As Andrew had preached “home industry” during his days as a salesman in Utah, he similarly urged support of local businesses in Arizona. He complained to the First Presidency: “[The Saints here] have been going wild over a cheap John outfit at Safford, turning down Latter-day Saints merchants who have been carrying them until their crops are made and tumbling their cash into the laps of the transient Gentiles.”594 What Andrew and his family could do for themselves or buy from friends, they did. They bought from the catalogs only merchandise not available locally. In a special priesthood meeting he urged Church members to join in purchasing the local flourmill rather than let it go to “outside parties,” but only $8,000 in pledges was forthcoming toward the $24,000 purchase price.595
People frequently called on Andrew for advice on personal, financial, or marital problems or on Church business or other topics. He received many requests to give blessings, especially for healing. In spite of the fact that many he blessed still died, some remarkable healing incidents occurred, too.
For example, an angry cow had gored three-year-old Leo Cluff. It was six hours before the doctor arrived at the ranch. The doctor then washed and mended three yards of intestines. For six days he returned to the ranch to dress the boy’s wounds. The doctor finally told the family that he doubted Leo would last the night, because his body was so full of infection. At this point the Cluffs called on Andrew to administer to Leo, and Andrew promised the boy he would survive. The next day the doctor, not having seen anyone from the ranch in town to get burial clothing, as he had expected, hitched up his horse and drove to the Cluff Ranch to satisfy his curiosity. As he entered the room, Leo greeted him with “Good morning, doctor, did you bring me anything today?” From that time Leo quickly mended and in a few days was again on his feet.596
Another miraculous healing came during the 1918 flu epidemic. Eighteen people died in the village of Pima, and Ray Hanchett and his wife Leola came down with the disease. In Ray’s case it progressed to double pneumonia, so that for forty-two days he lay in the hospital helpless. Finally the bishopric and two nurses tending the couple believed Ray to be dead. They worked for three hours to revive him but failed. His brother-in-law agreed that Ray was dead. At that point Andrew and John Nash came and administered to Ray. Andrew said, “Brother Hanchett, you will live and be restored to health. Your wife will be restored to health. There won’t be one of your family that will pass away from the effects of the flu.” The brother-in-law told his wife, “Ray is dead. He passed away.” But after Andrew and John Nash had left the hospital a nurse noticed a twitch in one of Ray’s eyes when rubbing alcohol splashed into it. All his family survived the flu.597
Another case involved Melvin Hancock, who had broken a thighbone that was not healing properly. The doctor proposed rebreaking the bone to reset it. Melvin’s mother called on Andrew for advice. He said he and his counselors would pray about it. After they discussed the matter and prayed, Andrew said, “Sister Hancock, the prompting we have received is that you are not to break the leg over again, but to rely on the Lord, keep it quiet and the boy will be well again. That’s the inspiration of the Lord to us.” She took that advice and Melvin soon did heal.598
In a similar vein, Mary Welker related Andrew’s promise to her:
As we were walking home after the funeral, President [Andrew] Kimball came along in a buggy and stopped us and just passed the time of day. He said that he had heard that we could not have children. And then he turned to me and said, “Sister Mary Welker,” and he took hold of my hand and looked me right in the eyes, “I promise you in the name of the living God that you will have a baby.” And turning to Arthur he said, “Brother Arthur Welker, you will be a father.” And I felt the spirit of the Lord flow through me very forcefully. I could hardly walk home afterward. After he said these things, he seemed to want to go away quickly. He said, “Well, goodbye,” and left us very abruptly. That prophecy was fulfilled in 13 months from that time. We had a baby boy. After the birth of this baby I was desirous of having other children and when I didn’t, I went to a doctor in Los Angeles, California. After he examined me, he said, “You have never had a child and you never will. It is impossible.” . . . It seems that the reason was a condition of the womb; it was tipped in such a way that it would be impossible to have a baby.599
Madge Richardson and her non-Mormon fiancé, Alan J. Germaine, met Andrew in the middle of the street in Thatcher and she introduced Alan to him. Andrew took his hand, looked into Alan’s eyes a long time, and finally said, “It will be all right.” Alan later said it was a frightening experience: “That man knew everything I’ve ever done.” Alan eventually joined the Church.600
In 1923, N. A. Tanner wrote Andrew:
About 2 yrs ago I met a sea captain named Peterson, a member of the Church, who told me before he was to sail in waters where submarines were active he went to the mission office in New York and there received a blessing from a President Kimball from Arizona. He told me of two occasions when his ship was miraculously saved. Once he was delayed access to the port of St. Johns, N.F., and the ship he would have followed exploded and burned. Later he entered a French port by the wrong gate and people would not believe that he had done it safely because that gate had mines that had not been removed. After the war he had a similar experience of sailing without harm in a German port through an area still mined.601
Andrew confirmed, “The blessing occurred when I was attending a horticultural convention in Boston and en route home made a stop at New York.”602
During World War I, Andrew promised Pres Dees, about to leave for France, that if he obeyed the Word of Wisdom he would come back from the war safely. Pres did come back unhurt, but with holes in his coat made by machine gun bullets.603
During a drought Andrew told the farmers to plant their crops as usual. That summer there were unprecedented dews at night and normal harvests resulted.604 Andrew reported to the First Presidency: “[Despite five years of drought and no rain for nine months,] tithes have doubled and [we are] going to have a pretty good harvest. Our second crop of hay is now being put up, the price about compensates us for the shortage. The Lord has heard our prayers.”605
Andrew was a faithful man who shared his gifts of healing and prophecy with others.
