From the Ground Up

This book, which was first published in 1961, is a biography of Rev. William Wesley Van Orsdel (1848-1919), known as "Brother Van", a Methodist circuit rider in Montana who made a significant contribution to the spread of Methodism in Montana and the early development of the state's public institutions. Throughout his career, Brother Van founded churches, universities, and hospitals; he converted and ministered to homesteaders, miners, and Native Americans; he worked with the elites and the poor, the famous and the forgotten in a career that spanned nearly 50 years.