For The Chicago Literary
Club
By Yolanda M. Deen
April 14, 2003
On the occasion of
The 2nd Joint
Meeting
Of the Chicago Literary Club
and
The Cliff Dwellers
Copyright 2003
Dedicated to
Richard and Mary Elda Kautz
Benefactors of the
Kautz Family YMCA Archives
University of Minnesota
Sitting on the side of the mount in the haze of dusk, it crossed my mind how many others may have paused on this very place and gazed with wonder over the Yehoshafat Valley during the past thirty four centuries of recorded history.
It was August, 1975 and the air was hot. I could
imagine the sweating soldiers on this same mount. Perhaps a general, standing
on this same place atop his conquered kingdom – now pillaged and destroyed –
waiting to be rebuilt. Perhaps a general – Assyrian, or Babylonian or Persian,
Greek or Roman – outfitted in toga and platelet, his sheath and scabbard by his
side. This moment he came as conqueror. He would remain in this historic city
for months or, perhaps, years or decades – only to be challenged by another
conqueror! A constant struggle over time for the possession of this land to
this very day. The land laid bare time and time again – captured more than
forty times.
But, at this moment, I also imagined another
crusader, one of more modern times, sitting--- no, more suited to his
personality--- standing on this site. It was 1920 and I could imagine Dr.
Archibald Clinton Harte standing on this exact place on the Mount of Olives. As
he looked out, his steady gaze dropped to the Old City with its barrier wall,
across the Valley, past the future site of the King David Hotel and, just
beyond, to a huge open field dotted with olive trees.
Yes, he could envision it! That was the place! That
was the very place where he would build the most beautiful YMCA in the world –
right there in the midst of a grove of olive trees!
Many of the conquerors of the City of Jerusalem had
come to tear down and destroy. But Dr. Archie Harte was a builder and a dreamer
and a believer. He vowed this would be the place to build the Jerusalem
International YMCA dedicated as a place of peace for Jews and Moslems and
Christians alike, serving the people of all of the three monotheistic faiths!
Of course, he had no money or land to carry forth
this plan – but that was not going to stop Archie Harte. Why, he had been in
many impossible situations before!
Harte had begun his YMCA career in 1888 in Mobile,
Alabama and had left a profound mark on the city. It was said that Mobile had
never known a grander character, respected by everyone, esteemed by thousands –
a constant source of inspiration to the men of Mobile. This was, of course, an
era before the YMCA became a family organization and a time when many YMCA
services focused on orphaned and poor young men and boys.
On October 15, 1907, the last day of Dr. Harte’s
work there, the Mobile Daily Herald, the oldest afternoon paper in
Mobile, ran a story, “Mobile’s Great Loss: he was neither governor nor senator,
neither general nor colonel but who shall say his purpose so noble has not
merited the laurels which heroes and statesmen wear. The Herald wishes
Dr. Harte a long and happy life of usefulness in the far away land where he
goes to do his work.”
Harte had always hoped to try his hand at expanding
YMCA work in the Middle East and Jerusalem.
Yes, Dr. Harte was a dreamer! And, an adventurer!
And a man on a quest!
Little did I realize at the time in 1965, that
during a subsequent trip to Jerusalem, I would become friends with an old
colleague of Harte’s, Dr. Paul Anderson, another of the fabled YMCA adventurers
of the period.
Paul had described Harte as a striking persona and
personality, sporting a monocle, having a way with royalty, giving way to his
idiosyncrasies, and possessing a deep knowledge of the Old and New Testaments.
An adventurer with a bold vision!
Others had summed up Harte as a strange man with a
great heart, a very complicated individual and an eccentric! A man who believed
he had a vision when he first visited the Mount of Olives as a young man in
1888 that some day he would return to this land to do good work.
Archie referred to himself as a poor man but one
could certainly not tell this from his impeccable dress, his interest in beauty
and beautiful surroundings. Always aware of appearances, Harte had made a
special arrangement with a Wall Street banker friend to provide him with a few
suits of clothes whenever he was in New York. Impeccable ones, at that. The
banker friend would inform his valet to let Dr. Harte choose whatever he could
use from his wardrobe of sixty-five suits. Archie always wore white starched
shirts and a pair of cuff links set with star sapphire, a gift from an Indian
Maharajah.
With Archie appearances counted, details counted and
friendships counted. He had a facility for attracting a wide range of persons
who would join him in his many obsessive dreams!
