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LIBRARY
GIVEN BY
Union Theological Seminary
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ST. CLOUD CHURCH
By MARY ELIZABETH BROWN
1917
9 2)S^-^
Gift of Union Theo!ogic -' C -ir.-r.ary
To the Memory of the Dear Ones, who have passed beyond the veil, who loved the little church and now ivorship where ''the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple"
In the compilation of this history, I wish to express my gratitude for the valuable assistance which I have received from my daughter, Miss Mary Magoun Brown, also from Miss Theodosia Jessup, who has acted as my secretary.
M. E. B.
INTRODUCTION
The fortieth anniversary of the St. Cloud Church was so inter- esting that it suggested to me the appropriateness of having a consecutive written history. Everyone was pleased with the idea, but it seemed impossible to obtain definite information. Many who were familiar with the earlier details of the church have passed away, and the memory of the earliest inhabitants of the neighborhood is very vague in respect to the subject.
If an accurate history were to be prepared for the benefit of those who come after us, it was imperative to do the work without delay. Fortunately, I had preserved all the newspaper cuttings, annual reports and monthly church calendars, and I decided to weave these fragmentary extracts into a continuous history.
I can but say with Montaigne, "I have here only made a nose- gay of culled flowers, and have brought nothing of my own but the thread that ties them together."
M. E. B.
ST. CLOUD CHURCH
CHAPTER I.
Nestled among quiet hills, and yet almost within sight and hearing of teeming towns and cities, is the lovely little New Jersey hamlet that has been called "the parish in the clouds." Beyond the hills time has moved apace, and from the mountain-top, a bare quarter of a mile away from the little St. Cloud Church, one may see the level countryside filled "like a brimming beaker" with the roofs, spires, trees, and smoking factory chimneys of closely crowded towns that only stop where the sea and river divide them from the far-distant phantom skyscrapers of New York. But here, behind the mountain-crest, time has moved more gently. No trolley clangs along the winding country road. The summer sun smiles on scenes and homesteads that still have the flavor of old colonial days, and the new arrival from the city's bustle feels that he has stepped into a land of day-dreams — deliciously peace- ful and remote.
A record of the St. Cloud Church is far from being one of mere day-dreams, however. Long before the present church was established the people of this region showed that they were men and women of zeal and character, far more interested in doing than in dreaming. Over 150 years ago, as "the Mountain Society," they were active in forming the First Church of Orange, which, though down the mountain and far away from them, was much nearer than the Newark church which they had previously
10 St. Cloud Church
attended. The "Christian Path" is a testimonial to the faithful- ness of these early church-goers.
Starting at some distant point on the second mountain and crossing what is now known as "Perry Lane" on its way to Orange, ran this old pathway, which may yet be traced among the trees. Over it the godly men and women of the region, in little groups and companies, made their way down the mountain to the weekly service at Orange, and so regular and faithful was their use of the rugged short-cut that it soon came to bear their name. One is inclined to think the name a well merited one, and it is a pleasure to know that such preachers as Drs. Taylor, Smith, Hillyer, White, and Hoyt ministered to these deserving souls.
True to Biblical tradition, the Christian Path is a "straight and narrow" one, and is so steep in places that it must have been fairly dangerous before Captain Day ordered his soldiers to make steps in the more precipitous parts of the rock. The story goes that Judge Day, of Orange, in the War of 1812 organized a com- pany of soldiers that was composed almost exclusively of men from the Second Valley. As they came to Orange almost daily to drill, they found it to their advantage to improve this short-cut and make it more easy to travel. After this it was occasionally traversed by some of the people on horseback, but only by such as ventured to trust themselves to the sure footing of a tried and faithful horse.
Just below the summit of the mountain a cool spring bubbled up close to the path and here the pilgrims stopped, on their "Sabbath-day's journey," to rest and refresh themselves, while tradition tells us that many of them, too poor to be wasteful of shoe leather, took this occasion to put on their shoes and stockings, which they had carried thus far. The spring is no longer there, but a monument, erected by Mr. and Mrs. John Crosby Brown, through whose grounds the path passes, marks the spot. A great
St. Cloud Church 11
stone, rough-hewn, stands close to the path, with a cross rising from it bearing this inscription:
The Christian Path
The Christian pilgrims
Who this pathway trod Are now in heaven,
And walk with God.
The monument was quarried from a spot near by, so it is as if the very stones on which the pilgrims trod had risen up to speak their praise. On the brow of the mountain another landmark, in the form of a cross of solid wood, shows the place where the path, after being obliterated for a short distance, becomes clearly defined again.
The great appeal which the beauty of Orange Mountain and the associations connected with the "Christian Path" make to the imagination of the sympathetic observer is shown in the following poem by Dr. Henry M. Cobb, written on the mountain, August, 1879:
Orange Mountain
I know a mountain crowned with beauty rare,
Where birds are singing in the leafy trees; Where fountains sparkle in the sunlight fair.
And flowers are waving in the summer breeze. There, groves and garlands turn to fairy bowers
The stately mansions, flinging colors gay Upon their walls. It is the land of flowers
From spring's first budding till the autumn gray, And laughing nature holds high carnival all day.
12 St. Cloud Church
Up this fair mountain climbs the "Christian Path;"
Though long unused, let not its memory die! To mark the way, a simple cross it hath,
Where many a pilgrim trod in days gone by. There, passing to and from the house of God,
With gladness some, and some with tearful eyes. They climbed the steep, and from the ascending road,
'Mid purer airs, and under brighter skies, Looked down upon the world with ever strange surprise.
There is a story one may sometimes hear,
And simple-minded Arabs love to tell. How, still upon the summit of Mount Seir,
In far-off Edom, Esau's children dwell. The air is calm, the sky above them bright;
The earth is far below, but Heaven is near; And ever as they listen, day or night.
Comes singing through the crystal atmosphere. The soft, sweet song of angels they are blest to hear.
0, happy dwellers on this mountain fair.
Be yours the wisdom and the joy to know The lesson of your lot; your daily care
To live on high, and keep the world below; To hear the voice of angels breathing soft.
Sweet songs of Heaven, to cheer your upward way; To tread in truth the Christian path, and oft
Hold converse with the skies, by night or day, And dwell, at last, upon the mount of God alway.
Ministers, as well as people, used the "Christian Path." During the pastorate of Dr. Hillyer (First Church, Orange) a
St. Cloud Church 13
large proportion of the members of his church resided in the Second Valley, and weekly religious meetings were held there for their accommodation. Rev. Mr. White, his successor, also made it a part of his parochial duty to maintain religious services in that part of the parish, walking over and back, in summer and winter, heat and cold, in moonlight and storm. This continued to be the only way in which the people of the valley and the mountain were ministered to for quite a long time.
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CHAPTER II.
In November, 1862, a survey of the region was made with a view to establishing a separate church and parish. This survey was made by the Rev. George B. Bacon, pastor of the Orange Valley Congregational Church. He found that for a few years a Sunday School had been held during the summer months in the district schoolhouse at the fork of the road between Cherry Lane and the Northfield Road. This effort was not as successful as it should have been, owing to a lack of teachers and supplies. An offer of help from the Orange Valley Church was gladly accepted and the new organization under Mr. Abraham Baldwin as super- intendent, and with the assistance of Mr. Samuel C. Hay, grew so rapidly during the summer of 1863 that the schoolhouse was unable to contain all who came, and the meetings were held in a grove on the hillside. In the fall it was decided to build a church which could accommodate the school and serve as a house for worship. The effort was successful, and soon a building was erected on a site which is approximately that occupied now by the feed store of Mr. Benjamin Hirt. Soon afterwards the Orange Valley Congregational Church adopted the work as its own mis- sion— its members to be counted as members of the parent church and its support to be assumed as part of the regular budget. During the winter the interest so increased, however, that in May, 1867, thirty-one members of the Orange Valley Church were dismissed to form an independent organization, an action officially recognized on May 23rd, 1867, by an ecclesiastical council called for the purpose.
At a communion service held June 2nd, 1867, the Rev. George
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B. Bacon preached a sermon and presided over a congregational meeting, when the following officers were chosen:
Deacons: F. L. B. Mayhew, D. I. Jacobus, J. C. Savale. Standing Committee : L. F. Kirsten, J. Agar, A. Baldwin. Smiday School Superintendent: A. Baldwin. Precentor: Miss E. C. Belcher.
The first pastor was the Rev. Timothy Atkinson, who began work September 14th, 1867. He was followed by the Rev. Dana M. Walcott, of Torringford, Conn., who was installed November 16th, 1871. Rev. C. H. Oliphant, of New Haven, Conn., was the third and last pastor, being installed July 12th, 1876, and con- tinuing his work until October 7th, 1878, when he resigned.
For two seasons Mr. and Mrs. Brown and their family wor- shipped at the Valley Church, which is about a mile from their home on Orange Mountain. The need was felt for a church in the vicinity of St. Cloud, however, and Mr. Brown told the people of the congregation that if they would raise a sum of money towards a new church, he would double it and help them in every way possible. An effort was made, but was so unsuccessful that the plan had to be abandoned.
Some time later the matter was again agitated, and after much discussion it was decided to move the church to a place on Edge- wood Avenue in St. Cloud, which was then called the Buchan property. Just what year this was completed, and how long it was used, is not recorded, but it was not long-lived. To one who reads the minutes of the many councils held in the latter years of this church's history, it becomes evident that the organization was sorely troubled by difficulties, not only financial in character, which grew so grave as to necessitate the disbanding of the church. The date of the dissolution is not known. Some time later the
16 St. Cloud Church
church lot and building were bought by Robert H. Martin, who used some of the building material in erecting his own house. Very few traces remain today of the enterprise which started out so hopefully and well.
CHAPTER III.
The need for a church at St. Cloud was still acutely felt, and this need was at last realized in 1877 in the union of two groups of worshippers, who had been gathering in the valley and on the mountain. The first, composed in large part of members of the congregation of the old First Presbyterian Church of Orange, had been ministered to by the Rev. Albert Williams, of San Francisco, during summer visits in the neighborhood of his birthplace.
