USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Bernardston > History of the town of Bernardston, Franklin County, Massachusetts, Volume II, 1900-1960, with genealogies > Part 6
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Rev. Edward Day-1900 to 1903. Mr. Day was a graduate of Andover Theological Seminary and a man much interested in and devoted to literary pursuits.
Rev. Eugene M. Frary-1903 to 1924. Born in Whately, Massa- chusetts, Mr. Frary attended the common and select schools there, also Deerfield and Smith (Hatfield) Academies. The early death of his father cut off his hopes of a special education for the min- istry. He became active in church life at home and in county Sun- day School work. In 1896, he was licensed to preach at Charlemont and preached in Millers Falls and Colrain before coming here. He married in 1893, Miss Addie Barrett of Saratoga Springs, New
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
York and they had no children. Mr. Frary served the church long and well and will be remembered for his good work.
The spring of 1912 was a critical time in the history of the church. Financial losses and removals made it almost impossible to go on. The Methodist Church likewise was going through a trying period. It was at this time that the proposed federation of the two churches was considered and voted upon. The Articles of Federa- tion of the Congregational and Methodist Episcopal Churches of Bernardston were written and accepted, by both churches. The object of the Federation was and still remains that the Congre- gational and Methodist Episcopal Churches of Bernardston, feel- ing that they can work to better advantage by combining their re- sources than by maintaining separate churches and services, agree to unite in common work and worship; each church maintaining its own organization, holding its own property and contributing to its own benevolent societies. The name was at this time changed to Goodale Memorial United Church. The following committee members served: Eugene M. Frary, Minister; Hendrick A. Slate, Charles W. Parker, W. H. Kenney and L. Dwight Slate, Com- mittee for the Congregational Church; Everett Stratton, Arthur A. Thrasher, Egbert E. Cairns, and Leon F. Nelson, Committee for the Methodist Church. On April 14, 1912, the two churches worshipped together at the Congregational Church. The fruits of this union have truly been great, as nearly fifty years of co-exist- ence in happiness and spiritual growth can testify.
January 13, 1924, the Goodale Memorial United Church held a Centennial Anniversary of the Orthodox Congregational Church. It was at this time that a tablet was placed in the church with the names of the original members on it. Mr. Frary died very suddenly in 1924.
Howard R. May-1924 to 1926. Mr. May was a licensed preacher coming to the church from West Deerfield. His interest in the work of the young people was appreciated.
Rev. Arthur L. Truesdell-1927 to 1943. Mr. Truesdell was born in Binghamton, New York, in 1874, and his early years were spent there where his father had a leather business. He was taken out of his second year in high school to assist his father. However, his education continued with the aid of correspondence courses and by teaching himself to read Latin, Greek and German. He was also a fine pianist. Mr. Truesdell's interest in Y.M.C.A. work led him to Buffalo, New York, where he met and married Charlotte
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Merrill. Soon afterward, the couple attended the Northfield Bible School which was conducted at the Northfield Hotel by C. I. Sco- field. Mr. Truesdell's first pastorate was in Wendell and while there he preached also in Moores Corner. Later he became pastor of the Leverett church. In 1927, he accepted a call to the Bernard- ston church and served for sixteen years. The Truesdells moved back to Moores Corner in 1943, where he preached until his death. For over fifty years Mr. and Mrs. Truesdell ministered to the spiritual needs of Franklin County. Of their ten children three daughters served as foreign missionaries. Mr. Truesdell's hobbies were reading, and astronomy for which he made most of his own telescopic equipment and ground his own lenses. He was noted for his sincerity, sympathy and keen sense of humor.
In June 1930, the steeple of the church was struck by lightning and the new one replacing the damaged one was much lower in height, not adding to the beauty of the church.
In 1937, the church voted to purchase from the Northfield School for Girls the Hook and Hastings pipe organ in Sage Chapel. The committee in charge was Myron E. Barber, Chair- man; Mrs. Winifred Townsend, Treasurer; Miss Dorothea Foster, Richard Phelps, Mrs. Edward Billings and Rev. Arthur L. Trues- dell, Minister. The organ was taken down and installed in the church through the earnest endeavor of the committee, and the hands of many skilled workmen.
July 9, 1939, the church took part in the Two Hundredth An- niversary of the First Church in Fall Town, held at the Unitarian Church. Following the afternoon meeting, an outdoor service was held at the site of the First Meeting House on Huckle Hill. The service was in charge of the Christian Endeavor of the Goodale Memorial United Church.