In unusual contrast, Dr. Harte had a deep and
abiding concern for people of all stations in life and a concern for the future
of countries at war. A man with a vision – but one who could be difficult for
whom to work!
Harte had long kept this yearning in his heart to
work in the Near East and, in particular, to return to Jerusalem. But, somehow,
poorly chronicled, Harte’s next YMCA assignment took him to Ceylon and India
instead. By 1910, he had become the Fraternal Secretary of the YMCA’s of India
and Ceylon under the auspices of the International Committee of the YMCA’s of
the U.S. and Canada, headed by one of the greatest YMCA leaders and adventurers
of all time, Dr. John R. Mott.
It was in India that Harte recognized the value of a
YMCA owned building rather than operating in rented quarters or no quarters at
all – reminiscent of newly formed YMCA’s in the Middle East with beginnings in
desert tents.
Harte was no stranger to tented YMCA’s overseeing
the erection of twenty canvasses for building YMCA’s in twenty cities in India.
“Put up the tents”, he said “When accomplished it would double the reach and
efficiency of their work in India and would provide some small source of income
to carry out ‘the work’”.
To the rescue in India, came his life-long friend
and fraternity brother Senator Henry Warren Austin of Oak Park, Illinois, who
undertook to support Archie with an initial gift of $300 to help erect the
canvas YMCA building in India. Senator Austin provided many, many more gifts to
come – generated from his own small fortune as the President of the Oak Park
Trust and Savings Bank.
Perhaps this was a clue to Harte’s increasing recognition
for needed money for such projects and his eventually growing interest in
bricks and mortar.
Amid the squalor and sickness he faced in India –
his letters give yet another clue to his interest in things beautiful. In a
letter he describes his invitation to the first levee of the new Viceroy to
India at the time. Harte and his staff were ecstatic to be presented – at
court, as it were!
Harte wrote –
“The new Viceroy’s house was grand with room after
room divided by potted plants having at each opening two Sikh soldiers in dress
uniform. Although no ladies were present at the levee, it is a gorgeous
assembly. Indeed, one who is not familiar with the Orient could hardy imagine
it! Here one sees British soldiers in brilliant scarlet uniforms with their gold
or gilded ornaments, scholars in university gowns, maharajahs in cloth of gold,
in brilliant brocades or in gorgeously embroidered robes with turbans, with
flashing jewels and necklaces of emeralds or pearls and massive gold chains.
There are just enough civilians in plain evening dress to bring out the
gorgeousness of the company. The air is heavy with the fragrance of sandalwood,
jasmine and musk and somewhere there floats over the air the rather good music
of the Viceroy’s band.”
Yes – Dr. Harte had a good eye for beauty and wealth! It was also in India that Archie had developed a penchant for rubbing elbows with British Lords and Ladies, Viceroys and Maharajahs!
The outbreak of the First World War opened another
chapter in Harte’s work and not very glamorous work at that. Harte had been
reassigned by Dr. Mott to the European theater of war. Thus, from 1914 to 1917,
Archie Harte was a leading figure in providing YMCA services to First World War
prisoners in both Germany and in Russia. Finding the POW camps in both
Germany and Russia frightening and unbearable, he served not one side or the
other – but both sides! Harte’s work with the prisoners of war led, in turn, to
the strategic entrance of the YMCA into the countries of Eastern Europe.
Harte had to operate under difficult conditions to
establish YMCA service in the POW camps. But, he had learned a lot in his prior
dealings in India. Drawing on his experience with the Rajahs – Harte and Dr.
John R. Mott, now Secretary General of the World Alliance of YMCA’s, aimed to
“get to the right people” so they could pursue their work.
Harte took carefully calculated steps and made
contact with German Empress Augusta Victoria and then, with the Russian Tsar
–ultimately becoming a close friend of the Tsarina. Who wouldn’t be charmed and
amazed at this Southern gentleman from Mobile, Alabama with keen eyes asking to
gain free access behind the lines to aid the prisoners of war with YMCA
services. It was this same Archie Harte, the Archie Harte who noticed all details,
who could look deeply into one’s soul and who, at the same time, would notice
and comment that the color of the Tsarina’s dress matched the color of the
flowers in her reception room.
Empress Augusta Victoria and the Tsar and Tsarina
fell under his spell of charm and good will and good deeds! With their help,
Harte was able to go directly into the barbed wire camps that imprisoned
millions, especially those in Siberia – instilling both spirit and hope. Even
after the overthrow of the Tzar in the summer of 1917, the temporary government
of Russia gave permission to vastly expand “the Russian work” of the YMCA to
both military and civilian persons. This included the work of my friend Dr.
