USA > Ohio > History of the Central Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, 1856-1913 > Part 23
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He was an able preacher, a tactful and wise administrator, a sympathetic and popular pastor.
After nearly twenty-four years of faithful service, his health failed while pastor of Clark Street Church, Toledo, and after some months of patient suffering, with calm resignation, he peacefully passed to his reward.
REV. GREENBURY H. PRIDDY.
Rev. Greenbury H. Priddy was the son of Rev. J. N. Priddy, a member of the Central Ohio Conference. He was converted when eighteen years of age, and soon responded to the call of the min- istry, making the third or fourth successive generation in this family consecrated to this glorious work.
He united with the Central Ohio Conference in 1873. He was a very faithful, earnest preacher and pastor. He died March 3, 1910.
REV. HENRY BOYERS.
Rev. Henry Bovers was born in Huntingdon County, Pa., Oc- tober, 1834. His early life was spent at Ashland, Ohio. He was admitted to the Central Ohio Conference at the session held in St. Paul's Church, Toledo, in 1857.
After his retirement, in 1888, he took up his residence at Toledo,
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The Church Triumphant.
REV. MORTIMER GASCOIGNE.
REV. GREENBURY H. PRIDDY.
REV. JOHN C. MILLER.
REV. HENRY BOYERS. REV. CHAS C. BRANDEBURY.
REV. MARK RICHARDSON.
REV. HENRY WARNER.
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associating with Broadway Church, where he was always an inspira- tion and benediction to his pastor.
Rev. Boyers was for thirty-one years a faithful, earnest preacher, a devoted, sympathetic pastor.
He grew old gracefully. and sweetly and triumphantly entered "the land of pure delight" March 12, 1909.
REV. JOHN C. MILLER.
The Rev. J. C. Miller was born October 14, 1825, and died December 4, 1891. He united with the Central Ohio Conference in 1857. He was a good preacher, but excelled as an evangelist. For years in the northwestern counties of Ohio he had great success in organizing and building up the Churchies. Hundreds were con- verted in his meetings.
REV. CHARLES C. BRANDEBURY.
Rev. Charles C. Brandebury was born in Shippensburg, Pa., September 7, 1913, and died in Delaware, Ohio, December 13, 1887.
He joined the Michigan Conference in 1838. He served faith- fully as pastor for twenty-five years, when failing health required him to retire.
He was an earnest, sincere preacher, and filled every appoint- ment very acceptably.
REV. HENRY WARNER.
The Rev. Henry Warner entered the North Ohio Conference in 1834, and died in Perrysburg, Ohio, 1894, aged eighty-three years.
After serving the Churches of Northwestern Ohio for about twenty-five years, he became a superannuate. After his retirement he prospered in business, and was a great Church worker and a generous giver, and was highly respected by all. His son, E. M. Warner, of Rossford, Ohio, is an active, earnest, leading layman in the Rossford Church.
REV. ISAAC NEWTON, D. D.
Rev. Isaac Newton was an Englishman by birth and education, having been a member of the Wesleyan Conference.
He entered the Central Ohio Conference at its organization, in
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The Church Triumphant.
REV. ISAAC NEWTON, D. D.
REV. JASON YOUNG.
REV. WILLIAM R. SHULTZ.
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1856. He availed himself of every opportunity for self-improve- ment, and became an able and acceptable preacher and pastor.
He was a wise administrator, and the Churches he served pros- pered under his care. His life gave full proof of his ministry. He died triumphantly September 15, 1900.
REV. JASON YOUNG.
Rev. Jason Young united with the Central Ohio Conference in 1858, and died June 27, 1904.
He was a native of Shelby County, Ohio.
He was a careful student of the Bible, and his preaching was Scriptural, forceful, and interesting. His services in the pulpit were able, his labors as a pastor fruitful, and his character above reproach.
REV. WILLIAM R. SHULTZ.
Rev. William R. Shultz was born in Pike County, Indiana, Feb- ruary 28, 1828, and died in West Liberty, Ohio, January 31, 1911.
