USA > Ohio > Butler County > Middletown > A history of the life and work of the First Presbyterian Church of Middletown, Ohio (Dayton Presbytery) from its foundation in 1819 to 1919 > Part 6
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At a somewhat later date Mr. W. K. Rhonemus was elected Superintendent. He loved the work and the School and took a special interest in the Primary and Intermediate Departments. He spent much time and effort in the work and when he felt that he should give up the Superintendency he continued to attend and to assist in many ways until fail- ing health compelled him to desist.
Mr. R. C. Phillips, the present Superintendent, is untir- ing in his efforts not only to maintain the high standard gained by the School, but also to advance it in every way. The School is well organized and we have every reason to be encouraged and to go forward hopefully.
Mention should be made of two Sabbath Schools organ- ized by members of this School and Pastors of our Church. About 1870 our Pastor and some members from our School
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A part of the Primary Department of our Sunday School. Taken October 5, 1919.
conducted a School at Jacksonburg for quite a while and until it was able to support itself. The School met in the afternoon and was followed by preaching by the Pastor of our Church. Somewhat later a School was organized at Poasttown. Here, as at Jacksonburg, the Pastor held preaching service after the Sunday School.
The following account of the work of the young people in our Church was prepared by Miss Margaret Johnson, one of our members who is active in the work of the young people of our Church and city.
Active work among the young people of the First Pres- byterian Church was one of the outgrowths of a revival which occurred during the ministry of Mr. Clokey. A letter written by him to the congregation at the time of his de- parture contains this passage: "Can we ever forget in the spring of '77 that beautiful sight of children from the ages of 7 to 14 crowding the study for special prayer? Out of this same awakening came our Young People's Association. This association has indeed been a phenomenon. Ninety- seven of our youth and children have signed its constitution. Its meetings have been continued for more than a year and a half with an attendance seldom below 50 and often rising to 70 or 80."
An accurate history of the work is not possible as there are no available records. This account has been gleaned from some Church Bulletins of 1885 to 1887, published under Dr. Hershey's ministry, and from the recollections of some of our church members. The Y. F. M., Young Folks' Meet- ing, as it is spoken of in these old monthly bulletins, was held at 6:30 on Sunday evening. The names of the two leaders for the month and the topics and references were published each month in the bulletin just below the sermon topics. The Y. F. M. was not the only organization among the youth of the church. Soon after her arrival here Mrs. Hershey formed a mission band for girls which was quite active for a number of years. We find the name of the President of this band of "Willing Workers" always printed in the Offi- cial Register. In the bulletin for October, 1885, is this no- tice : "The Pauline Band, composed of about a dozen young
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men, has been formed for exercise in prayer and religious conversation. It meets every other Sabbath after Sunday School in the study. It is hoped much good may be done by this Band this winter."
It may have been that the enthusiasm for Y. F. M. had been growing somewhat less with the passing of the years. At any rate, in November, 1886, a Young Folks' Union was organized. Its constitution together with the following edi- torial appears in the bulletin for that month: "A Young Folks' Union of this Church has been formed. The Pauline Band has been merged into it. It is simply the young folks of the Church organized for religious improvement and church work. It started out with fifteen members, which is promising. The idea is that every young Christian should be actively engaged in some kind of work looking to the ad- vancement of the interests of the church."
This organization grew in activity and numbers. It had frequent visitors from young people of the other churches in the town. They considered it a treat to be present at the inspirational meetings. A scholarship for an Alaskan boy was begun and the Union contributed $30.00 annually for his support. The money was raised largely from the weekly pledges of the members. It was from the members of this Union that the Society of Christian Endeavor was formed in 1891 under Mr. McCampbell's influence. About 25 young people took the pledge which was the same as the present day Christian Endeavor pledge.
During the first years of its life the Christian Endeavor was a notable factor in the life of the Church. Its Sunday evening meetings were interesting and well attended. Those who did not care to sign the pledge were made very welcome and the attendance grew. The monthly socials at the homes of the members were very much enjoyed. The missionary spirit developed in various ways. The Society continued the support of the native Alaskan boy at the Sitka Mission, which was begun by the Y. F. U. In the churches of neigh- boring towns and villages societies were organized through the influence of delegates sent from our church. The fra- ternal spirit was fostered by local conventions. Memorable were the occasions on which large bus loads drove to Mon-
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roe, Springboro, Franklin and Trenton to attend such gath- erings. In 1892 a delegate was sent to the National conven- tion in New York City. Later delegates were sent to state conventions, always with enthusiastic results, for the Chris- tian Endeavor was at its height through the whole country during those years. One of the delegates to a state conven- tion at Springfield tells of the interest and enthusiasm which sent thirteen coaches of young folks from the state convention to attend in a body the national convention at Cleveland immediately following.
