I did not know about the guys who owned the land, and the pending shopping center!
- that your father got those three guys to reverse course is yet another example of the profound respect he commanded, by all, and his skills of persuasion!
And thank you for the dribbling basketball story...! I had forgotten some of the details...thank you for filling in the canvas!
Thank you so much for this! So many great new details -- but all following the same themes
Bob the Blue was the BEST!!
Now - please contact the Temple so they can forward the story of Bob the Blue out to all 1,800 -- if not al 750k that toured it prior to its consecration!
Well if that don't just beat all. A superb message and fun story. Reading these posts from The Engine Under the Hood, I have been wondering where the writers like Mr. Lindner get so many great stories. Won't they run out of ideas? And now it hits me: at least half of what I am loving is that they are just plain great writers, taking some excellent nuggets to weave a great tale with style. Keep it up!
Thank you for the outstanding article about my father. It is great to relive some our mutual experiences with my father. As Bob Barker’s youngest child, I would like to add my memory of your meeting President Kimball and President Hinckley at our house (see below).
My father shared this with me: in 1962 (the year I was born), after carefully—and quietly—considering 32 potential sites for The Washington Temple, the First Presidency authorized the purchase of the 57 acres behind my home.
But immediately a very big problem arose: my father discovered that the property was owned by three Jewish men. He called to see if he could meet with them. They told him they had already promised the land to a group that was planning to build a shopping mall. My father explained to the men the importance of temples to our faith, similar to their significance in Hebrew history. He felt that he had been inspired to speak of temples in that context. One of the men said, “Mr. Barker, call us tomorrow.” When he called, the men said they decided to sell the property to the Mormons.
I was 12 years old when the temple was dedicated, which meant I was old enough to attend. My family and I were fortunate to attend the first dedication on the morning of November 19, 1974. We sat near the front of the large room on the 7th floor. President Spencer W. Kimball, the President of the Church, was seated on the stand in the front row. I remember the lovely dedicatory prayer that he offered.
After the dedication, we had another wonderful experience as President Kimball and Elder Gordon B. Hinkley (who would succeed President Kimball as head of the Church in 1995) joined us for lunch in our home. As I remember, they had to return to the Temple after lunch to conduct additional dedication ceremonies. While we were seated in our dining room, our front door opened and in walked our non-member friend, bouncing a basketball. Since it was the middle of the day on a weekday, our friend Eric was shocked to find a formal luncheon. My father, not quite sure what to do, called Eric into the dining room to meet the President of the Church. As Eric stood next to President Kimball, my father jokingly said, “What’s up Eric the Red?” and Eric responded, “Not much Bob the Blue.” President Kimball was very kind to Eric.
Eric, thanks for this very human article about my favorite uncle, Bob Barker. My Mom and he were closest in proximity of age within the Barker clan and my Mom relied on him for counsel many times. But Uncle Bob was self-effacing to the nth degree and thus the larger family didn't know many of the facts you have put in your article. When he defended Stans before the Senate my Mom only found out because she was watching the hearings and all of a sudden her favorite brother was front and center on PBS...I think she was both proud and angry at the same time (that he had not even mentioned it). The rest of that story is a treasured object lesson for me: Stans called him to ask him to defend him; he answered that he did not do criminal law but would be happy to refer him to someone with whom that was a specialty; Stans is reported to have said, "Mr. Barker, I want you because I need an honest man...and there are that many of them in this town (Washington D. C.) right now." So Uncle Bob's silent reputation for "integrity" was known by a broad population. When I flew back for his funeral with my brother, we were amazed that the church was full with about 1,800 people...only 400 of which could have been LDS...but we sat there and watched the who's who of Washington parade into the chapel (people from both sides of the aisle). When I had my mission farewell in 1963, Uncle Bob flew to Salt Lake from Washington just to speak at my invitation. I am fortunate to have a recording of that talk. I was the oldest (still am) Barker cousin, so I knew him before Amy Ann was born. I have a home movie of his return from WWII to siblings lined up on the lawn of the Barker home. We had history. In 1962 he took me to his back fence and pointed saying, "This is where the temple will be built." That was before the deal for the property was even made. So many memories...so great an example...so sad that all he was is missing so badly from society these days.
Your essay brings back many happy memories of our childhood growing up in Kensington Maryland. We were privileged to have so many interesting people who lived in our neighborhood. Dad was constantly doing good and kind acts for others. He was honest and loved our legal system. He was calm in extraordinary circumstances. He was a true problem solver. He loved other people and was respectful to people with views that differed from his. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Jeff -
your Dad represents the epitome of The Greatest Generation
Brian-
Thank you!
