A Desk for Billie
Posted by ifphc on April 26, 2007
A Desk for Billie. Film produced by the National Education Association, 1956. Rereleased on DVD, 2007.
Dr. Billie Davis, one of the best-known educators in the Assemblies of God, started life in the hopyards of Oregon. She spent her childhood during the Great Depression of the 1930s traversing across America with her parents, who were migrant farm workers. They were “homeless” before the term became fashionable. They lived and traveled in a battered Model A Ford with a makeshift wooden frame constructed on the back to provide shelter. She describes herself as a child as “a small ragged hobo” who would “[sit] on the ground beside a campfire, hungrily licking the fishy oil from the lid of a sardine can” while studying her school lessons.
How was Billie Davis able to rise from her impoverished surroundings? She attributes her success to the discovery, as a young girl, of three ways to better herself: 1) Sunday school; 2) libraries; and 3) public school.
Billie Davis came to work for the Gospel Publishing House in Springfield, Missouri in 1942, serving as the first editor of the Sunday School Counselor magazine. After the Saturday Evening Post featured her story, “I was a Hobo Kid” (published December 13, 1952), Reader’s Digest picked it up. Then, in 1956, the National Education Association produced a film about her life, “A Desk for Billie.” This film, a tribute to the value of education, was widely distributed across America and viewed by generations of teachers and schoolchildren. “A Desk for Billie” encourages viewers to appreciate Sunday school, libraries, and public schools.
Billie Davis went on to earn her Ed.D. from the University of Miami and served as a professor at Evangel University, as an Assemblies of God missionary, and in numerous leadership roles in education, church, and government.
“A Desk for Billie” is now available for purchase on DVD. Proceeds will be given to the Billie Davis scholarship at Evangel University.
DVD, color, 57 minutes. Minimum contribution of $20, postpaid. Order from: Dr. Billie Davis, 652 South Marlan Ave., Springfield, MO 65802 (email: bilsyl@aol.com ; phone: 417-831-2858).
Technorati Tags:
Biography, Education, Assemblies of God, Pentecostal, Billie Davis
July 23, 2007 at 5:56 am
I am so thrilled! I have been searching forever for this film. I saw it as a child and it had such an impact on my life. I never ever forgot that movie and I have always wanted to share it with my kids. They are older now, but I still want them to see this as it was the most inspirational film I have ever seen,I cannot wait to see it again! I am the Director of Outreach for Girl Scouts and I know this was my very first sense of empathy and compassion that has lasted a lifetime. I am so excited, you just do not know!!!!
September 22, 2007 at 2:05 am
My mother, Dr. Reese Danley Kilgo, saw this movied early in her Education career, showed it to her countless university classes, and is going to be amazed when I give her a copy for her 80th birthday next month. Thank you so much for making this available on DVD. I look forward to seeing it for the first time.
February 6, 2008 at 3:42 am
Hello,
My niece interviewed me today to find out what school was like in the “old days” ( I am only 60!!). Anyway, as I was thinking back, I remember that when I was in third grade in Wadsworth, Ohio, the entire school was marched to the auditorium to watch “A Desk for Billie.” That was the start of my desire to help little kids. Eventually, I taught school on the Navajo Reservation and Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico. Later I was a librarian in Los Alamos, New Mexico. I was going through all the files when I started the job and a previous librarian had saved the Saturday Evening Post article about you! I was so happy, because, although I had remembered the words “A Desk for Billie” I really didn’t know who you were or anything else.
I just want to thank you so much for your character and wisdom and for how your life affected mine.
I hope you are in the best of health. I see now that you are affiliated with the Assembly of God. My aunt - from Crosby, ND and Seattle - was Assembly of God. She sent me the most interesting books “He Talked with Angles” and others. One of her classmates, if I have this story right, was one of the members of the Buck family - of Buck knives.
You are part of my life and I thank you.
Sally
July 7, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Wow! I grew up in California’s Central Valley and saw this movie 45 years ago. I never forgot it.
I began teaching in 2007 and thought about “A Desk for Billie” as I prepared for my first day of school. I thought it would be a great film to show my students, but could not locate it through the NEA website. I’m ecstatic to learn it is now available to show students and other teachers.
The lessons run deep and touch each viewer in a unique way.
July 10, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Many years ago, you spoke to the teachers in the Modesto City School District. It was the most inspirational speeches I heard in the many years of attending beginning of the year meetings. As a teacher of low-income children, I told them about you and encouraged them to make the most of their lives, that being poor or having less than perfect parents was no excuse for their not being able to make the most of their lives. When “A Desk for Billie” was released, it was shown to my classes. Having heard your story as you told it, I could add inspiring vignettes as you told them. What a blessing you have been to many, many teachers and groups of children through the years. Thank you for your honest and candid account of your early years and making the most of your adult life!