He came from a family of preachers and has a brother, Rev. J. M. Shultz, who is a member of the Central Ohio Conference, and a daughter the wife of a member, Rev. N. S. Brackney of Toledo.
Rev. Shultz was an excellent man, a good preacher, and faithful pastor, and during his declining days, when he suffered much, lie was patient and beautiful in spirit to the end.
REV. SAMUEL L. ROBERTS, D. D.
Rev. Samuel L. Roberts, D. D., was born of Scotch-Welsh-Irish stock, in Stark County, Ohio, February 6, 1830.
He united with the North Ohio Conference in 1854, and became a charter member of the Central Ohio Conference. He continued faithfully in the active service of the Church until near the time of his death, December 30, 1908.
He received his education in the common schools. He was a gifted and ready debater, a faithful pastor, and had large executive ability. He served faithfully three terms as presiding elder, and was elected three times a delegate to the General Conference.
He was always faithful to every duty assigned him. He never missed a Conference session. and always took part in the discussion of any important subject brought before the Conference.
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The Church Triumphant.
REV. SAMUEL L. ROBERTS, D. D.
REV. SHIRLEY H. DECKER.
Rrv. JOHN W. HILL, D. D.
REV. THOMAS H. HOUSEL.
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History of the Central Ohio Conference.
REV. SHIRLEY H. DECKER.
The Rev. Shirley H. Decker was admitted into the Central Ohio Conference in 1909. He served the Arlington Charge one year, the St. Marys Circuit two years, and was on the Rossburg Charge when he died, April 18, 1914.
Brother Decker was a very earnest, consecrated, devoted young minister, and was quite successful in his work.
REV. JOHN WESLEY HILL, D. D.
The Rev. John Wesley Hill, D. D., was born in 1832, and died in 1913. He became a minister in the United Brethren Church in 1855, and was received on his credentials into the Central Ohio Conference in 1869.
He was a faithful, devoted, consecrated minister of Christ. He was in the Retired relation for nineteen years, making his home in Ada, Ohio.
He was a preacher of more than ordinary ability, and a writer of note on theological lines.
REV. THOMAS HIRAM HOUSEL.
January 23, 1875-October 1, 1913.
The Rev. Thomas Hiram Housel was transferred to the Central Ohio Conference from the Ohio Conference, from Marietta, Ohio, in 1911, and appointed pastor of the William Street Church, Dela- ware, where he served very ably and successfully until his sudden and unexpected death, October 1, 1913. In his short ministry of but twelve years he won his way to the front, and greatly endeared himself to the Churches he served and his brethren in the ministry.
When the silver cord of a superb life is suddenly loosed, when the golden bowl of exhaustless power is abruptly broken, subtle graces are often overlooked in noting the larger losses.
Thomas Hiram Housel came with both hands full of gifts. He departed at the very border of the promised land to which these lavish gifts beckoned him.
His conversion at eleven, the responsibilities of Sunday school superintendent at sixteen, and his duties of public school teacher at seventeen gave that weight and balance to his young mind that enabled him to choose the deeper, more lasting values. Making his
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own way from the age of sixteen, in spite of college expenses, he always tithed his income.
Out of his desire to serve and his conviction that in this complex age the pulpit can not maintain its rightful place without dynamic thought-power grew his insatiable thirst for knowledge, his open- ness of mind, his search for truth. He carried the torch of intel- lectual inquiry into the darkest problems of life, into the fogs of the human spirit. To his hearers, however, he brought only positive values. There was no vague or misty aspect about his message. He furnished the refreshing spectacle of great intensity of conviction without a trace of the dogmatic. He respected the opinions of those who had given more study to the great problems than his thirty-eight years had permitted.