Paul Anderson who had contributed so greatly to the development and support of
the YMCA Press in Paris, which eventually published the first edition of The
Gulag Archipelago by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
After the United States had entered World War I and
when it became apparent that Dr. Harte was still going behind enemy lines, he
was summoned back to the States by a Congressional investigating committee in
Washington for questioning. “Dr. Harte, it is our understanding that although
we are at war with Germany, and, thus, enemies, you are able to enter and leave
that country and Russia at will. Is that true?
In his usual polite but direct manner, Harte
answered, “Yes Sir, it is so.”
Congressman: “Well, how can you account for it?”
Harte: “Sir, when I have YMCA work to do in Germany, I walk in and do it. When I am finished, I take my leave”.
Perhaps Harte left out the part in his testimony
about the story as reported in The New York Times on the occasion
of his death in 1946. “In accordance with an agreement with Russia, Dr. Harte
traveled from Berlin to Omsk, carrying a worn black traveling bag in which were
more than 400,000 rubles in small notes to assist workers in the POW camps in
Russia”. Yes, money was essential to “the work”! And, Archie knew it! And,
Archie and Dr. Mott were able to get financial support for these war efforts
from numerous American donors all eager to help!
Indeed, Harte had become a man to serve and
understand people in all stations of life, all races, creeds and nationalities
through his astounding work for the YMCA! And, his reputation of a man of
idiosyncrasies grew – if never thoughly understood or clearly spoken of. Someone had commented, “Why worry about
Archie’s idiosyncrasies – after all Churchill had them and so, too, Roosevelt.”
The Jerusalem International YMCA had actually been
founded many years before the arrival of Dr. Harte. The first constitution of
the Y was signed by Reverend B. Canaan on January 8, 1878. The document was
handwritten in Arabic. In 1903, a small group of members set up shop in a tiny
bookstore on Jaffa Road – the first of a string of successive rented locations
for the Jerusalem Y. The first paid Secretary, as they were then called, was
Stuart Donnithorne who arrived in 1909 and grew the membership from 40 persons
to 200. This marked a continuous search for a suitable building in which to
conduct “the work”.
Once more, in 1909, Jerusalem was not a place of
peace! Times were hard! By 1914, the start of the First World War, Palestine
was under Turkish rule. The Turks had deep suspicions of any British oriented
organizations. Consequently, the Turks shut the doors of the Jerusalem Y. After
all, the YMCA had been founded in London in 1844 by George Williams. The doors
were closed – but the spirit was quite alive!
1917 saw a twist of fate and opportunity springing
from another direction! The British led Egyptian Expeditionary Force, on its
way to depose the Turks, was moving across the Sinai Desert to Gaza via a
military railroad built to stretch across the entire route.
The troops were massed along the Railway from
Kantarah to Deir-el-Balah. As a result, Y centers sprang up along the railroad
line offering soldiers welcomed services and food and water and a bit of
recreation and temporary shelter – reminiscent of the railroad YMCA and the
Armed Services YMCA’s in the U.S.
General Allenby became Commander in Chief of the
Middle East. The scene in Jerusalem was one of fighting, scarce food, closed
shops and no business except for the soup kitchens. On the ninth of December,
1917, the sun rose for the last time on the Ottoman domination of Jerusalem. It
was a Sunday. Allenby entered Jerusalem on foot in a show of respect. A
Christian nation, Britain, had conquered Palestine and the Turks.
Sir Arthur Money was appointed Chief Administrator
of Occupied Enemy Territory. In his opening speeches, he condemned the policy
of creating separate institutions for different communities, “The only hope for Palestine was for Jews,
Moslem Arabs and Christians to co-operate in every way.”
This was a great underestimation of the situation.
For one thing – separate institutions and organizations were everywhere! The
many faiths, the do-gooders, the many individuals struck with religious fervor
and many struck with a romanticized version of Jerusalem! Yes, they were all
converging on Jerusalem – hoping to experience a piece of ancient history – the
Greek Orthodox Church, the Friends of the Quaker Mission in Ramallah, the
Russian Orthodox Church, the American Colony, the Anna Spafford Baby Nursing
Home, the Moslems Girls School, the Zionist Commission, the Presbyterians, the
Hadassah School, the Dominican Monastery, the English Mission School and on and
on! Many of them hoping to claim a piece of this rock or that garden – as the
rock or the garden!
