USA > Ohio > Church of the Brethren in southern Ohio > Part 28
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In 1946 the Parkers finally sailed to China. Only Dr. Parker, however, got back into Shansi, and in just a few months our mission field was taken over by the advancing communist armies. He and Mary Schaeffer were held for a short time, then escorted by foot and by donkey out to the Nationalist lines. From there they finally reached Peking, where Dr. Parker joined Mrs. Parker in work at the Methodist Hospital. From Peking they were sent to Central China, and, after six months, to the new field in Szechwan, West China, where the Brethren were co-operating with the Methodists. But in June 1949, because of the constant communist advance, the Parkers returned to the States.
In August 1949 they moved to Hollansburg, Ohio, in rural medical practice. They joined the Beech Grove Church of the Brethren, where Dr. Parker has served as Sunday-school
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teacher and on the missions, placement, and ministerial com- mittees. He also has been on the board of the Rural Life Association, Richmond, Indiana, on the advisory board of the Rural Life Emphasis Program at Manchester College, and on the National Committee of Religion and Rural Life in Chicago.
MARTHA NEIDERHISER PARKER
Martha Neiderhiser Parker was born January 31, 1907, on a farm near Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, to Norman and Keturah Neiderhiser.
It was in the Mt. Pleasant community that she began her church work. She started teaching a Sunday-school class at the age of eighteen. She was president of the local B.Y.P.D., was a member of the seventh circuit cabinet of the B.Y.P.D. of Western Pennsylvania, and also was youth director of the Interdenominational Sabbath School Association of her district in Westmoreland County. Having decided that she wanted to be a missionary, she took Bible correspondence courses from Juniata College while working at home.
She entered the Nurses' Training School of the Cook County Hospital, in Chicago, and graduated in 1931. After working a few months as obstetrical supervisor in the Bethany Hospital, she attended Bethany Seminary for one year. Later, during furlough from the mission field, she also attended the University of Pennsylvania and Manchester College. During her nurses' training she was active in Student Volunteer work and it was in this work that she met Daryl Parker, a medical student at Northwestern University. She and Dr. Parker were married on June 27, 1932.
The Parkers were dedicated to missionary service at the Annual Conference at Hershey, Pennsylvania, in 1933 and sailed that same summer for China.
Early in their first term in China, they had two sons, Donald and Robert, both born in Peking. All during their years of mission service, except while the boys were small, Mrs. Parker worked as a nurse in the mission hospitals, most of
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the time as operating-room and delivery-room nurse and instructor.
The Parkers came to Southern Ohio in August 1949. Besides caring for her family, Mrs. Parker acted as office nurse during their first three years in Hollansburg. The Parkers also had a part in the refugee and student exchange programs. They had in their home Dr. Ludmila Mellups from Latvia for five months, Drs. Michael and Sylvia Mathews from Yugoslavia for six weeks, and a German exchange student for one year. In January 1953 Jean Ann, age six, and Carol Rae, age four, came to live with them. In December 1953 adoption was completed with a ceremony at the Beech Grove church, presided over by Brother Dolar Ritchey.
Since coming to Southern Ohio, Martha Parker has shared in the work of the Beech Grove church as choir director, junior-high Sunday-school teacher, director of family life, director of missions, and librarian. In the district she has acted as dean of several junior high camps at Sugar Grove, and as missions director in the Women's Work.
IVAN PATTERSON
Ivan Patterson, the son of Carl and Effie Patterson, was born in Montgomery County on February 7, 1927.
After attending the Madison Township high school he spent one year at Manchester College.
On October 21, 1950, he was married to Clara C. Waser, of York, Pennsylvania. They have two children, Carol Ann and Daniel Lee.
He was an attendant on a cattle boat carrying relief heifers to Europe and later spent one and one-half year in a China Tractor Unit. In district work he has been on the CBYF Cabinet, five years as a youth and two years as adult adviser. For four years he served on the Regional CBYF Cabinet.
A plumbing contractor, he made major contributions to the construction of the district parsonage.
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RAY M. PETERSIME
Ray M. Petersime is one of our well-known laymen, a member of the Oakland church. He was born in 1899. His father, Ira Petersime, was the founder of the Petersime Incubator Company at Gettysburg, Ohio.
He is a trustee of Manchester College and of Bethany Hospital and is a member of the National Council of Men's Work.
