forum Links Copyright About Contact
    .
    . .