Rev. Frederick Dixon-1944 to 1948. Mr. Dixon was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, son of Frederick and Sarah Dixon. He married Madeline Halford and three children were born to them. Rev. and Mrs. Dixon served as Congregational missionaries in Southern Rhodesia, Africa from 1920 to 1933. Mr. Dixon held pastorates in Heath, West Hawley and Bernardston and left to accept a call to Piermont, New Hampshire, retiring in 1953. Un- til his death in 1958, he resided in Henniker, New Hampshire. Mrs. Madeline Dixon was a talented violinist and played for many occasions while serving the church.
Rev. Milton Czatt-1949 to 1950-Interim Pastor. Dr. Czatt, a
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
retired pastor of the Brattleboro Congregational Church, served also at the Brattleboro Retreat.
In 1949, the parsonage was moved a few feet west on a new site and the house was completely renovated and repaired. For the first time, there was a cellar under the whole building and a spacious lawn. Sheds were torn down, a barn moved away, and a few years later, a two-car garage was built. Rev. Thomas Cleaver, the first pastor to occupy the newly renovated building, landscaped the grounds with flowering shrubs and evergreens.
Rev. Thomas S. Cleaver-1950 to 1956. Mr. Cleaver was born in London, England, the son of Thomas and Annie Cleaver. He received a diploma for automobile drafting from Regent Street Polytechnic in London, Bachelor of Arts from Hiram College, Bachelor of Divinity from Yale University, did graduate work at Chicago University, Columbia University and Union Theologi- cal Seminary in New York. He held pastorates in Michigan, New York, Maine and Massachusetts. The Cleavers have studied and travelled extensively in Europe and Mrs. Cleaver is an accom- plished pianist. The Cleavers came to Bernardston from a Roches- ter, New York pastorate. A fine spirit of fellowship followed for the church, and many broad and long-range ideas for the good of the parish were put into practice. The Cleavers have two sons and are retired, at the present time wintering in Penney Farms, Flor- ida, and spending the summers in their cottage home on Rustic Ridge, Northfield. Mr. Cleaver serves the Warwick Church during the summer months.
About 1954, through the efforts of Mrs. Dorothea F. Derry, organist and choir director, the choir started giving concerts on Palm Sunday and at Christmas, continuing to the present time. The proceeds from these musical programs and gifts from indi- viduals were used for the purchase of Maas Cathedral Chimes which were installed in December, 1956. A few years later, an amplifying system was placed in the steeple so townspeople and passersby could enjoy the chimes.
Recently the choir earned money to purchase robes by the sale of various products under the able management of Miss Lena Corkins.
Rev. Darwin H. Nutt-1957 to 1959. Mr. Nutt was born and educated in Dearborn, Michigan. He attended Kiski Preparatory School in Salisbury, Pennsylvania, Taylor University at Upland, Indiana, University of Michigan School of Engineering at Ann
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
Arbor, and Boston University. Mr. Nutt served a two-year pas- torate at the Methodist Church in Muncie, Indiana, and at Marblehead, Massachusetts before coming to Bernardston. While serving the local church, he attended classes at Boston University. Mrs. Nutt will long be remembered for her fine singing voice and trumpet solos. The couple had four children. Mr. Nutt accepted a call as curate to St. John's Episcopal Church in Arlington, Massa- chusetts where he was ordained priest in 1960.
Preparing for the Rev. Darwin Nutt family, it was necessary to furnish the parsonage. Members of the church and many inter- ested townspeople made the project possible by their donations of time, money and articles of furniture for the eight-room house.
It was during this period that the vestry of the church was com- pletely renovated and modernized. Installed were a new heating plant, flush toilets, a new kitchen, Sunday School rooms and a tile floor.
Daniel Fallon, a high school freshman in 1957, formed an orchestra composed of local musicians and of members of the Pio- neer Valley Symphony. Concerts were given each year until Daniel left to continue his musical education at Oberlin Conservatory in 1961.