In the days of '49 Mr. Williams, then a pastor in this state, received a commission from the Board of Home Missions, with directions to proceed forthwith to the new field of Christian activity opened by the rush of miners to the gold diggings of California. He became a pioneer pastor upon the Pacific Coast, sailing from New York to the Isthmus of Panama, ascending the Chagres River in a canoe, completing the transit between the oceans on a mustang, and hastening on to San Francisco upon an overcrowded steamship. When he reached the Golden Gate there was not one Protestant church of any denomination upon the Pacific Slope. Quickly gathering a congregation in San Fran- cisco, he ministered to it in an edifice which was framed in New York City and had been forwarded around Cape Horn in sections, together with the necessary furniture, including pulpit, pews, lamps, books, and bell.
It was natural that one whose alertness had such conspicuous illustration in 1849-1850 should have accepted leadership when some of his kindred and acquaintances in West Orange residing
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at a distance from their house of prayer gathered for social worship in the schoolhouse, where a little Sunday School was also established. Here Mr. Williams preached and prayed with the people of the neighborhood; near here in after years he made his home; near here he died on the 4th of June, 1893, at the age of four and four score years.
Another group of worshippers, also distant from their home church, gathered in the summer residence of the Rev. William Adams, D. D., of New York City, and asked for a Sunday message from the lips of their former pastor. The majority of these hearers were members of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church of New York City, where Dr. Adams had been the minister of the Word of God for more than forty years. The son of John Adams, the famous principal of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.; a descendant of the old stock of Henry Adams, which gave two presidents to the United States; a graduate of Yale College; this metropolitan minister, by his inheritance and by his ability, stood in a position of prominence; and he received from the Church at large many marks of its appreciation of his powers and virtues. He was an attractive preacher, a model pastor, a magnificent man. He was a master of the right word for the right moment. He had a keen sense of the fitness of things. He could say "Homo sum;" and he knew how to study human nature in all of its keys. He never lost faith in the power of the Gospel to attune men's hearts to God's praise. He loved to visit the needy in their affliction, and he kept himself unspotted from the world. In the great movement in which the two Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church were brought into union Dr. Adams was a conspicuous leader. The work was difficult and delicate. His addresses, now in the New School Assembly, now before the Old School Assembly, were models in their presentation of truth, in their display of tact and in their manifestation of tenderness. These appeals contributed
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most powerfully to the forming of the judgment, which finally became almost unanimous, that Reunion was safe, and right and necessary.
In the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, meeting in Edinburgh, in 1871; upon the platform of the Evan- gelical Alliance, meeting in New York in 1873, Dr. Adams made addresses which moved mightily the leaders of thought who sat before him.
Thus it was easy, in 1876, to write the name of Dr. Adams among those most eminent in his generation. He held a high place in the city of his ministry, in the denomination of his choice, in the church at large the world over.
During the summer of 1876, the year of the Centennial celebra- tion at Philadelphia, these two groups were meeting from Sunday to Sunday, the one in the valley, the other on the summit. These two flocks, one under the leadership of the pioneer pastor of the Pacific Coast, one under the guidance of the prominent preacher of the chief city of the Atlantic seaboard, were drawn together in 1877, and united in bonds of Christian love. They met together for the first time on Sunday, May 27, and in that union service can be seen the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church which was to be.*
While these bonds of fellowship were being formed, kind providences were preparing a home for the infant organization. On December 4th, 1876, a choice plot of ground, on a convenient corner, had been offered as a gift by Mr. Douglas Robinson, Sr., an Episcopalian. Soon after, a very generous donation by Mr. James Brown made possible an immediate effort for the rearing of a church edifice. Before long, plans and estimates were obtained, and later contracts were signed. Mr. Brown lived to know that the stone structure had been reared. Mr. Robinson saw the building of the chapel, the grading of the grounds, the
* Sermon by Dr. Whitaker at 25th anniversary of St. Cloud Church.
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planting of trees, shrubs, and flowers, and the climbing of the ivy from Melrose Abbey over the stone walls, for his life was spared until November, 1893.
The proposed church was welcomed not alone by the two groups just mentioned, but by the whole community. An informal canvass of the region showed that while various elements were present — Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Swedenborgians, etc. — there was a large preponderance of the Presbyterian element and the little Presbyterian church welcomed people of all denomi- nations to its services.
20 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER IV.
The first event in the history of the building of the church — the laying of the cornerstone — took place on Saturday afternoon, March 17th, 1877. On account of the unpleasant state of the weather, and also of the roads, a snow storm having occurred the previous night, but few of those intending to come were able to be present ; yet quite a gathering of people arrived at the appointed hour. The services were necessarily abridged from what was intended, had the day been pleasant. They consisted of a few remarks by Dr. Adams respecting the Bible, which was the only thing deposited in the stone, and also concerning the spirit and purpose with which the church was being erected. The stone was laid by the pastor of the First Church of Orange, Dr. Eldridge Mix, as a representative of the Presbytery, with which the church was to be connected, who also offered prayer.
In recording the event, the First Church Record, a monthly publication of the First Church, Orange,* mentions two happy circumstances — one, that the edifice to be erected was "nearly in the center of what was once an important part of the parish of the old First Church of Orange — its hill country — a Presbyterian ground of long standing;" the other, that only a few rods from the site chosen for the church was the beginning of the famous short- cut of which mention has been made before. "It is most appro- priate," says the Record, "that a house of worship should be erected so near to the point where this 'Christian Path' began, now that a place of assembling is needed there by a growing population. May it ... be the center toward which the path of many a Christian worshipper shall turn in days to come, which shall be a well worn path, because so often trodden. And
* First Church Record, Orange, N. J., March, 1877.
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may it be as a house of rest and refreshment by the way to many of God's people who are walking in the straight and narrow path that leadeth to eternal life in the Better Land.
"It is also of interest," continues the Record, "to recall the fact that almost immediately in front of where this building is being erected, on the brow of the mountain, was established in the days of the Revolution a signal station for the purpose of com- municating intelligence to the interior of the state concerning the movements of the British troops and other matters of importance. Rev. Dr. McWhorter, pastor of the First Church of Newark, and Rev. Dr. Caldwell, of the First Church of Elizabeth, interested themselves in securing proper sites for these signal stations and manning them. It can scarcely be doubted, therefore, that this very signal station of which we are speaking was established by these two clergymen, whose names are in other vrays besides this associated with some of the most stirring events of Revolutionary times.
"And now," concludes the Record, "it is most fitting that, after a lapse of a century of our national existence, just as we are enter- ing upon the first year of a new century, another signal station, in the form of a Christian church, with its spire uplifted heaven- ward, should be erected so near to the very spot which was then made memorable by the action of these two clergymen in the interest of their country. It is most meet that ministers of the gospel should gather, as they did the other day, in the interests of the country they love, as well as in the interest of Jesus Christ and His kingdom on earth, and lay the cornerstone of a building which may serve for generations to come as a signal station to all the region round about, communicating intelligence concerning the progress of the great conflict between the kingdoms of light and darkness, and enlisting the energies of all the Lord's people here congregated in the service of Him who is one day to become
22 St. Cloud Church
the acknowledged King and Lord of the whole earth. May Heaven's rich blessings attend this new enterprise both now and in all its after history."
The following account of the historical incident alluded to above is taken from the Minutes of the Council of Safety, July 16th, 1777:
"Colonels Van Cortland and Potter and the Revs. Mr. McWhorter and Mr. Caldwell requesting to appear before the Board on particular business, ordered that they be admitted.
"The above gentlemen appeared before the Board and gave a particular account of the situation of Essex, Middlesex, etc.; that the two Continental Regiments stationed along the Essex coast would be ordered to join the Grand Army as soon as the enemy's movements indicated their design and destination; that in such case the coast would be exposed to the depredation and incursions of the enemy . . . and requesting that beacons and alarm posts should be fixed upon and appointed."
November 15th, 1777: "His Excellency produced to the Board a letter from the Rev. Mr. Caldwell to Major-General Dick- inson, dated the 22nd Oct. last, containing his report to General Dickinson, who had been requested by the Board to inform them of the most proper place to fix beacons and appoint alarm posts, by which it appears to this Board most expedient to remove the piece of cannon now lying at Princeton, to the mountain that nearly divides the space between Elizabeth and Morristown,* to be put under guard of the man who lives where the said cannon is to be fixed, and a few of his neighbors who ought to be ex- empted from military duty; that it would further be proper to erect a pile on the hill near where Mr. McGee formerly lived**,
*Short Hills. ** South Orange.
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whence the guard from the said mountain may see the fire and smoke, and by that means know that the gun fired at Elizabeth Town is intended for an alarm and upon that signal fire the can- non on the mountain. The Council hereupon agreed that Mr. Caldwell be desired to carry the above plan into execution and to transmit to the Board an account of the expenses attending the same."
January 8th, 1778: "Ordered that in addition to the orders already given to Mr. Caldwell, with respect to the erection of beacons for the purpose of alarming the country in case of in- vasion, he be further desired to direct that one be set up at Mor- ristown and another at Long Hill, and one or two to the north- ward of New Ark (Newark), and that he be requested to appoint proper persons to take the care of and attend them, and that the person provided shall be exempted, when known, from military duty."
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CHAPTER V.
During the next two months the church was building, and in May the opening services were held. The following account gives details:
"The new church building at St. Cloud was opened with appro- priate services on Sunday morning, May 27th, 1877. Although the church building was not nearly completed, the exercises were hastened in order that they might be conducted by Dr. Adams, who sailed for Europe on Wednesday. The building was little more than enclosed, and the congregation was seated upon chairs and stools brought from neighboring houses. The attendance was large, and consisted of the residents for miles around, who came in wagons and carriages. The service was opened at eleven o'clock with an invocation for the Divine blessing, after which a hymn was sung, and Dr. Adams read selections of Scripture from Acts first, and the twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. Then followed an earnest simple prayer and another hymn. No- tice was given that services would be held in the church every Sunday morning at eleven o'clock, Sunday School at half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, and that due notice would be given of a meeting to organize the church.
"Dr. Adams announced as his text, Deut. 33:25: 'As thy days so shall thy strength be,' and 2nd Cor. 12:9: 'My grace is suf- ficient for thee,' and delivered a short and impressive address. He exhorted his hearers to faith in God's promises, and assured them that in whatever difficulty they might be placed, or whatever trial they might be called to endure, they would always be aided, and supported by the Unseen Presence, if they had but faith. The congregation was very visibly affected by many of the appeals.
