USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > New Canaan > Canaan parish, 1733-1933, being the story of the Congregational church of New Cannan, Connecticut > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
THE CHURCH HYMN.
Words by Henry W. Saxe 1926.
Berrian R. Shutes, 1926.
1
1
#0
€
#4
1.
We sing Thy praise, | Almighty Lord,
Thy
goodness we ac claim;
0
8
our
voice's raise with one ac-cord, to bless Thy
ho-ly name.
8
Thy church, thrice set upon the hill, A beacon light appears, Its rays undimmed, 'tis shining still, Through twice a hundred years.
Mid days of joy, in times of stress, Unchanging it has stood; The memory of thy saints to bless, And bind our souls to God.
From morning until evening star, From darkness eten till dawn, Our God has led us safe thus far, And He will lead us on.
108
CHURCH YOUTH DAY
On Church Youth Day, September 10, various young people participated in the Sunday morning program. Elizabeth Piper and Ernest Urban, who had attended a special training conference for young people held on the campus of the State College at Storrs, spoke briefly on their understanding of the church's obligation to its younger members, and of the loyalty which they should feel toward the church. Richard Weil, treasurer of the young people's organization, presented as an anniversary gift from the young people to the church a sum of money for the completion of the fireplace in the new club room. The following is quoted from his presentation:
THE COUNCIL FIRE WAS LIT WITH SPECIAL DEDICATION SERVICES AT A MEETING OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S FELLOWSHIP EARLY IN THE WINTER.
"We hope that its glow will symbolize the loyalty of the young people of the church, not only in this generation but in the years to come as well. We should like to have this known as The Council Fire, in recognition of the important decisions that will be made in its light. We hope that in all references to this meeting place it will be designated as The Council Fire."
109
ECHOES OF THE YOUTH CONFERENCE
ERNEST URBAN
My talk on the call to youth might better be called "Echoes of the Con- ference" as I will incorporate some of the most worthwhile thoughts that I brought back from the conference at Storrs.
At the conference we signed up for various discussion groups, and of the three I signed up for "Young People's Leadership" as the most pertinent to the subject I am speaking on.
In our church we have several Sunday School classes, A Young People's Federation, and a Boy's Christian Forum. I will now outline the failings and the suggested remedies for these groups.
In the Sunday School the classes are not organized to provide training in leadership, therefore the class programs should include service activities to provide for all around development of their members.
In the Boy's Christian Forum, which is a group of young men of high school age, there is a lack of a definite plan for the outlet of its energies, and for the expression of the religious ideas and ideals of its members.
In our Young People's Federation for the last two years or so there has been shown a lack of support and essential enthusiasm. This must be rem- edied so that this fine organization should regain the same or greater vitality of the Federation of about four years ago. One of our faults that I have been shown is our gradual shrinking away from the normal Christian activities of an active young people's church group. Too much stress has been put on the social end of our activities.
The things that are lacking are: first; an honest-to-goodness leader for our young people who has the necessary "push" for our group and who can devote a reasonable amount of his time to our young people. Second: a well formulated and well planned program for the religious and social course to be followed by the group throughout the year or half.
Our leaders are recommending that certain principles should guide our young people's work such as:
1. That the ideal of and for every young man and young woman is Jesus' way of life.
2. That young people take responsibilities in all our church activities with the zest of the millions of Christians who have gone before them.
Suggestions concerning these things I have discussed have already been submitted to Mr. Clarke, the deacons, executive committee, goals committee, and other members of the congregation by the "Youth and the Church Com- mittee" of which I am a member. Many of these suggestions have as their instigation the findings of the "Young People's Leadership Group" from Storrs.
110
So far all I have spoken of is suggestions, which seems to put the brunt of the burden on the church, but actually the real work lies with the young people themselves. These suggestions that I have spoken of are not vain and untried theories, but actual realities bearing fruit in many other young people's groups in other churches. Therefore I say in speaking for the young people of this church that what has been done by other young people can certainly be done by our young people, and now in closing I will say that we can and we will do our part in making the proposed young people's program a pronounced success.
