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535-03 Page 207n urnt nn v i Viount By Mrs. Don The members and friends of ount Elgin United Church have ro milestones to mark in 1975. In impany with United Churches !ross Canada, the congregation celebrating 50 years of church lion. However, the rcongre- Ltion is also proud of the fact .at it is 75 years since the •esent red brick church was �dicated. In the early 1800's, little groups area Methodists held services pioneer shanties or school uses. From records we learn at circuit riders came to Mount .gin from Ingersoll to minister these people. In 1884, four •anches of Methodism in anada united and locally, the arious groups of Methodists in jereham Centre, Mount Elgin, nd at Ebenezer joined to become ,ne circuit. The parsonage was at )ereham Centre. From the year 1902, there were Mans to unite the Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregat- ionalists into a United Church. The war of 1914-18 intervened and union of the three Protestant churches did not materialize therefore until June 10, 1925, when special thanksgiving ser- vices were held throughout Canada. In 1927, Ebenezer Church closed and its members were invited to worship at Verschoyle. rwo years later, fire destroyed he church and manse at 'erschoyle and this precipitated nother change in circuits. lith Presbytery guidance, the angregations at Dereham entre, Verschoyle, and Mount 'lain formed a circuit with the ianse at Dereham Centre. This rrangement continued until 1972 hen the Dereham Centre church osed and its members joined te Mount Elgin congregation. A anse was purchased in Mount [gin and we are known today as e Mount Elgin Pastoral ,large. Methodist ald Fleming the first Methodist church in )unt Elgin was built on the esent site of 1860 by Episcopal Ahodists. The trustees, namely siah and Jerome Collins and ancis Webster, bought the -und from Ira Harris for $100 d supervised the building of a 3,me church. misfortune emed their lot since the frame ilding was destroyed by fire d a subsequent white brick urch was condemned for faulty nstruction and torn down. 2cordingly, in the spring of 1900, e people of Mount Elgin started fund to back the building of a -w church. A year of willing work by many isued with the following men in large• T Prouse, treasurer; .F Harris, collector of sub- riptions, R. Smith, F.J. Mit- hell, and A.W Taylor these aen were responsible for making he many decisions necessary for uch a large undertaking. The contract was given to C.W ;rooker and Company and the )rice was $7,300. M.L. Buffey was he architect. Records show he was paid $60 for the plans another $100 for overseeing the work. Among the interesting items in .he disbursement column was 6310 to Milton Pressed Brick and Company for the brick. The corner stones cost $37.30 and the windows $292. held in the Foresters' Hall. Finally, on December 3, 1900, the church was dedicated. There were three services that day. Rev Dr Hazelwood of Dundas preached morning and evening and Dr Brethour of Tillsonburg in the afternoon. The local choir was assisted by Miss and Mr Edginton of Brownsville. All the people responded to the appeal for funds and by the end of the day, only $500 was still owing. Then, on Monday night the Ladies' Aid served a banquet to about 500 people and even that sum was oversubscribed. In 1902, consideration was given to the purchase of a bell to complete the building. A Mr Corman of Burgessville offered his services to assist the local men in the project. The bell, 44 inches in diameter and costing $135 was raised to the belfry to means of pulleys and horse power Mortgage The final ceremony in the opening of the church was the burning of the mortgage in 1905. Rev George Ferguson, the minister who had shared in the work of the building, was invited back to join with the people of Mt. Elgin in special services. Rev. Ferguson was presented with a brass candle to use in burning the mortgage and all the people joined in songs of thanksgiving for a task completed. As the years progressed, the church grew and flourished as the main spiritual and social centre of the community. In 1920, Mr Ellwood Mitchell was ordained into the ministry from our church and with church union in 1925, Mt. Elgin Methodist Church became known as Mt. Elgin United Church. In 1950, the 50th anniversary of the red brick church was observed. Rev G. Cowper -Smith spoke at the morning service and Rev C.C. Strachan at an evening gathering. Special music was provided by the choir, assisted by William Morris of Toronto. At the noon hour, there was food and fellowship and in the afternoon, a program of musical numbers, speeches, and greetings by letter 'from former members. Mrs. F. Small and Miss Bertha Gilbert compiled a history of the church up to that time. Repairs There were no major changes in the church itself until 1960. At that time, the basement floor was in bad repair and the women needed more kitchen facilities from which to serve suppers. Accordingly, the kitchen was modernized and an oil furnace was installed in the former coal storage room. The stairways at the front of the building were altered in order to include wash rooms and the last piece of shed at the rear