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"The service closed with singing and the benediction. The music was very spirited, and was led by Mr. John Crosby Brown, who presided at the Mason and Hamlin organ."
A graphic description of the first meeting of the Sunday School on the afternoon of this same day, May 27th, 1877, is taken from Mr. Whitaker's address delivered on the Sunday School's 17th anniversary. He writes:
"The church building was not finished. The slates were lack- ing on the roof; the glass had not been placed in the windows; the pews had not been received. Boards on nail-kegs furnished seats. Unbleached muslin filled the windows. Trust in good weather took the place of a finished roof.
"On that 27th day of May, when our Sunday School met for the first time, about fifty persons were present. The record book of 1877 has been preserved; and this says that the weather was threatening, and that the attendance was larger than had been expected.
"On that last Sunday of May, and on the first Sunday of June, the School met in the afternoon; but this plan was followed for only two Sundays. On the next Sunday, June second, the church was organized, and public worship was held. The hour of School was changed from the afternoon to the morning; and it has continued to be in the morning for seventeen years. Tlie record of the first weeks of the School is preserved in the handwriting of Mr. Brown, its first superintendent and secretary. In October, on his return to New York, the duties of superintendent and sec- retary were separated. Mr. Robert P. Anderson became the act- ing superintendent, and Mr. Samuel B. Jackson was duly elected the secretary. Thereafter, and for many months, the records were kept in the careful figures and round hand of Mr. Jackson.
26 St. Cloud Church
"The roll for the second Sunday of June, 1877, shows the fol- lowing attendance:
One ofl&cer.
Ten teachers.
Nine scholars in the Primary Class.
Forty-two scholars in the main school.
The whole number was 62. *The names were these:
One officer — Mr. Brown.
Ten teachers — Mr. Rogers, Mr. Jacobus, Mr. Delano, Mr. Emmons Condit, Mr. Henry Williams, Miss Grace Hartley, Miss Marcy, Mrs. Rogers, Miss Hart- ley, Mrs. Brown (Primary Class).
"There were NINE scholars in the primary class; they were:
Clara Banister Anna Reichey
Willie Holterman Emma Reichey
Linwood French Lizzie Wagnast
Nettie Williams Mary Mitchell Crosby Brown
"There were FORTY-TWO older scholars; and their names were:
Mrs. Albert Condit Louis Rogers
Miss Alice Condit Willie Mitchell
Mrs. Orlando Williams John Lipsett
Fanny Bodenwieser John Wagnast
Winifred French George Mitchell
Randolph Condit Nathaniel Todd
Roland Condit Alice Fuller
St. Cloud Church 27
May Brown Theodore Baker
Minnie Kindsgrab Frank Williams
Lily Williams Ethan Cutler
Bessie Brown David Woodward
Frances Bodenwieser Frank Small
William Adams Brown Herman Ringer
Robert H. Rogers Fanny Todd
Edward Mitchell Belle McKenzie
Wallace Williams William Reichey
Robert Collinson Nellie Williams
William Condit Bertha Condit
David Edwards Mabel Condit
Two weeks later, on Sunday, the tenth of June, the new church was organized. The exercises were conducted by Dr. Mix, the pastor of the First Church of Orange, which was also represented by two of its elders. After the hymn was sung, two infants were presented for baptism. Then letters, to the number of sixteen, were read from various churches. The persons named in these letters voted that the church to be organized should be known as the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church, in connection with the Pres- bytery of Morris and Orange. It is interesting to note that nearly half of these new members were furnished with letters from the First Church of Orange, and that the old names of Williams and Condit, which were the first on the records of the "Mountain Society," appeared now on the roll of the St. Cloud Church. Many letters were also read from Madison Square Church, New York.
28 St. Cloud Church
NAMES OF THE CHARTER MEMBERS OF THE ST. CLOUD CHURCH
MARY CONDIT ROBERT McARTHUR
MOSES CONDIT ELLEN McCLELLAN
RACHEL CONDIT GEORGE McCLELLAN
EUGENE DELANO FREDERICK McKENZIE
SUSAN DELANO JANE McKENZIE
HENRY KINDSGRAB FANNIE MARCY
KATRINA KINDSGRAB MARY MARCY
JESSIE McARTHUR PHOEBE WILLIAMS
A vote was then taken for the election of two elders, which resulted in the unanimous choice of General George B. McCIellan and Mr. Eugene Delano, each a former member of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church in New York. Their ordination and installation followed. After a cordial welcome extended to them by the members of the new church and by the pastor and elders of the First Church, Orange, the exercises were closed by singing and the benediction. The whole service, which occupied an hour, was conducted with great solemnity, and was very impressive to all who attended.
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CHAPTER VI.
"On Thursday afternoon, September 13, 1877, at three o'clock, the little church, recently erected at St. Cloud, was solemnly dedi- cated to the worship of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The structure is a gem of architectural beauty, both ex- ternally and internally, and it was built by the architects. Potter and Robertson of New York."
The services of dedication were very interesting and impres- sive. The church was crowded, and the floral decorations were more exquisite than often seen. On the wall in the rear of the pulpit directly under the illuminated motto,
"I will come to you,"
hung a cross of delicate ferns, artistically arranged. On each side of the arch spanning the pulpit was a pillar of flowers bright with autumnal hues harmoniously blended. Baskets of flowers stood on the pulpit, and between them lay the open Bible. Flow- ers were placed on the broad window-sills on both sides of the church.
Under the memorial window arranged in flowers was the in- scription, "Suff"er the little children to come unto me."
The services opened with a voluntary, during which the clergymen present came in from the vestry and took their places on the pulpit platform.
The following is a complete list of the clergymen: Dr. William Adams. Rev. Mr. Worcester, South Orange, moderator of the
Presbytery. Dr. Aikman, of Madison, chairman of the Church Ex- tension Committee.
30 St. Cloud Church
Dr. William M. Mabon, of the Reformed Dutch Church,
Weehawken. Rev. Henry N. Cobb, of the Reformed Dutch Church,
Mill Brook, New York. Rev. Mr. Mix and Rev. Mr. Hickok, of Orange. Rev. Mr. Danner, of Orange Junction. Rev. Mr. Berry, of Caldwell. Rev. Mr. Hopwood, of Newark.
Dr. Tucker, of the Madison Square Church, New York. Rev. Dana W. Walcott, of Rutherford Park. Rev. Mr. Averill, of Union Theological Seminary. Rev. Mr. Danner, Rector of the Episcopal Church, St.
Cloud.
In the audience were Dr. Erdman, of Morristown, and the Rev. Mr. Hale, of Jersey City.
When the clergy were seated, the services began with singing the anthem, "0 Lord, my God," after which followed the invo- cation by the Rev. J. H. Worcester.
The hymn, "Come Thou Almighty King," was read by the Rev. Henry N. Cobb, and sung by the congregation. The Scripture Lesson, the 84th Psalm, was read by Dr. Tucker.
Dr. Mix gave a brief account of the formation of the new church whose house of worship was to be dedicated. He offered to the little church the congratulations of the Presbytery, of the Church Extension Committee, and especially of the First Church in Orange, within whose parish limits St. Cloud was formerly embraced. This, he said, is Presbyterian ground. From the time that the first settlement was made here, the people went down the mountain to worship in the First Church; and here the pastors of that church, especially the sainted Dr. Hillyer, often came to preach and to attend meetings for social worship. It was eminently
St. Cloud Church 31
fitting, therefore, that upon this spot a new Presbyterian Church should be established.
The hymn, "I love Thy Kingdom, Lord," was sung, after which the prayer of dedication was offered by Dr. Aikman. The hymn, "Arise, 0 king of grace, arise," was next sung; and then came the sermon by Dr. Adams, President of Union Theological Seminary. His text was taken from the 26th Psalm and eighth verse :
"Lord I have loved the habitation of Thy house and the place where Thine honor dwelleth;" also from St. Matthew, 18th chap- ter and 20th verse: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them." After referring to the circumstances under which the above words were written, he gave an interesting account of the building of the Tabernacle — the only building on earth which had God for its architect — of the building of the First Temple on Mount Zion and its destruc- tion; then of the building of the Second Temple on the ruins of the first, which was so far inferior to the first as to draw tears from those who had known its glory. He then referred to the prophecy of Haggai, who said that the glory of the Second Temple would far surpass that of the first. The fulfillment of that prophecy came with Christ, who preached for the first time within its walls. He then showed how God manifested Himself to His people. In the old time the Divine Presence was seen by the eyes of man and His words were heard by mortal ears. In the present age God does not manifest Himself to the senses, but His presence is not less evident. He referred to special occasions when God's presence had been manifested; when the preaching of such men as John Knox, Jonathan Edwards and others had been attended by great results, hundreds of converts having been made through the Divine Presence. In conclusion he urged that as the church had been dedicated to the service of God, those who belonged to
32 St. Cloud Church
it or attended there should dedicate themselves to God. . . . the dedicatory passages were especially impressive.
The hymn, "Within these walls let holy peace and concord dwell," was next sung, and then General McClellan came forward to make a statement of the financial affairs of the new church. Hymn 526 was sung and the services closed with the benediction, pronounced by Dr. Mabon.
The following is the financial report read by General Mc- Clellan at the dedication services:
1. Church building, including pews and pulpit,
as per contract $6,500.00
2. Sundry extras 322.87
3. Draining and grading the land 335.70
4. Fence 80.67
5. Lightning rod 42.00
6. Architect's commission 242.50
$7,523.74
All this was entirely paid for at the time, but about $850 was needed to complete the enterprise in the way of erecting sheds, furnace, and lights.
"The contributions of money were received from fifty indi- viduals of all ages, and various denominations, representing the following nations: The United States, Germany, England, Scot- land, Ireland, Switzerland, France and China.
"In making his report. General McClellan remarked that the foregoing facts were an evidence that at last the time was coming when people would seek to discover the things upon which they could agree, and to avoid the things about which they disagree."
The unusual nature of the report made a deep impression upon
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a life-long friend of the church, who expressed her feeling in the following words:
"When the service of dedication was finished, General Mc- Clellan came forward and told what was very good to hear, that this beautiful house for God's service had been built in honesty as well as in love; that people had given money and labor, time and thought, at once and without reserve, and that it was truly God's house which 'owed no man anything.' That was a very good foundation upon which to begin God's service."
