Collection 604 Oral History Interview with Dan D. Crawford

Collection

Identifier: CN 604

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Dan Duvall Crawford in which he discusses his parents, Percy and Ruth (Duvall) Crawford; Percy Crawford’s evangelistic ministry at meetings, through radio and television programming; and the camps his father founded. Other topics discussed include Crawford’s experiences at Pine Brook Camp as a child; Pine Brook Praises and Young People’s Church of the Air; Percy Crawford’s relationship with Billy Graham and Jack Wyrtzen; his parents’ partnership in ministry; influence of evangelists Paul Rader and R.A. Torrey; education at Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA); Percy’s management style; Percy as an example of the centrality of fundamentalism to American values and traditions; Dan’s education and career following Percy’s death. The time period covered by the interview is ca. 1920 to 1940.

Dan Crawford was interviewed by Bob Shuster on August 3, 2004, at Mr. Crawford’s home in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Dates

Created: 2004

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Biographical Information

Full Name: Dan Duvall Crawford

Birth: 1941 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Family:

Parents: Percy Bartimus and Ruth Marjorie (Duvall) Crawford

Siblings: Donald Bruce (1937), Richard Torrey (1939), Dean (1944), Donna Lee (1949)

Marital Status: Married to Sidnie White Crawford in 1994

Education:

1951-1956 - Germantown Academy, Germantown, Pennsylvania

1956-1959 - Briarcliffe Manor High School, Briarcliffe Manor, New York

1959-1961 - The King’s College, Briarcliffe Manor, New York

1961-1963 - Transfer to Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania, USA. B.A. in Philosophy

1963-1966 - Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. M.A. in Religion

1966-1970 - University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Ph.D. in Philosophy

Career:

From a young age he and his brothers made up a quartet that sang at his father’s evangelistic meetings and on his radio and television program. The group was known as “The Four Ds.”

1970-1973 - Taught philosophy at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

1974-1978 - Taught philosophy at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

1978-1997 - Taught philosophy at Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

1997 - Senior lecturer in philosophy and the classics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

19?? - Part owner, with his brother Richard and others, of Christian radio station WDAC in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

Other Significant Information: Author of a biography of his father, A Thirst for Souls: the Life of Evangelist Percy B. Crawford (1902-1960). Manuscript was finished in 2007.

Extent

2.00 Audio Tapes

132 Minutes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Accruals and Additions

The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Gaham Center Archives by Dan Crawford in August 2004.

Accession: 04-39

July 25, 2008

Bob Shuster