YOUTH ANSWERS THE CALL
BY ELIZABETH PIPER
Most of us have already heard the call. The Youths that attended the Storr's Conference this year and years gone by heard, and are trying to answer it. We, the Young People in this Church, have heard the call and are planning ways in which to meet its challenge. This service today is to show the progress which we have made toward this goal.
Committees were formed this summer in honor of this Church's 200th Anniversary. One of them was a committee on Youth in the Church. We have planned a supper with Porter Bower who is Superintendent of Young People's work of the Connecticut council of Churches as our speaker. This is for the purpose of getting together and talking over the plans for this winter that the committee has made.
We have already started the reorganization of the Young People's De- partment in the Sunday School. Now the Young People will have their own opening service in the morning separate from the Junior and Primary depart- ments as well as in the evening. In this way we hope to show our ability as leaders or as faithful followers for we can not all be leaders.
All we have done, are doing and hope to do points toward the teachings of Christ. The plans we have made and are making are not for the purpose to find new ways to entertain ourselves but are for the purpose of trying to follow Him more closely.
In the book of Luke we are told that "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." This ideal of growth is ours.
111
CIVIC SUNDAY
The following papers were read at the services honoring the Civic leaders and organizations of New Canaan, October 22, at 4 o'clock. The program was arranged by Deacon William Urban and Isaac R. Nesbitt.
THE COURT, POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS
BY ARCHIBALD E. STEVENSON
I have been asked to. speak today on behalf of the Town Court, the Police and the Firemen of New Canaan. It is a welcome privilege to describe their problems and note their achievements, though I have no official connection with these departments of public service and no authority to represent them at this meeting.
It is especially fitting that these subjects should be given a place in the program of this celebration, for this church for so many years was an intregal part of and the controling factor in the civil government of the community. Indeed New Canaan traces its origin directly to the New Haven Colony where the free planters under the leadership of John Davenport established a theocracy under which the rules of conduct found in the Word of God served as the code of civil laws.
With the merger of New Haven and the River Towns under the Connec- ticut Charter of 1662 the Church still remained a State establishment but it surrendered a greater part of its executive, legislative and judicial functions to the civil magistrates. Nevertheless it long continued the controlling influence in the community.
But changing times have brought changes in responsibility. The church is no longer charged with the duty of maintaining public order or enforcing a code of moral conduct. These matters are entrusted to the various agencies of civil government.
The complexities of modern life, the weakening of old loyalties, the aban- donment of long established standards of ethics, the revolt against restrictions of every kind -- these things have raised new problems in the administration of government whose solutions have not yet been found. Indeed the rising tide of crimes of violence in this country is so threatening that it is our duty to take an inventory of the measures and methods we have adopted to deal with these matters. We should seek the causes of the failure of public authority to fulfill its functions. If we can find these causes we may then be able to propose a practical remedy for them.
112
In our State today we have set up elaborate gorvernmental machinery for the protection of persons and property and for law enforcement. In the towns and cities we have constables and municipal police; in the counties, sheriffs and their deputies; in the State, State police and for graver domestic disturbances, the organized militia. These constitute the front line of defense for public order. Behind these we have a system of courts of varying jurisdiction to administer justice and mete out punishment where it is deserved. Beyond the courts is an equally elaborate system of penal reform and medical institutions to deal with the maladjusted. Nor should we neglect to mention the vast number of public and private agencies whose object is either directly or in- directly to work for public order and decency.
Here is machinery, which at first sight would seem out of all proportion to the small number of people who are disposed to follow a life of crime. Yet the records of criminal statistics show that the more elaborate our means of protection and the more "scientifically" they are administered the less effective they seem to become.
The problem of dealing with the delinquent or maladjusted seems to divide itself logically into three distinct categories-namely, the prevention of crime, the protection of life and property, and lastly the reformation and re- habilitation of the delinquent.