34 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER VII.
A short description of the architecture of the church may be of interest.
The main dimensions of the interior are 28 by 51 feet, not including an ample platform for the pulpit, and an organ chamber, vestry room and porches. This gives a comfortable seat- ing capacity of about 230. The treatment of the exterior is of the most simple character possible, the effects having been reached by the consideration of the main lines of the building and the color of the stone and woodwork. The stone employed comes from Newark, is of a light brown color, laid in the wall with a rock face, the appearance of trimmed stone being attained by the tool-dressing of the window arches, string courses, etc., giving a difference of texture to those points which were desired to be accentuated. The main feature of the building is a low frame tower with shingled sides and a pointed roof. This tower cuts through the ridge of the roof near the west end, where two low porches flank its base, used as entrances to the church. Under the cornice of the tower is a row of small square windows, which are filled with stained glass, and besides throwing a pleasant light into the church below, greatly add to its ventilation. On the east end, the vestry-room, semi-circular dormer over the pulpit and the organ chamber, serve to break up the lines of the building. The apexes of the various roofs are crowned with wrought iron finials after the style in vogue during the reign of Queen Anne, some* what resembling sun-flowers.
The color used upon the outside wood work is very subdued, harmonizing with the stone work, yet clearly indicating the material. The style of the building throughout is in character with
St. Cloud Church 35
early English design, but the liberty given in picturesque archi- tecture has been taken advantage of in many places.
The interior throughout, excepting the roof framing, is fin- ished with hard wood. The roof is ceiled with narrow strips of white ash, the trusses and other framing being left exposed. All the roof timbering is wrought and moulded, and is stained to sug- gest mahogany, although not intended to imitate it. There is a wainscot 4^/2 ^^et high around the interior, and the pew ends are designed in character with the general finish. The pews occupy the centre of the building, all of which is covered by a rich floor- ing of English tiles, beautiful both in design and color. The glass throughout, furnished and designed by Mr. Booth, of Orange, is particularly satisfactory, being exceedingly effective, and all the more creditable considering its cost and simplicity. The beauty of the glass is especially noticeable in the windows at the top of the tower, which open through the roof into the church, forming the most effective feature of the whole. The organ made by the Holborn L. Roosevelt Company is a beautiful instrument, and although small, is rich in tone and pure in quality. Its power seems carefully considered with regard to the size of the church.
The building should be criticized architecturally with reference to its moderate cost and the accommodation it furnishes.
It is interesting to note here an incident referred to by Mr. Whitaker in his anniversary sermon on the occasion of the church's Silver Jubilee. It relates to the history of the illuminated motto: "I will come to you," which is mentioned above as painted in the rear of the pulpit at the time of the dedication of the building. "Before the edifice was finished," he says, "there occurred an event which was one of the illustrations of that happy Christian fellow- ship which has been characteristic of the life of this church. On Sunday, June 24, 1877, Dr. Thomas D. Anderson, pastor of the First Baptist Church, New York City, occupied the pulpit. His
36 St. Cloud Church
text was: *I will come to you.' John 14:18. The aptness of the message, the tenderness of the presentation, appealed to all; and by common consent, this text of Dr. Anderson was chosen to be placed on the wall behind the pulpit. Thence it has looked down upon the congregation for a quarter of a century."
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CHAPTER VIII.
The church thus erected and dedicated was not long without a pastor. The Rev. J. 0. Averill, a recent graduate of Union Seminary, supplied the pulpit during the summer, and in the fall the Rev. William Force Whitaker was called. On the afternoon of Thursday, November 22nd, 1877, he was installed with the cus- tomary ceremonies by the Presbytery of Morris and Orange. The moderator of the Presbytery, Dr. Parker, of Parsippany, presided. Previous to the public services of installation, the Presbytery met at the church and received Mr. Whitaker as one of their number. Most of the members present arrived in Orange on the 12:25 train and were driven to the mountain, where they were enter- tained at lunch by Governor McClellan.
The little church was well filled and beautifully decorated with palms and flowers. The service began with an invocation by the Rev. J. W. Hillman, of Morris Plains, a classmate of Mr. Whitaker. Dr. Yeomans, of the Central Church, Orange, read the Scriptures and followed with prayer; the Rev. R. S. Green, of the First Church, Morristown, preached the sermon; Dr. Adams offered the prayer of installation; Dr. Epher Whitaker, father of the newly settled pastor, delivered the charge to his son; and the Rev. J. A. Ferguson, of Hanover, gave the charge to the people. After a hymn, the new pastor pronounced the benediction.
The services were exceedingly appropriate and impressive throughout. The sermon was a clear, logical, and forcible pre- sentation of the contrast between the law and the gospel, from Romans 10:4. The charge to the pastor was a most touching and tender address from a father who had been long in the ministry, to his first-born son just entering the pastoral ofi&ce. It was full of wise counsels, drawn from his own rich experience as a most
38 St. Cloud Church
faithful and successful pastor. His allusions in the beginning of his charge to the relations which had existed between them from his childhood up to the present hour, and his expressions of joy and gratitude in being permitted to see this hour, and in being permitted to charge his son upon his entrance into the pastoral oflSce, were very affecting. It is something not often witnessed, a father giving an address to his son upon his induction into this sacred office, and none who heard it will forget the impressive scene.
The charge to the people was equally good and appropriate, and, being delivered by a near neighbor and warm personal friend of Mr. Whitaker, was listened to with special interest and pleasure. Mr. Ferguson accurately portrayed the duties and responsibilities which devolved upon the congregation, and showed how they could aid their pastor by holding up his hands and relieving him of all burdens except the burden imposed upon him by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The new church, now fully equipped for its work, with a set- tled pastor maintained regular Sabbath and week-day services from this time on both in summer and winter. Not a dollar of debt had been incurred, and its financial condition was most healthful and encouraging. The congregation adopted the volun- tary plan of church contributions, and the income pledged for the succeeding year amounted to about $1,900.
The new pastor not only found a warm welcome from his people, but was greeted by his fellow-ministers as a valuable addi-' tion to their number.
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CHAPTER IX.
One of his first duties was the pleasant one of preaching the Christmas sermon. Christmasses at St. Cloud have been enjoy- able, as can readily be seen from accounts which have been pre- served of the two first Christmas celebrations, 1877 and 1878.
In 1877, we read that Christmas came on Friday evening. The following program was given:
Anthem— "Joy to the World."
Prayer.
Reading of the Scripture.
Carol— "While Shepherds Watched."
Address — Mr. Robert P. Anderson.
Carol — "Venite Adoremus."
Address — Mr. John Crosby Brown.
Carol — "Gather Around the Christmas Tree."
Illumination of the Tree.
Distribution of gifts.
Address — Rev. William F. Whitaker.
Carol — "Farewell to Thee, 0 Christmas Tree."
Hymn— "Praise the Lord."
The Christmas-tree was brilliantly illuminated and hung with gifts for all the members of the school. The usual good things to eat followed, and the children spent a delightful evening. The school at that time numbered about eighty members.
Service was held in the church on Christmas Day. Mr. Whitaker preached a sermon descriptive of the life of our Lord. The church was tastefully decorated with evergreens, which were festooned along the side walls, and the words "A Merry Christ-
40 St. Cloud Church
mas to you all" in greens were hung upon the rear wall facing the pulpit.
In 1878, the celebration of both church and Sunday School was held on the evening of the 27th. The preparations were somewhat more elaborate than those of the previous year. A tall tree stood at the front of the audience room, hung with various adornments, gilt chains, silver cords, cornucopias, etc.; twenty dozen candles gave it a bright illumination. At the right of the tree a large fireplace and chimney of antique design were erected. Above the red bricks ran a mantelpiece upon which old-fashioned candlesticks, goose-feather fans, pewter plates, etc., were placed. A row of stockings hung from the mantel. The Saint of the sea- son, Nicholas, made his appearance from this fireplace. Only a few knew of his visit — he surprised the children. The exercises embrace the following:
Carol— "Brightest and Best."
Invocation.
Scriptures.
Hymn — "Gloria in Excelsis."
Also a Christmas Cantata by Mabel Condit, Lillie Williams and Bertha Condit, which included an invitation, a dialogue, in which the historic facts of the Christmas festival were noted, carols for the whole school, etc. A Christmas poem, "Karl and Gretchen," was read by the superintendent, Mr. Brown. After addresses by adults there were recitations by the boys: "If I were Santa Claus," by Robert H. Rogers, and " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas," by William Adams Brown. Santa Claus, the illumination of the tree, distribution of gifts, etc., followed.
Between these two Christmas celebrations (1877 and 1878) occurred another of an interesting character of which, fortunately,
St. Cloud Church 41
it is possible to secure detailed descriptions. This was Children's Day, which has always been important in the history of the St. Cloud Church. Falling, as it does, on the second Sunday of June, it comes so soon after the church's own anniversary that the two occasions have always been celebrated together. The whole subject of the St. Cloud anniversaries and their celebration is taken up elsewhere, but this account of the Children's Service at St. Cloud in June, 1878, shows the early origin of the habit of combining celebrations.
"The exercises at St. Cloud Church on Sunday morning last were of a most interesting character, whether considered as ad- dressed to eye or ear, to heart or understanding. It was the chil- dren's service, and was intended to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the church, though a little later in the season than that anniversary actually occurred. The church was well filled by the children and their friends before the hour appointed. After singing, and repeating the Lord's prayer, the classes of the Sunday School, with their teachers, passed out as their names were called, re-entering shortly to the sound of music through the two doors of the church, the boys on one side and girls on the other. The school numbered ninety, and consisted of fourteen classes, including two of adults. Each class had a name and correspond- ing emblem, and each came in bearing a bright banner, on which this name was inscribed. As the classes took their places in the seats assigned to them, the banners were ranged along the walls of the church, forming with the bright flowers a most pleasing effect. In his opening address, the superintendent happily alluded to the custom among Jewish parents of taking their children with them after a certain age to attend the annual festivals at Jerusalem (shown by our Lord's presence in the Temple at twelve years of age), and spoke of the propriety of Christian parents allowing their children to join them in the service and worship of the
42 St. Cloud Church
church. He wanted the children to consider this occasion not merely as one intended for their gratification and pleasure, but as a part of Christian worship.
