USA > Pennsylvania > Lebanon County > Lebanon > Old Salem in Lebanon : a history of the congregation and town > Part 13
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Werner. C. W. Carmany was especially active in this service. Not so long thereafter a large new organ with three manuals, twenty-two stops and over nineteen hundred pipes was placed in the main body of the Church at a cost of between three and four thousand dollars. At the annual meeting in 1883 a committee consisting of the pastors, and Messrs. Adolphus Reinoehl, Baltzer Kuntzelman, William A. Huber, William Byerly, C. R. Lantz, and Rev. W. G. Laitzle was appointed to revise the charter and constitution of the Congregation. The Committee met weekly for many months and expended much energy and discus- sion upon their laborious task. The new constitution was adopted on May 14th, 1885.
TRINITY CHAPEL
On December Ist, 1884, the pastors presented a proposition to establish three mission schools in the city of Lebanon, one in West Lebanon where Messrs. Reinoehl & Meily had presented a lot to the Congregation for Chapel purposes, one in east Lebanon, in the vicinity of Fourth and Chestnut Streets and one in North Lebanon in the vicinity of Lehman Street. The Council authorized the es- tablishment of these Missions provided that no in- debtedness would thereby be incurred by the Con- gregation, and appointed a committee on the mat- ter. No available room could be rented at the time in West Lebanon or in East Lebanon, but in North
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Lebanon a small room was rented and the Trinity Mission was begun in January, 1885. Miss Tillie McCaully, Miss Celia Bohr, and Mr. Charles Heil- man constituted the original directing force and on the 18th of January the first session was held with an attendance of fifty-four children. Subsequently J. E. Reinoehl, Esq., became Superintendent of the Main Department and Miss Emma Schmauk Su- perintendent of the Infant Department. Mean- time the Salem Sunday-school increased to over eight hundred pupils and one hundred and/ forty new members were added CORNWALL CHAPEL CORNWALL to the congregation during this year.
Shortly after 1883 the pastors held services at Fontana and Bis- marck and finally began regu- lar service at Rex's school-house with a view to establishing a congregation in Corn- wall. On December 3d, 1883, the church council appointed Messrs. Samuel Fies, Jacob Bastian and John Kunze a committee on Cornwall chapel. Twelve hundred dollars were collected for the pur- pose of erecting a building and in 1884 the new Cornwall chapel was dedicated. Under the superin- tendency of Mr. H. B. Gerhart and Mrs. S. E. Fox the Sunday-school was in a very flourishing condi- tion, and the congregation would have been placed on a solid foundation if the failure of Mr. Robert H. Coleman and the depression of the iron industry
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had not caused the removal of many of the most substantial members from the vicinity of Cornwall. Mr. Howard Keiser deserves great credit for con- ducting the Cornwall Mission school successfully under these depressing conditions. The dimensions of the Cornwall church are 49x52 feet. The founda- tion is of brown stone and the remainder of the structure is of brick and fancy woodwork.
About this time the congregation built a small frame mission in Martin, Florida.
In May, 1889, the Ministerium of Pennsylvania met in Lebanon, the event being the one hundredth anniversary of the first meeting of the venerable body in this congregation. Rev. G. F. Krotel, D.D.,LL.D., one of the former pastors of Salem, was president of the body. Mr. John A. Uhler pre- sented the Synod with a mallet made from wood taken from a log of the original Salem building.
On July 7th, 1889, a mission was organized in the lower floor of the building No. 212 Chestnut street. On Sunday, July 14th, the school was opened with an attendance of over ninety. Mr. H. U. Bean be- came the Superintendent and Mrs. Fox Superintendent of the infant department with Mrs. Coble as as- sistant. Mr. Elias Snavely was the Secretary and Mr. Cyrus Snavely the Treasurer. The Salem con- gregation set apart a lot now fronting one hundred
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feet on Chestnut street and extending a half block along Second street for the mission. A chapel was erected and on Sunday, November 2d, was conse- crated with appropriate ceremonies. The total cost of the building was $2,456.35. The St. James' Mis- sion is one of the most active and prosperous of all the Salem organizations. The present Superinten- dent is Mr. J. E. L. Schmidt. The St. James' Mis- sion Workers have repeatedly raised funds to beau- tify the Mission ..
On June 10th, 1890, the congregation at the so- licitation of the pastors, decided "to secure an addi- tional pastor for mission work-to have charge of the mission work at Lehman Street Mission and also the Cornwall charge." Rev. B. W. Schmauk, a few weeks later selected Rev. Frank M. Seip for this purpose and he was called to be the pastors' as- sistant. On February 10th, 1891, on motion of Judge A. Reinoehl, it was agreed "that Rev. Mr. Seip be authorized to organize a congregation which shall elect its own officers under the direc- tion and after consultation with the pastors of Old Salem." Shortly thereafter Trinity became an in- dependent congregation. It has since remodeled its building and bought an additional lot and par- sonage, and put up a Sunday-school chapel.
