Bahá’í World/Volume 20/Cynthia and Edgar Olson
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CYNTHIA AND EDGAR OLSON
1903—1988/1908—1989
Cynthia Ruth Barnard Olson was borh of English stock on 7 November 1903 in Hennepin, Illinois, USA, the second eldest of five children. Her great—grandfather, Williamson Durly, was an abolitionist, and his home in Hennepin was one of the stations on the “underground railway” by
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which slaves from the South were able to escape to freedom in the North. Cynthia often speculated that the bold stand taken by this forebear with respect to God—given rights of all mankind may have contributed to the bounty of her eventually finding and accepting the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
At the age of 14, Cynthia entered Indiana University. After one year she took a position as teacher in a one-room country school, later returning to the University to complete her studies in philosophy and journalism.
Upon graduation, she accepted a job as reporter and feature writer for the Miami Herald, in Florida, soon thereafter transferring to the field of hotel and resort publicity. This took her to New York City and Washington, DC, and it was then that she came in contact with the Bahá’í Faith. Her earliest teacher was Clara Weir of California, who arranged for her to meet Mariam Haney and her son, Paul Haney, and Cora Oliver, all of whom were living in Washington, DC. On 22 June 1939, her letter of acceptance into the Bahá’í Faith was received from the Local Spiritual Assembly of Washington, DC.
These early days of her life as a believer were spent in the company of many other legendary Bahá’ís, including Genevieve Coy, Juliet Thompson, Stanwood Cobb, Borrah Kavelin, and Philip Sprague. While attending weekly deepenings in New York City, Cynthia heard Shoghi Effendi’s appeal to the friends to “leave the big cities” and help establish Local Assemblies in those states which did not yet have them. In November 1942, she moved to Wilmington, Delaware, and was soon elected to the first Local Assembly of that city.
Within weeks of her arrival, Cynthia met her future husband, Edgar “Olie” Olson.
Edgar A. Olson was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on 6 August 1908 to Swedish immigrants, Charles and Hilda Olson. His father died while Olie was still an infant, and so by the age of 12, he was contributing to the family income, first by selling newspapers on a street corner and later by
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Cynthia and Edgar Olson.
working at a soda fountain in a local pharmacy.
After graduation from Wilmington High School, Olie received a scholarship from a member of the Dupont family to attend a one—year business course at Babson Institute in Wellesley, Massachusetts. On his final report card, the finance professor, Mr. A.H. Fittz, wrote: “An iconoclast, worthy of respect, who will do more for himself and for others and so will be able to accomplish more in life if he can learn to become more chaiitable toward the weaknesses of the conformists.” Yet it was Olie’s desire to always strive beyond status quo that led him to embrace the Faith of Baha’u’llah and to serve that Faith so illustriously his entire life.
From Babson, Olie worked for several different companies in the East anti Midwest United States before returning to Wilmington at the time of his mother’s death. He was operating a retail food store there when he met Cynthia and she introduced him to the Bahá’í Faith. It speaks eloquently of their relationship that, after Olie’s death, the original check that Cynthia wrote to Olson’s
THE BAHA’t WORLD
Food on her first visit to the store was still in his personal papers. He had never cashed it, and Cynthia has written in her memoirs that Olie discovered her name, address, and telephone number from that Check.
In April 1944, Olie became the first native of Delaware to become a Bahá’í and their marriage, on 25 August that year, was the first Bahá’í marriage recognized by the state of Delaware. Shoghi Effendi hung their marriage certificate on the wall of his room at Bahjí.
Olie and Cynthia spent all their free time in Bahá’í work. In the same month he embraced the Faith, Edgar helped fonn the first Local Spiritual Assembly in the state of Delaware, and at a later date, he was one of the incorporators of that Assembly.
During this time Cynthia served on the United States National Bahá’í Information Service. In 1953, when this committee was charged With arranging press conferences in Chicago for the Visit of the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l—Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khanum and the dedication of the House of Worship there, the Olsons heard of Shoghi
IN MEMORIAM
Effendi’s plans for the Ten Year Crusade and his call for pioneers to settle the remaining virgin territories of the g1obe. They immediately made their commitment to arise to this call.
After much prayer, consultation, letter writing, and several false starts searching for an opening to settle in one of these 131 countries—which had to be reached by 2 May 1954, the final day of the first year of the Crusade, in order to meet the beloved Guardian’s hope—they finally chose the Mariana Islands as their goal. In fact, they received the necessary security clearance from the United States Department of the Navy just two weeks before the first year of the Crusade was to end. Since the family business had to be sold, Olie stayed in Delaware to wind up their affairs, so Cynthia arrived alone on Guam on the morning of 2 May 1954, the very last day of the first year of the Ten Year Crusade. Olie joined her there on 6 April 1955.
So it was that Cynthia was named Knight of Baha’u’llah to the Mariana Islands. She often expressed her belief that, although O1ie was not able to arrive at his post before the close of that year, it was due to his sacrifice that she was able to do so, and he shared with her in her heart that distinction.
Many “firsts” were to follow over the next few years. The first mention of the Faith on the air in the Marianas was made by Cynthia in 1954 on her “Woman’s World” radio program; the first Micronesian believer was enrolled in April 1956 in time to form the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Guam, the first Spiritual Assembly in Micronesia, which was then incorporated in 1957; the first Chamorro language translation was made at that time; and the first Bahá’í wedding in Micronesia was held in the Olson hbme, receiving publicity in Guam’s newspaper.
The Ten Year Crusade goal set by the Guardian for the Mariana Islands had been for one pioneer to reside in the area. The goa1 was exceeded three-fold within the first three years with (1) the establishment of the
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National Spiritual Assembly, (2) its incorporation and legal recognition, and (3) an indigenous translation. Consequenfly, the Mariana Islands was designated an “outstanding center” on the Guardian’s Ten Year Crusade map.