"After prayer, offered by the pastor, each class in turn rose and repeated a text of Scripture, immediately after which one member advanced to the desk bearing the emblem of the class. The pastor, after receiving it and consigning it to its appointed place in front of the pulpit, made a short address to each class, basing his thought upon the verses which had been adopted as their motto, and had been repeated by them.
"The 'Truth Seekers,' as the men's Bible class was called, be- gan the exercise. 'Buy the truth and sell it not' was forcibly uttered simultaneously by a company of intelligent looking men, the oldest among them, a venerable man of eighty, advancing and bearing on a cushion the emblem of the class, a well-preserved Bible. Then came the 'Gospel Soldiers,' with their sword, the 'Youthful Reapers' with their sickle, the 'Fruit Gatherers' with their grapes, and finally twenty-five 'Little Sunbeams' forming the infant class. The 'Little Pilgrims' with their staff and motto, 'Here we have no continuing city nor abiding place,' called forth from the pastor an allusion to the children's crusade of five hun- dred years ago, while he seemed to regard the 'Little Branches' with a peculiarly tender interest from the fact that the only death which had occurred in the Sunday School had been among them.
"The exercises were varied and enlivened by occasional sing- ing, and each class brought its offering of money, amounting in all to one hundred and sixty-five dollars.
"Dr. Adams closed the service with a short address. He had been quite unprepared, he said, for the exercises in which they had just engaged. Instead of speaking to the children, he had been spoken to by them, in a most impressive manner, and he
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should content himself with repeating the poem by Keble, begin- ning:
"Oh, say not, dream not heavenly notes
To childish ears are vain; That the young mind at random floats
And cannot reach the strain."
44 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER X.
Mention has frequently been made in the preceding pages of the unusual beauty and taste of the floral decorations upon various occasions. The eff'ectiveness of these decorations reached its height in two unique services in this and the following year, 1878 and 1879. A "Harvest Home Celebration" and a "Praise Service of the Flowers" both seem peculiarly adapted to the char- acter of the little mountain church, and both occasions were most successful. An enthusiastic eye-witness of the former celebration on October 10th, 1878, gives the following account of his impres- sions, speaking of it as "a very successful and pleasing occasion." "It is not," he continues, "until we have brought together the various fruits of the trees, and of the ground, that we realize their variety and abundance. The decoration of the church with flowers and fruits, with grains and vines, nuts and gourds, was something superb. The result makes one think how rich and ample is the provision of Dame Nature to beautfy, which by skill- ful handling can give both pleasure and instruction without expense."
He goes on to describe in more detail the way in which this effect of abundance and beauty was produced. "Over the pulpit was a cross of bleached ferns on a maroon ground. On either side were decorations of autumn leaves, in shapes of Gothic windows. Below and at the back of the pupit were in effective contrast, twenty-four different kinds of vegetables. Golden pumpkins glowed against the green neighboring cabbages, and squashes stood up boldly among cucumbers, cauliflowers and beans. Red and green peppers bore themselves saucily among the meeker potatoes, turnips and carrots. Wheat, rye, oats and Indian corn added their graceful beauty wherever they were needed. There
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were eight different kinds of fruit; even strawberries came forth at this late day to add their spicy sweetness to the general harvest. Nuts in seven varieties were seen, hiding beneath rough shelled kernels of sweet meat. A whole long grape-vine had been cut down with numberless branches of grapes and festooned from the roof in the center of the church. Between the wide windows were wreaths of nuts and creeping vines, and below, various colored vegetables. Over the doors, at the side entrance, in scarlet flowers on a ground of ferns, was the motto 'Peace,' on the other side 'Plenty' was worked out in grain and corn. Beneath the memorial window was a huge cornucopia, dressed with shaded grains, pour- ing out its wealth of fruits on a scarlet ground, trimmed with bleached ferns and silk of the corn. Over the same window, in letters made of cranberries, was the inscription from Exodus 23:19: 'The first of the first fruits,' etc. Over all, on a beam, in large scarlet letters, on a gray ground, dressed in scarlet flowers and with ferns, was the inscription 'Harvest Home,' and over the door leading into the vestry, a sheaf of wheat tied with a black ribbon."
The service was quaint, homely, and full of interest. After prayer, scripture lesson, and hymn, came a recitation of harvest texts by school and pastor, Mr. Whitaker reading one from the Old Testament, and the children responding with one from the New. "The pastor," we read, "then gave an account of the Jewish feast of Tabernacles, which was listened to by old and young with interest. Mr. Brown followed with a short, but very felicitous address on fruit, in which he spoke so warmly of the love God has manifested towards us that every heart must have glowed with a fresh devotion. A hymn was then sung, which was followed by a report from the pastor of the results of the planting of the "mis- sionary corn." In the spring the children — many of them — planted a few hills of corn which was to be used for some mission-
46 St. Cloud Church
ary purpose. Mr. Whitaker interested two of the boys in making estimates of the rates of increase the corn had attained. One of these reports was by William Adams Brown, then twelve years old:
"On land bounded by the front of the church, the road and the two carriage ways," he writes, "had been planted 180 hills of corn. These produced 710 ears (an average of nearly four ears to a hill). Now, as five kernels were planted in each hill, of course 900 kernels were sown. Supposing each ear contained 360 kernels, the 180 hills have produced 710x360 kernels; i. e., 255,- 600 kernels."
Then follows an estimate of the space these kernels would occupy if placed touching each other in a straight line, and nearly one and three-fifths miles is the result.
"Now as 900 kernels," continues our youthful calculator, "were sown, and 255,600 were produced, each kernel brought forth 284 kernels."
The report of N. E. Condit includes the corn planted in other places besides that which Master Brown considered. Master Con- dit computes the increase of the "Missionary Corn" throughout the parish:
"Since there were 720 hills of corn planted in the parish," he writes, "and there were five kernels to the hill, there would be five times 720 hills — 3,600 kernels. The yield was 2,810 ears; with the average of 360 kernels to the ear, there must be as many kernels as 360 times 2,810, or 1,011,600." Continuing this com- putation Master Condit finds that "if the kernels were placed in a straight line it would stretch over 6 2/5 miles of ground."
After this report Dr. Adams made an address, in which he expressed the pleasure he always experienced on the return of autumn. In a strain half facetious and half in tender earnest, he spoke of the decorations of the building; of the homely virtues of the vegetables which were brought into unwonted honor at that time. He contrasted the condition of this community, where health and abundance prevail, with the terrible state of things at the South, where men, women and children are dying from disease.
St. Cloud Church 47
In his own graceful way he paid a happy tribute to the occasion and to those whose efforts had made it so successful. These first fruits which had served to decorate the house of God were, he told us, to be sent to gladden the orphans of Orange. He then recited the following poem:
THE GRAIN OF CORN
A grain of corn an infant's hand
May plant upon an inch of land;
Whence twenty stalks may spring and yield
Enough to stock a little field.
The harvest of that field might then
Be multiplied by ten times ten;
Which sown thrice more would furnish bread
Wherewith an army might be fed.
A penny is a little thing,
Which e'en the poor man's child may fling
Into the treasury of heaven,
And make it worth its weight in gold,
And that increased a million fold.
For lo, a penny tract if well
Applied may save a soul from hell.
That soul can scarce be saved alone;
It must, it will its bliss make known.
Come, it will cry, and you shall see
What great things God has done for me.
Hundreds that joyful sound shall hear.
Hear with the heart as well as ear;
And these to thousands more proclaim
Salvation in the "Only Name,"
Till every tongue shall gladly call
On Jesus as the Lord of all.
While he was speaking a few young girls were seen to leave the house. Shortly after the close of his remarks they reappeared
48 St. Cloud Church
and ascended the platform. They were eight in number and a young lady teacher was with them. Each child represented a gleaner. She was dressed in white and bore a basket of fruit, flowers, leaves, grain, or something similar. Advancing a step, each one in turn presented her gift to the teacher, prefacing the act by the recitation of a verse of poetry. The gift was acknowl- edged by a poetical response and an appropriate wreath bestowed upon the gleaner. This was an exceedingly pretty scene. At its close the audience was invited to join in singing
THE GLEANER'S SONG.
O Thou, whose eyes of love Look on us from above;
Low at Thy throne We kneel tonight, and pray That, gleaning day by day. Our grateful hearts alway
Thy hand may own. And when beneath the trees. In fairer fields than these.
Our glad feet roam. There, where the bright harps ring. May we our gleanings bring. And in Thy presence sing.
Our Harvest Home.
On leaving the church, the congregation was invited to partake of substantial refreshments which had been hospitably provided. Earth, air, and sky contributed their best to the festival, and every- one departed, having enjoyed a service happy in conception, suc- cessful in its unfolding, and elevating in its memories.
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CHAPTER XL
The second celebration referred to above — the "Praise Service of the Flowers" — was held in October of the following year. For three years the people of St. Cloud had been in the habit of gath- ering wild flowers on Sunday afternoons in the summer months, which, on Monday mornings, were sent on to the Flower Mission in New York, to be distributed in hospitals and in tenements. On this particular occasion, October 24th, 1879, in response to the invitation extended by the St. Cloud Church, a large number of those who had been interested in sending flowers to the sick in New York, met on Friday afternoon. Orange, Orange Valley, West Orange, and more distant places were represented in the gathering at St. Cloud.
The taste and industry of a committee of ladies and gentlemen were manifest in the many floral designs and decorations that adorned the interior of the church. The pulpit, font, organ, win- dow sills, and walls were bright with salvia, and vines appeared above the pulpit. All parts of the programme had special refer- ence to the beauty and mission of flowers. The pastor read appro- priate passages of scripture and offered prayer. A beautiful poem, entitled, "The Praise Meeting of the Flowers," which sug- gested the name for this service, was read by Dr. T. D. Anderson, of New York. "The Transplanted Flower," a touching story by the Danish writer for children, Hans Christian Andersen, was read by Dr. W. V. Mabon. A poem, "The Angel's Story," by Miss A. A. Proctor, and founded upon this tale, followed by the pastor. Eight selected poems upon the seasons and their appropriate flow- ers were recited by girls dressed in white, standing upon the plat- form in a semi-circle:
"Spring" — Bertha Condit.
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"The Violet"— Minnie Kindsgrab.
"Summer" — Bessie Brown.
