USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Tercentenary history of Newton, 1630-1930 > Part 37
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The enthusiasm of the leaders and the versatility of those who planned programs and activities kept the Club from becoming dull. The members went on excursions to factories, gardens and art exhibits. They engaged in gym- nastics, dancing, hikes, and other athletics. A club chorus sang, a dramatic club produced plays in Players Hall. A cook book was put through the press, and a club bulletin
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was started. Lectures on current events brought various parts of the world nearer. In reality a woman's city club had arrived.
Not so comprehensive but with a similar democratic purpose the West Newton Community Service Club was organized in 1920 to hold together the women of different churches who had carried on war activities together. Three hundred and sixty members at the beginning seemed to insure successful progress. The primary purpose of the organization was to continue sewing for the Red Cross and certain days were set apart for that purpose. At other times social and musical gatherings were held. By enter- tainments and house to house canvassing funds were raised which were applied annually to the Newton Hospital and local charities. The Club had an effective part in raising the money necessary for the building of the Plummer Memorial Library.
As women have emerged from the home into com- munity organizations, thus enlarging their sphere of activ- ities, and have consolidated the interests of their own small and select societies with others in comprehensive village clubs, so there has been a tendency of men among them- selves or of men and women both toward more democratic community associations which would include citizens who did not find membership in the more exclusive social clubs. The war compelled more general activity and discovered people to one another. It made them conscious of their common interests. A greater sensitiveness to commun- ity needs developed. The improvement associations had served as reminders of the physical needs, of parks and play- grounds, good business structures and well-kept streets. But there were other interests than these. Others than women were concerned with the moral and social welfare of the community and the intellectual development of the people. Community clubs began to form.
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The Auburndale Club is an example of these newer organizations. It was formed soon after the war to continue the fraternal spirit that had been evoked by the war activ- ities, especially of the Newton Constabulary. With two hundred and fifteen members it was able to purchase the Briggs estate on a prominent street corner, and the club members did most of the work of remodelling the house for club purposes. It was in this house that the Auburndale Woman's Club found a home. The Auburndale Club included women as well as men who were interested to pro- vide a community centre. They planned for community needs, maintained moving pictures and bowling alleys, and published a community bulletin. They believed in the growth of the community and they saw their opportunity to knit together people of all sorts and conditions into a social unit. Thus they were rendering a community serv- ice which is one of the greatest needs of an age that is chal- lenged by diverse interests and divided allegiance.
It was in the same spirit that the men of Newton Highlands organized the Men's Club of Newton Highlands in 1923. Some of them had been enrolled among the four hundred and fifty members of the Men's League of the Congregational Church. About one hundred and fifty, some of them the same persons, were affiliated with the Men's Club of St. Paul's Church. They began to ask them- selves why they could not get together. The idea fer- mented until it bore fruit in the new organization. With- out pretentious plans the new Club arranged its monthly meetings in the hope of extending acquaintances, espe- cially among the many new citizens who were moving into the village, and to grow in intelligence by listening to in- forming addresses. Once a year they rounded up the boys of the community for a good time. A union of such village organizations might in time become a city club.
A part of the same process was the organization of the
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Newton Churchmen's Union, and joint meetings of the church clubs at Newton Centre, when they sat together about the table, told stories, sang songs, and at times lis- tened to an entertainment or a popular address. The Fed- eration of Women's Church Societies was organized at Newton. In those ways denominational barriers were low- ered and the separateness made less conspicuous.
Men's fraternal organizations were vigorous enough to warrant the chartering of new local chapters and some of the older bodies celebrated anniversaries. The Royal Arch Chapter of Newton Masons held exercises appro- priate to its fiftieth anniversary. Norumbega Lodge of Masons was constituted impressively at Newtonville by officers of the Grand Lodge. The Order of DeMolay had been started in 1919 by the Masons in the interest of boys and had reached a membership of two hundred thousand, when it was decided to organize a chapter in Newton in 1924. The result was an enthusiastic body of young re- cruits, who before long had made a public reputation with its band music. Other fraternities were acquiring property for headquarters. The Odd Fellows after thirty-seven years in their old quarters acquired the old Northgate Clubhouse and remodelled it for their use. The Order of Elks, which founded a Newton chapter in 1915 with fifty members, dedicated a new home for its thousand members nine years later. At a cost of fourteen thousand dollars they provided themselves with a lodge room which would seat three hundred and sixty persons, social quarters for two hundred and fifty, and a banquet hall and kitchen.