Brother Petersime was a member of the District Mission Board for ten years and was formerly on the District Appor- tionment Committee. As chairman of the Displaced Persons Committee he assisted in locating hundreds of refugees in Ohio.
Locally he served his church as teacher and superin- tendent of the church school, and as a trustee for the congregation.
Beyond the district he has shared in the work of the International Council of Religious Education, for some time as chairman and then as treasurer of the laymen's section. Since 1952 he has been on the Joint Committee on Evangelism of the National Council of Churches. He has also been a member of the council of the Christian Rural Overseas Program (CROP). Besides, he has been a member of Church World Service for Ohio, of the Prohibition Committee of the state, and of the executive board of the Ohio Council of Churches.
In his home county, Darke, he has also been active and a leader in co-operative Christian movements such as leader- ship training schools and the Gideon camp.
His wife was Bernice Bigler. They and their four children live in Gettysburg.
RAY A. PORTER
Ray A. Porter, the son of Elder S. E. and Emma Zerbe Porter, of Bradford, was born February 10, 1896.
He completed his high school education in the Bradford schools and his normal work in Ohio University, and then taught school for four years. Then he became a bookkeeper
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for the First National Bank of Bradford; in 1922 he associated himself with the Piqua National Bank and Trust Company, of which he is now cashier and trust officer.
His marriage to Frances Deeter of West Milton took place on June 16, 1921. She had been a schoolteacher. They have three children: Ray, Jr., Lois Elaine, and Gene Paul.
Brother Porter is a deacon in the Piqua church and one of the key charter members of that congregation. He has worked in many official capacities in the church there, among them treasurer, Sunday-school superintendent, and teacher. For years he was actively associated with the Miami County Council of Churches.
In the district he served two terms on the Apportionment Committee and four years on the Auditing Committee. He spent ten years on the Mission Board, 1940 to 1949 inclusive, acting as secretary-treasurer during the entire time.
NORA EDNA ROBINSON
Nora Edna Robinson, daughter of Granville and Malinda Minnich, was born March 19, 1892, in Darke County, Ohio. She graduated from the Franklin Township schools and attended Bethany Biblical Training School. On July 16, 1912, she was united in marriage to J. A. Robinson. They have two sons: Dr. Paul Minnich Robinson, president of Bethany Biblical Seminary, and Donald Lee, pastor of the Wilmington, Delaware, Church of the Brethren.
For a number of years she was the secretary-treasurer of the District Aid Society of Southern Ohio. She also served as secretary-treasurer of the Women's Work of Western Pennsylvania and later as secretary-treasurer of the Women's Work of the Eastern Region.
Her major local church activity has been in the children's department of the Sunday school, in which she has been a teacher, superintendent, and children's director in the Pleasant Hill, Ohio, church, in the Walnut Grove congregation, Johns- town, Pennsylvania, and now in the Ephrata, Pennsylvania, congregation.
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HARRY C. ROYER
Harry C. Royer was born near New Madison, Ohio, on December 17, 1889, the youngest son of Samuel and Mary Hebb Royer. His training included graduation from high school and from the Richmond Business College, Richmond, Indiana. He married Ida Robins. They have one daughter and two sons.
Brother Royer is a deacon in the Bradford church and has served the district several times on the Auditing Com- mittee, as secretary-treasurer of Men's Work and for two terms of five years each on the Brethren Home Board as its secretary-treasurer.
He united with the Harris Creek church in 1911 and was a charter member of the Bradford church.
His residence is in Bradford, where he is the assistant cashier of the local bank and a member of the board of directors.
HOMER ROYER
Homer Royer is a native of Darke County, born October 16, 1906, to William and Ida Eikenberry Royer.
His education was received in the Monroe Township schools of Darke County; Manchester College, A.B. degree, 1929; and Ohio State University, M.A. degree, 1938.
He married Sarah A. Delk at Pitsburg, Ohio, on December 22, 1929. They have three children, Beth, David, and Ann.
Brother Royer was a member of the first District Youth Cabinet and has for some ten years been a member of the Historical Committee; in this latter capacity he shared in gathering the data and planning for this volume. He has also been an instructor at and a director of Camp Sugar Grove.
A deacon in the Trotwood church, he has also been the superintendent of the Sunday school, the adult adviser for the youth department, the chairman of the official board, and the assistant moderator of the congregation. He serves the Church Federation of Greater Dayton as chairman of its department of Christian education,
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Professionally he is an educator, being at present assistant superintendent of the Dayton public schools in administration and personnel.