Rev. John H. Emerson-1959-Mr. Emerson was born in San Jose, California in 1935. He entered San Jose State College in 1953 to prepare for a pharmacy profession. A year later he trans- ferred to Washington State University professional school of phar- macy. At Washington State he became active in the Methodist student campus organization, The Wesley Foundation. In 1955, Mr. Emerson married Janice Farr, daughter of his home town pastor and they have two daughters. Through the influence of his father-in-law, he changed his calling to that of the Christian min- istry, and served as co-pastor of two Methodist Churches in Idaho during his senior year. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences in 1957. Mr. Emerson entered theologi- cal seminary at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California in the fall of 1957, transferring in 1959 to Boston University School of Theology from which he will have received his degree of Bachelor of Sacred Theology in June, 1962. Since September, 1959, he has served as pastor of the Goodale Memorial United Church and has given time to chaplaincy work at the Brattleboro Retreat. Among his interests are piano, music composition, cre- ative writing, studies of worship and the arts, fishing, chess and
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athletics. The latter interest led him to help organize the Pioneer Valley Regional Athletic Association of which he is chairman.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL SOCIETY
A METHODIST CLASS was formed in Bernardston as early as 1799, but, owing to the fact that the first church records were de- stroyed by fire, little is known of its activities.
Mrs. Kellogg, in her early history of Bernardston, notes that in 1811, eight members belonged to the society. Methodist members and friends voted in May, 1842, to form a society called the Meth- odist Episcopal Society of Bernardston. During the subsequent ten years, meetings were held in the Universalist meeting house and sometimes at the Town Hall. February 16, 1852, the records show a vote was carried to build a meeting house. Land was bought of Miss Mary Chamberlain fronting on Center Street and the building, costing $800.00, was erected by Philip Travers of Greenfield. It was presented to the trustees July 1, 1852. The meeting house was forty feet long and thirty feet wide with a nar- row choir gallery reached by a stairway from the audience room. It had no vestibule, however it was surmounted by a bell tower in which no bell was ever hung.
In 1873, a parsonage was built just south of the church and by 1880, the little church was cramped for space. After a great deal of effort, about $1500.00 was raised and renovations began. Twelve feet were added to the audience room, the vestibule was built and the gallery above enlarged and enclosed making a room for small gatherings and classes; also, new pews were installed.
Activities of the church were routine until the close of the pas- torate of W. I. Thrasher, a lay preacher. Because of the gradual decline in the strength of the church, the District Superintendent felt he could no longer supply a suitable resident pastor. There- fore, he suggested a federation with the Congregational Church. This was approved by those concerned and at a society meeting held April 10, 1912, the federation was consummated. The last regular meeting was held at the Methodist Church on Easter Sun- day, April 7, 1912.
Time has proven the success of the joining of the two faiths. Each church has maintained its own identity in its Conference and handled its own property and finances. Still, the members have learned to work together for the good of all. The services
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
were now held at the Congregational Church with the Methodist Church used only occasionally.
In 1923, the Methodist members felt that the little church should be put in good repair and used in the work of the United Church as a parish house. A furnace was installed, the ceiling and sidewalls painted, a new altar rail was placed on the platform and new electric light fixtures and clock added greatly to the appear- ance of the building. At the time of the rededication service April 20, 1924, it was proposed to use the building for Sunday evening services, Brotherhood and Philathea Class work, some forms of Sunday School work and committee meetings.
During the pastorate of Rev. Arthur L. Truesdell, 1927 to 1943, another change took place at the Methodist Church. Mr. Trues- dell had some printing equipment which he set up in the upper room where he printed the church bulletins and programs as well as the Town Reports and Pendulum Echoes for Powers Institute.
During the 1940's, the church was being used very little and again needed repairs. At a meeting of the Trustees of the Metho- dist Episcopal Society held February 15, 1947, it was voted to sell the church and parsonage property. Accordingly, in May of that year Mr. and Mrs. Russell Hale purchased the property. An in- teresting condition of the sale was, "the premises are conveyed subject to the restriction that no part thereof shall be used for a period of twenty years for anything but residential purposes." Later, Fred A. Donaldson, local antique dealer, purchased from the new owners the church building. In September, 1947, Mr. Donaldson razed the building salvaging all the usable lumber to erect an addition to his antique shop, The Ryther House Barn. The income derived from the sale of the church property was in- vested in the Consolidated Investment Fund of the New England Conference of the Methodist Church.