With somewhat typical Pollyannaish behavior – Sir
Arthur Money spent many afternoons playing tennis or having tea with friends
and visitors at Government House. Picnics were given, a little gala was
organized in Antimus’s Garden. Lowell Thomas was feted in Jerusalem and shortly
afterwards wrote his book, “With Lawrence of Arabia”. T. E. Lawrence himself
attended social gatherings in Jerusalem –even if in limited fashion! It had
been in Jerusalem that Lowell Thomas had first met Colonel Lawrence who was
introduced to him as the “uncrowned King of Arabia.”
After four grueling years of poverty and oppression
by the Turks, a mood of joy appeared – why not? After all – peace was at hand!
It was into this circumstance that Dr. A. C. Harte,
formerly of Mobile, Alabama, India, Ceylon, Germany and Russian POW camps
arrived in Jerusalem in 1920 as General Secretary of the Jerusalem
International YMCA. Harte had declared, “When Dr. Mott mentioned Jerusalem, I
heard all of the mockingbirds in Dixie start to sing.” He was about to embark
on the vision he believed he had seen in 1888.
Why so? Why this drive to do YMCA work in Jerusalem?
Perhaps because Archibald Harte was born a Jewish boy – adopted into a
Christian home where he grew up in another faith other than his own – and had
developed a deep interest in both the Old and New Testaments. Perhaps this was
at the root of his zeal.
Harte’s first challenge – to move the YMCA premises
four times in quick succession to meet the growing demands for services. Harte
was committed to the firm reestablishment of the Y in Jerusalem and a permanent
building that was taking shape in his mind!
Archie always seemed to have providence on his side
as an old controversy between the Greek clergy in Jerusalem and the Arab laity
had continued after the British occupation and came to a head in 1921 when,
because of World War I strife, the Greek Patriarchate was temporarily
insolvent. Its debt rose, the Greek pilgrims had stopped their trek to
Jerusalem and the income from that source had ceased. The Russian and Rumanian
governments had confiscated the income producing property owned by the Greek
Patriarch in Jerusalem – as the Russian pilgrims had also ceased coming to the
Holy Land.
As a result, the High Commissioner of Palestine
appointed an advisory group to make an investigation and report.
The report, a book of 333 pages was clear. It called
for an ordinance for the liquidation of the debt of the Orthodox Patriarchate
by selling the vast amount of land on which grew the groves of olive trees! The
very land that Archie Harte had spotted on his first visit to the Mount of
Olives where he had begun his dream to build the Jerusalem International YMCA!
The result of the sale – the plots of land now
occupied by the Jerusalem International YMCA and additional parcels now occupied
by the King David Hotel directly across from the YMCA – were freed for purchase
from the Greek Convent.
The International Committee of the YMCA of the USA
needed to raise the money to both purchase the land – and to build a building.
Nevermind – Harte was seized with a fervor to raise the money! He wanted some
of that land – and he wanted to build the most beautiful YMCA in the world
right there in Jerusalem as a focal point to promote peace and understanding
and a forum for interfaith and intercultural dialogues. And, he viewed this
land as strategically located in future of Jerusalem. A prophetic choice!
The International Committee of the YMCA of North
America, the British National YMCA Council and Jewish Friends in Manchester,
England donated the funds for the land that was now available.
An agreement to purchase the tract of land, 28,762
square meters was signed by Dr. Harte, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and
Monsignor Daminos on September 27, 1923. The purchase price -- $85,000 for the
land bearing the grove of olive trees. The olive trees which bore income
producing crops for the YMCA until they were finally sold in 1927.
Little did James Newbegin Jarvie, an American
philanthropist from Montclair, New Jersey ever conceive that he would go to Jerusalem,
meet one Dr. Archibald Harte and would become a major player in this scenario.
Harte’s boss, Dr. Mott had himself developed a group of loyal donors amongst
some of the well-known industrialists of the period. Archie followed in Mott’s
footsteps – and knew an opportunity when he saw one! Jarvie was his
opportunity!
In 1924, Jarvie made a sightseeing trip to Jerusalem
and was introduced to Archie. A strong friendship resulted which Archie
carefully nurtured – writing and visiting Jarvie in New Jersey – instilling
Jarvie with his dream. On Christmas Eve, 1925, Harte was able to announce that
James Jarvie had made a decision to donate $1,000,000 for the construction of a
permanent home for the Jerusalem International YMCA and an endowment to keep
the Y alive into perpetuity. A Jerusalem miracle of its own kind! Jarvie
greatly admired the work of Harte and the activities at the Y centering on the
development of body, mind and spirit.
