Benjamin Bubar Sr.

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Benjamin Calvin Bubar Sr. (1878-July 4, 1967) was an American United Baptist minister and politician from Maine. After studying Billy Sunday, Bubar was a leading fundamentalist leader in Maine. [1]

Contents

Personal life and family

Bubar was born in Blaine, Maine and educated in public schools as well as at Ricker Classical Institute. A United Baptist, he was the first ordained minister of that church in the state. He had six children. [1] His children were also staunch temperance activists and involved in politics. His namesake, Benjamin Bubar Jr., was twice the Prohibition Party's nominee for President (1976 and 1980). [2] One of his daughters, Rachel Bubar Kelly, was the Prohibition Party's nominee for vice-president in 1996. His youngest child, Paul Bubar, was one of the founders of Word of Life Fellowship.

Writing

He was the author of the first anti-evolution bill submitted to the Maine Legislature. A fierce prohibitionist, in 1911 he published a book, The Devil Let Loose in Maine about the problems of alcohol in the State. [3] A biographical sketch published by the Maine Legislature said that the book "did much to defeat" repeal of the Maine's prohibition of the sale of alcohol in 1911. [1]

Politics

During the 1920s, Bubar worked with the Ku Klux Klan in Maine and, December 1925, went on a speaking tour of his native Aroostook County coordinated by Klan leader DeForest H. Perkins. In 1936, the Bangor Daily News described him as "widely known in Maine as a Ku Klux Klan orator." [4]

He was a follower of Francis Townsend, a physician who advocated for old age pensions during the Great Depression. [5]

He was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1934 as a Republican. He served from 1949 to 1952 as a Progressive. He ran for governor as an Independent in 1936, finishing in third place of three with 1.89% of the vote. He was elected again to the House in 1950 and 1952. [6] In 1951, he was known for making a passionate but ultimately failed plea in favor of an income tax over a sales tax. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Biographical Sketches of Members of Senate and House of Representatives of Maine. 1935. p. 17.
  2. ↑ "Ben Bubar, Prohibition Presidential Candidate in 1976 and 1980". www.prohibitionists.org.
  3. ↑ Bubar, Benjamin Calvin (1996). The Devil Let Loose in Maine. First Century Publishing. ISBN   978-1-885273-05-5 . Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "Benj. Bubar Is Candidate For Governor". Newspapers.com. Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. February 8, 1934.
  5. 1 2 "The Gospel According to Benjamin Bubar". Down East. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Legislators' Biographical Database | Maine State Legislature". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
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