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Brother Joseph F. Rutherford speaks at the historic Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A. convention on September 10, 1922. Inset: A movie camera is there to capture portions of the program on film

APRIL 11, 2022
UNITED STATES

From Our Museum

The Search Is On for Cedar Point Convention Film

The Search Is On for Cedar Point Convention Film

A newspaper ad featuring films from the Cedar Point convention

The 1922 convention at Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A., is widely recognized among Jehovah’s Witnesses as a landmark event because of Brother Joseph F. Rutherford’s call to advertise the Kingdom.

But the convention was significant for another reason: It was caught on film. To date, no copies of this film are known to exist.

A photo of the September 1922 international convention shows a raised platform with a movie camera set up to film portions of the historic program. Motion pictures were then still a burgeoning technology.

It seems the convention film was made available to the public. For example, one newspaper contained an advertisement touting the film. The ad invited readers to “bring the Convention Home. See your Friends, see the Baptismal service.” It also gave a ministry tip: “Bring in your neighbors and witness to them with the Convention Pictures. Order now.”

If you know of a copy of this film, please contact the Museum Department at MuseumDonations@jw.org or write to the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses at 1 Kings Drive, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987. We hope to locate this unique piece of our theocratic history.