1950's
1950 - The Victory club worked hard to raise money from generous members and were consequently able to present the church with a communion table, candelabra and baptismal font. Around this time there were also 2 fires (both arson, yes they caught the guy. Not the 1st fire -in basement- in 1944) - “these fires plus the need for additional accommodations brought about the erection of a larger basement for the use of the Sunday School and other functions.” A monumental example of grace, generosity and commitment to this church has to be the steps that the board members were willing to take at the time in order to secure this addition. In order to be granted a loan, the board members themselves were asked to be personally responsible for the loan, should it not be paid back in full or in a timely manner. These men put up their own assets as collateral. My grandfather, Dave Watson, happened to be one of these men and even though he is no longer with us, I know he along with all the other men did not hesitate to volunteer, as it indicates so in the board minutes. :) Thank goodness for the secretary, John Nesenkar, (who also was a huge part of this church) for taking such copious notes so that we might get a real sense of what was going on during these times.
1951- A newspaper clipping from the following year stated, “Under the sunny skies on Sunday morning, August 26, 1951, ground was broken for the construction of the new addition to our Church.”
May 16th, 1954 - Just a few years later, the mortgage on that new basement was paid off as well and we had another “burning of the mortgage” party/dedication service. I’m sure all the board members were thrilled! The basement became known as Webster Hall. All in all, it cost a total of $40,000 of which $10,000 was borrowed. The event included a duet by Mrs. Irene Johnson + Mrs. Margaret Gartland, singing “Whispering Hope.” In the bulletin that day, the final note states, “Let us keep up, look up, but don’t give up until the realization of our dreams come true, the completion of our new church.” Even then, they were still looking forward. Still coming together as a community to celebrate and get the job done!
1956 - Due to increased attendance, the erection of the present sanctuary began. The cornerstone ceremony took place on January 15. The “new” church cost approximately $41,000. Sunday School average attendance was 180 students per week, with 240 on the rolls. There were nearly 30 teachers. Now these seemed like huge numbers to me so I tried to dig a little deeper. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that they came from the Sunday School superintendent at the time. As the current superintendent, I feel like I shouldn’t argue but I still kept digging anyway. Turns out the Sunday School Superintendent in 1956 happened to be my grandfather, so I am REALLY not going to argue those numbers. :) Kudos on helping get the kids of the community together like that, Grandpa! I hope I can do the same!