His eloquence, which had won him prizes-a gold medal, and on two occasions intercollegiate honors-had the charm of whole- souled sincerity, intense earnestness, and abundant sentiment with- out a touch of sentimentality. He believed that men should covet only the ability to serve; that to desire worldly success is to vitiate the fairest quality of one's work. Forgetting his own interests, they seemed to be remembered by others. His genial disposition, his winsomeness of soul razed every barrier and beckoned him to fields of influence unattained by men of riper years but less ripened hearts. He scorned the self-seeking ways of petty men. He - pointed out the great qualities of his brother ministers with a pride as naïve, as guileless as that of a child. But he was quite as much interested in the work of common men, believing that every one has his vision of what is most worth while. He listened with at- tentive respect to chronic social reformers and rheumatic, shelf- worn theologians. His humanity shone with such warmth that though he never invited confidences, people brought to him their struggles and sorrows, their tears and their tragedies. They found him ever ready with those precious words that calm and heal the soul.
In his domestic life he revealed spiritual graces of the rarest beauty. Here better than anywhere else his great soul shone forth. He took as much pains to be interesting to his family as he would have shown to renowned guests. His four-year-old daughter, when told that the angels had taken her father, after the first flood of childish grief had passed. said with great assurance, "Well, he is certainly good enough to live with the angels."
XXI. Surviving Charter Members OF THE CENTRAL OHIO CONFERENCE.
THE Rev. N. B. C. Love, D. D., Rev. Loring C. Webster, D. D .. and Rev. Andrew J. Frisbie are the three living charter members of the Central Ohio Conference. Rev. Joshua M. Longfellow, also having survived the entire life of the Conference, passed to his reward February 21, 1914.
These four men, whose lives and ministry cover the entire fifty- seven years of the history of the Conference, are typical of the stern stuff out of which the sturdy pioneers of those early days were made.
REV. NATHANIEL B. C. LOVE, D. D.
Rev. Nathaniel B. C. Love, D. D., like Rev. L. C. Webster, D. D., was a member of the North Ohio Conference before the organization of the Central Ohio Conference. Dr. Love is a man of unusual versatility of talents. In addition to his arduous pas- toral labors, he has been connected with twenty-three Chautauqua assemblies as normal Bible class teacher, assistant superintendent, president or superintendent. He has written the history of the Maumee and Sandusky Valleys from original sources, which has been published in secular and Church papers and the publication of the Ohio State Archeological and Historical Annual, of which society he is a life member and was a trustee for thirteen years by the appointment of the Governors of Ohio.
Dr. Love has considerable ability as an artist and, as a matter of recreation, he has painted in oil some very valuable pictures. Some of his pictures have been sold to good judges of art, and his historical pieces half-toned and published in magazines and papers.
REV. LORING C. WEBSTER, D. D.
The following letter from the Rev. Loring C. Webster, D. D., expresses his greetings to the brethren of the Central Ohio Con-
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Surviving Charter Members.
REV. NATHANIEL B. C. LOVE, D. D.
MRS. N. B. C. LOVE.
REV. LORING C. WEBSTER, I). I). 29
REV. ANDREW J. FRISBIE.
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ference in their last meeting. This beautiful letter, coming from Dr. Webster at his age, is like a benediction:
"DEAR BRETHREN,-Having been a member of the Central Ohio Annual Conference from its organization, and having served many of the charges as pastor and presiding elder, I take pleasure in extending greetings to all now living whom I have served, and kind remembrances of those who have passed to their reward, the latter greatly outnumbering the former.
"Also being one of the three surviving members of the Confer- ence at its organization and remembering that all the rest are gone, as well as many others who became members after its organization, a feeling of loneliness, sometimes of sadness, comes over me.
"From the viewpoint of over eighty-three years of life and about sixty years in the ministry, I survey the present and the past with astonishment mingled with delight and regrets; but with a . good degree of health, pleasant surroundings, and a lively faith and hope, I greet the living, young and old, cherish the memories of the dead, clerical and lay, and await the undisclosed issues of the hopeful eternity.
"LORING C. WEBSTER. "760 East Center St., Marion, Ohio."
REV. ANDREW J. FRISBIE.
