Orland Park | Baptist pastor and historian Myron Dillow was honored posthumously at the IBSA Annual Meeting in November. He was the author of a definitive work on Illinois Baptist history, Harvesttime on the Prairie: 1796-1996. It recounted in detail the first 200 years of Baptist presence and missions in Illinois.
“On a few occasions, Myron would call me and tell me about the article that he was working on, about some aspect of Illinois Baptist history or Baptist history of some kind,” Executive Director Nate Adams said. “I don’t know if you can imagine what it took to do a credible work on Baptist history that we can all now have as a reference like this to understand our roots.”
Dillow was chair of the IBSA Historical Committee when he was commissioned to write the definitive work on the growth of Baptists in Illinois, starting with the first meeting house at New Design in 1796. It took five years to produce the 639-page volume.
Dillow was 93 at the time of his death Oct.30 in Ozark, Missouri. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Marjorie. He is survived by his son and daughter and their families. Dillow held a ThD in theology and a PhD in history. He pastored churches in Arkansas and Illinois, and he retired after 25 years as pastor of University Baptist Church in Carbondale.
Harvesttime on the Prairie became the quintessential reference for Baptist work in Illinois. And it is an interesting read, with the stories of the pioneers who busted sod for farming and tilled hard ground for planting gospel seeds. “We have reaped the fruit of their labors,” Dillow wrote. “We have a rich heritage: our hope is that we will build on the things that have made us who we are and extend Jesus’ work today and tomorrow until he comes.”