Although Newton had become a city long since and might be likely to forget its humble bucolic origins, there were still people within its limits who earned their living by the sweat of their brow in the open field. These farm- ers, like others in more rural districts, saw the value of organization and created the Garden City Grange. Then
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it was in order to hold a grange fair, and although the first such exhibit came on a stormy day the curious assembled to compare notes on the display of flowers and vegetables, and the quality of home cooking and canning, and to wit- ness milk tests and other interesting events. A stereop- ticon lecture, music from the radio, and dancing enlivened the evening.
The hamlet of Thompsonville with an increasing popu- lation was coming to community consciousness. One hun- dred and twenty Italian families had found a home there, which meant a population of seven hundred of that race alone. They needed the institutions which America pro- vides for her native citizens and for those who come from overseas. The Bowen School provided education for the children, and the city bought a piece of land for a play- ground. Assistance had been given by various organiza- tions in educational and social ways, but by 1920 the men of Thompsonville, with a real group consciousness and a feeling that they could themselves promote civic prosperity and aid one another on occasion, banded together as a club. Loyal to the spirit of their native land they took the name of the Gabriele d'Annunzio Club. Regular meetings were held the second Monday of the month, acquaint- ance improved, and good-will and better mutual under- standing were fostered. After two years the Club was incorporated. W. Claxton Bray of Newton Centre gave it ten acres of land with frontage on Boylston Street, which might serve as a building site and athletic field in the future. Nearly forty-three hundred dollars were in the treasury of the Club at the close of 1929. The Club has not been ambitious for praise or glory, but it has proved its usefulness and twice it has indulged in a celebration, once in Bray Hall and again in the Woman's Club house at Newton Centre.
Thompsonville was not the only part of Newton with
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citizens of foreign birth and parentage. They did not lose their love for native land, but they acquired an affection for the country of their residence when they were received in friendly fashion. Industrious and thrifty they made good citizens when naturalized, and when the war came they took their places unhesitatingly in the military ranks. In war and peace alike they played their part unobtru- sively, asking no favors, but relying on their own capacity to fit into the life of the New World. Certain of them have become community leaders among neighbors of their own race. Some of the younger among them have made good in the schools and have gone elsewhere to enrich American life. Already the new Americans have helped to make the history of Newton, and even the briefest account of the city is not complete without reference to them.
Many of the churches had clubs which continued active for many years. Such was the Central Congrega- tional Club at Newtonville which brought back former pastors, J. T. Stocking and A. J. Muste, to speak at its twentieth anniversary. In the more varied life of the twentieth century the churches occupied a relatively less important place in the life of the community than they did a century earlier. The meetings of the churches did not command the attendance of the people as earlier, and the word of the preacher was no longer law and gospel to men and women who were as well educated and read as widely as the minister. But the churches grew in member- ship, broadened their activities, enlisted their young people, and had larger incomes at their disposal. It was no longer necessary to attend church to be respected in the com- munity, but church affiliation was a means of extending acquaintance, of engaging in the activities of the church organizations, and of getting a renewal of good-will. Re- ligion continued to make its perennial appeal to those who were interested in ideals as well as ideas, and who escaped complete absorption in everyday affairs.