of the church was taken down at this time as well. The whole project cost $8,000, Organizations Active In Church Projects The first Ladies' Aid was organized in 1892 when Rev Thomas E. Boyd was minister with Mrs. A.W Taylor, president. In 1898, when it became apparent that the building of a new church was necessary, the women of the congregation began a vigorous effort to hejp. By means of teas, quilting, and suppers they were able to donate $500 to the building fund at the time the corner stones were laid. In addition, two autograph quilts were auctioned. B. Harris bought one for the sum of $57.50 and Mr A.W Taylor the smaller one for $47. In 1925 an autograph quilt was sold to R.J. Mitchell. In 1950 another one was sold to Irvine Prouse and in 1967 a centennial autograph quilt was made by Mrs. K. Clark. This one and the 1925 quilt are in Mrs. Clark's possession. During the two World Wars, the Ladies' Aid assisted with Red Cross work by sewing, knitting and providing hospital supplies. more than the original cost of building the church proper some 60 years before. Thus, from 1900 to 1975, the history of Mt. Elgin Church. And so it remains, the red church on the hill with its steeple pointing upward, a landmark for miles around. In 1916, the ladies entertained the 168th Battalion of Oxford's Own at a dinner in the Foresters' Hall. The Ladies' Aid organization became known as the Women's Association, or more familiarly, the W.A. in 1938. In 1908, a Women's Missionary Society was formed with Mrs. Frank Minshall as president. There was also a Mission Circle which included the younger women and girls. These groups were instrumental in the format- ion of a Mission Band for boys and girls in 1929. Its first leader was Mrs. C. Stoakley. About the same time; Mrs. E. Luno's Sunday School class of girls organized a Canadian Girls in Training group. On January 1, 1962, the Women's Association and the Women's Missionary Society were united into a single organization known as the United Church Women (U.C.W.).- The first president was Mrs. Clifford Prouse. Mrs. Russel Harris is president in 1975. In the Methodist Church, the young peoples group was called The Epworth League. After church union, it became known as the Young Peoples Union Short Anecdotes -(Y.P.U.) and recently it has changed its name again to -become the Hi-C. Since 1962, there have also been Messenger, Explorer, and Tyro mid -week groups for the children. Through the years there has always been a strong Sunday School. In 1975, it is worth noting that there are still classes for all ages, from nursery to adult, meeting separately from church service. Many people have given of their time and talent to serve - as teachers and officers. Miss E. James and Miss B. Gilbert taught the primary class through three generations. Fret Jull Served 19 years as superintendent. When Lawrence Stoakley took the office in 1973, he was the third in the Stoakley family to hold the same position. Last, but not least, the choir) throughout the years has had faithful organists, leaders, and members. Outstanding service was given by Miss Edith James who was organist and choir leader from 1900 to 1948. She was followed by Mrs. William Boyd from 1948 to 1974. Present day organists are Mrs. James Hartnett, Mrs. Lawrence Stoak- ley, and Mrs. Walter McGregor Choir leader is Mrs. Reg Cooper We are fortunate to have two people in our church who remember the building of the church. Mr Charles Stoakley and Mrs. K. Clark (daughter of Reuben Smith) have both helped greatly with this history by providing many interesting anec- dotes. Under one of the corner stones is a contemporary issue of the Toronto Globe newspaper and some coins. Mr. Hugill finished covering the swing doors going into the auditorium at midnight before j the dedication service on Dec- ember 3. In the fall of 1900, Mr. R. Smith, together with other farmers, had apples packed ready to be teamed to Ingersoll to go by rail and then by boat to the overseas market. Then word came, the bricks for the church were in Ingersoll and the bricklayer was waiting for them. Since there was no other team available, Mr Smith delayed the apple trip and delivered the brick. Consequently he missed the boat but he learned later that that particular boat sank. It was a matter of pride among the members of the Ladies' Aid to open their homes in turn for a meeting. The hostess provided the lunch for the group. Money was scarce and many and varied were the ways the women saved toward this end. One woman kept a tea cup for the Aid tea. She helped milk cows for a neighbour at the rate of one cent per cow. These pennies were stored in the `Aid' tea cup. Ministers 1900-1975 Rev G. Ferguson 1899-1903 Rev. H.J.Harnwell 19g3-1.997 Rev. S.E. Couch 1907-1911 Rev J.E. Peters 1911-1915 REv. J.T Cavers 1W5-19.8 Rev J W. Bean 1918-1922 Rev. E.W Brearly 1922-1525 Rev. William Quigley 1925-1928 Rev. C.C. Strachan 1928-1936 Rev M.G. Cook 1936-1940 Rev A.H. Plyley 1940-1941 Rev. A.R. Taylor 1941-1945 Rev G.A. Cowper-Smith1945-1947 REv. J.B. Townend 1947-1953 Rev. A.G.Gay 1953-1958 Rev Chester 0. Sommer1958-1964 Rev. S.R. Johnson (Interim Supply) 1964 Rev J.E. Burr 1964-1967 Rev H.E. Wright 1967-1972 Rev J.C. McLean - 1972-