![]() Despite Henry Date's death in 1915, and the resulting reorganization of management, the company continued to flourish. ![]() Hope endured the difficulties and changes evoked by the Great War (1917-1918). This time-honored tradition continues to this day. Succeeding management speculates that the practice was instituted after a reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Lake St., seven miles west of the Chicago Loop, where operations would continue for the next 63 years.Ī highlight of Hope's ongoing, positive relationship with its employees occurred in 1911, with the establishment of a policy providing a free afternoon for Christmas shopping. In 1909, to house the growing company, Hope built a three-story, brick building at 5707 W. Though they worked a six-day week, the office closed at 1p.m. Kingsbury was Date's cousin, who joined Hope in 1896 as an "office boy." The company incorporated in 1902 with Date as president, George Shorney as treasurer and general manager, and Kingsbury as secretary.īy the Christmas season of 1900, Hope's logbook boasted 51 employees. He earned his passage through long hours on a cattle boat, swishing the cattle to keep them on their feet. ![]() George Shorney, a distant relative and childhood friend of Date's, had come to the United States alone in 1884 after a disagreement with his father over modern farming equipment. "In fact, all I had was hope and that is how the company got its name." The Twentieth Century (1900-1920)ĭate had two partners in the business, George Henry Shorney and Francis G. "I had very limited funds but a great deal of hope," said Date, reflecting on the company's founding. When the long-anticipated, 224-page "Pentecostal Hymns" was published, it was an immediate success. Free sample copies of the little book were liberally distributed and orders began to pour in from all sections of the country, with sales reaching hundreds of thousands. It held only a desk, a portable pump organ, and the stock of the small songbook.ĭate announced the upcoming songbook and the immediate availability of the 64-page book of advance pages. To house the project, Date rented a small office on Fifth Avenue. Finally, he decided to publish "Pentecostal Hymns Advance Pages," a paperbound, 64-page book, which would precede the complete work. His brother lent him money, but this too was soon exhausted. He strongly felt the need for a songbook, to be used in their meetings, but when he embarked upon the project he found the task too large for his funds. In his evangelistic role, Date became the president and organizer of the Epworth League, a Methodist organization, founded to encourage the piety of its members. A strong Christian, he yearned to be a preacher, but was unable to afford seminary, and therefore, became a Methodist evangelist instead. Nevertheless, he was spirited and energetic. Hunchbacked from being dropped as a child, he was always frail, weighing only ninety pounds as a grown man. Henry "Harry" Sheperd Date immigrated to Chicago with his family in 1861, at the age of thirteen. More than a century later, Hope continues to edify the church by providing new music resources to aid the church in the worship of Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Hope Publishing Company, a family-owned Christian music publisher, was born in a one-room office at 56 Fifth Avenue, Chicago in 1892. To view a history of Hope with historical photographs, click here. ![]() To see a timeline of Hope's History, click here.
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