Archie Harte was on fire with the money in hand. The
funds would be donated to the International Division of the YMCA of the USA for
the construction of the building not to exceed of $400,000. The balance of the
funds would be placed in a Jarvie Fund as endowment funds. Now Archie was ready
to leap into action on the design of the most beautiful YMCA in the World!
Back in the States – it was the roaring twenties!
Money flowed – big thinkers abounded. In New York and Chicago and Los Angeles,
building booms were underway! Skyscrapers were in the planning – the sky was
the limit. The firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon of New York City, and the
preeminent New York architect Arthur Loomis Harmon had been approached to build
the Empire State Building – the very same architect recommended, approved and
hired to build the Jerusalem International YMCA. What a coup! But storm clouds
were gathering!
March 1928 – on the eve of the Great Depression –
John D. Rockefeller and his son David had also visited the Middle East and
Jerusalem with Dr. Breasted, the renowned Egyptologist, and had developed an
interest in things Middle Eastern. For a bit of perspective, John D. then
committed several million dollars to the Egyptian Government to build a
suitable museum to preserve the precious antiquities from the inundation of the
Nile. The Egyptians subsequently rejected Mr. Rockefeller’s munificent offer.
Now Dr. Breasted urged Mr. Rockefeller to turn his
generosity toward Jerusalem and the preservation of many valuable antiquities
discovered under the Turkish regime. The Department of Antiquities, under the
British mandate, gladly accepted a gift of a minimum of $1,000,000 – roughly
about the same as James Jarvie had committed to the Jerusalem International
YMCA.
But, Dr. Breasted was only one of many connections
to Jerusalem and Mr. Rockefeller. The YMCA also had connections to John D. and
was able to secure another donation of $200,000 from him for the Jerusalem
International YMCA.
Board minutes of July 9, 1928 recall “the General
Secretary A. C. Harte left Jerusalem suddenly in response to a cable call to
meet Mr. James Newbegin Jarvie, representing as they were called, the anonymous
Donors of the Building Fund and Arthur Loomis Harmon, the architect on June 1,
1928 at the Mayfair Hotel, Piccadilly. Archie had returned Monday, July 2d
after a profitable conference and a brief but pleasant holiday with Mr. Jarvie.
In the conference in London, it was decided that the building must be erected
complete at a cost of not over $600,000.”
When Harte had originally written to the architects
about his plans, they wrote back, “You can’t do it for $400,000.” It will cost
at least $575,000. Jarvie had then reached for his checkbook and wrote another
check for $175,000 to be placed in the bank.
By November 5, 1928, Dr. Harte reported that an
indirect word received from the donors was averse to leaving the Physical
Department wing unfinished and relayed through friends that an effort would be
made to provide the needed money. Thus, an agreement was entered in between the
Central Hanover Bank and Trust Company of New York and the International
Committee of the YMCA of the USA raising the building limit to $575,000
together with the endowment to over $1,000,000. By 1930, the Statement of
Resources totaled $1,200,000.
Characteristic of Archie’s personality – he always
wanted to go the extra mile! Before the building was underway he had also
established YMCA’s in Nazareth, Damascus, Bethlehem and – was eyeing a piece of
property in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee about which he had been silent.
On his way home from the Piccadilly meeting, after
having secured the “Anonymous Donors Fund”, Archie visited cathedrals and other
important buildings of architectural wonder. His ideas for the building
expanded even more.
In addition in October, 1929 land was also purchased
near the village of Beit Sahur through Jarvie and C.W. Davidson, another donor
smitten by the Harte dream. This land was later turned over to what became the
East Jerusalem YMCA.
When back in Jerusalem, Archie’s plans continued to
expand. Why he must have a beautiful auditorium, he certainly needed an
athletic field and, of course, an outdoor tennis court, a fine research library
and another small retreat center on the shore of Galilee which he wanted to
name “Peniel” for another $50,000! The name Peniel which he extracted from the
Bible “And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: having seen God face to
face”. One could certainly surmise that Archie believed he, too, had seen God
face to face in his visions.
Archie’s requests did not cease! The New York YMCA
headquarters staff went back to Jarvie again and again each time more
reluctantly. The last time they were asked to tell Dr. Harte that he must now
be content! In other words, not to come back any more!
Meanwhile, in another extraordinary twist of fate,
James Newbegin Jarvie died unexpectedly at sea aboard the S.S. Homeric. James
Jarvie would never see the reality of the beautiful building for which he so
generously gave.