The following letter from Rev. Andrew J. Frisbie gives in a brief way a summary of his ministry :
"St. Johns, Ohio, June 11, 1914.
"MY DEAR BROTHER,-I may not be able to give you all the information you desire, but I can give you a part of it .at least.
"I traveled twenty-eight years, two years under the appointment of the elder and twenty-six years in the Conference. I went through mud and fearful storms; received about three thousand into the Church, and quite a large number made the profession of perfect love. I was ordained deacon by Bishop Janes in 1858, at West Liberty, Ohio, and I was ordained elder by Bishop Morris in 1862, at Greenville, Ohio.
"Yours very truly, "A. J. FRISBIE."
Brother Frisbie has been in the Retired relation for thirty-two years. In all this time he has been loyal and devoted to the Church and helpful to the pastors in many ways.
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Surviving Charter Members.
REV. JOSHUA M. LONGFELLOW.
The Rev. Joshua M. Longfellow was born in Champaign County, Ohio, May 17, 1829, and died in Bellefontaine, Ohio, February 21, 1914. He united with the Central Ohio Conference at its first session, 1856, and for many years was faithful and efficient as an itinerant, especially successful in evangelistic work in the Great Maumee Valley. He was an able preacher, gifted with an extraordinary voice of remarkable volume- and power. He was recognized by his brethren as a man of strictest honor and integrity. He always maintained his ministerial dignity, yet with cheerfulness and kindness.
MRS. N. B. C. LOVE.
The following letter, sent by order of the West Ohio Confer- ence at its first session in Urbana, shows the esteem in which this elect lady is held by the Conference:
"Urbana, Ohio, September 13, 1913. MRS. N. B. C. LOVE, Perrysburg, Ohio.
"My Dear Sister in Christ,-At the session of the West Ohio Conference, held yesterday, on motion of the Rev. Daniel Carter, - D. D., associate secretary of the Conference, by its unanimous vote, the secretary was instructed to convey to you its most hearty con- gratulations upon your having, with your honored husband, reached the sixtieth year of his ministerial life and work, and its prayer that the evening of your life may be serene and peaceful, and its hours filled with blessed memories of a long and useful service in the vineyard of our Lord. On behalf of the members of the West Ohio Conference, I am "Yours very sincerely,
"V. F. BROWN, Secretary."
XXII.
Transferred, But Not Forgotten.
REV. C. R. HAVIGHURST, D. D., Rev. T: H. Campbell, Ph. D., Rev. H. C. Jameson, D. D., and Rev. R. D. Hollington, Ph. D., achieved large success in the pastorate in their native Conference. They are sons of the Central Ohio Conference who have answered the call to enter by transfer other Conferences, where large fields of opportunity and service were open to them.
As pastor of the leading Churches of the Conference, or dele- gate to General Conference, or district superintendent, in one or more-some of them all-of these ways, these men have been trusted and honored by the Conference.
All have gone from us in recent years. The first of the four to go was Dr. Jameson, who, after a very successful career in the Cincinnati Conference, now comes back home again as a member of the new West Ohio Conference, and is serving a second pastorate at First Church, Findlay.
Dr. Campbell, after building the splendid new Trinity Church, Lima, transferred to the Ohio Conference, as pastor of King Avenue Church, Columbus.
Dr. Havighurst went to the East Ohio Conference, as pastor of the great First Church, Youngstown, Ohio.
Dr. Hollington, whose father was one of the leading pastors of the Conference in its early days, after returning to St. Paul's Church, Toledo, for the seventh year, making the longest pastorate recorded in the history of that Church, went the farthest away, transferring to the Southern California Conference, as pastor of First Church, San Diego.
These men and others like them, who have gone'out from time to time to other Conferences after having contributed largely to the success of the old Central Ohio, will not be forgotten.
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Transferred. But Not Forgotten.
REV. C. R. HAVIGHURST, D. D.
REV. T. H. CAMPBELL, PH. D.
REV. H. C. JAMESON, D. D.
