Remembering Our Past: Harkness Cram
Harkness Warren Cram, Jr., was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., the son of Harkness and Ruth Cram. The family moved to Pelham, N.Y., in 1944.
Hark and his wife, Mary Louise, were childhood sweethearts, the only love of each other’s lives. They were together since 8th grade.
In 1944, when Mary Louise’s brother told her there was a boy who wanted to meet her, Mary Louise asked what his name was. When he said, “Harkness,” Mary Louise said she laughed until she rolled on the floor at the sound of his name. She didn’t know at the time that it would become the most important name in her life. Hark once said, “The good thing with a name like Harkness is no one mistakes you for anyone else.” No one would have ever mistaken Hark for anyone else. He was unique.
Hark was baptized by Rev. Elmer Love in the First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, NY, as a youth – when he was known as “Harkie.” Hark almost ended up becoming a pastor himself. He was always involved in church life from the time he was young.
Hark was accepted at Andover Newton Theological Seminary in the spring of 1953.
He deferred his acceptance to study and prepare for the ministry in order to serve his country in the United States Marine Corps. In a letter he wrote to one of his mentors, Mr. Harold Peters, on April 14, 1953, Hark stated, “As a twenty-two year old American boy, twice deferred because of my status as a college student, I feel that I have a definite obligation to serve my country.”
As always, he stated his case – his reasons why this was the right decision at this time: his responsibilities were few, two years of active service would net three years of schooling under the G.I. Bill, and he would be able to save money and gain experience, which would help him in serving others. So, he deferred his acceptance to the fall of 1955.
Stationed in Quantico, Virginia, from 1953–1955, Hark reached the rank of 1st Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps. His position called for closely supervising the serving of three meals daily; for approximately 2,100 men, with 140 men within his command.
He took tremendous pride in his work, and this experience was the beginning of a lifelong enjoyment of feeding family, friends, and many others. His grandson, Skip, once observed, “You could starve faster at Stop & Shop than at Papa’s house.”
Following his time in the military, with a BBA from Pace University, Hark began his career in advertising at Dowd, Redfield & Johnstone. He later became vice president at J. Walter Thompson Company, and senior vice president at N. W. Ayer, supervising accounts including Revlon, Chesebrough-Ponds, Miles Laboratories, American Red Cross, Rolex, Samsonite, AT&T, and De Beers. Among his proudest professional achievements were the promotion of “American Orchestras on Tour” and “Live at Lincoln Center with Vladimir Horowitz,” sponsored by AT&T.
Hark and Mary Louise became members of Brewster Baptist in March 1997.
They were both quick to become actively involved in different ministries at BBC.
Pastor Doug shared the following at Hark’s memorial service,
“When I was new at BBC, one of the things that I wanted to do was to raise the church’s profile on the Cape – I wanted to increase our visibility and to attract more first-time visitors to the church. I asked four men to meet with me who, I had learned had backgrounds in advertising, marketing, and business. Hark was one of those men, and now he and David Boyd are no longer with us. My discernment wasn’t too bad in the men I invited.
In future years, when I would get one of the many, many calls I received about our radio outreach, I always enjoyed telling people that I had a man who had handled some smaller clients they might have heard of such as De Beers Diamonds and AT&T before devoting himself to promoting the Kingdom of God and BBC.
Hark’s role in our communications and radio ministry cannot be overstated. He was the creative, dynamic, and organizing force behind it all these years. Writing spots, negotiating with stations, arranging schedules – he was a consummate professional. I learned so much by watching how he communicated and interacted with people. He always knew people’s names, in his letters, emails, and face to face communication. He was personal, gracious, and specific about what he wanted.
I think it says a lot about Hark, and what we did together, that Bette Garrison, who worked for the radio station we did business with ended up joining BBC, along with her husband, Ray. Now they both serve as Deacons, as Hark did for so many years.
Hark was very particular about how long the radio spots should be, the pacing, the word count – he didn’t like them to sound rushed, he always wanted time for the music. Hark knew about brand identity, and with signature music, our “Come share your weekend with us at Brewster Baptist Church”sign off, and the church slogan “The Adventure of a Lifetime Begins Here” that became our motto, we branded BBC.”
The first BBC radio spot recorded in September of 1997:
“A Cape Cod student writes about his last college test… a final in a logic class known for its difficult exams. The professor said to bring as much information to the exam as could fit…on a piece of notebook paper. Most students crammed as many facts as possible on their 8½ x 11-inch sheet of paper. But one student walked into class, put a sheet of blank notebook paper on the floor, … and then had an advanced logic student stand on the paper. The advanced logic student told him everything he needed to know … and he was the only student to receive an “A.” The ultimate final exam will come when we stand before God. On our own, we cannot pass that exam. Our creative attempts to earn eternal life fall short. God has given Jesus to stand in for us. This is Doug Scalise, pastor of Brewster Baptist Church on Route 6A, … inviting you to share your weekend with us … as we worship God together at 5:30 on Saturday … and 9:15 and 11:00 … on Sunday.”
If you would like to listen to some of those radio spots, head over to this page: Our 1 Minute Radio Spots
Hark could talk to anybody about anything. He was knowledgeable about, and could converse on, so many subjects. He and Mary Louise were such a great team. Mary Louise handled all the computer work, typing, emailing and editing. Hark worked with his yellow pads and his always blue, never black, pens, writing in his distinctive style with one finger pointing straight out. They kept track of the attendance – by service, by quarter, by year – at BBC, going all the way back to when they first started coming in 1996.
Hark began serving as a Deacon soon after joining BBC. In the 1998 Annual Report of the Diaconate stated,
“The Communication Team, directed by Harkness Cram, and the TV Ministry Team, under the direction of Stefan Vogel, is proving to be most effective to acquaint people with our church and to meet the spiritual needs of members of other churches. The Pastor has received many letters and notes of appreciation for this ministry. Visitors filling out questionnaires concerning their experience of our worship service cite the fact that they were led to our church through these ministries.”
Later, as the chairperson, Hark would write the Annual Report for the Diaconate. In the 2000 Annual Report, he wrote the following:
“This is the 176th Diaconate Report written since our beloved church was founded in 1824. Past writers have reflected discreetly on the church’s trials and tribulations and waxed enthusiastically on its accomplishments and joys. I know this to be true, for when first elected a BBC Deacon, I spent an hour alone in a BBC bank vault reading their earliest reports written in faded but meticulously bound pages of script. It was an experience that moved me to tears. What a strong faith was exhibited by our early founders; what a steady commitment was exercised by their successors, often during times of adversity. They did their best, they gave their all… for the glory of God.
Today, in an age of information, technology, and prosperity our forebears could never have imagined, your Diaconate is committed to serving God in this time and place by supporting all the ministries of three outstanding men, our pastors Doug, Kip (Mickelson), and Kevin (Saxton). We know all members rejoice in the experiences of worship and service we share in their care, and we thank God for calling them to us. We are blessed!”
Judy Turpin shared the memory of when she first joined the church in 2000. She had put on her new member bio that she had served as a Deacon in her previous church. Hark called her after church that day and said, “Welcome to BBC. We’ll see you at the Deacon’s meeting on Tuesday.” Judy said, “Umm…Okay. Where do they meet?” (Judy remained a Deacon for the next 22 years.)
ark also played a major role in the Capital Fund Campaign Committee, including creating a very attractive and effective brochure for the capital campaign that helped to raise the funds needed to build the latest addition in 2001 and getting the mortgage paid off by 2005.
Harkness Warren Cram, Jr., at the age of 78, died peacefully on Oct. 3, 2009, at Hospice McCarthy Care Center in Sandwich.