Remember now that Archie Harte was a dreamer and a
believer but also an eccentric. He continued to pummel the architects with
ideas and requests! He sent a continuous stream of demands to the architects!
He wanted the building in the Roman classical style
but after much heated discussion with Harmon, the building was to be built in
the Byzantine architectural style. He insisted – the two columns and capitals
that would flank the main entrance to the vestibule of the tower must be of the
finest polished red stone. On the south side, the woman of Samaria with the
water jug upon her head should recall the discussion of the water of life (John
4:4-30). The north capital must be a gracefully recumbent lamb symbolizing “the
Lamb of God”. About the arched doorway must twine the grapevine and the wheat
stalk memorializing the sacrament of the Holy Supper.
In a letter to George Davison of the Central Union
Trust Company Harte wrote, “With reference to the columns, I have in mind that
we get old columns from various places in Syria. This would be expensive, as we
can only get columns from places not easily accessible. Or, we could plan
columns after an old type and quarry them. Or, third, we could get columns from
different countries.”
Harmon, the architect, saw things quite differently!
In a letter to Fred Ramsey, General Secretary of the National Council of YMCA’s
in New York, he wrote, “Dr. Harte has never been able to grasp the practical
considerations of the relation of cubic feet to cost – or budgeting. When he
was planning for a fund of $250,000, he was figuring on cubic footage of about
1,000,000; when he had $400,000, he jumped to 1,400,000 and when he had
$575,000, he immediately jumped to 1,600,000.”
Harmon wanted to downsize and Harte wanted to
expand. And, expand he did!
The towers, he said, must be the main architectural
feature of the building and should rise to a majestic height above the terrace
and from the gallery commanding a panoramic view of the city – unexcelled in
the neighborhood of Jerusalem.
On the eastern face of the building overlooking the
Old City and new King David Street --- in bas relief --- there must be a figure
representing the Seraph of the Prophet Isaiah’s vision, “Each had six wings:
with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet and with
twain he did fly.” Archie wanted, no, insisted, that it be a great huge figure
– 16 feet high to be the central decorative feature of the Tower.
The Tower Archibald Clinton Harte named “The Jesus
Tower”.
Archie continued to regale the architects with his
own drawings and overwhelming demands ---
“The building must be replete with inscriptions and
symbols from both the Old Testament and the New Testament and from the Psalms,
it must include a replica of the famous mosaic map of the 5th
century found at Madaba in Jordan, the oratory lighted by the Star of
Bethlehem; the nine niches about the Oratory should be carved with the ancient
oil lamps of various periods of Palestinian history; on the finial over the
dome of the stairway must be the Greek symbols Chi Rho (XP), for the name of
Christ; carved in stone on the east wall will be two figures in prayer, the
Pharisee and the Publican. In the carillon chamber – thirty-five bells must be
cast by Johnson and Gillet of Croydon, England, the largest bell to weigh one
and one-half tons, four musical instruments (mentioned in the Old Testament)
must be carved in the east, north, west and south parapets of the belfry
balcony, the lyre, the horos, the horn and the harp.
Listen you can almost hear them now!
Down the cloistered passage to the auditorium, the
sculptured beauty of the column capitals must arrest the eye with the cedar,
the pine, the citron, the papyrus, the fig and pomegranate motifs, the gazelle,
wild boar, turtle and wheat. Onwards toward the porte-cochere – the tulip,
iris, wild narcissus, anemone, hyssop, cyclamen, thistle and cactus, all flora
of the country! On one of the capitals of the south cloister --- the fish,
grapes, birds and, yes, the olive branch. Archie wanted and wanted ---
perfection in his eye!
Archie wanted the auditorium to be known as the
Golden Hall of Friendship – decorated in cream, amber and gold tones. The
finest feature of the auditorium to be a great four-manual organ for
encouragement of musical appreciation in the Near East. He wanted an organ –
with 2,500 pipes, the echo organ of 365 pipes and 25 tubular chimes in the echo
chamber and 61 harp tones in the main organ.
That’s what he wanted! And that’s what he would get
– the organ, right there, in the building on the land where the grove of olive
trees once --- stood eventually donated by the Julliard Musical Foundation in
memory of Augustus Julliard and transported to Jerusalem!
He wouldn’t settle! He wanted 12 windows to light
the dome of the auditorium, twelve arches at the rear of the balcony reminding
one of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples. On the north side
– three windows telling of the Trinity, and three windows telling of the three
patriarchs of Israel, -- Abraham, Issac and Jacob.