The following served the Methodist Church from the turn of the century until the federation in 1912:
Mr. Louis I. Holway
1899-1900
Mr. G. G. Ross
1901
Rev. William H. Adams, Elder 1902-1904
Rev. Cecil R. Sherman, Elder 1905-1906
Rev. David H. Sawyer, Elder 1907-1908
Mr. G. M. Grace 1909
Mr. W. I. Thrasher 1910-1911
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
CONGREGATIONAL UNITARIAN CHURCH
T HE HISTORY of the Congregational Unitarian Church in Ber- nardston goes back to the first church built in what was then Fall Town in 1739, two years after the arrival of the first settlers. The conditions of the Fall Town Grant required "that a meeting house should be built within four years." This meeting house was built on Huckle Hill near the Deacon Ebenezer Sheldon Fort. It was named the Church of Christ and was Orthodox in theology.
The meeting house was moved one-half mile south on Huckle Hill in December 1772. This was done by capstans and rollers, and by man power only. One item of expense shows that a stimu- lant helped to strengthen the workers, for Major John Burke was allowed "for the rum he has found the Town while drawing the Meeting House." The meeting house was next moved to a loca- tion on the Bald Mountain Road in March 1791. The site was near the house used as a parsonage by two ministers, Rev. Amasa Cook and Rev. Timothy Foster Rogers. This house is still stand- ing. The meeting house was taken down and rebuilt in the same style and size. It was finished off with a pulpit and thirty square pews, and a gallery for the choir and children. At that period, it was not considered seemly for children to sit with their parents, and they sat in the gallery, the boys on one side and the girls on the other, while order was enforced by the tithingman.
Rev. Timothy Foster Rogers, whose portrait with that of his wife hangs in the present church, became minister in 1809. Mr. Rogers prepared for college at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and was a graduate of Harvard University. In 1823, he and most of his congregation became Unitarian. Nine mem- bers left to form the Orthodox Congregational church. In 1825, the meeting house was taken down and rebuilt on the present site on Church Street, which had become the center of population. The belfry was added and a Revere bell purchased. This bell be- came cracked and in 1829 it was "voted to raise money by sub- scription, and add to the avails of the broken bell and purchase another as large as the funds would buy." The old bell was taken to Cheapside in Deerfield, and travelled by boat down the Con- necticut River to Hartford, Connecticut. The new bell arrived in 1830 in the same manner. The inscription reads: "1829 fecit for Ward, Bartholomew and Brainard-Hartford-Doolittle." A letter from the Reference Librarian of the Hartford Public Library states that this firm did a large business in making church bells,
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
and that Enos Doolittle and his son cast many bells for this firm.
Extensive repairs and alterations were made to the church in 1846. The large auditorium was divided into two rooms, the upper room to be used for church services, the lower room as a vestry. In 1879, an addition was added to the south side of the building to make room for a pipe organ and choir behind the pulpit; the lower room was divided into a church school room, a ladies parlor, and a kitchen.
The Society had purchased in 1870 a pipe organ made by Wil- liam A. Johnson of Westfield in that year, Opus 132. An article in the American Organist Magazine written by John V. V. Ellsworth of Watertown, New York in 1942 describes the organ: "In Ber- nardston in the Unitarian Church one finds a small but beautiful Johnson of a single manual. It has limited resources but unlimited quality. The full organ has a surprising volume of brilliance." Mrs. Elinor Barber Cronyn has played the organ for many years, and knows how to bring out the beauty of its tones.
Rev. Richard Elliott Birks-April 1, 1896 to October 1, 1901. Mr. Birks was the first of twelve ministers to serve the church since 1900. He was born in Stony Middleton, Derbyshire, England, February 14, 1846. He was the son of Rev. William Birks, Uni- tarian minister and schoolmaster. His father was skilled in mathe- matics and tutored Joseph Paxton, head gardener of the Duke of Devonshire, who built the Crystal Palace in London and was knighted by Queen Victoria. Mr. Birks and his brothers and sis- ter studied under their father, and the two older brothers attended Manchester Unitarian Missionary College. Richard, the youngest, was apprenticed to a painter and decorator when his father died, and earned his living in this way until, with the aid of his brothers' lesson books, he was able to qualify for the ministry. He made two trips to Canada and the United States during this period, and married Margaret Ann White Lang of Boston. In 1871 he re- turned to England and preached there for nearly twenty years before returning to the United States in 1892.