"The Clover"— Lucilla Moore.
"Autumn"— Lillie Williams.
"The Fringed Gentian" — May Brown.
"Winter"— Adele Russell.
"Winter Flowers"— Mabel Condit.
Letters of great interest and encouragement, written by those who have distributed the flowers among the sick and suffering in New York, were read by the superintendent of the Sunday School. A report of the many cases of special interest, prepared by Miss E. E. Russell, the secretary of the New York Flower Mission, who was present at this meeting, was much appreciated.
Miss Gee, of Orange, sang "The White Daisy." The Rev. Joseph A. Ely, of Orange Valley, made a short address, presenting in many beautiful illustrations the value of those messages which loving hands and Christian hearts can send, through the tiny bouquets of flowers, to many homes of sorrow and sadness. He used the following appropriate illustration :
"At Hildesheim, there is a rose-bush which is known to be 800 years old, and which, it is claimed, was planted by Charlemagne. It covers the rear wall of the cathedral with the net-work of its branches. Its roots, however, run beneath the wall and are shel- tered under the altar of the crypt. So the root of this sweet charity, which has covered so many desolate places with beauty, are hidden under the altar; they spring from beneath the Cross, and are fed from that Love which laid down its life for us, that we in turn might lay down our lives for others."
After Dr. Ely's address Dr. Adams spoke briefly, closing his
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remarks with a poem of Mary Howitt's, of which this is the first stanza :
God might have made the earth bring forth
Enough for great and small, The oak-tree and the cedar-tree,
Without a flower at all.
A report from the New York Flower Mission was next read, showing that 140,000 bouquets had been received during the previ- ous season. These were distributed in 102 hospitals, asylums, missions, etc., and among the thousands of sick in the tenements. The donors were urged to remember Christmas time in the city hospitals and asylums, etc., to send gifts of ivy, potted plants, illuminated texts, a few days before Christmas.
The service closed with the singing of a hymn.
This work of charity continued for many years, but another "Praise Service of the Flowers" was not held until 1906, the thir- tieth anniversary of the Flower Mission at St. Cloud. This second service was quite similar to the one described above; addresses were made by the pastor and by Mr. Brown; the scholars gave a number of Flow^er Exercises — recitations, songs, etc. — and a letter from Miss Russell of the New York Flower Mission was read.
Not only in summer did gifts go out from the St. Cloud Church to homes in the crowded city. A "Giving Festival," recorded in the year 1880, was the first in a long series of such occasions in which the children of St. Cloud shared their Christmasses with others. In 1880, the festival was held in the church on Wednes- day evening, December 22nd. In front of the pulpit, tables were arranged for the reception of gifts; above the pulpit was the motto: "It is more blessed to give than to receive," in large Old English letters. After devotional exercises, the roll was called
52 St. Cloud Church
and the scholars brought forward the various articles of beauty and utility, and very soon the tables were filled. Nearly fifty books, twenty dressed dolls, more than forty packages of pop- corn, nine boxes of games, ten pairs of stockings, as many pairs of mittens, gloves, shawls, knit jackets, handkerchiefs, toys in great variety, canned fruit, boxes of candy, and a printing press were among the gifts. After all these had been presented and arranged upon the long tables, the school marched past and saw the result of giving.
The unique way in which these gifts were distributed deserves mention, especially as it brings us into touch with a veritable "saint." To quote from a copy of the Willing Worker, published in 1892: "The articles were distributed, year after year, under the direction of one for thirty years confined to her bed. This patient sufferer and useful disciple," continues the account, "is Mrs. Bella Cooke, whom many of us have visited and whose picture hangs over the door in the pastor's room. To her sick-bed come the poor boys and girls who receive the many articles sent in box or barrel."
In 1891 the gifts were brought to the church and sorted and packed on Friday evening, December 18th. Within ten days a letter of thanks came from Mrs. Cooke. It was written by her own hand and gave evidence of the effort it had cost her. At the top of the sheet are these words: "Kept by the power of God." The letter is as follows: "Yours of the 19th came duly to hand with enclosure. The box arrived that night and was most welcome, and for which please accept my thanks. I assure you the things were gladly received by the people, and I pray that all who sent may be blessed a hundred-fold in this life, and in the world to come may have life everlasting. I would love to write a long letter, but am entirely unable. It is a very great effort to write this. With sincere thanks to all, I am cordially yours, Bella Cooke."
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It is beautiful to think that one so familiar with suffering should have had this opportunity given her to minister to the need of others.
54 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER XII.
It will be recalled that the "Giving Festival," just referred to, occurred in the year 1880. It was in this year that the little church lost one of its greatest and best friends — Dr. Adams. His death on the 31st of August deprived the lately-formed organization of the loving counsel and guidance on which it had so often relied.
A simple memorial service was held at the church on the 26th of September, 1880, at the close of which a marble tablet erected in memory of Dr. Adams by his daughter, Mrs. Brown, was unveiled by the pastor in the presence of the family and a large congre- gation. The tablet of black Belgian marble is placed on the wall, very near the seat which Dr. Adams usually occupied. The in- scription is carved in low relief, and is as follows:
In memory of William Adams, D.D., L.L.D.
August 31, 1880
He, being dead, yet speaketh.
After the unveiling of the tablet. General McClellan, an elder of the church, in a few most touching words presented the follow- ing minute, written by him and previously adopted by the session:
"From the very beginning of this church our lately departed friend, the Reverend William Adams, unceasingly bore an active part as our adviser and co-worker. In the first meeting held to initiate our organization, in the dedication of our building, in the selection and installation of our pastor, we had the benefit of his ripe experience, his wisdom and personal influence.
"From our pulpit he often fed the flock with the pure word of God, and during the summer months he habitually poured forth at the communion table his finished, yet most simple and touching
St. Cloud Church 55
eloquence, adding new significance even to that most sacred ofl&ce. His personal relations with this little flock were so peculiarly close and affectionate, that it seems proper to record for the benefit of those who are to follow us, our appreciation of the transcendent virtues of such a brilliant light of the church, and our keen sense of the loss we have sustained in common with the whole church. Our God pre-eminently endowed this. His faithful servant, with the highest and noblest qualities of a minister of the gospel. Gifted with intellectual capacity of the highest order, he added conscientious study and finished cultivation, so that he stood in the foremost rank as a classical scholar, as a theologian, as a Biblical student, as a master of polite literature, and general in- formation. An unusually rapid, accurate and retentive memory enabled him to make the best use of his extensive knowledge.
"With a most dignified and graceful bearing, a countenance full of intellect yet most kindly and attractive, a musical and powerful voice, capable of expressing all degrees of emotion, per- fect command of the most polished and simplest diction, an uner- ring instinct as to the proper time to say the right thing, the warmest sympathy and tenderest feelings — these qualities would have made him a great orator in any secular pursuit, but add to these his Biblical knowledge, his firm faith, his childlike humility, his unshakable love for the Master, and it is no wonder that he stood the acknowledged head of pulpit orators. Yet we who knew him so well and have enjoyed the inestimable privilege of looking up to him as our guide and friend, will perhaps remember best those few tender and loving words which he was in the habit of uttering at the communion table, when, with upturned face and eyes overflowing with emotion, he would proclaim that the sum and substance of his theology was faith in and love of the Savior.
"As a pastor — in those close relations born of affliction and sometimes of doubt on the one side, and of sympathy and ever
56 St. Cloud Church
firm faith on the other — his unequalled tact gave him inexpress- ible advantages. When at the call of duty he gave up his pastoral charge for the still higher function amid which he closed his life (the presidency of Union Seminary) he developed such admirable qualities as a teacher and administrator and so vitalized the insti- tution over which he presided, that his influence upon it and through it upon the Presbyterian Church will be felt during gen- erations to come.
"This tribute to his memory would be incomplete did it not mention one of his noblest qualities — the complete absence of bigotry or narrow-mindedness from his nature, and that grand Christian charity which led him, while strong in his preference for his own branch of the church, to love and recognize as brothers all who — under whatever name — loved the Lord Jesus. The active efforts he made to bring different denominations into a closer relation, based on the points of agreement, leaving aside their minor differences, have borne much fruit and will always be remembered throughout the whole Christian world.
"In the ordinary relations of life he was as admirable as in his more public duties. While we fully realize that his work will long survive him, we feel that the country, the Presbyterian Church, and Christianity at large have in Dr. Adams sustained an irreparable loss."
In the following spring a second memorial to Dr. Adams was dedicated at St. Cloud. This was the Adams Memorial Chapel, a beautiful little structure erected at the southeast corner of the church, adjoining it, and like it in architectural style. The fol- lowing report gives the detailed account of the occasion:
"On Wednesday of last week (June 15, 1881), one of the most charming days of the season, a large number of the friends and neighbors of the late Dr. William Adams assembled on Orange Mountain, his late summer residence, to dedicate to the worship
St. Cloud Church 57
of God a memorial chapel in connection with the Church of St. Cloud. All the early steps in the establishing of this church were taken under the counsels of Dr. Adams, and the result has been a complete fulfilment of his desire to obtain, not merely for the summer residents, but for an outlying population, all the priv- ileges of the sanctuary. Under the able ministrations of Mr. Whitaker the congregation has steadily increased, until it bears all the marks of a well-established, prosperous and influential organization. Within the four years of its existence, the number of members has been nearly quadrupled, and its efficiency has pro- portionately increased.
"Early in the present year the want of a Sunday School room and a place of meeting for prayer became more apparent, and it was resolved to erect a building for the purpose. After the death of Dr. Adams, the congregation adopted the idea of making the chapel a memorial to the beloved and honored man in whose heart and home the enterprise had its origin. The funds were con- tributed by residents of the neighborhood, irrespective of denom- ination, and on Wednesday of last week, with a number of invited guests from the city, all met to dedicate another stone edifice, adorned with stained glass windows, one of which is a memorial window containing a striking and almost speaking likeness of Dr. Adams. After reading of the scriptures and singing, the prayer of dedication was off'ered by the Rev. George W. F. Birch, of Mott Haven. Mr. Whitaker then gave a sketch of the history of the church and of the steps which led to the erection of this build- ing, and handed the key to Dr. Robert Aikman, of Madison, New Jersey, chairman of the committee of the Presbytery of Morris and Orange, in which the title is vested, who accepted it with an address, containing interesting reminiscences of Dr. Adams and counsel for the church. Brief addresses, which were marked by aff"ectionate remembrance, were made by Rev. J. 0. Averill, of
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Flushing, who supplied the pulpit before Mr. Whitaker's installa- tion, Dr. E. D. G. Prime and Dr. Birch. Dr. Mix paid the fol- lowing tribute:
" *One among those who took such deep and growing interest in the formation of this church, and the building of this house of the Lord, we shall never forget. His prayers rest upon it as an ever-present benediction. His words of faith and hope, here uttered, are as if now repeating themselves in our hearing as often as we enter its sacred precincts. His smiling face, and reverent manner, and devoutness of speech as a worshipper, whenever he was here present, are still before our vision, teaching us how we ought to appear before God to pay our homage and our vows.