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The later years brought a realization that religious education was very defective. The Sunday school had been engaged for a century and more in Bible study, but both equipment and methods were unscientific and results were not satisfactory. To remedy these faults the Prot- estant churches of Newton joined with those of neighbor- ing communities in organizing the Norumbega Sunday School Association. Under efficient leadership the Asso- ciation projected a School of Religious Education which held its first sessions at Newtonville in 1921. Groups of Sunday school teachers and workers were formed under expert instruction and for twenty-four successive Monday evenings enlisted scores of persons in serious study. The plan proved so successful that it was continued as a per- manent feature of religious organization. Whatever else it accomplished it was an evidence that there were people in the churches who were alive to inefficiency and the value of new methods.
Many of the churches celebrated anniversaries in the decade 1920-1930. These included the centennial observ- ance of the Methodist church at Upper Falls, the oldest of that denomination in the city. The decline of industry at Upper Falls presented difficulties to the old church on the hill, and the Methodist practice of frequent pastoral changes was a handicap in carrying out a program pro- jected over several years, but the church continued its regular activities and refused to be discouraged. Eliot Church at Newton observed its seventy-fifth anniversary, and listened to an historical address from its minister, and the Congregational church at Auburndale reached the same age a few years later. Channing Church was of similar age, as was the Unitarian church at West Newton. The Church of the Messiah at Auburndale celebrated its fifty-fifth anniversary. Reverend John Matteson had remained with the church for twenty-three years, seeing it
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through its task of building its stone structure. Jubilees marked the fiftieth milestone at the Newton Centre Uni- tarian, where Reverend George L. Parker came to a not- able ministry. Fiftieth anniversaries were celebrated at the Universalist church at Newtonville and the Congre- gational church at Newton Highlands in the same year, and the Newton Centre Methodist seven years later. St. John's Episcopal Church at Newtonville was happy in the acquisition of a parish house, built in harmony with the church and adding much to its usefulness.
Many new voices were heard from the pulpits of the city, for pastorates of a few years duration were in striking contrast to the lifelong incumbencies of an earlier time. Young men went to larger opportunities in more populous cities, elderly men found their powers weakening with age and retired from active ministry. Dr. Julius C. Jaynes closed a ministry conspicuous for its success in the Uni- tarian church at West Newton. Dr. John Goddard re- tired after a long term of service at the Swedenborgian church, Newtonville. Dr. George T. Smart ended a quietly effective service of twenty years to the Congrega- tionalists at Newton Highlands, and Dr. Charles H. Cut- ler established solidly the Union Church at Waban before he surrendered the responsibility to younger shoulders. Dr. J. Edgar Park, after a notable service to the Congre- gationalists at West Newton, was called to the presidency of Wheaton College, as two of the city's Methodist min- isters were summoned to similar responsibilities in the Middle West, and Dr. Emory W. Hunt of Newton Centre went to Bucknell University. Eliot Church was plunged into deep sorrow by the tragic death of Dr. and Mrs. H. G. Person during a summer excursion to Switzerland, and the whole community joined in their funeral in the church. Within a few weeks the same church lost two eminent lay- men in Loren D. Towle and Herbert A. Wilder. The dean
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of the Congregational ministers was Dr. Edward M. Noyes, who resigned the pastorate of the First Church at the end of his thirty-fifth year of service. When he came in 1894 the church had three hundred and eighteen members. With the addition of forty at his last communion service the total membership reached nine hundred and thirty- seven. A gift of nearly twenty-six thousand dollars upon his departure was a significant expression of the church's appreciation of his long ministry, and the Boston press coupled his ministry with that of Dr. George A. Gordon at the Old South Church as outstanding in metropolitan Bos- ton. Dr. Noyes was one of the delegates of the Congrega- tionalists to the World Conference on Faith and Order held at Lausanne, Switzerland in 1927. Reverend Dwight Bradley of Webster Groves, Missouri, came to the vacant pulpit with the year 1930.
