Two seemingly contrasting themes from a different time

Obverse

Here is an interesting token with two quite different sides. Bert Ward Beam was an event promoter from Celina, Ohio. In the 1920s, he started promoting “wreck-it” races in which $50 jalopies would race to the finish, but crash along the way. B.Ward Beam is credited as the originator of the auto thrill show as a form of entertainment, debuting his Congress of Daredevils in Toledo, Ohio, in 1923. The greatest attraction, Beam discovered, were the wrecks and smashes: autos colliding in head-on crashes, slamming into brick and flaming walls, leaping from ramps straight into other vehicles (known as the ‘T-bone Crash’), and running over human ‘iron men.’”

The token features the name of the promotor and the show: “B. Ward Beam’s World’s Champion Daredevils”. Under this is an image of a car jumping a bus. A stunt which inspired later well known daredevils.

The inspiration for Evel Knievel’s stunts came in the form of Beam’s “Transcontinental Bus Jump,” a stunt so remarkable, it was featured in all of Beam’s Congress of Daredevils advertisements. Unlike Knievel, who would line up a row of buses and leap over them with a Harley-Davidson XR750, Beam’s drivers would jump a bus lengthwise, driving a 1930s-era Pontiac.

Throughout the 1950s, Beam brought his shows to more than a million spectators across the country, with 140 dates at fairs and carnivals in 1954 alone.

As noted on BangShift.com: “at the shows, Beam’s crew would hand out tokens to the audience, featuring the Transcontinental Bus Jump on the face, and the Lord’s Prayer on the obverse, which Beam’s drivers were probably reciting at full volume every time they executed a stunt.”

Since I’ve quoted the word “token” there, I would tend to call this a medallion. Tokens are used as a substitute for money. If this has “Good for one drink”, or “10c in merchandise” or even no value printed on it, but was used to gain admission to the show, it would have a “value” and so be a “token”. A medallion is commemorative piece, a souvenir. Many use the terms interchangeably, although some insist on the distinction of each.

Dennis Morrison posted some more videos and commentary on YouTube. BangShift has some more images and some of the source material for the text above. BrianRXM.com has images of other similar tokens.

Reverse

The reverse of the token starts with “For good luck carry this” with the name of the token manufacturer, “Whitehead & Hoag” at the bottom

The main text on this side is “The Lord’s Prayer”. Something on this piece for possibly several reasons. It adds to the atmosphere of promoting how dangerous the act was and that the drivers likely needed to be prayed for. And it also attests to the greater emphasis on traditional religion which has diminished from mainstream society more recently.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

While praying the prayer is common still in church or privately, it is not as common to see it publicly promoted as it once was. Although, and perhaps BECAUSE most of us know it so well, I thought it was worth taking a moment to explore the prayer briefly. I hasten to add I am not a theologian, and as always, I have linked sources in the text.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer (or the “Our Father”) is based on the passages from the Gospels of Matthew 6:9-13, and Luke 11:2-4. There are numerous translations and versions. The prayer is common to basically every Christian faith. Various texts study the prayer in different ways, from the seven petitions to more conversational discussion. Here is the three point summary the Church of England notes about the important topics the prayer covers:

• We bless God and pray for our world, our communities and our lives to be shaped by God’s will;
• We pray for daily needs to be met,
• For forgiveness for wrongdoings, strength to resist temptation and protection from danger.

God is approachable, and prayer is something anyone can do. You don’t have to use complicated words or flowery language. God isn’t swayed by arguments or by length or by skill in prayer.

At the heart of our prayers will be words that Jesus himself taught us. It is simple enough to be memorised by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer.

Pope Benedict XVI said: “The meaning of the Our Father goes much further than the mere provision of a prayer text. It aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus.” Let’s go line by line through, and summarise the analysis of each line from Catholic Faith Store:

Our Father, who art in heaven

We believe that God is our father in heaven, and not only ours, but all humanity’s.

Hallowed be thy name

We not only recognise God’s holiness, but pray that all will come to know and recognise Him.

Thy kingdom come

We ask that God’s kingdom of goodness, honesty, and love for one another surround us here in our everyday life AND for Jesus’ return to bless us all with eternal life.

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

We ask for God’s grace to move us and others to do His will throughout our life. That means doing all the things that will please our Father, even the difficult things.

Give us this day our daily bread.

We recognise that all things come from God, and ask him not only for our daily nourishment, but also, the bread of life, the Eucharist.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

While it is easy to ask God to forgive our sins, we also ask for His help with the most difficult task, helping us to forgive those who have wronged us.

And lead us not into temptation

God will help keep us away from temptation and sin, if we ask Him for help.

But deliver us from evil

The devil is always looking for ways to trick us. If we ask God for His protection, He will help us.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever

Recognising and calling again for God’s eternal kingdom, recognising and loving Him, always.

This line is not included in all translations of the Bible, and so is not universally common to all Christian denominations.

Amen

Meaning “so be it” and affirming that we believe and mean everything we just prayed for.