The Barber Who Defied the Sabbath Laws
In Tacoma, a Seventh Day Adventist barber is taken to court for keeping his shop open on Sunday after choosing to close on his own Sabbath.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A. Bergfeldt, a barber and a Seventh Day Adventist, is on trial in the police court for operating his shop Sundays. Bergfeldt regularly closes his shop Saturdays, which he affirms is the Sabbath of the Bible, but opens Sunday for business. The fact that his is the only Sunday shop in the city brings a landslide of business, and his conscientious scruples have been rewarded with a downpour of silver. Other shops, ascertaining the conditions, took the matter before the authorities. Bergfeldt's constant assertion is that he keeps the Sabbath more devoutly than any of his persecutors, while the object of the state in the matter is simply to enforce the Sabbath law.
“Bergfeldt's constant assertion is that he keeps the Sabbath more devoutly than any of his persecutors.”
This story captures the historical conflict between rigid 'Blue Laws' and individual religious expression. It echoes contemporary debates regarding the limits of religious exemptions in public business and employment law.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.