ETOILE SARGENT
Etoile Sargent, of Bradford, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Sargent. She was trained in the Bradford schools, Manchester Academy, and Manchester College. Her vocation is teaching.
She has served on the District Children's Cabinet, as Women's Work secretary-treasurer for over six years, in junior camp work for some fifteen years, and as editor of the Southern Ohio Herald from 1952 through 1954. In local church work she has been the Sunday-school superintendent, a member of the ministerial board and the finance board, and the church treasurer for about eighteen years.
CHARLES C. STEBBINS
Charles C. Stebbins, of Montgomery County, the Lower Miami church, was born August 26, 1868, to John H. and Sarah Keen Stebbins.
He attended Beck Commercial College, Dayton, and Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio.
On March 3, 1898, he married Luella M. Shew of Dayton. They became the parents of four children, three of whom are living.
For nineteen years he taught school in Montgomery County. Then he turned to farming. He served on the local school board for about twelve years.
In the local church activities, he was a Sunday-school teacher, Sunday-school superintendent, and a deacon. Deeply interested in the work of the district, he was a member of the Apportionment Committee and was the district treasurer for a number of years.
His death occurred in 1942.
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B. F. STUDEBAKER
B. F. Studebaker was born July 3, 1878, in Bethel Town- ship, Miami County, to Henry and Catherine Studebaker. He attended the schools in this township, finishing his high school work here.
On April 7, 1904, he married Bessie Elizabeth Wenger. They have four children: Paul, Stanley, Mary K., and Dale.
Previous to their marriage he taught school for six years; then he turned to farming, which he has since followed.
He was elected a deacon by the West Milton church in 1925 and is at present the chairman of the deacon board there. He was made Sunday-school superintendent at the age of eighteen and continued in this capacity for several years. For over fifty years he taught in the local Sunday school. He has also been a member of various committees in the local church.
For five consecutive terms, a total of twenty-five years, he was a member of the Brethren Home Board, most of this time as president or secretary of the board. He was also a member of the General Mission Board for five years, 1933-37, was the Brotherhood Fund representative for the district for several years, and also served on the Men's Work Council. In 1954 he and his wife made a tour of Europe. They reside on their farm on State Route 48, south of West Milton.
EMMERT STUDEBAKER
Emmert Studebaker, a layman of the West Charleston church, is the son of Charles A. and Louisa Studebaker, born to them near Tipp City on September 7, 1905.
He completed his high school work at Tipp City and took further training at Manchester College and Ohio State University.
His marriage on June 14, 1933, at Tiffin, Ohio, was to Jane Mae Herring. They have two daughters, Barbara Jo and Sonia Jean.
He is a manufacturer, being president of the Process Equipment Company, of near Tipp City.
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Besides being a deacon and an active worker in the West Charleston church Brother Studebaker has served the district since 1952 as a member of the Brethren Home Board and helped plan and construct the new addition there. He made a trip to Europe with a boatload of horses in 1945, witnessing the devastation wrought by the second world war in Poland.
GUY E. STUDEBAKER
Guy E. Studebaker's parents were Isaac and Mary Snell Studebaker. He was born in Miami County on February 3, 1887.
He attended the public schools of Ohio and North Dakota.
His marriage on February 26, 1908, was to Ella Funder- burg, of New Carlisle, Ohio. They had four children. They are Alma (Mrs. Robert Noffsinger), Gerald, Eldon, and Roberta (Mrs. Walter Dale Eby).
Brother Studebaker was a member of the New Carlisle church, where he was a deacon, and where he served as Sunday-school superintendent and teacher for many years and as church secretary for about twenty-five years.
His service in the district was on the Apportionment Committee for some years and later as a member of the Mission Board.
As a farmer he was well known as an extensive potato raiser.
His death occurred on March 15, 1949.
ROY STUDEBAKER
Roy Studebaker, son of Samuel F. and Anna May Harnish Studebaker, was born near Tipp City, Ohio, on June 24, 1883. He completed high school and took two years of college at Juniata College, Pennsylvania.
He married Orpha H. Werking at New Enterprise, Penn- sylvania, on December 18, 1907. They have six children: Ruth, Miriam, Philip, Lois, Sara, and Mary.
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In the local church he was long the Sunday-school super- intendent and served on the ministerial and finance boards.
His service to the district was rendered as a member of the Brethren Home Board for two terms. He lives west of New Carlisle, where he is engaged in farming.
