Long before family Wilson invaded the Palouse with their power brand of mail-order religion, a con artist named Dr. Frank B. Robinson took over the town with Psychiana. Page 4 of today’s Slice of Life section (D) in the Daily News plugs a discussion to be hosted by historian Greg Atkins next Saturday.
This gives me an excellent opportunity to float the name Psychiana for the first time on MoscowID.net. We plan to blog about Robinson & Psychiana in the future because of the direct linear connection between Moscow’s first non-Christian mail-order cult and its current non-Christian mail-order cult. But for now here is today’s announcement from the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:
Nearby History: Learn about Psychiana — Moscow’s own short-lived religion
Historian Greg Atkins will discuss “God-Power: How Psychiana Helped Change Religion in America” at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the Latah County Event Center, 1021 Harold St., Moscow.
At its height, Psychiana, a Depression-era mail-order religion, swamped the post office in Moscow and caused its status to be upgraded. But popular as it was across the country, its founder, Dr. Frank B. Robinson, kept a very low profile in Moscow. He started a daily newspaper after he bought his own press, mainly to irritate the other paper in town, which he thought was charging him too much for printing. The two papers were the “parents” of today’s Daily News.
Doors open at 4 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Cost, including one beer, is $8 for Latah County Historical Society members and students with a valid ID; $10 for non-members. Additional beverages and food can be purchased from Hunga Dunga Brewing Co. before and after the talk. Delta G Bottleneck Blues will play Delta blues, both originals and unique interpretations of traditional songs, after the presentation.
Other Daily News links about Psychiana:
Is there something in the water there?