The first of these problems must be solved by parents with the aid of the schools, churches and other social agencies. The second-by the police, the courts and penal institutions. The last can only be solved by the churches and social agencies and in some instances by medical or surgical treatment.
All these agencies exist and are amply supported by public and private funds. Why then are the results so far from satisfactory? In the brief time allotted to this subject this afternoon, I can only suggest certain reasons which may enlist your thoughtful consideration.
The great tendency of our times is to do things collectively. Too many parents look to the schools to build the character of their children. Too many in the church seek to change the social order as a means of changing the char- acter of parents. Preoccupation with legislative reform, child psychology, recreational facilities and other equally meritorious considerations have obscured the idea that discipline and the cultivation of self-control are the first essentials in the training of good citizenship.
The failure of our police and courts to give adequate protection to life and property is not due primarily to corrupt political influence, though in too many places this is a disturbing factor. I am convinced that the reason will be found in the attitude with which the problem is approached by the police, the courts and administrations of penal institutions. The popular revolt against the brutality with which criminals had long been treated has carried the ad- ministration of justice to an opposite extreme. The protective agencies of
113
government concern themselves too much with the effect of what they do upon the criminal rather than how they can most effectively protect life and property.
In my opinion a marked improvement in public order would be observed if the attempt to prevent the making of criminals and their reformation were left to the special agencies designed for these objects and the police, courts and penal institutions confined themselves to the equally important task of insuring the adequate protection of life and property.
These are of course general observations. They are in certain measure applicable to our local problem. We cannot flatter ourselves that our treat- ment of these matters in New Canaan does not in some measure contribute toward the unsatisfactory results so generally observed throughout the United States.
We have been particularly negligent in failing to provide adequate super- vision over and aid to those unfortunates who have paid the price for their delinquencies and return to take their places in the life of the community.
In spite of these critical observations I would be unjust to our local police force if I did not make it clear that we have burdened them with a very diffi- cult and often trying task. They deserve the wholehearted support and en- couragement of every citizen.
Nor would I be just in any discussion of the town's protective agencies if I did not pay a tribute to those volunteers who respond to the cry of fire. Our fire company has a splendid record for efficient service. Its prompt response in case of need has added greatly to the sense of security which all of us en- joy. The police and firemen are on the firing line of public service. They have earned our thanks.
Although this church is no longer an arm of the state it still fulfills a great public function. It is to be congratulated on its long and useful service to this community. It can be of still greater service if its members give more thorough study to the subjects under discussion today.
(NOTE-The Fire Department is a volunteer organization founded Decem- ber 8, 1881. It was maintained by dues and private support until 1890 when the newly formed borough government made the first fire appropriation of $100. This has been continued to the present day and about $2,600 is appropriated annually but it is still a private volunteer company.
The Police Department started with the night watchman employed by the Borough in 1889 who was financed by weekly subscriptions from the merchants, $12.00 per week met the expenses. It now has 7 full time officers and several part time men with an annual appropriation of $17,800.
The Town Court supplanted the old Justices of the Peace in July 1, 1927. The Judge is appointed by the Governor.
114
THE WELFARE DEPARTMENT
BY MISS VIOLET BABCOCK, SOCIAL WORKER
A history of "Poor Relief" (as it used to be called) in New Canaan should contain a great deal more information than I have been able to collect for you in this short time. It is in miniature the history of Poor Relief in all of New England, whose towns were made up of a homogeneous population which considered anyone not a part of the earliest settlement as a "foreigner" or outsider. There was actually a person appointed as a "preventer and mover on" whose duties consisted in keeping the settlement free from outsiders with- out proper recommendations. This early provinciality of attitude has resulted in a system of settlement laws which are more extreme in New England than anywhere else, and which, whatever may have been their value in pioneer days, are causing a great deal of difficulty in administering relief today.