A Junior C. E. was organized in the winter of 1893 and existed for several years. It died for lack of leadership. It may have been for this same cause that the Senior C. E. lost its spirit. The early members assumed other places in the life of the church and many of the young people moved away from town. Perhaps the younger generation failed to as- sume the responsibility which descended to them and no doubt the most thrilling part of the work had already been accomplished with the organization of other Endeavor So- cieties. During the past twenty years the Society has had many periods of flourishing growth and an equal number of depressions. The Young People's work is at this time in a transitional period. It is hoped the New Era Movement will be attended by a new development and an awakening to the end that the young people may again assume their proper place in the activities of the Church.
There have been other phases of young people's work since 1900 which should be mentioned. The Y. M. C. A. in Middletown had its foundation in the Presbyterian Brother- hood, an active and earnest organization of the men and boys of our church. There was a wide awake Mission Band for young High School girls during 1908 and 1909 under the direction of Mrs. W. H. Johnson. Just after the Lyon meet- ings in 1912, which were followed in our church by Mr. Mitchell's choir work, there was a girls' choir which later was organized into the Busy Bees by Mrs. D. G. Smith. It was the last active mission work in our church for children.
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This photograph was taken at a reunion of the founders of our Christian Endeavor Society and their families.
THE CENTENNIAL AND HOME COMING CELEBRATION.
Many of the members of our Church had been looking forward for several years to the time when the Centennial Anniversary would be celebrated. No definite steps of prep- aration for this event were taken, however, until April 23, 1919, at which time the Session appointed a Committee con- sisting of H. S. Wise, Chairman, C. E. Margerum, G. N. Clapp, R. C. Phillips, Mrs. Anna Barnitz, Mrs. Kate A. Oglesby and Mrs. Elizabeth Kirkpatrick, "to have charge of planning and carrying out a program in celebration of and commemorating the One Hundredth Anniversary of the founding of our Church." At a meeting of the committee held soon afterward, the week of October 19th to 26th, inclu- sive, 1919, was selected as the date for the celebration. About the same time the following sub-committees were ap- pointed : Committee to design, purchase and erect upon the walls of the Church a bronze tablet bearing the names of the pastors who have served in our Church from its organiza- tion and the dates of the pastorates, C. E. Margerum, Chair- man, G. N. Clapp and W. H. Johnson; Committee to estab- lish in the church an endowment fund for Missions, R. C. Phillips, Chairman, R. C. Vanderveer and F. O. Diver; Committee to prepare and have printed a History of the Church, C. E. Burke, Chairman, Miss Josephine LaTourrette and Bennett Chapple.
Many meetings were held by these various committees and with the co-operation of the Pastor and the members of the church the work moved along smoothly and when the time for the celebration arrived a program had been pre- pared which was to prove interesting and inspiring. Prof. J. Raymond Hemminger, of Carlisle, Pa., was secured to have charge of the music for the week. A large chorus prac- ticed so faithfully for several days before the opening of the celebration that the chorus selections, solos, duets and quar- tets added much to the success of the program. Miss Lulu McClellan presided at the piano with Mrs. Margaret Geb- hart Clapp and Miss Thelma Murphy at the organ.
On Sunday morning, October 19, the first services of the
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Centennial were held. The sermon was preached by Dr. W. O. Thompson, D. D., LL. D., President of Ohio State Univer- sity, who eighteen years before at the dedication of the pres- ent church building had preached the dedicatory sermon. The topic of the sermon was, "A Century of Christian Prog- ress." Dr. Thompson reviewed the great achievements of the past century in all lines of human endeavor tending to elevate mankind. His message was one of optimism for the future of the world and especially of our own America. "The supremacy of righteousness will be recognized and the wel- fare of all will be definitely defined." At this service Rev. Bernard J. Brinkema presided, Rev. W. Hamill Shields, D. D., read the Scripture lesson, and Rev. David Garrett Smith offered the prayer. The service was an inspiration to the large congregation in attendance.