SAMUEL F. STUDEBAKER
Samuel F. Studebaker was born near West Charleston, Ohio, on November 1, 1859, to Samuel S. and Nancy Frantz Studebaker.
His first wife was Anna May Harnish, whom he married on March 30, 1882. After her decease, December 22, 1889, he married Anna Mary Shroyer on February 18, 1891. There were three children born from the first marriage, Roy, Verda, and Paul, and two from the second, Warren and Rieber.
He was a member of the Hickory Grove, the West Charleston, and then the New Carlisle church. As a layman he taught in the Sunday school and was its superintendent; he was a member of the ministerial committee and was the treasurer of the church for many years.
He was on the Brethren Home Board from 1920 to 1937. His death occurred on November 3, 1936.
FRED TEACH
Fred Teach is a native of Clark County, born June 5, 1899, to David and Clara Dresher Teach.
He was married to Bessie E. Lavy on January 29, 1920. They have three daughters, Mary, Betty, and Dorothy.
A farmer, Brother Teach is a deacon in the Donnels Creek church. His interest in the Heifer Project has been outstand- ing, both in the local church and generally. He gave heifers himself and raised several for others to contribute to the project. In August 1953 he accompanied a boatload of heifers to Germany and while there visited several of the refugee centers and work camps.
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He has taken a great deal of interest in the Kentucky work and has made many trips with his truck carrying supplies to this field.
Locally he served on the Christian Rural Overseas Pro- gram committee several times. He sponsored a displaced family in 1950, giving lodging and employment.
FRANKLIN WALLICK
Franklin Wallick was born at Des Moines, Iowa, on October 2, 1923, to Walter and Kathryn Blocher Wallick.
He completed high school work at the Oakwood high school, Oakwood, and attended the University of Chicago and Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio.
On August 7, 1951, he was married to Ruth M. Brewer, at Cleveland, Ohio. They have a daughter, Susan.
In 1946-47 he was with the U.N.R.R.A .- Brethren Service unit in China and Manchuria. He remained in China as an instructor in Yenching University and a news correspondent for another year.
For a while he was the publicist for the C. I. O. United Auto Workers and has been identified with the National Religion and Labor Foundation. He is at present the research director in the Washington office of Congressman Henry Reuss of Wisconsin.
DAN WEST
Dan West was born to Landon and Barbara Landis West, in Preble County, Ohio, on December 31, 1893.
He completed his high school studies at Pleasant Hill, Ohio, and took some work at Bethany Bible School and Lewis Institute, Chicago; entering Manchester College, Indiana, he graduated with the A.B. degree in 1917. Additional studies were taken at Cornell, Columbia, Chicago, and Harvard universities.
On October 8, 1932, he married Lucille Sherck, of Middle-
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bury, Indiana. She graduated from Manchester College in 1930; later she taught school. She has been a member of the National Council of Women's Work. They have five children: Joel D., Janet Lea, Philip, Lawrence, and Steven.
As a teacher he spent four years in the high school at Pleasant Hill, one at Englewood, and five at Trotwood. He also taught one year in the Hammond, Indiana, schools.
Brother West's service in youth work began in 1922, in youth camps in 1924, and as national director of youth in 1930. He had been on the Board of Religious Education before be- coming youth director. In 1947 he became director of leadership training for the Brethren Service Commission, and was one of the founders of Brethren Volunteer Service.
He was in the United States Army, 1918-19, where "I became more of a conscientious objector." It was later as a relief worker in Spain that he conceived the movement that became the Heifer Project, Inc.
Elsewhere his promotion of Camp Sugar Grove has been noted. He has had part in establishing or promoting other camps in the Brotherhood. Since 1940 he has worked with the Brethren Service Committee and since 1941 on the Heifer Project. He conducted a European seminar in 1928, and an emergency peace campaign, 1936-37.
The Coming Brotherhood, 1938, and Brethren Community Service, 1942, are booklets published by him. He has also written many articles for our denominational publications.
The Wests reside near Goshen, Indiana.
JOSEPH M. WISE
Joseph M. Wise was born near Bradford, Ohio, December 19, 1889, to Moses B. and Anna Miller Wise.
He attended the public schools of Darke County.
On April 25, 1914, he married Mary C. Fulker, at Troy, Ohio. They became the parents of two sons, Joseph F. and James F. His wife died on August 3, 1932. Later he married Mrs. Cora M. Foster at Dayton, Ohio. A daughter, Jane Ann, was born to them.
