From Iowa Cornfields to Fernwood

In Francis Stewart’s autobiography, he gives his personal, historic account of growing up as a child in a sharecropper family in Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s and then experiencing the culture shock of moving with his family to the Deep South at the age of twelve. Here he tells his stories of selling Bibles to earn tuition for college; serving with the Civil Aeronautics Administration and in the Army Air Force during World War II; attending the University of Georgia, Mercer University, and Crozer Seminary; pastoring a Baptist church in middle Georgia in the 1950s and 1960s; and serving in the War on Poverty and in Georgia State Government. Francis’ many roles have provided opportunities to contribute to the public well being throughout his life as a pastor and through service in state and local government. Through community involvement and volunteer activities, Francis has been an active member of the communities where he lived throughout his life. Francis has kept personal journals from 1977 through the present, seven volumes to date. Here he shares the memories and reflections of his rich life.