While employed by the local radio station, Cynthia was offered a position on the headquarters staff of the United States Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which she accepted. This fortunate turn of events placed her in a position of direct contact With many Micronesians, and with the able and enthusiastic cooperation of fellow Knight of Baha’u’llah, Virginia Breaks of the Caroline Islands, friendships were formed and many Micronesians learned of the Faith and its teachings. When Cynthia was appointed Supervisor of Student Affairs for the Trust Territory government, charged with arranging for sponsors for the Micronesian students who went to Guam for school, and for otherWise looking out for their welfare while they were away from home, many for the first time, this had an impact of far—reaching proportions.
Her kindnesses and concern for these students, which on innumerable occasions included providing hospitality in the Olsons’ own home, are remembered today throughout the far-flung islands of the northwest Pacific. Many of those students are now the leaders and legislators of the newly formed governments of the area, as well as teachers and businessmen, and their respect and knowledge of the Faith, which they associate with Cynthia, is often publicly and sympathetically acknowledged.
Olie worked for KUAM television as a reporter, commentator, and station manager, as well as managing a radio and television station for the same company on the island of Saipan. And he is still fondly remembered on Guam for the restaurant he built in the Village of Inarajan, the building Which now serves as the Inarajan Bahá’í Center. His Swedish pancakes were so renowned that O1ie often remarked that he hoped he would
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be remembered for those services he had rendered the Cause, rather than for the pancakes that he had made!
Those services were considerable. He travelled to teach extensively in the Pacific region, including a six—month trip in 1969 to many of the islands of the South Pacific. Everywhere he went, he was involved in proclamation and publicity activities for the Faith, especially in the realm of presentations to prominent public figures. He was a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Guam, which formed the same year he arrived. In 1971, when smaller Assembly areas were instituted, he became a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Inarajan, serving on that body until the time of his death. Olie was instrumental in the acquisition of the property for both the Temple site and the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds on Guam, and for the erection of the present National Center on that island. He also arranged for the purchase of a Temple site and endowment land in Taiwan, Republic of China, on behalf of the Universal House of Justice.
Cynthia was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the North West Pacific Ocean when it was formed in 1972, embracing the Marshall, Caroline and Mariana Islands, and she continued to serve as a member until the National Spiritual Assembly of the Mariana Islands was formed in 1978. She was then elected to the Marianas Assembly and served for the first two years of its existence. During this time she was also active as a member of various national committees and Local Assemblies and made several teaching trips throughout the Pacific, as well as attending many international conferences and the International Convention of 1973. I
In 1978, the Bahá’í community of the Mariana Islands gathered for a banquet to honour their Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, to mark the 75th year of Cynthia’s life, her 40 years as a Bahá’í, and 25 years as a resident at her pioneer post. The Governor of Guam and his
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wife attended, along with other dignitaries. In 1984, another public commemoration was held, noting the 30th anniversary of Cynthia’s arrival in the Marianas.
A few days before the 11th National Bahá’í Convention, marking the first decade of a national community in the Marianas, Cynthia Olson passed away. Appropriately, her funeral was held as part of that Convention, and was attended by Bahá’ís from throughout the Marianas as well as by many neighbors and government officials. It also received extensive media coverage in Guam.
Her qualities of perseverance and persistence, and of devotion to detail, contributed more to the progress of the Cause in the Mariana Islands than possibly any other acts by any other believers. Even when homebound and later bed—ridden, as she was for the last few years of her life, always her first question when greeting Visitors was, “What is new with the Faith?” Her regret that she was no longer able to be actively involved in service to the Cause during those last years was acute.
On 21 May 1988, the Knight of Baha’u’llah to the Mariana Islands was laid to rest on a beautiful hill in the central portion of Guam, fulfilling her earnest wish to “bury my bones at my post.” Upon learning of her passing, the following cable was sent on 19 May by the Universal House of Justice:
GRIEVED LEARN PASSING DEARLY LOVED KNIGHT BAHA’U’LLAH CYNTHIA OLSON WHOSE DEVOTED SERVICES FAITH SPANNED NEARLY HALF CENTURY, THIRTY-FOUR YEARS OF WHICH WERE SPENT AT HER PIONEER POST IN GUAM WHERE SHE SERVED ON FIRST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NORTHWEST PACIFIC OCEAN. ASSURE LOVING FBRVENT PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HER IMMORTAL SOUL ALL WORLDS GOD. KINDLY CONVEY CONDOLENCES TO HER DEAR HUSBAND EDGAR AND HER FRIENDS.
In spite of his beloved wife’s death and his own ill-health, Edgar Olson remained
IN MEMORIAM
active to his last days, completing a trip to Palau and Yap just before departing on his last vacation. He had even planned to speak to the children of the Inarajan Bahá’í School upon his return from vacation.
This was not to be, however. Olie passed away in his sleep while Visiting Bahá’í friends in Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 5 September 1989. He was laid to rest in Maple Wood Cemetery on 8 September, the first Bahá’í to be interred in a recently purchas ed Bahá’í burial plot.
Many exemplary qualities come to mind when describing Olie. He was steadfast, audacious, and extremely dedicated. Olie often asked a great deal of those around him, but not nearly as much as he asked of himself. It was always more important to him to have done his best for the Cause than to have accolades for his work. As one believer on Guam noted, Olie’s life showed what one ordinary person whose life was completely consecrated to the love of Bahá’u’lláh can and did accomplish.
Compiled from memorial articles by
SHERYL MELLOR AND THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS