Anthony Amsterdam

September, 1972

Every day the poor of Detroit's decaying east side swarm by the hundreds to a huge medieval-fortresslike building on Gratiot Street. Some come for medical treatment, some for jobs, others for the 35-cent meals dished out daily--almost all for a generous helping of soul from the Reverend Mother Charleszetta Waddles, founder of the Perpetual Mission for Saving Souls of All Nations. An ordained Pentecostal minister, 59-year-old Mother Waddles, as she's affectionately called by her flock, started he...