That the problem of "the poor" was with New Canaan in its earliest days, a cursory perusal of the old records clearly show. A few extracts picked out at random indicate that many of the same methods of handling the problem were used then as now.
The first Town Meeting was held on June 29, 1801 when the inhabitants numbered 1,500. Some of the earliest records show that some men, poorer than others were allowed to let their cattle and pigs graze on the common land with- out payment of fee.
On December 5, 1803, the Town of New Canaan bought supplies for the "comfort of Raymond and his wife."
On December 16, 1805, it was voted to build a home for Molly Hayes on her land and take a deed from her of the lands and the house.
On December 12, 1815 it was voted that the first selectman of the Town be allowed and paid a reasonable compensation for providing for and taking care of the Town's poor. On the same day, the Town, by vote, directed the Selectmen "not to tolerate or suffer foreigners to reside in this Town who they believe, will become chargeable to this Town if suffered to so reside." Apparently a man with such a New England name as "Darius Holden" was considered a "foreigner" for an exception was made in his case and he was to be "tolerated for one month-then to be removed."
The selectmen were authorized, in January of 1817 to cause John Crawford to be "removed from the home where he now lives to a house to be provided for him." This must have been the first "better housing program" in New Canaan.
The first record of medical care is in October 1824 when Dr. Joseph Silliman was paid for visiting Henry Jones in his last sickness. What a prece- dent this established and how our responsibilities have grown from care in the last illness to preventive medicine-vaccination, inoculation, tonsillectomies,
115
etc. These we now consider a public duty, not only to the benefit of the ill but for the benefit of the whole population which, like the human body, always suffers when any part of it is damaged.
It was further voted in October, 1824 that "Tom Pennoyer be allowed 10 shillings per week for the first four weeks of keeping and boarding Selleck Scofield in his last sicknes and 12 shillings for the four last weeks of the same."
In 1832 it was voted that "we will appoint an agent to consult with the neighboring towns relative to building a Poor and Work House."
However, in spite of the fact that the early Town Fathers took some steps toward the care of the poor, the majority of the work was done in those days by neighbors and the church. The church records have unfortunately been lost, but the history of New Canaan (by Charlotte Chase Fairley) now being pub- lished tells a charming story of the true Social Work of those times.
Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Dorcas St. John were noted for their good works. "When they heard of a case of illness in the town, they would set forth with a large willow basket full of provisions, both riding the same old horse. When Benjamin's brother Mead, the wealthy merchant of Mobile died and left Uncle Benjamin $50,000, the only difference remarked was that they carried larger baskets and went oftener to visit the sick and the poor." Such a relief expedition must have been a sight worth seeing and we smile when we read that Uncle Benjamin did not let his right hand know what his left was doing for such direct and picturesque methods of charity could scarcely have gone unnoticed.
The difference between charity of former times and Social Work of today is that formerly a good deal of emphasis was placed upon families being "worthy or unworthy." Now, although we are interested in their potentialities as good citizens, we do not use the yardstick of "worthy or unworthy," as a basis of giving relief. We recognize that food and shelter are basic needs of humanity and that we cannot expect to meet other more subtle needs until these are provided.
The simple procedure of taking baskets of food and medicinal herbs to the poor was suited to a simple social structure. Today, the Social Worker must be far more skilled to meet the complicated social problems which have de- veloped. The Social Worker must, therefore, not only be able to handle large sums of money economically for the Town, but also be teacher, friend and guide to those who need her in their own efforts to develop their personalities and abilities into a socially useful life.