During Mr. Birks' pastorate in Bernardston he was instrumen- tal in obtaining for the church the legacy left by Joseph Priestly Hale, which had been held up in litigation. The interior of the church was redecorated, mostly by his labors, the pews were re- varnished, and the ceiling frescoed. He had skill in drawing, and frescoing was a specialty of his. He formed a band of young men of the town with one young woman cornetist. The fiendish noises
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
coming from the upper room in the parsonage, where they trained, are well remembered by his daughter.
Mr. Birks left to accept a call to the old brick church in Deer- field, Massachusetts where he preached for eleven years. He went from there to Montague, Massachusetts for four years, then bought a house in Bernardston where he lived until his death, January 21, 1925.
Rev. George Wilbur Patten-April 1, 1902 to July 1904. Mr. Pat- ten was born in Stockholm, New York, July 6, 1843. After his service in the Civil War, he graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1871. He was obliged to resign on account of failing eyesight.
Rev. Frederic W. Smith-September 1905 to May 1908. Mr. Smith was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, February 23, 1869. He was a graduate of Meadville Theological School in 1895, and took post-graduate study at Harvard University. Ill health led to his resignation.
Rev. Merritt Scott Buckingham-June 23, 1908 to January 1, 1912. Mr. Buckingham was born in Gilboa, New York, August 10, 1868. He was educated in the public schools and by private tutors, and became a Methodist minister at the age of nineteen. After eight years as a Methodist minister, he entered Meadville Theological School to make preparations for entering the Unitarian ministry. Having spent eleven years as a Unitarian pastor, he left Bernard- ston to enter the Congregational Fellowship.
Rev. Herbert Whitney and Rev. Mary Traffarn Whitney-June 29, 1913 to March 26, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney were joint min- isters of the church. Rev. Herbert Whitney was a graduate of St. Lawrence Theological School in 1872, and served Universalist churches for fifteen years. After a year's study at Harvard Divinity School he entered the Unitarian ministry from which he retired in 1916. His wife, who also graduated from St. Lawrence Univer- sity in 1872, was one of the first women ministers in the country. During their pastorate in Bernardston, Mrs. Whitney organized the Senior Club in May, 1914. This club, designed to bring to- gether the older people of the village once a month for fellowship and entertainment, is comprised of both men and women. Still in existence, the Senior Club holds its meetings in the three churches in rotation. Mrs. Whitney inaugurated and edited the first eugen- ics magazine in the United States, and with Frances Willard and Mary A. Livermore, she was a pioneer in the temperance move-
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
ment. At the age of eighty-three she ran for Congress on the So- cialist ticket. She died aged ninety in Weare, New Hampshire.
Rev. Margaret Bowers Barnard-1916 to 1921. Miss Barnard was born in Bucksport, Maine and was educated at a French school in New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduating, she taught French in Boston until 1893, when she began studying for the ministry. She preached here for five years and took an active part in town and county affairs, being the founder of the Bernardston Community Club. Miss Barnard left Bernardston to take up missionary work in North Carolina, but returned later to spend the last years of her life in Greenfield.
Rev. Frederick T. Crane-June 1923 to September 30, 1928. Mr. Crane was born in Lansing, Michigan, April 1, 1870, and gradu- ated from Canton Theological School. A lover of music, particu- larly classical, he knew how to repair the pipe organ when it needed attention, and replaced one Oboe stop with a stop of a more mellow tone. Mr. Crane established a small printing busi- ness and interested two local young men who later became printers. He left for a pastorate in Sterling, Massachusetts, and died in Montclair, New Jersey, December 11, 1951.
Rev. Joseph Cady Allen-November 1928 to June 30, 1944. Mr. Allen was born in Rochester, New York, January 30, 1869. He was a graduate of Meadville Theological School, and studied at Harvard Divinity School. During his pastorate here, several major events took place in the history of the church. Mr. Allen had talent in writing and producing plays and pageants, and had ability in acting. While he was here the church voted to sell the parsonage in 1929 and take in exchange the property owned by Myron E. Barber on Library Street. The parsonage had been given to the Unitarian Society by the Honorable Henry W. Cush- man to be used as a residence or parsonage for their minister. In 1931 the horse sheds were removed, adding greatly to the appear- ance of the property.
In 1926, Ellery Herbert Sanderson died and left Bernardston the sum of $1000.00 as a sidewalk fund with the provision that if its entire amount of interest was not used each year, the principal would revert to the Unitarian Church. As this interest had not been used, in 1936 the money became the property of the church.
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