Jack Smith The Big Orange Ward Ritchie Press: Pasadena, CA, 1976.
Sister Aimee's Temple
"Angelus Temple Aimee Semple McPherson Founder Church of the Foursquare Gospel"
"Gaudy and notorious she was, but Sister Aimee was also adored by tens of thousands of her followers as the personal handmaiden of God. As an evangelist she was bold, inventive, tireless and courageous, and these were qualities that served her with abundance in the great crisis of her life.
"(Her severest trial) began on May 18, 1926, the day Aimee Semple McPherson vanished; it ended, officially at least, nearly eight months later when the Los Angeles Superior Court reluctantly dismissed the criminal charges against her for conspiracy to corrupt morals and obstruct justice. On that May day half a century ago Sister Aimee disappeared while swimming, supposedly, at Ocean Park. Her mother, the redoubtable Minnie (Ma) Kennedy, a partner in her temple affairs, announced to the world that 'Sister is drowned. She has gone to the arms of Jesus.'
"For the next five weeks Ocean Park was the scene of a macabre carnival. Thousands came down to see where Sister had gone into the sea. A human chain, miles long, kept vigil on the sands around the clock. Boats and airplanes searched for Aimee's body. At night searchlights played over the water. Divers probed the pilings of Lick Pier. At least two men were drowned." p. 45