I did not know about the guys who owned the land, and the pending shopping center!
- that your father got those three guys to reverse course is yet another example of the profound respect he commanded, by all, and his skills of persuasion!
And thank you for the dribbling basketball story...! I had forgotten some of the details...thank you for filling in the canvas!
Dear James-
Thank you so much for this! So many great new details -- but all following the same themes
Bob the Blue was the BEST!!
Now - please contact the Temple so they can forward the story of Bob the Blue out to all 1,800 -- if not al 750k that toured it prior to its consecration!
Warm regards
Eric
Well if that don't just beat all. A superb message and fun story. Reading these posts from The Engine Under the Hood, I have been wondering where the writers like Mr. Lindner get so many great stories. Won't they run out of ideas? And now it hits me: at least half of what I am loving is that they are just plain great writers, taking some excellent nuggets to weave a great tale with style. Keep it up!
Eric,
Thank you for the outstanding article about my father. It is great to relive some our mutual experiences with my father. As Bob Barker’s youngest child, I would like to add my memory of your meeting President Kimball and President Hinckley at our house (see below).
My father shared this with me: in 1962 (the year I was born), after carefully—and quietly—considering 32 potential sites for The Washington Temple, the First Presidency authorized the purchase of the 57 acres behind my home.
But immediately a very big problem arose: my father discovered that the property was owned by three Jewish men. He called to see if he could meet with them. They told him they had already promised the land to a group that was planning to build a shopping mall. My father explained to the men the importance of temples to our faith, similar to their significance in Hebrew history. He felt that he had been inspired to speak of temples in that context. One of the men said, “Mr. Barker, call us tomorrow.” When he called, the men said they decided to sell the property to the Mormons.
I was 12 years old when the temple was dedicated, which meant I was old enough to attend. My family and I were fortunate to attend the first dedication on the morning of November 19, 1974. We sat near the front of the large room on the 7th floor. President Spencer W. Kimball, the President of the Church, was seated on the stand in the front row. I remember the lovely dedicatory prayer that he offered.
After the dedication, we had another wonderful experience as President Kimball and Elder Gordon B. Hinkley (who would succeed President Kimball as head of the Church in 1995) joined us for lunch in our home. As I remember, they had to return to the Temple after lunch to conduct additional dedication ceremonies. While we were seated in our dining room, our front door opened and in walked our non-member friend, bouncing a basketball. Since it was the middle of the day on a weekday, our friend Eric was shocked to find a formal luncheon. My father, not quite sure what to do, called Eric into the dining room to meet the President of the Church. As Eric stood next to President Kimball, my father jokingly said, “What’s up Eric the Red?” and Eric responded, “Not much Bob the Blue.” President Kimball was very kind to Eric.
Eric, thanks for this very human article about my favorite uncle, Bob Barker. My Mom and he were closest in proximity of age within the Barker clan and my Mom relied on him for counsel many times. But Uncle Bob was self-effacing to the nth degree and thus the larger family didn't know many of the facts you have put in your article. When he defended Stans before the Senate my Mom only found out because she was watching the hearings and all of a sudden her favorite brother was front and center on PBS...I think she was both proud and angry at the same time (that he had not even mentioned it). The rest of that story is a treasured object lesson for me: Stans called him to ask him to defend him; he answered that he did not do criminal law but would be happy to refer him to someone with whom that was a specialty; Stans is reported to have said, "Mr. Barker, I want you because I need an honest man...and there are that many of them in this town (Washington D. C.) right now." So Uncle Bob's silent reputation for "integrity" was known by a broad population. When I flew back for his funeral with my brother, we were amazed that the church was full with about 1,800 people...only 400 of which could have been LDS...but we sat there and watched the who's who of Washington parade into the chapel (people from both sides of the aisle). When I had my mission farewell in 1963, Uncle Bob flew to Salt Lake from Washington just to speak at my invitation. I am fortunate to have a recording of that talk. I was the oldest (still am) Barker cousin, so I knew him before Amy Ann was born. I have a home movie of his return from WWII to siblings lined up on the lawn of the Barker home. We had history. In 1962 he took me to his back fence and pointed saying, "This is where the temple will be built." That was before the deal for the property was even made. So many memories...so great an example...so sad that all he was is missing so badly from society these days.
Eric,
Your essay brings back many happy memories of our childhood growing up in Kensington Maryland. We were privileged to have so many interesting people who lived in our neighborhood. Dad was constantly doing good and kind acts for others. He was honest and loved our legal system. He was calm in extraordinary circumstances. He was a true problem solver. He loved other people and was respectful to people with views that differed from his. I enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Jeff