One man who greatly influenced my mother’s life during her formative years (from 17 to 21) in the Westfield area was Percival Pemberton. Although my mother Ruth does not mention his name in her diary, she used to speak to me occasionally about him. As a young lay teacher at the Mountainside Baptist Church, he worked with the youth, who addressed him affectionately as "Percy."

Percy had a sunny, upbeat disposition, and everybody loved him. In his ministry of the youth, he used to attend some of their festivities, and he would invariably impart to them a spiritual note as he played the piano and sang hymns, or as he led the group in prayer. In all that he said and did he was on fire for the Lord, and his gentleness and kindness had a lasting influence on many of the teenagers and others for their eternal blessing.

Partly because of Percy’s sterling example, Ruth used to sometimes suffer pangs of conscience when her exuberance and joy of life caused her to exceed the limits of acceptable Christian conduct. She expresses some of her misgivings and remorse for her failures in her diary. We see the stage being set for the later commitment of her entire life to God’s service. It would be a service mostly limited to the confines of her home.

According to my recollections, Percy went to Africa to serve as a missionary. However, he did not enjoy robust health and later returned unwell, whether from malaria, tuberculosis or some other malady, I do not remember. He did not live long enough after his return home to make old bones. Ruth never forgot his cheerful dedication to the Lord and his spontaneity in winning souls to serve God.

After making the acquaintance of Alfred D. Straughan, Ruth Holmes fell in love with him within a few weeks. It was more than a mere passing romance, inasmuch as each felt instinctively that they were made for each other. It was a love characterized not only by passion, but also by sensitive caring and concern for each other’s welfare. Further, their love was blessed more and more by heaven with the passage of time.

Their attraction to each other had started when they had met for the first time at that momentous Halloween party on October 30, 1915. After a few months of active courtship, they were married June 17, 1916 at the Metropolitan Temple in New York City. Although their marriage was not quite an elopement, it had all the marks identifying it as being a small, hastily arranged ceremony, not caused by the disregard of any ethical code, but simply because they did not want to wait nay longer. A man by the name of Colin Taylor signed as the single witness. I do not know where they went for their honeymoon, but I assume that they spent it in the New York area, perhaps seeing some of the sights there. Of course, some lovers consider an elopement more romantic than a traditional marriage ceremony.

A postbridal shower was held November 4, 1916, over four months after their marriage, when friends and family members congratulated the young couple, expressed their esteem to them and gave them gifts. It was a small, select group from the Westfield area. Solemnizing the occasion was none other than Percy Pemberton, whose name headed the list of those present, and whose hymns, prayers and words seemed to sanctify the union.