And a gymnasium – with forty columns of the
forecourts representing the forty years sojourn of the Jews in the wilderness –
and the great inscription on the northern exterior face of the gymnasium in
German to read: “The only temple in the world is the body of man.”
And an inscription on the southern end of the
gymnasium, and one that Harte (surely) believed “They can – those who think
they can”.
Archie insisted on it all: a room of silence for
prayer, an Arabic fireplace, a reading room, a swimming pool, a cafeteria for
food and a social room for conversation and, of course, an exact replica of the
George Williams Room in London where the first YMCA was founded. A place to
nurture body, mind and spirit!
These elaborate plans kept flying back and forth by
post – but something mysterious was happening – Archie was unable to make up
his mind as to how he wanted to conclude the plans and begin the work!
The money was there, enough for the plans, the
drawings were there – but Archie Harte was having hard time finalizing them
with his signature!
Jarvie’s representatives told Fred Ramsey, “Start
that building or the Jarvie money would be returned!” Thus, Arthur Loomis
Harmon, the architect, boarded a ship for Jerusalem to confer with Archie – and
thought all had been settled save a few minor changes when he returned to New
York. But when the final plans were sent for Archie’s signature – Archie Harte
returned them – unsigned!
Ramsey cabled Harte that he had authorized
acceptance of the plans and the architect had been commissioned to leave again
for Jerusalem and get on with the building. That was December, 1929!
Things were in a precarious position. The Great
Depression had begun in October, 1929 with the advent of the stock market
crash. The decision had been made to go on with the building of the Empire
State Building that Shreve, Lamb and Harmon had designed! Now it was
critical for the YMCA that a decision be made and signed and to start work on
the Jerusalem YMCA immediately.
When Archie Harte received the cable from Ramsey, he
called a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Jerusalem International YMCA
and made a decision. He tendered his resignation and left the next morning for
Damascus, sold or gave away his furniture and soon opened a YMCA in rented
quarters. We shall never know exactly why!
The Board of Directors made the next fateful choice
– they signed the agreement! The building was to be built! And, it was! With
all of the features that Archibald Harte had demanded! A dream come true! The
YMCA building had taken longer to build than the Empire State Building and the
King David Hotel.
On April 7, 1933 the Jerusalem International YMCA
was dedicated and two joyous weeks of ceremony began.
Friday, April 7 – Lecture in Arabic “The Siege of
Jerusalem in 1834”
to
the Mount of Olives – buses leave from YMCA
Carillon concert at 5:30
a.m. and 3:15 p.m.
Sunday, April 16 – Easter Sunday. – Organ recital at
3:45 p.m.
Address
by Dr. John R. Mott – Chairman of the World
Alliance
of YMCA’s
8:45 p.m. – Lecture – Religious Folk Lore of the
Holy
Land
6:00
p.m. –Lecture: “Dome of the Rock”
Tuesday, April 18 – Dedication Ceremony and
Presentation of the keys of
the
building
Performance
of Shakespeare’s Henry V in the auditorium
Wednesday, April 19 – 9:00 p.m. –Lecture and remarks
– Field Marshall
Viscount
Allenby, the High Commissioner.
Allenby dramatically noted: “Hard by, a stone’s throw distant, are Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; beyond – the mosques of Omar and Elaksa; yonder lies the grave of that God-guided adventurer who led the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. Here is a place whose atmosphere is peace where political and religious jealousies can be forgotten; we have to live together. We are prisoners of this planet; we cannot escape. Now is one time for ending our differences.”
Friday, April 21 – Open track and field championship
including a
Spectacular
Parade on the athletic field
8:30
p.m. – Finals of the Palestine Trans-Jordan Open
Squash
Tournament for His Excellency The High
Commissioner’s
Challenge Cup
Saturday, April 22 – 2:30 p.m. – Football Game –
YMCA vs. Haopoel,
Tel
Aviv
The
Band of the Royal Ulster Rifles will play on this
Occasion
Sunday, April 23 – Illustrated Lecture – “Synagogues
of Palestine”.
Oh, how Archibald C. Harte would have enjoyed the
pomp and pageantry and the bands playing! But, he refused to come to the
dedication of the building! A poetic man – how he would have enjoyed the
Shakespearean performances. But he refused to come! A man of depth and
character – how much he would have enjoyed Allenby’s remarks. But Archie
refused to come!