" 'Here, indeed. Dr. Adams did his last, and shall I not say his crowning work, in the service which he rendered to this church. It is a blessed thing to be the instrument of laying the foundation of a church of Christ. It may well be a privilege coveted by us all to have our last work on earth that of doing our part in bring- ing into being such a vital organization as this Christian church, and setting in motion such a living force as it is destined to be in benefitting and blessing men. It was a fitting ending to his most honorable and useful life which has made his very name familiar as a household word among Christians, not only of our own, but of every land.'
"Few old established congregations rejoice in the occupancy of such beautiful and substantial church buildings entirely free from debt," continues the report, "or in a brighter prospect of usefulness, with a pastor worthily enjoying their confidence and affection. Its future and its past will always be delightfully asso- ciated with the memory of one whose praise is in all the churches."
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CHAPTER XIII.
Four years later, on October 29th, 1885, the church suffered another loss, which was shared by the larger world outside. Gen- eral George B. McClellan, the warm personal friend of Dr. Adams, whose beautiful tribute we have given above, had always been deeply interested in the welfare of the St. Cloud Church, and his death was a great bereavement. On October 29th, 1886, a year later, a tablet was erected to his memory on the church wall. The account of the memorial service is given as follows:
"General McClellan died one year ago, and yesterday a tablet to his memory was unveiled at the St. Cloud Church, where the General worshipped, of which he was an elder, and which he always firmly and faithfully served. The services were opened by the pastor, who after reading a few appropriate passages of Scripture, offered prayer. He then spoke as follows:
" 'The skies overhead are in sympathy with us in our sorrow. The curtain of clouds is shedding misty tears in unison with our thoughts. This same day last year the clouds were also weeping — the leaves were lying on the ground. For that day our loss came suddenly at midnight, and was felt through large and small concentric circles. Hearts in Europe and Africa alike throbbed at the sense of loss when the wire told of that death on Orange Mountain.
" 'There was first the circle of our own beloved land that felt the loss of the fighter of its battles. Then there was the circle of the commonwealth of this state which he was called upon to govern. Third came the circle of the community where this great man lived, where, when the tidings passed from lip to lip, it seemed as if a piece of the everlasting mountain had gone. Then there was the circle of this flock, this communion, this little inner
60 St. Cloud Church
circle that was accustomed to lean on his strong arm during the days of its infancy. So through all these circles, whether wider or smaller, the vibrations of sympathy swept when the news of our loss was made known. It is very appropriate for the larger circles to show forth their feelings on such an occasion, but especially so in this little inner one. I would have you remember also that first Lord's Day after our loss, the communion service, with his chair draped in black and wreathed with white flowers. A few days later, the session adopted a minute expressive of their sorrow as a tribute to one whom we had all known and loved. After some time it was thought best that some more permanent and lasting memorial should be erected here, where we had all known and loved General McClellan, and this was felt to be so appropriate that nearly one hundred have added their names and gifts to the memorial. We are taught by the life of the one gone before of the power of love. Ask the soldier who had served under him if he admired him, and the answer is instantaneous, "No, I love him." This quality of love to him was characteristic of all who come in contact with him. The tablet will now be un- veiled by the senior elder, formerly a soldier himself, Mr. Moses Condit. This tablet is now erected in God's house, and in loving memory of George Brinton McClellan.'
"The tablet was then unveiled by Elder Condit, the congrega- tion reverently standing. Elder Ephraim Jacobus then read the minutes of the session adopted nearly a year ago. Mr. Henry W. Williams off^ered an eloquent eulogy on the departed general, closing with the:
" 'O great soldier, we salute you; 0, firm and loyal Governor, we revere you; 0, earnest, faithful friend, we love you and bid you farewell.' "
After a few further remarks, Mr. Whitaker closed the meeting with prayer. The tablet is a very neat and beautiful one of pol-
St. Cloud Church 61
ished brass, mounted on black marble, with a laurel wreath bor- der. This, as well as the inscription, is of dark green lacquer. The inscription is as follows:
George Brinton McClellan,
Major General U. S. A.
Governor of New Jersey,
Elder of this church,
October 29th, 1865.
"I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith."
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CHAPTER XIV.
In the same year, 1886, on the 21st of September, occurred the first stated meeting of the Presbytery at St. Cloud, of which we have this record:
"More than sixty ministers and elders were present at the meeting of the Presbytery of Morris and Orange at St. Cloud last Tuesday. After the opening sermon by Dr. Ehman, of Morris- town, the retiring Moderator, the Presbytery elected the Rev. David 0. Irving to serve as Moderator for the next half year. Elder E. P. Starr was chosen as one of the clerks. The balance of the morning and the afternoon session was devoted entirely to routine business.
"At the close of the morning session a bountiful collation was provided by the ladies of the church. The large connecting rooms on the main floor of a private house had been decorated with plants and flowers and autumn leaves; and here the guests took their seats at several long tables, which were served by a score of young ladies wearing ornamental caps and aprons. Just before supper, which was provided at the same place, the guests were invited to take a carriage ride; and this gave them the oppor- tunity for enjoying the view from the mountain looking toward New York and the view of perhaps greater beauty along the sec- ond valley.
"At the evening session there was a large congregation present, and the reports of the various Presbyterian Boards were read by different gentlemen, accompanied by a few remarks. The Pres- bytery adjourned to meet at Camden during the sessions of the Synod in October."
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CHAPTER XV.
During the first years of the St. Cloud Church the need of a parsonage was not strongly felt, Mr. Whitaker, being unmar- ried, lived with Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, whose home was conven- iently near and the parish activities were carried on in the neigh- borhood or in the church building itself. In the summer of 1883, however, a "Parsonage Fund" was started, which had its origin in the proceeds of a concert given at Brighthurst. For seven years additions were made to this fund, until, in 1890, it amounted to $1,870. In this year the feeling became general that at last the time for action had arrived. To quote from a circular sent by a committee of elders and deacons to the members and friends of the congregation in October, 1890 : "The general prosperity of the church, as shown in the annual report of the deacons and pre- sented last July; the steady attendance at the church services; the interest shown in the many activities of our church life ; these, and other considerations, have intensified the desire for a parsonage, and for the advantages which it would afford for parish work."
This wide-spread feeling resulted in a meeting of the congre- gation on September 21st, at which a committee composed of Messrs. Brown, Kimball and Dane was appointed to take action at once. At a meeting held October 10th, this committee reported that, with the unanimous approval of the officers of the church, they had entered into an agreement to purchase the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Morgan, opposite the church, on Ridge- way Avenue. "The lot is 84 feet wide in front and 200 feet deep ; and the house and stable thereon are in fair condition for imme- diate occupancy. The house is admirably adapted in its internal arrangements for use as a parsonage. It is a convenient residence,
64 St. Cloud Church
and its rooms are commodious for the social intercourse of the congregation. The price to be paid is $5,500.
"It is an interesting reminiscence that the first meeting to take action in the matter of building the church was held in the parlor of this house.
"The congregation unanimously approved and confirmed the action of its committee. It directed the undersigned to present an immediate appeal to the members and friends of the congre- gation for the additional funds needed.
"In undertaking this work, we are stimulated by the size of the fund already in hand. We need about $4,000 more in order to pay for the property and to prepare it in some details for serv- ing its new purpose more perfectly."
Meanwhile, the ladies of the congregation "had not lost a day in hastening the work of furnishing the parsonage." As soon as the Committee on Purchase had made their agreement with Mr. Morgan, four committees began work, believing that there was little doubt of the congregation's confirmation of this agreement. The committees were as follows: (1) To fit the house for fur- nishing (chairman, Mrs. Jacobus). (2) To provide furniture for dining room and kitchen (chairman, Mrs. Dane). (3) To provide furniture for the other rooms (chairman, Mrs. Brown). (4) To provide linen for all uses (chairman, Mrs. Moore). These com- mittees worked with such speed and skill that they were able to invite the congregation and its friends to inspect the house and spend a social evening in the new parsonage on Thursday, the 16th, only six days after the congregation approved the purchase. The following record of the "housewarming" appears in the col- umns of a paper published at the time:
"In spite of the storm on Thursday evening, the parsonage recently purchased for the St. Cloud Church was crowded with a large gathering of the members of the congregation and their
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friends. The labors of the ladies' committees in furnishing the home had been greatly helped by the fact that Mrs. Morgan, from whom the house was purchased, had recently painted and papered the interior in a most charming and tasteful style, quite appro- priate for a parsonage. The committee on furnishing had pur- chased the mattings and carpets which were on the floors through- out the house and much of the furniture. This was largely sup- plemented by gifts of additional furniture and contributions of bedding and kitchen furniture, so that the equipment is complete in every detail. The home was furnished throughout with bracket lamps of the best quality. This complete result, reached within one week after the formal acceptance of the property by the con- gregation, was thought to be unprecedented in point of prompt- ness.
"Before the refreshments were served the company gathered on the lower floor and the committee on purchase presented the key to the officers of the church. Mr. Timms, acting for the officers of the church, presented the key to the pastor, who accepted it and replied with a touching address, alluding to his early life in a plain Long Island parsonage and of his pleasure at having with him this evening the dear mother who had been the good angel of that parsonage. At this time also, the curtain was withdrawn from a portrait of Mr. Whitaker, admirably done in crayon, life size, by Mrs. Squire, of St. Cloud, her gift to the parsonage.
"Then the formal exercises were closed by an address of warm congratulation from Dr. C. H. W. Stocking, of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Innocents at St. Cloud. After this the com- pany did full justice to the ample arrangements made by the com- mittee on refreshments."