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Brother Wise has been an active layman in the Harris Creek, Covington, and Piqua churches. He was a charter member of the latter church and since its organization has served in the capacity of Sunday-school superintendent, deacon, church treasurer, teacher, and chairman of the building committee.
He was one of the early promoters of Men's Work in the district, has been on the Welfare Board, and for eighteen years has been the director of adult work. For years he has been the business manager of the Southern Ohio Herald.
He taught school for seven years. Later he became an employee of the United States mail service, retiring recently after more than thirty-five years in this work.
The Wise family resides in Piqua.
ELDEN YOHE
Elden Yohe, son of Harry B. and Lydia Yohe, was born near Arcanum. After finishing high school at Pitsburg, Darke County, Ohio, he spent one year at Manchester College; entering Ohio State University, Columbus, he graduated with the B.Sc. in Agriculture.
He married Ermajean Hollar, at Nappanee, Indiana, on March 17, 1946. They have three sons and one daughter.
It was his privilege to accompany the first planeload of heifers to fly from the United States in 1949, taking them to Venezuela. In the district he was secretary of the Heifer Project Committee for two years.
He owns and operates grain elevators at Wabash and Landess, Indiana, at the present time.
LEVI ZUMBRUM
Levi Zumbrum was born January 31, 1872, to Ezra and Susan Neff Zumbrum in Noble County, Indiana.
He married Dona Robbins of Miami County, Ohio, on May 14, 1898. They have two children.
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In the Brookville church, where he lives, he has been active as a Sunday-school teacher and a member of the building committee of the church.
In the district Brother Zumbrum was a member of the Brethren Home Board for twenty-five years.
He is in the hardware and implement business at Brookville.
PART ONE Outreach
1. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
One time Dr. T. Z. Koo, international Christian leader, said: "If I ever saw God walking the streets in human flesh, I saw him in the missionary. When you gave us Christ, you gave us something that nothing can replace."
Southern Ohio has, across the years, sent out sons and daughters to the far-flung frontiers of Christian service. They have traveled hot, dusty highways and byways, met icy winds and snows of mountains, been on bandit-infested roads, been in perils of rivers, of war, of robbers, of infectious diseases, of prisons, and seen fellow workers and children succumb to fatal illnesses. Yet they kept the faith and courage of Paul- "in all things we are more than conquerors," and "nothing can separate us from the love of God . . . "-in order to bring the message and glory of Christ to peoples yearning for a sustaining hope. These messengers of the faith served in many ways to bring Christ to the people, through preaching, teaching, healing, agriculture, public health, and Christian home life. It would be impossible to give statistics concerning the work of these brave frontiersmen who worked with quiet dynamic to sow the seeds of goodwill, peace, and hope among the people whom they served.
This magnificent work, which began so long ago and continues today, would not have been possible without the support of thousands of unnamed saints of our district and other districts who gave of their means, their prayers, and their sympathy. It continues as an ongoing pageant of triumphant faith. By planting churches in other countries, these ambassadors of goodwill will have a far more lasting influence in preserving the peace of the world than all the armies of the nations or the navies of the seven seas.
Editor's Note: Part Four is from the pen of Homer and Minnie Bright. In editing these materials we have tried to retain the intimate approach and treatment,
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It is fitting in this introduction to mention the fact that the children of the Sunday schools of Southern Ohio are supporting missionary children on the various fields. This is significant for the future of missions. In their early and tender years our children are a part of the great ongoing of the Kingdom of God and belong to a large fellowship of those who love the church and are bringing peace to the world.
For some years several missionaries were supported by the Sunday schools of the district. In the course of years this support has been replaced by Women's Work, Men's Work, and Youth Serves, each making regular contributions to foreign missions. The yearly goals of the young people were steadily increased until $6,500, or over, was given. When the Eiken- berrys were commissioned to Nigeria, the young people as- sumed their support; and this touch with foreign work has kept their interest unabated. And besides supporting the national women's projects, the women of the district sought to increase their support of missions by assuming the support of an individual missionary. Their first representative was Harriett Howard Bright, whom they supported from 1947 to 1952. Then, as Harriett retired from the China field, they took up the support of Betty Brooks Campbell, a third-generation missionary to India. As Betty's father is a son of Southern Ohio, our district considers Betty its daughter.
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