Even Dr. Mott who arrived for the dedication could
not coax Archie from Tiberius where he had settled in so-called retirement! He
positively refused even the great Dr. Mott.
But finally, in 1938, Harte succumbed to the new
General Secretary of the Jerusalem YMCA, who paid him a visit. Alvah Miller had
made the pilgrimage to Tiberius in 1935 but Harte even refused to look at a
picture of the building that Miller had brought. In 1938, after Archie had
returned from a visit to North America, Miller went back to Tiberius. “Well,
Archie, Miller asked, what time shall we start tomorrow?”
Archie: “Start for where?”
Miller: “Jerusalem”
Archie: “I am not going to Jerusalem!”
Miller tried for two days – “Archie if you were
going to Jerusalem, which suitcase would you take, what clothes would you take
– you will need your dinner jacket for there will be a lot of entertaining for
you.” Archie admitted he would take certain starched shirts” Ah, Miller thought
– a break!
Miller got him to Jerusalem – “I was,” – he said,
“Probably a bit cruel but I packed suitcases, put them in the car and finally
got him on our way! There was quite a bit of betting at the YMCA on the
outcome.”
Coaxing him, Miller recalled, “Come on Archie, we
were going to the building. We walked to the terrace. He looked up at the great
tower, sat down and tears rolled down his face. He said he never believed it
was so beautiful. There was not a dry eye in the place.”
It’s 2003 and another era now for Jerusalem, for Israel and for the Jerusalem International YMCA.
Many humanitarian organizations have downsized to
very few staff. Many international private concerns have left because they have
no business. The poorest of organizations are now hardly beyond caretaker
status. Hardly a sign of peace! The YMCA made it through the 1948 conflict.
During the ’67 war, the building served as a United Nations site. This YMCA has
never been directly attacked and to this day proudly stands as neutral ground
serving peoples of all faiths.
This amazing YMCA, like all of Jerusalem, is
struggling to survive. No one seems to remember that in 1993 when this Y was
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize – ironically, the award went to Prime
Minister Rabin, Foreign Minister Peres and Chairman Arafat. Yes, times have
changed.
The 55 sleeping rooms at the Y are empty now except
for the visiting media. The pilgrims do not come! The revenues from daily
operations have dwindled. The Jarvie Fund has grown but is short by millions of
dollars that have been needed to sustain the operation in recent years. The
International Division of the YMCA of the USA that owns the building has raised
and spent untold capital to keep Archie Harte’s dream alive! The Jewish and
Muslim and international children who come to the Y each day can no longer come
and go by bus. No more trips to the Mount of Olives by bus!
It’s a new century now! The 125th
anniversary of the opening of the first YMCA in Jerusalem will be celebrated in
June, 2003. In the midst of the group of olive trees, the YMCA of the USA, its
International Committee, the Jerusalem Committee and the Jerusalem
International YMCA Board of Directors have embarked on a new dream…the building
of the largest sports center in Jerusalem beneath the ground of the open, green
central piazza to the rear of the main building, the eventual transformation of
the mission of this historic YMCA into a YMCA Leadership Development Center and
the raising of a multi-million dollar endowment fund—a project worthy of Archie
Harte and James Newbegin Jarvie!
In 2002, Ted Koppel of ABC Television came to
Jerusalem and conducted a town hall meeting. I imagined Koppel interviewing
Archie if he were still alive:
Koppel: Tell me, Dr. Harte, do you really believe
that this YMCA will survive and thrive in the middle of this turmoil and
conflict?
Harte: There is no doubt
about it!
Koppel: You certainly
conceived of an elaborate building for the Jerusalem International YMCA. What
was your main idea for all of this architectural elegance and symbolism?
Harte: Well, Mr. Koppel, I
meant it to be a Sermon in Stone for all people. A sermon of peace and
understanding and brotherly love.
Koppel: What advice would
you give to the people of Jerusalem, to your YMCA members, Board and the
Jerusalem Committee?
Harte: Never ever give up
hope! Carry on – no matter what. Try to see the end from the beginning –
fulfill the Biblical admonition – “That we may all be one!”
Koppel: Thank you Dr. Harte
– you’ve certainly left quite a legacy!
Just then – I had a little vision of my own – it was
a final glimpse of Archibald Harte drifting away into the dusk. Perhaps walking
up to the Mount of Olives. Hmmm, I mused – just like him – leaving the rest of
us to carry on!
Then, looking over his shoulder, Archie peered at me
through his monocle –Remember, he said, always believe in an impossible dream!
****