At the evening service on this day Mr. Harry S. Wise, Chairman of the Centennial Committee, presided. After a song service lasting one-half hour, Rev. W. Hamill Shields, D. D., a former pastor of this Church, preached on the sub- ject, "Elijah under the Juniper Tree-Spiritual Reaction." Dr. Shields brought a message of encouragement, yet one of warning. He pleaded for an awakening of and a new real- ization of the individual responsibility of the church mem- ber.
On Monday evening the services were in charge of The Woman's Society of the Church. Mrs. H. H. Goldman, Pres- ident of the Society, presided. Rev. J. King Gibson, D. D., who has been a member of the Dayton Presbytery for forty years, and Stated Clerk for twenty-one years, brought to us greetings from the Dayton Presbytery. Rev. S. Hall Young, D. D., delivered an illustrated lecture on Alaska. This mes- sage proved most interesting and emphasized one great de- partment of church work, Home Missions.
The services on Tuesday evening were in charge of the Westminster Men's Club. Mr. Calvin W. Verity, President of the Club, presided. The congregation of the Oakland Presbyterian Church attended this service in a body and a salutation for that Church was given by its pastor, Rev. Wendel F. Foster. Rev. C. W. Sullivan, pastor of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church of Middletown, brought greetings
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from the churches of the city. A pleasing feature of this service was a quartette sung by Prof. Hemminger, two for- mer pastors, Mr. Shields and Mr. Smith, and the present pastor, Mr. Brinkema. The address of the evening was de- livered by Rev. C. F. Wishart, D. D., President of Wooster College. Dr. Wishart pleaded for a rededication of the spirit of self-sacrifice. He said that in peace we must find the moral equivalent of war. "Are we going to carry the sacrificial ideals of war over into the constructive ideals of peace, and are we going to carry on the wonderful ideals of the war?" the speaker asked. All present were urged to make every effort to do his part in meeting the duties and obligations lately given to the Church and to the Nation.
A dinner was served by the women of the Church to the Congregation and visiting friends on Wednesday evening at 6 o'clock. After a social half hour services were held in the auditorium of the Church. The program of the evening was in charge of the Woman's Missionary Society. Mrs. E. C. Woodward, President of this Society, presided. Quite a number of the Congregation of the Blue Ball Presbyterian Church attended this service and greetings were brought by them through Rev. James E. Harris, their pastor. Homer Edson, who a few years ago accomplished so much good work with the boys in Middletown, and who had lately re- turned from war work with the Red Cross, reviewed briefly the home mission work that had been done in Middletown and spoke of the work yet to be done. The address of the evening was delivered by Rev. Scott F. Hershey, Ph.D., LL. D., a former pastor of this Church. Dr. Hershey took as his subject, "The Outlook and the Forelook." He spoke of the great responsibility that our country has been called upon to face. "It is as if God has thrown open the door to the United States and said, 'Go ye into all the world and teach,' " said the speaker. "We have our heritage and we must and will live up to our responsibilities in it."
During the service of this evening the electric lights went off and could not be turned on again for several min- utes. Candles used on the dinner tables a short time before were brought into the auditorium and we were given a vivid
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illustration of how the Churches were lighted one hundred years ago.
Thursday night was known as "Sunday School Night." The services on this occasion were presided over by Mr. R. C. Phillips, Superintendent of the Sunday School. A dele- gation from the "New Jersey" church, of Carlisle, was pres- ent and a short address was made by Rev. John L. Robin- son, pastor of that Church. The elders from the "New Jer- sey" Church presided at the organization of our Church One Hundred years ago. The speaker of the evening was Rev. George N. Luccock, D. D., pastor of the College Church, Wooster, Ohio. Dr. Luccock spoke on the subject, "The Church at School." He dwelt upon four things required to make a school-teachers, learners, ideals and the home. "All the equipment in the world cannot make a good school. Only the personality of the teacher can do that." The speaker declared that various influences are working to disrupt the home; that, in fact, the only institution that does not disrupt the home is the Christian Church.
The address on Friday evening was delivered by Rev. Joseph A. Vance, D. D., LL. D., pastor of the First Pres- byterian Church, Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Vance took as his subject, "The Call of the Church to the Youth." The speaker emphasized the part the younger generation will take in the rebuilding of the nations. He said that it has been the am- bition of each department of the church to maintain its own existence, but now we are realizing that all departments must be united in order to progress. "Christians are com- ing to have a greater appreciation of what it means to be a Christian and the passion for Christ and humanity is becom- ing stronger in the life of the Christian," said Dr. Vance. This service was in charge of the young people of the Church. Miss Margaret Johnson, who has been active for the last few years in promoting the welfare of the young peo- ple of our church and city, presided at this meeting. Two features of the service were a solo by Mr. Hemminger, "I Know He Cares," and a whistling solo by Miss Lulu Mc- Clellan.
Sunday was the closing day of the Centennial celebration. At the morning service Rev. David Garrett Smith, a former
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pastor, preached the sermon on the subject, "The Genera- tions and the Perfecting of Life." Mr. Smith told of the heri- tage of the Church through its long generations of service and emphasized how the perfecting of life was connected both with the past and the future. He said that we do not live to ourselves, but that "through the ages one incessant purpose runs," and that the call is stronger today than ever before for the individual Christian to do his full part in bringing about the "one divine event toward which the whole creation moves." Mr. G. N. Clapp, an elder in this Church since 1892, presided at the morning service.
Rev. John B. Ferguson, pastor of the Hopewell Presby- terian Church, Franklin, Indiana, preached in the evening. Mr. Ferguson was a former member of our Church and a teacher in the local High School and was warmly welcomed on his return for this occasion. He took as the subject for his sermon, "The Heart of the Church." He made a strong plea for the worship of God in spirit and in truth. Mr. Carl F. Williamson, an elder in our Church, presided at this serv- ice. A feature of the program for the evening was a piano solo by Miss Lulu McClellan, an arrangement of "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us."
Within the week on different occasions the Endowment Fund Committee made reports as to the plans it had formu- lated. On Sunday the following announcement was read :
"The Hundredth Anniversary of our Church calls to our minds the many years of blessing God has bestowed upon us, and it seems fitting at this time that some permanent foun- dation should be constructed that would in a way reflect our thanks.
"Since the basis of our present day Christian life is service, unselfish service, we feel that we should lay aside the thought of doing something as a church for ourselves, some- thing that might in a way be a memorial to this Centennial Anniversary and perhaps add to our own comfort and pleas- ure, and should support some project or movement that means service to others not so fortunate as we.
"It has been proposed that we create at this time the First Presbyterian Church Missionary Endowment Fund for Home and Foreign Missions, and that this fund be es- tablished now, by contributions from our membership. The
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joy of giving while living is much more satisfactory than waiting till life's end and then giving. Some prefer the lat- ter, however, and if you do, we urgently request you to pro- vide in a will some substantial remembrance for this fund. The money is to be carefully invested by the proper church authorities and the interest on the investment to go toward the support solely of Home and Foreign Missions. You will thus help to create and institute a fund that will be a lasting memorial to yourself and to your beloved Church.
"This action has the approval of the General Assembly and many churches are becoming interested along the same lines.
"Our Church has no debt and we should have no difficulty in starting at this time a substantial endowment fund that will in a few years support in a substantial way the cause of Missions, Home and Foreign."
It was stated that subscription cards would soon be sent to all members of the Congregation and a liberal response was requested. Prospects are most promising that this plan will be very successful and that our church will soon have a large missionary endowment fund as a "Centennial Me- morial."
The Memorial Tablet Committee reported that the tablet containing the names of all the ministers who had served in the Church since its organization had been purchased but de- livery had been delayed and the tablet could not be erected during Centennial week as had been hoped.
The History Committee announced that the history was practically completed and would be ready for the printer as soon as a brief account of the Centennial Week program could be prepared, and that it was hoped that "The Story of a Hundred Years" would be ready for distribution in about three weeks.
Centennial Week was all that had been expected and even more. It was a week of real enjoyment and blessing, not only for members of our own church, but also for many others who regularly attended the services. The attendance at all the meetings was good. The music was inspiring and all the messages helpful and encouraging. Because of the activities of this Great Week, we are looking ahead with greater hope and courage.
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MEMORABILIA.
Under this heading are given several items of interest in our Church life which for different reasons have not been woven into other parts of our Story.
On July 26, 1900, the Dicks Creek-Blue Ball Presbyte- rian Church Centennial celebration was held. At that serv- ice Rev. Charles E. Walker, Ph. D., Hartwell, Ohio, deliv- ered a very interesting address on the history of that church. In that address the statement was made that up to that time about thirty-five members had been dismissed from that Church to the Middletown Presbyterian Church. For this reason and in view of the fact that the early history of the Dicks Creek Church is also the history of our Church it was decided to reprint the following paragraphs from Mr. Walker's address.
"Presbyterianism came into Ohio with the first settlers.
A majority in that party of twenty-six men who landed near what is now the foot of Sycamore Street, Cincinnati, December 28, 1788, were Presbyterians. Almost immedi- ately they took steps to secure a meeting place for worship, Town lots were donated and in due time a house of worship was erected-the first Presbyterian Church in Ohio. These lots are still owned and occupied by the First Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati. This is the Mother Church of the Dicks Creek-Blue Ball Church, and no one had more to do with its organization and maintenance than the two men who first served this pioneer church as pastors.
Because of trouble with the Indians, the settlers on the river did not venture very far into the interior. They kept as close to Fort Washington as possible. When going to the fields to work, or even to church to worship, it was neces- sary to carry their guns for protection.
In 1794 Gen. Wayne, who had been appointed to the com- mand of the army, succeeded in doing what Gen. St. Clair had failed to accomplish. He gained a complete victory over the Indians, destroyed their power and compelled them to cede to the United States all claims to territory lying east of the Great Miami River.
The danger from the Indians now being almost entirely
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removed, the tide of immigration set in with great activity. Abandoned settlements were reclaimed and many new ones were made on the fertile plains of the Miamis and the streams feeding these rivers.
This beautiful Dicks Creek Valley was soon sighted and chosen. In 1795 a man named Dick, or Dicks, entered the section of land in Warren County known as Section 33. This gentleman gave his name to the stream that runs through this section, though he himself never lived in this neighbor- hood.
During the years immediately following a number of families came from Dauphin and Washington Counties in Pennsylvania and settled in the neighborhood of Dicks Creek. Others came from Kentucky, by way of Fort Wash- ington, and still others, like Thomas Hunter and his young bride, came directly from the "Old Country."
Some of these families were from the old Hanover Pres- byterian Church in Pennsylvania, and when they came into the "Far West" they did not forget their allegiance to God and the church.
These hardy pioneers were God-fearing men, and while they labored to subdue the forests they planned for the wor- ship and service of God.
At this early date there were few houses in this neigh- borhood. Choppers' cabins, however, were giving way to log houses. Some of the foot-paths or "trails" were being widened and dignified with the name "road." The travel was almost wholly on foot or horseback. Preachers rode from ten to fifty miles to fill their appointments, and from fifty to one hundred miles to attend Presbytery, and across the mountains to Philadelphia to attend the meetings of the General Assembly. Those were the days of magnificent dis- tances, and the people thought nothing of riding, or even walking, from five to ten miles to attend preaching services. They carried their dinners with them and stayed all day.
In 1803 Joseph Parks built the first brick house in War- ren County. It stood near where the house on Joseph W. Culbertson's farm now stands, and was destroyed by fire in 1876. In this house, and in the large log barn near by, which is still standing, Dicks Creek Church found a home until
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the erection of the first church edifice. Robert Parks, a son of Joseph Parks, lived on the farm now owned and occupied by James Eberhart. In 1810 these gentlemen, father and son, donated an acre of ground lying on Dicks Creek, about one mile east of the present village of Blue Ball, for a bury- ing-place. Another acre joining was leased for a church site. Thus the burying-place became literally the church- yard. Another acre on the west side of the road was leased by Capt. Wm. Humphrey, to be used for hitching purposes. In our day this location seems an inconvenient one, and some may have wondered why it was chosen as a suitable place for a house of worship. It must be remembered that there was then no village where Blue Ball now stands. It was ten years later when a tavern and the few houses at the new cross-roads was called Guilford. Springs of living water frequently determined the location of a house in those days. When people came long distances to church and remained all day, it was the part of wisdom to have their churches near to a never-failing spring of water if possible. The good spring at this point, together with the good-will and generosity of the Parks family, determined the site of the church. Here, in 1810, our first building was erected."
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