Did he blow the horn?
William Branham tells the story several times of the first time he went to pick up his girlfriend Hope Brumbach. However, there are several versions of it, which is puzzling.
He lectures young men about how bad it is to go to a girl's house and blow the horn for her to come out. He says he would never do that but then he admits that he did it. It is also unclear as whether Hope answered the door, came out after he blew the horn or whether it was Hope's mother that answered the door.
Does this simply mean that the story is completely untrue? Did William Branham simply made up the facts to entertain his audience?
William Braham did not blow the horn
William Branham tells the story several times how he did not blow the horn. However, there are two different versions - one in which Hope answers the door and one where her mother does.
Hope came to the door
In several versions, William Branham did not blow the horn but knocked on the door and Hope answered it:
- So I thought, "Oh, how am I going to get by her?" So I begin to think when Wednesday night come on, "What if she got that letter and she's the one that meets me on the porch? Now what am I going to do?" I begin to think, "I just won't go." Then I thought, "Well, if I don't, I've lost my girlfriend. Now what am I going to do?" I had to do something. So I went on up. I thought, "Oh, I'll take a chance."
- And I went up there and nobody out. I knowed better than to blow the horn for her to come out. She'd tell me about that if I wasn't man enough to walk up to the door and ask for her, I didn't go out. I think that girls that takes that attitude now, would be a lot better off. That's right. That's right. And so I went up to the door, and I knocked at her door, and getting kind of warm, you know. And I thought, "Who's coming to the door." And she opened the door, she said, "Oh, hello, Billy."[1]
- "Well," I thought, "no, I can't do that, now. I've got to go. So what am I going to do about it?" So, I thought, "I'll just drive up out front, and go easy." I knowed better to drive up out front and blow the horn. And boys, I'm telling you that now too, and to you girls, if your boyfriend don't think enough of you to come up to the house, ask for you, keep away from him. That's right. So I pulled the old Ford up out there; it was stopped. Got up on the porch, I thought, "I just won't go in the house, you know. She'd get me in the house, then I'd be in an awful fix." So I knocked at the door. And so, Hope, my wife, or sweetheart then, she come to the door. She said, "Hello, Billy. Come on in."[2]
Hope's mother came to the door
In this version, William Branham didn't blow the horn but knocked on the door and Hope's mother answered it:
- So I knowed better than to stop outside and blow the horn for her to come out. Oh, my! And any boy that hasn't got nerve enough to walk up to the house and knock on the door and ask for the girl, ain't got no business being out with her anyhow. That's exactly right. That's so silly. That's cheap. And so I stopped my old Ford, you know, and I had it all shined up. And so I went up and knocked at the door. Mercy, her mother come to the door! I couldn't hardly catch my breath, I said, "How—how—how do you do, Mrs. Brumbach?" Yeah. She said, "How do you do, William." I thought, "Uh-oh, 'William'!" And—and she said, "Will you step in?" I said, "Thank you." I stepped inside the door. I said, "Is Hope just about ready?" And just then here come Hope skipping through the house, just a girl about sixteen. And she said, "Hi, Billy!" [3]
Actually William Braham did blow the horn
Was William Branham confused when he told this story, because he clearly blew the horn and Hope came out:
- And I was to meet her Wednesday to take her over to the church. So I remember, then come on towards Wednesday. And Wednesday night I was just as nervous, I didn't know what to do. I thought, "What am I going to do when I get up there?" So I asked my mother, "Has—has Hope called?" "No." "Did you get any mail?" "No." "Well, maybe it hung up, and didn't even get out of the box." So I thought, "Something's happening here."
- So I went up, and I—I blowed the horn outside. And so she come out. She said, "Come in." And I thought, "Oh, oh, going to get me in there where her mother is now, and then I'm really going to get it." So I said, "Are you about ready?" She said, "Let's walk to church." I thought, "Oh, my." So I said, "All—all right." And I went in. And Mrs. Brumbach looked at me, said, "Hello, Bill." I said, "How do you do." So I was just nervous as I could be. So I thought something's going to happen any time. You know how you feel when you're under them strains. [4]