REV. R. D HOLLINGTON, PH. D.
XXIII.
Some Lay Leaders.
HON. JOHN M. KILLITS, LL. D.
JOHN MILTON KILLITS was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, October 7, 1858. He was educated in the Bryan public school, Oberlin Col- lege Preparatory Department. Williams College (A. B., 1880; A. M., 1887; LL. D., 1914), Columbian University Law School (LL. B., 1883; LL. M., 1886). He engaged in the practice of law in Bryan. 1888-1904; was elected prosecuting attorney of Wil- liams County, 1893-1899; judge of Court of Common Pleas, Third Dis- trict of Ohio, 1905-1910; appointed judge of United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, June 21, 1910, and removed to To- ledo in September, 1910.
He was raised a Presbyterian, and first joined a Congregational Church. He joined the Bryan Meth- odist Episcopal Church, March 7. 1898, serving as superintendent of the Bryan Methodist Sunday school, 1904-1909, and as superintendent of St. Paul's Sunday school, Toledo, since 1911. He was elected a member of the last two General Conferences-Baltimore, 1908, and Minneapolis, 1912.
He was editor and publisher of the Daily and Weekly Express, Red Oak. lowa. 1881-1883 ; editor of publications of Signal Bureau at Washington, 1884-1887. He is a trustee of Flower Deaconess Home and Hospital of Toledo. and vice-president of its Board of Trustees. In November, 1913, he was elected a member of the Charter Commission to prepare a new charter for the city of Toledo.
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Some Lay Leaders.
Judge Killits is one of the most able and influential. loyal and devoted laymen of the Conference. He is a broad-minded. mag- nanimous, Christian gentleman, a widely recognized leader of the forces that make for righteousness in Toledo and Northern Ohio.
MR. EDWIN R. GRAHAM.
Edwin R. Graham, son of the Rev. John and Jane Glawgow Mc- Kee Graham, was born at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, on May 7. 1854.
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He was graduated with the degree of B. S. at Baldwin University, Berea, Ohio, in 1871. and engaged in mercantile pursuits till 1881, when he entered the Methodist Book Concern at Cincinnati and
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History of the Central Ohio Conference.
became greatly interested in the manufacturing department of the Publishing House of the Methodist Church. In 1888 he was mar- ried to Mary Hawthorne Dolliver, of Fort Dodge, Iowa. and two sons have been born to them.
In 1893 he became Western representative for Messrs. Hough- ton, Mifflin & Co., publishers, of Boston, and held this connection when elected Publishing Agent of the Western Methodist Book Concern, with residence at Chicago, by the General Conference of 1904. He was re-elected to this office by the General Conferences of 1908 and 1912. He is a trustee of Baldwin University, having been elected in June, 1908. He was a delegate to the Fourth Ecu- menical Conference of the Methodists, which was held in Toronto, Canada, in 1911. He lives in Evanston, Ill., with a summer place at Richwood, Ohio, the home of his parents during their declining years.
Since his connection with the Book Concern as Resident Agent at Chicago, he has gained the respect of all who know him through Conference visitation and business relations by his tactful dealings, and he has endeared himself to all employed about the house by his earnest efforts to better working conditions; and he has brought many business methods to bear upon the operation of the Book Concern which have brought splendid results in those departments in which they are used.
MRS. FLORENCE D. RICHARDS.
PRESIDENT OHIO WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. ·
Mrs. Florence D. Richards was born in Ohio; joined the Meth- odist Episcopal Church at the age of seventeen, and says of herself, "Whatever I am or hope to be, the Church and its influence have made me." A member of the Missionary Society ever since she be- came a member of the Church; twice elected a delegate to the Gen- eral Conference. Was a teacher in the Sunday school for thirty years, and also taught in the public schools for fifteen years. Took a degree in Northwestern University, and a teacher's course in Lebanon. Ohio. Did post-graduate work and took a degree at Zurich, Switzerland. Became a member of the Ohio Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1888. and is now State president of 36.000 loyal White Ribboners. Has spoken in Chautauquas,
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Some Lay Leaders.
on lecture courses, and on the temperance platform for twenty-five years, in every State and Territory of the Union, different provinces of Canada, and eighteen countries across the sea.
