Rodeheaver Book Launch Gala Set for September 8 at Grace College

The long-awaited release of the authoritative biography of Homer Rodeheaver will be celebrated with a free public event at Westminster Hall on the Grace College campus at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 8.

The book, which was seven years in preparation, is entitled “Homer Rodeheaver and the Rise of the Gospel Music Industry.” The co-authors, Kevin Mungons and Douglas Yeo, will be present to talk about the book, sign books and provide some live music.

Refreshments will also be served at the event, which is open to the public without charge. The book was released recently by the University of Illinois Press.

Mungons, an editor with Moody Publishers in Chicago, and Yeo, former Boston Symphony Orchestra trombonist now teaching at the University of Illinois, will explain some of the research and side stories as they compiled information on Homer Rodeheaver (1880-1955), who was the song leader, choir director, trombonist and platform personality for the Billy Sunday evangelistic crusades for 20 years. Rodeheaver later became better known for his pioneering work in founding the gospel music publishing and recording industry.

Rodeheaver’s music publishing enterprise, the Rodeheaver Hall-Mack Company, was headquartered in the Westminster Hotel in Winona Lake from 1941 until 1987, when a new owner relocated the business to Texas. The Winona History Center is now located in the former offices of Rodeheaver’s publishing company.

The program on Thursday, September 8, will be held in the West Conference Room of Westminster Hall, which is located at 105 Ninth Street in Winona Lake. The event is jointly sponsored by the Winona History Center and the Grace College Department of Humanities.