Equally distinguished was the career of Dr. Edward T. Sullivan at Trinity Episcopal Church across the street. The beautiful church with its eleven hundred members was his monument. But in 1930 he was still in the fulness of his powers and beloved by the whole village for his friendly contacts, his kindly humor, and his catholic sym- pathies. The death of Reverend R. T. Loring at Newton- ville ended a service of twenty-seven years at St. John's Church. The pastor had built himself into his parish and enshrined himself in the hearts of his people, and for fifteen years he had time and sympathy for an additional task as chaplain at the Sherborn Reformatory. Dr. Laurens MacLure brought to an end a pastorate of twenty-two years at Grace Church, Newton, to be succeeded in 1930 by Reverend G. Preston of Needham. During Dr. MacLure's ministry the membership of the church had doubled, the parish house had been enlarged and a rectory built, and the organ and the interior of the church had been improved at a total cost of approximately one hundred thousand
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dollars. The church received a valuable endowment from the estate of Charles W. Emerson, which assured its future.
Towards the close of the decade two Baptist ministers completed ten years of service, Reverend Charles N. Arbuckle, D.D., at Newton Centre, and Reverend New- ton A. Merritt, Jr., at Newton. Both churches added materially to their numerical strength and religious effi- ciency. The death of Stephen Moore was a serious loss to the Immanuel Church and the denomination, as was that of Col. Edward H. Haskell at Newton Centre. The Woman's American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society held jubilee exercises in the Baptist church at Newton Centre.
Various improvements in physical equipment added to the resources of the churches. Through private gifts the Congregational church at Newton Highlands was able to own a parsonage, to enlarge the parish house and to install a new organ. In 1928 the Second Church at West Newton built a unique children's chapel. The membership of that church by this time had reached eleven hundred. The Cline Memorial Church of the Methodists at Newton Highlands cleared off its indebtedness. The Lincoln Park Baptist Church at West Newton accomplished the same and put in a new organ. The Centenary Methodist Church at Auburndale installed a new pipe organ. The church was stimulated musically and educationally by Reverend Earl E. Harper, who was pastor for six years until called to the presidency of Evansville College, Indiana. The church missed Prof. Henry C. Sheldon of Boston Uni- versity, who resided in Auburndale until his death in 1928. The Perrin Methodist Church at Lower Falls dedicated a new parsonage.
Methodists at Newtonville found it necessary to en- large their plant, and in 1924 they built a new stone struc- ture around the old brick walls and tower, and put up a
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four-story building for the church school with a large num- ber of classrooms and other adjuncts. The church had grown to more than four hundred members, and they assumed the burden of paying promptly for the improve- ments so that the church freed itself from debt the next year. It was in similar fashion that the Unitarians at Newton Centre reconstructed their church auditorium by covering the frame building with brick and stucco, rebuild- ing the parish house, and installing a new lighting system at a total expense of more than fifty thousand dollars. Channing Church dedicated a new chapel. At West New- ton the Unitarians reconstructed the chancel of the church, dedicated a beautiful pulpit as a memorial to Dr. Jaynes, and the Pearson Memorial Lectern. St. Paul's Church at Newton Highlands had not had a large parish, but in 1925 it included one hundred and thirty-six families, and was able to construct a crypt, enlarge its parish house, and pro- vide the rector with a study. At Central Church, Newton- ville, through the generosity of Horace W. Orr, a memorial chancel was constructed at an expense of twenty thousand dollars, and the church spent as much more in redecorat- ing the auditorium and providing for the needs of the young people and the Sunday School. In 1929 the Central Club made possible the dedication of a new organ in mem- ory of the soldiers of the World War, seventy of whom went from the church. A unique celebration of the period was the observance of the three hundredth anniversary of the landing of the first negroes in America held by the Myrtle Baptist Church at West Newton. Dr. William W. Ryan completed fifteen years of service at that church before resigning to go to Washington, D. C. The Mount Zion Baptist Church of West Newton was an offshoot of the Myrtle Baptist Church.