In 1890 the Annville congregation erected a beautiful and commodious brick church building, to take the place of the smaller one built years before. It was consecrated on April 27th, 1890. The size of the building is 40x60 feet, and last year a Sunday-
-
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school wing 30x40 feet was added and consecrated during the Fall. The property is paid for.
On April 26, 1891, the Grace Luth- GRACE eran Mission at Sunnyside was or- SUNNYSIDE ganized with a band of faithful workers. Mr. George M. Stanley is the Superintendent of the Mis- sion, and Mr. Henry Heilman, of Sunnyside, the organist. It is a curious thing that the latest mis- sion of Salem is the one that has begun operations almost within a stone's throw of the old Stoever home.
For many years there have been members of Sa- lem who have felt that the old congregation should take a long stride forward by erecting a church as worthy of our effort in our day, as the present fine building was worthy of the best effort of the fathers in their day. But the difficulties connected with the question were almost insuperable, because of the complications introduced by the questions of lan- guage and location. An effort was made to gain subscriptions for a new English church some years ago, and after severe and prolonged labor it was abandoned as an almost hopeless task, if peace and good feeling were to survive. But Rev. B. W. Schmauk made up his mind last Fall that it was im- perative for Old Salem to go forward today if she is not to go backward tomorrow. He expressed him- self repeatedly to this effect and after much con- sultation and discussion it was finally decided that a
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new chapel was within the range of possibility and would provide for the ordinary wants of the school and the extraordinary wants of the church, at least for some years to come. With this in view Rev. Schmauk last Winter preached a sermon of wonder- ful strength and eloquence on the text "Forward, O Israel." It was his last word to his beloved people. But on Palm Sunday morning, before service, the day on which for fifteen years, the father and son together had preceded the body of catechumens in moving up the aisle of the church in joyous pro- cession, the latter learned that there was no hope for his father. He died, seemingly still so strong, that night, April 4th, and was buried on Good Fri- day, the day which he had set for his reappearance in the pulpit. Neither congregation nor communi- ty could have manifested a deeper sympathy than was shown on this occasion. Subsequently the Council and congregation, by unanimous vote, de- termined to carry out the plan begun.
The proposed Salem Memorial Chapel is in the shape of a cross 120 by 80 feet, and is expected to beat 1500 people. It will be fitted for the graded course of school instruction that is being introduced into the schools of the Ministe- rium. It was expected to lay the corner-stone of the building during this centennial celebration of Salem, but the repeated illness of the pastor has made this impossible. A few weeks ago, Rev. E. P.
"Salem Memorial Chapel."
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H. Pfatteicher, of Easton, recently ordained by Synod, was elected as assistant to the pastor and will be installed on July 1. Day after tomorrow Sa- lem will celebrate her Centennial Jubilee with three services, and it is expected that Dr. Schantz will preach at 9 a. m., the pastor at 10.30, and Rev. Dr. G. F. Krotel at 7.30 p. m. The Sunday-schools will celebrate their anniversary on Monday evening; Hon. C. R. Lantz's class Tuesday evening, and va- rious Societies on Wednesday evening.
The officers of the congregation in this year 1898 are President, Rev. Theodore E. Schmauk, Elders, Hon. C. R. Lantz, Dr. W. S. Huber, Dawson Cole- man and Harry A. Reinoehl; Trustees, Cyrus Zweitzig, Moses Bittner, Cyrus Miller and Adam Fernsler; Secretary, Geo. W. Hayes, Esq., Finan- cial Secretary, John A. Uhler; Treasurer, John Rein- oehl; Organists, Miss Vara Uhler and Mrs. Annie Ma- haney; Leaders of Choir, A. B. Carmany and Geo. B. Scheetz; Chapel Building Committee, the pastor, George Gossert, Geo. W. Hayes, C. R. Lantz, Harry A. Reinoehl, Samuel A. Louser, Dr. J. Mease, John A. Uhler, A. B. Carmany and Miss K. A. Zweitzig. The Secretary of the Building Fund is George H. Kreitzer. The amount sub- scribed at this date for the chapel is $15,000. The Trustees have beautifully renovated the century-old building.
May the multitude of souls that have thronged the courts of Salem, the fathers and the children, meet and abide with the King of Salem in His own eternal courts.
HECKMAN BINDERY INC.
.4-1000
1995
Bound -To-Pleas® N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962
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