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CARBONDALE — When Fern Chappell heard her older brother, Dempsey, had joined the Baha'i faith, all she could think of was that she had to rescue him.

"I was going to save my brother from this 'hippie religion,' because he was into this Bahai' faith," she said, laughing. "I had my trusty Bible, and I was going to save him up here."

Laughter, indeed, as 45 years later, Chappell is among those residents most-affiliated with the faith, as its services and meetings are held in her home in Carbondale. Not only did she not "save" her brother as she had intended, but she, their parents and their siblings have since converted to the religion, which Chappell and others say has a small presence while trying to make a big difference here in Southern Illinois.

Those involved with the religion say there are about 30 members sprinkled throughout Southern Illinois, nine of whom meet regularly.

They say that the Baha'i religion was first introduced to this region in the late 1950s, when Chicago schoolteacher Chuck George brought it into the area.