Mrs. Florence D. Richards is a woman whom the Central Ohio Conference delighted to honor and of whom it is justly proud.
XXIV. Conference Roll and Pastoral Record.
THE following list in a brief way gives the pastoral record of all who were members of the Central Ohio Conference at the time of its union with the Cincinnati Conference (1913), as nearly com- plete as could be made from the Conference Minutes and the reports returned by the members on blanks sent to them by the Publishing Committee.
EXPLANATION .- To save space and avoid repetition, the follow- ing method of abbreviation was adopted: The figures immediately following the name indicate the year when each one entered the Central Ohio Conference; then follows in chronological order the list of charges served as pastor, where such list has been reported by the member, otherwise the present appointment only is given; where figures are given after the name of a charge, they indicate the years of service as pastor of that charge; if a member is in the supernumerary relation, "Sn." indicates that fact, and the date when he took that relation is given in figures following; if in the retired relation, "Rt." indicates that, and the date of his retirement follows; the present address of those not in the effective relation is given where known.
ALTMAN, JOHN S., 1903-Sherwood; Holgate; Harpster; Belle Center.
ARMINGTON, WILLIAM B., 1899-Vanlue, 2; Oak Harbor, 3; Ep- worth, Toledo, 5; Sidney, 5; built the Sunday school portion of Epworth Church, Toledo, and the new $75,000 Sidney Church, raising $81,000 with which to pay for it.
ARMBRUST, JOSEPH H., 1908-Attending school, Boston, Mass.
AUSTIN, CYRUS B., 1881-Professor of Mathematics, Ohio Wesleyan
University, 1880-1905; professor Mathematics and Astronomy since 1906; dean of Women and of the Conservatory, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio.
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REV. JOHN S. ALTMAN.
REV. ARATU'S BARKER.
REV. CHARLES S. BARRON.
REV. ADAM C. BARNES, D. D.
REV. HARMOUNT BAUMGARDNER.
REV. GEORGE H. BEASCHLER.
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ASCHAM, JOHN B., 1897-Epworth, Toledo, 4.
BAILEY, DAVID HOMER, 1888-Sherwood, 2; Stryker, 4; Perrys- burg, 5; Broadway, Toledo, 2; Fremont, +; Epworth, Marion, 6; superintendent of Bellefontaine District, 2; superintendent De- fiance District.
BARKER, ARATUS, 1884 -- Dawn; Archibold; Ayersville; Florida; Deshler; Scott; Edgerton; Tontogany; Liberty Center ; Betts- ville; Lafayette; Lockington ; Zanesfield; Stryker. Preached in Rock River Conference as student supply in 1883-84; gradu- ated from Garrett Biblical Institute, 1884. Rt., 1912; Wau- seon, Ohio.
BARNES, ADAM C., 1861-Elida; Ottawa; Wapakoneta; Delta; Edgerton; Mt. Blanchard; McComb; Weston; Port Clinton; Fremont; Bluffton; Ada: Marion; presiding elder Findlay Dis- trict; presiding elder Toledo District; Mt. Victory; Prospect. "I entered Conference fifty-three years ago next September [1914], before improved roads or telephone, when the woods were full of bears, deer, wild turkeys, etc. I preached three and four times a day, and had a good time." Secretary of the Board of Conference Stewards for many years. Rt. 1899; Findlay, Ohio.
BARNES, CHARLES WESLEY, 1904, from Cincinnati Conference- William Street, Delaware, 6; Fostoria, 4.
BARRON, CHARLES SCHELL, 1883-Mendon; Florida; Montpelier; Versailles; Spencerville; West Mansfield; Oak Harbor; Ross- ford; Maumee; Grand Rapids; Elmore; Bettsville; Liberty Center ; Mason.
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