A notable addition was made to the churches of New- ton by the Christian Scientists. The establishment of the
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Mother Church in Boston was followed by a marked exten- sion of the movement in Greater Boston, and Newton adherents grew in numbers. The first steps towards the formation of a church were taken in 1912 when a meeting of more than one hundred and fifty Christian Scientists voted to organize, and the articles preliminary to receiving a Massachusetts charter were signed at a subsequent meet- ing. By-laws were duly adopted, and First and Second Readers and members of the Executive Board were elected. Like all other Christian Science churches the Newton organization is a branch of the Mother Church, and the details of organization were in compliance with the pro- visions of the manual of the Boston church. The first services were held in Players Hall at West Newton on the second of February, 1913.
Coincident with the organization came the starting of a building fund, and early in 1916 it was decided to pur- chase land at the corner of Walnut and Otis Streets, New- tonville. Within six months the amount of money needed was contributed and the property paid for. The location was central and in an attractive residential neighborhood. The World War delayed building, but the church did not lose sight of its objective, and in 1924 plans were com- pleted and it was decided to proceed with construction. The corner stone of the new edifice was laid on next to the last day of the year, and the first services were held on the ninth of May, 1926.
The style of the church edifice is a colonial adaptation of the Classic, worked out with red brick walls and con- trasting stone trimming. Four tall Corinthian columns in Colonial white support the pediment of the front porch, giving an effect of classic simplicity and dignity. This effect is repeated in the interior where the general appear- ance and all the details of finish are in keeping with the architectural theme. The seating capacity of the audi-
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torium is six hundred and forty and of the Sunday school three hundred. The auditorium is used for the mid-week testimonial meetings, as well as for the Sunday services, which continue through the year. The dedicatory services were held June 26, 1927, after the last bills were paid, in accordance with the rules regarding branches of the Mother Church.
With the influx of people from Boston and the nearer suburbs in addition to the natural increase of population the demand increased for an extension of Catholic churches. New parishes were organized, accommodating better the people of certain villages. Older parishes enlarged their facilities, built parochial schools, and multiplied their appointments and their auxiliary organizations. Pastors came and went, though as a rule the Catholic priests remained longer than the Protestant ministers. At the original parish of St. Mary's Reverend T. J. Danahy com- pleted a third of a century, and was followed in 1923 by Reverend Dennis H. Donovan. It was Father Danahy who was responsible for the commodious church which for some time served the near-by villages as well as Upper Falls. Father Kelliher's death at West Newton left St. Bernard's parish of thirty-five hundred adherents without a pastor in 1922. Reverend William J. Dwyer, who had been educated at Rome, was transferred from Gloucester to the West Newton charge. He promptly undertook the task of building the twelve-room parochial school, which enrolls four hundred and fifty pupils under the care of the sisters of Notre Dame. Their presence made necessary the preparation of a residence for them, and a convent was erected which provided for fifteen sisters. Father Dwyer also built a rectory of eighteen rooms.
On the old highway between Newton and Newton- ville the Church of Our Lady, Help of Christians, stood as a beacon for all Catholics in that section of the city. Rev-
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erend Michael Dolan had been its efficient guide and con- fessor for thirty years before 1915. It was he who had erected the first parochial school in the city, the convent for a teachers' home, and the rectory, making an impres- sive pile of brick buildings. The church itself was beauti- fied by three new altars of Carrara marble, and a three- manual organ was placed in the choir gallery. The walls and arches were redecorated, until the church was made one of the most attractive in the diocese. All this was expensive, but the priest had the satisfaction of seeing the plant free from debt before his death. Reverend Lawrence W. Slattery succeeded to the pastorate of the church in 1915. The requirements of a growing parish called for more school space, and it was decided to erect a new build- ing for high school classes. Twelve classrooms with hall, lecture room, and laboratory in addition were available, and a gymnasium as large as the assembly hall, which was designed to seat fifteen hundred. Four-year courses, col- lege preparatory and commercial, and special courses in physical and voice culture, give ample breadth of instruc- tion, while at the same time the principles of Catholicism are inculcated both directly and indirectly. Four assist- ants aid the pastor in caring for the seven thousand mem- bers of the parish. More than four hundred of the young men of the parish were enrolled in the fighting forces of the country in the World War.
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