Clara Lewis Beebe accepting the Robe of Achievement

Clara Lewis Beebe was baptized at the age of 13 and became a member of the Little Genesee, NY SDB church. When she was 16 her mother died and she was responsible for the care of her younger brother and sister. In spite of these hardships she finished high school at 18. She attended the New York State School of Agriculture and in 1919 graduated with a degree in domestic science. She began to attend University but cut short her studies to return home and care for her aunt.

She became interested in the Southwest via her Uncle J.L. Hull, and when she married Clifford Beebe in 1922 they volunteered to teach for a year in the Fouke, AR SDB school.  This experience began a lifelong involvement in the Southwest in person or via correspondence.

In 1925, Clara graduated from University after having moved back to NY and in 1926 she and her husband were called to serve in Jamaica but they declined this opportunity because Clara did not feel they were ready to work in a foreign field. Instead they served in Berea, WV and from there returned to the Southwest at Little Prairie.

During the Depression they returned to PA and attended the Hebron church where Clara served as the church treasurer. After a time they received a call to return back to Berea, WV for another 4 years and it was at this time they began their work in the mountains that developed into the Crites Mountain Mission.

After WV they moved back to AR and served pastorates in Fouke, Little Prairie, and Gentry. Her husband also traveled as a field missionary and so it was left to Clara to take care of household as well as for the church. In 1951 they relocated again to Putnam County, FL.

Subsequent years found Clara  working beside her husband as a co-editor of a weekly newspaper in NC, in the mountains of WV and north Georgia and on the Mexican border in Texas. She and her husband were also the first to visit SDB affiliated churches in Mexico.

Clara was interested in young people early on in her life. She was active in the Christian Endeavor Society, and served as associational secretary for the Young People’s Board in the Western Association. She was also very involved in beginning the SDB camp in Middle Island, WV which was the progenitor of Camp Joy and Camp Miles. She served on staff at both of these camps as well. She was a teacher or Christian Education committee member of most the churches she attended through the years.