- 1952-01-05 —
Fred and Jean Graham were registered as Bahá'ís. They had been closely aligned and were sympathetic to the Faith since 1948. [UC33]
- In the months and years that followed their relatives enrolled in the Faith. It can be said that the Graham family established the first dynasty in Canada.
- 1952 November 2: Fred's mother Florence as well as Fred's sister Jeanie and her husband Orv Seddon enrolled. [UC35]
- 1957-04-26 —
The National Convention was held at the new Haziratu'l-Quds at 274 Huron Street. It was attended by about 100 visitors as well as seventeen delegates who voted in person and two who voted by mail. Those elected were: Hart Bowsfield, Peggy Ross, Winnifred Harvey, Audrey Westheuser, Allan Raynor, Lloyd Gardner, Rowland Estall, Fred Graham, and Harold Moscrop.
- The Public Congress was held in the Royal Ontario Museum Theatre. About 300 persons attended. [CBN No 89 June, 1957 p3-4]
- Photo.
- There were 17 Local Spiritual Assemblies in Canada at this point, a drop from 19 two years earlier. [Bloodworth, Grains of Wheat p20]
- 1957-05-00 —
About twenty-five different itineraries
were arranged for Canadian
Bahá'í teachers who served on the
Intra-Regional circuits and, in addition,
teaching programmes were arranged
and organized for several visiting
teachers from outside the Dominion,
including Mr. Alan Pringle
from Honduras and Mrs. Meherangiz
Munsiff of the United States. Our
Canadian teachers have included the
following: Mrs. Laura Davis, Mr.
Albert Rakovsky, Mr. Hartwell Bowsfield,
Mr. Rowland Estall, Mr; Alan
Raynor, Mre. !Peggy Ross, Mrs. Lily
Ann Irwin, Mrs. Katherine Moscrop,
Mr. Fred Graham, Miss Nancy Campbell,
Miss Amy Putnam and Miss
Winnifred Harvey. [CBN No88 May 1957 p1]
- Seven weekend
seminars conducted by Allan
Raynor on "The Covenant and
the Individual" were organized
throughout Canada for the deepening,
strengthening and confirming of
believers and close contacts. [CBN No88 May 1957 p2]
- 1957-12-00 —
The National Spiritual Assembly appointed a National Promulgation Committee with a mandate to bring the Bahá'i Faith to the attention of Christian clergy and laymen throughout Canada. The committee members were: Fred and Jean Graham, Douglas and Elizabeth Martin, David and Carol Bowie. Hamilton was chosen as the site for a pilot project. Every minister and priest received the pamphlet, "The Promised Day of God" and a letter with the National Spiritual Assembly letterhead outlining Bahá'u'lláh's claim to be the return of Christ. Every Protestant minister received a copy of the article by Marcs Bach from the Christian Century entitled, "Bahá'í, a Second Look" and every Catholic priest received a pamphlet with excerpts from Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to the Pope. Archdeacons and Bishops and prominent Presbyterian and United ministers receive a copy of Christ and Bahá'u'lláh. In addition a letter was sent to the local Council of Churches or Ministerial Association outlining Bahá'u'lláh's claim and including a pamphlet and the Christian Century article and offering a speaker if they desired.
- On the weekend following the mailout, notices were placed in the newspaper on the church page informing people that their clergy had received the material and notice was given about a public meeting on Sunday with the subject "Christ and Bahá'u'lláh".
- Questionnaires were sent to every group in Ontario requesting information that would facilitate further plans. [CBN No 104 September 1958 p3-4]
- 1958-04-29 —
The National Convention was held at the Westbury Hotel, 475 Yonge Street in Toronto. Those elected to the National Assembly were: Hart Bowesfield, Peggy Ross, (sec'y), Winnifred Harvey, Audrey Westheuser, Allan Raynor, Lloyd Gardner, Rowland Estall, Fred Graham, and Harold Moscrop (tres). [CBN No 99 115 April, 1958 p1; CBN No 101 June 1958 p3]
- See [CBN No 101 June 1958, Special Insert] for the Message from the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land to the National Convention.
- 1959-03-00 — Fred Graham was asked to preside over a name-giving ceremony for Michelle Jamál Bowie, daughter of Carol and David Bowie of Niagara Falls who had been born in December, 1958. [UC88]
Mrs Audrey Rayne presided at the name-giving ceremony for the two children of Mr and Mrs K Ross in Halifax. [CBN No 110 March 1959 p3] - 1959-09-00 — Carol and David Bowie pioneered to Ear Falls, Ontario and had to relinquish membership on the National Promulgation Committee. The new membership was: Fred Graham, Douglas Martin, Jeannie Seddon, Donald Dainty and Gail Burland (secretary). [CBN No 127 August 1960 p70] iiiii
- 1960-04-29 —
The 13th National Convention was held at the Westbury Hotel in Toronto. It was attended by Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Ruhíyyih Khánum and Hand of the Cause John Robarts. The 19 delegates selected the following for service on the National Assembly for the year 117: Peggy Ross, (sec'y) Rowland Estall, (chair) Winnifred Harvey, Hartwell Bowsfield, Harold Moscrop, Lloyd Gardner, (vice-chair) Audrey Westheuser, (treas.) Douglas Martin, and Fred Graham. [CBN No 125 June 1960 p1]
- For the Message from the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land see [CBN No 125 June 1960 p10].
- For the message from the Hands of the Faith in the Western Hemisphere to the Annual Convention see [CBN No 125 June 1960 p7].
- 1961-04-28 —
The fourteenth National Convention was held at the Westbury Hotel in Toronto. Those elected were: Angus Cowan, Rowland Estall, (chair) Glen Eyford, Lloyd Gardner, (vice-chair) Fred Graham, Douglas Martin, Harold Moscrop, (tres.) Peggy Ross, and Audrey Westheuser (sec'y). [CBN No 137 June 1961 p10]
- See [CBN No 136 136 May 1961 p1] for the Message from the Hands in the Holy Land.
- See [CBN No 140 September 1961 p1] for photo.
- 1969-03-00 — As of this date, the Auxiliary Board Members in Canada served in the following areas:
Mr. R. Ted Anderson; Yukon and McKenzie Territories, Alberta, British Columbia, and
shared Franklin District with Peggy Ross.
Mr. Fred Graham; Ontario, Quebec, The Maritimes
Mrs. Peggy Ross; Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Keewatin
District, and shared Franklin District with Ted Anderson. [Bahá'í National Review Issue 15 March 1969 p3]
- 1975-07-21 —
The passing of Fred Graham (b. 26 August, 1913 Rose Valley, PE) at his cottage, KirKonKotta, near Kincardine. He was buried in the small cemetery in Tiverton near a grove of six pine trees.
- His funeral, chaired by Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, was held in Kincardine. Although remote from any large centre of population it was attended by about two hundred and seventy-five mourners.
[BW16p558; CBN Issue 287 August/September 1975 p12-13; UC203-212]
- A biography was published in 2013 by Dale Sims entitled An Uncommon Canadian: The Story of Fred Graham.
- 2013-00-00 — The publication of An Uncommon Canadian: The Story of Fred Graham by Dale Sims The book can be ordered directly from the publisher's website.
Fred Graham was a man of humble beginnings who met trials and tests with an indomitable spirit and emerged as one of the foremost Canadian Baha'i servants in the time following the turmoil of the Great Depression and the Second World War. In the words of the Universal House of Justice, Fred Graham became a "devoted servant," an "inspiring teacher" and an "exemplary believer".
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