NOTE-The care of their own needy by New Canaan organizations was combined under a representative committee at Christmas, 1932, when baskets were packed and dispensed from the Town Hall, the funds being raised privately. Miss Babcock, had come to New Canaan that month at the instigation of a
116
committee formed under the Visiting Nurse Association which had served in a voluntary capacity in relief work during the previous year. In June, 1933, the Charity Board was established in New Canaan and in the fall the Town author- ized the hiring of Miss Babcock as Social Worker, her salary to be paid from the relief appropriation of that year. Owing to the current depression which re- sulted in large relief expenditures and distribution of federal aid funds, such an appointment was timely. A summary of the relief expenditures in New Canaan for the fiscal year ending August 31, 1933 follows:
Work relief
$25,000.00
Medical care and hospitals
5,850.00
Nursing
2,000.00
Food
17,000.00
Rent
11,000.00
Clothing
1,500.00
Fuel
1,225.00
Miscellaneous
2,500.00
THE BOROUGH, 1889-1933
BY STEPHEN B. HOYT
Five minutes is rather a meager allotment of time in which to present any adequate historical sketch of the Borough of New Canaan. Although it has but just passed the zenith of its four score years and ten, its pathway in retro- spect, is marked with many interesting events which form an illuminating story of vision, courage, and attainment. We shall try to mention some of the more outstanding of these, and to show the orderly progressiveness they represent.
Fifty years ago New Canaan was far more primitive than most people today realize. Even those of us who lived then find it difficult to recall that there were less than a half dozen bath tubs in town and not many more fur- naces. It requires something of an effort for us to recognize in the setting of such a motion picture as David Harum, the living conditions of our own early days in this town. To describe the rural simplicity that existed here when the Borough was formed would be only repeating a story that has already been told from this rostrum during the past few months.
We have experienced a great change in every activity of our community life and largely because of changing conditions over which we had no control and but little influence. That progress, marching steadily on from the great centers of its origin should eventually include us, was inevitable. Far sighted souls catching its spirit with characteristic American faith and courage,
117
pioneered the initial steps that led out of a passing age into the future which we, of today know as the present.
Here in New Canaan in 1888, it was obvious that a division of interests must be recognized in any plan designed to lead this rural community into its new field. Lighted streets, sidewalks, sanitation, police protection, etc., would cost money and that meant more taxes. The farms would derive but little benefit from these conveniences, and therefore could not be expected to pay for them. So it was necessary to draw a line where the benefits ceased and to create and maintain them at the expense of those who benefited. No experi- mentation as to method was necessary, for other towns in Connecticut had found the answer by the setting aside of their more thickly settled centers into a borough to be separately governed and taxed. All that was required was a charter from the legislature. Such a plan was advocated here, and, led by a progressive group, was agitated for several years.
Let no one suppose that it was a simple matter to secure the necessary popular approval-on the contrary, it met vigorous opposition and required long tiresome work on the part of its proponents. It is fitting that we set down their names here today-these men of New Canaan in the year 1888-9, who crystallized a movement toward the better days which we, of 1933 enjoy. And let us head the list with young Lewis B. Sutton, the first clerk, in whose hand is written the record of the election of June 17, 1889 as follows;
"Warden, W. G. Brownson, M.D. Burgesses, G. F. ,Lockwood, H. B. Rogers, C. W. Hodges, J. W. Burtis, C. T. Raymond, John Greenwald. Clerk, L. B. Sutton. Treasurer, F. L. Comstock. Sheriff, W. H. Barrett. Assessors, F. A. Brown, C. E. Brinckerhoff, F. E. Weed. Auditors, B. F. Hoyt, L. M. Monroe, Sr."
One is strongly tempted to indulge in personal recollection of these men, but brevity permits us only to say that it would be difficult to recall a more representative group of able, public spirited citizens who always enjoyed the confidence of the community.
They met the day after election, took the oath of office and started what might be termed
THE STREET LAMP, SIDEWALK, AND NUISANCE ERA
Their first act dealt with illumination. They appointed a committee to secure estimates on street lamps and posts and setting of same. Then they took up the question of sanitation and considered a complaint of an open drain discharging into Main Street at East Avenue. In October 1889 it was neces- sary to pass a measure to restrain a certain respected citizen from pasturing his cow in the Borough streets. These early attempts to regulate private privilege met with stubborn resistance which was an interesting example of how un-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.