One might think from the glowing description above that the equipment of the new parsonage was complete, but the congre- gation was not yet satisfied. An article entitled "Installing the
66 St. Cloud Church
Pastor's Horse" gives an account of a unique ceremony which took place soon after the housewarming.
"The congregation of the St. Cloud Church has placed a new barn behind its recently acquired parsonage. On Thursday even- ing the lower floor was filled with members of the congregation gathered for a novel service. The pastor's pony was to be in- stalled. After a social hour and refreshments, the pony was an- nounced. Arrayed from head to tail in flags and ribbons, grasses, hay and straw, he entered the broad door and gazed upon the decorations and the company. Mr. Alfred R. Kimball delivered an address of welcome, a kind of charge to the pony. Full of wit and abounding in local hits, it called forth rounds of laughter. Among other things, Mr. Kimball urged the horse who was being installed, not to be a halter, and to look aloft for his food. Mr. Brown followed, delivering an amusing charge to the people. More serious words were spoken of the probable meaning of the various parts of the pony's evening attire, and a tender reference to the many sad errands upon which the parson's horse must travel during a year. After partaking of some sugar the pony left the floor and the company departed."
"Twin Cherry" parsonage, once opened, proved a great bless- ing to the parish. Parlor meetings, social meetings. Fourth of July parties, "Autumn Evenings," all took place in the house or on the lawn of the newly-acquired property. A copy of the Willing Worker, published February, 1892, tells of the celebration that was held there at Christmas time in the year 1891.
"Christmas came on Friday. It was observed on Saturday and Sunday. It rained on Saturday afternoon, but promptly at one o'clock the pupils of the primary class of the Sunday School be- gan to arrive at the parsonage. Willing hands cared for wraps and rubbers, and the little people were ready for a good time. They had it. The parlor games were under the direction of Mrs.
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Hendrick, the teacher of the class, and Mrs. Hushard. Several pretty motion-songs were given, showing the diligence with which the children had rehearsed. At the hour for refreshments, all moved into the dining-room, where the children in little groups sat down on the matting like Turks. For each one there was a wooden plate, enough good things to eat, and sweet milk to drink. Then the screens were removed, and the tree appeared. This stood in the bay window of the dining-room. Its top touched the ceiling; its branches were laden with sweet things and adorned with an abundance of pretty things. After the candles had been lighted, and the lights had been enjoyed, Mr. Kimball called for a hymn, and then spoke tenderly of the death, only four days before, of little Maggie, a member of the class. At departure, each pupil received a book and a package of candy. The last little guest said good-bye before six o'clock.
"In the evening the parsonage was open for the older pupils of the school, and for the members of the congregation. The company was entertained with piano music by Miss Stenken; an address on Christmas in England by Mr. Lander, illustrated with costume and cornet; original chalk-drawings by Mr. Fred W. Dane, and other amusements. The tree was lighted a second time. Refreshments were served and the evening closed with hymns and a prayer by the pastor."
This and other accounts showing the hospitable and pleasant character of the new parish home well describes the appreciation of the congregation. "Altogether," we read, "Twin Cherry par- sonage has been a most delightful meeting place for the whole parish."
Meanwhile the Parsonage Fund had not been very successful. Although, in 1890, "through the loyal effort of all interested, the Fund was sufficiently increased to justify the purchase of the
68 St. Cloud Church
house and to put the property into suitable condition," yet the whole amount necessary could not be raised at the time, and an additional sum was accepted from two friends of the church, who at once advanced the necessary amount as a loan and continued it without interest for nearly ten years, until in 1899 it had reached the sum of nearly $2,500.
Small sums were raised from time to time by the giving of concerts, sales, and other entertainments, but no concentrated effort was made to pay back the loan until the fall of 1898. At that time the following statement of the money controlled by the trustees of the Parsonage Fund, was announced :
Receipts.
Original fund, with interest, in 1890 $1,867.10
Results of effort in 1890 3,998.39
$5,865.49 Expenditures.
1890— House and lot $5,500.00
1891— Stables 455.00
1891— New heating apparatus 298.48
1891 — Dining room and pantry alterations 228.31
1892— Painting 280.00
1890-1895— Repairs and improvements 582.24
1895 — Renovations and improvements at change of pas- torate 583.25
1895-1898— Repairs 104.07
1895 — Expense of examining title of house, in 1890 (no
charge for Mr. Blake's services) 86.93
1892— Taxes 48.00
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1890-1903— Insurance 146.26
Printing 6.50
Total disbursements $8,319.04
Total receipts 5,865.49
$2,453.55
In a few months, before the first of June, 1899, this entire sum had been raised and the Parsonage Fund was a thing of the past.
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CHAPTER XVI.
Another addition to the social life of the church was the open- ing of a circulating library. The apartment which served both as a reading room and as the home of the library, occupied the whole of the building at the corner of Ridgeway and Franklin avenues. The use of this building was given by Mr. W. J. A. Fuller and the necessary alterations were made by means of dona- tions from several neighbors. A large representation of the resi- dents on Orange Mountain, with friends from other parts of West Orange and from New York, assembled at the St. Cloud reading hall to participate in the informal opening exercises.*
When the doors were thrown open to the public on Thursday evening, it was found that the interior had been ceiled in light wood; that the windows had been provided with neat shades and lambrequins in red; that the walls had been adorned with pic- tures; that the handsome bookcases of the library had been ar- ranged at the rear of the hall; that the long table in the center of the room had been supplied with nearly thirty different papers, journals and magazines; that the lamps were so numerous that reading was possible in every part of the room; that roses and other cut flowers were contributing beauty and fragrance; and that the scriptural motto, "Give attendance to reading," in ornamental lettering, looked down upon the scene from the south wall. After a half-hour had been spent in the interchange of congratulations, Mr. Whitaker made a brief address, in which he spoke of the founding of the library six months ago, of the generosity of the owner of the building, and of the skill and industry of the ladies, who, under the leadership of Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Skillin and Mrs.
*The opening of the circulating library in the Reading Hall of St, Cloud took place on Thursday, December 11, 1884.
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Klemm, had given to the room its very attractive appearance. Mr. Henry W. Williams spoke of pleasant events in the history of St. Cloud, and moved a vote of thanks to the ladies and gentlemen to whom the public are indebted for the library and reading room. The motion was seconded by many voices, and in a short speech by Mr. Robert L. Wensley. The vote was unanimous. Mr. Brown then gave some interesting items in reference to the formation of the library, saying that one of the first contributions had come from beyond the Atlantic, sent by a member of Parliament resid- ing in London, who is a relative of Sir William Brown, to whom the city of Liverpool is indebted for its large library building. Another gift came from a friend in Philadelphia, in the form of a one hundred dollar bill sent in an unregistered letter. Words of congratulation were spoken by Mr. Robert Palm, principal of the South Mountain public school, and then the doors of the library were thrown open. There were about four hundred and fifty volumes, and it was proposed to add one case of books for reference, such as lexicons, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc., as soon as possible. When first opened, the library and reading hall were used from two to five and from seven to nine o'clock P. M., every week day except Tuesday and Friday.
On the very month in which the final steps were taken by the congregation and committee in the matter of selecting a parsonage (October, 1890), a little church paper was started as "a means of communication between pastor and people." It was called the Willing Worker and was supposedly edited by the Girls' Mission Band, v/hich went by the same name, but it was in reality one of Mr. Whitaker's many ways of adding interest and vitality to the parish work. The "Greeting," which appeared on the first page of the first number, is the best explanation of its origin and pur- pose:
"On Saturday, March 1, 1884, the girls of three classes in the
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Sunday school of the St. Cloud Church met at the chapel to or- ganize a mission band. The wind blew, and blew, and the day was cold; but the hearts were warm and the purpose of the meeting was accomplished. Officers were elected, rules adopted, and a name and a motto, John 9, 4, were chosen.
"The band is in the last half of its seventh year. Its work has almost girdled the globe. The products of its many fingers and purses, the gifts of its earthen jars and wooden barrels have been distributed in New Jersey, New York and North Carolina; in Col- orado, Utah and Dakota; in Alaska and Micronesia; in China and Japan; in Turkey, Persia and other foreign lands. At home, the clock in the chapel, the red books in the library of the primary class, the large wall pictures, which illustrate the Sunday school lessons from week to week, these are among the fruits of its labors.
"The band is becoming more ambitious, and at the semi-annual meeting in September it was resolved to venture upon the publi- cation of a little paper. The first five officers of the band were appointed an editorial committee, and they now send forth this Willing Worker and ask for it a cordial reception. Be to its virtues very kind, and to its faults a little blind. The committee sends its greeting to all to whom these pages may come, and it asks the readers to think of these four P's — the Paper, its Pur- pose, its Price and its Period.
"1. The Paper is not very large, but some of us are not very large or old or learned. We have found plenty of work for little heads and little hands, and perhaps there will be work for a little paper. Perhaps it may grow.
"2. The Purpose is larger than its page. It will endeavor to carry notices of church meetings, news of church efforts, and invi- tations to church work. Its columns will help those who heard the notice but 'cannot remember whether it is at 7:30 or 8 o'clock.' It will aid those who, because of deafness, detention at home or
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absence from home, did not hear the topic. It will give correctly the name and address of church officers, with whom correspond- ence may be desired. Moreover, it will convey to those who are far away, for a season or for years, tidings from the work and workers left behind.
"3. The Price is five cents. It is true that this sum is the interest on a whole dollar for a whole year at five per cent., and yet it is much less than some girls and boys spend in one candy purchase, or some men pay for an inferior cigar. Our paper may not be as sweet as the candy (we hope that it will not too early end in smoke), but we think, after our efforts for this first num- ber, that it is very cheap at a half-dime. We derive no revenue from advertisements. Our paper is not 'entered as second class.'
"4. The Period, the interval between this number and the next; this is a matter, dear readers, concerning which you can help us. The frequency of publication must depend upon the wishes and subscriptions of our friends. Whether the Willing Worker shall appear monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, annually, occasionally, or only this once, is the problem set before our committee. Send us hints and suggestions in the form of coins. Two-cent postage stamps will be received without discount from distant friends. The cost of this first number, and of the sample copies to be distributed freely, has been met by the generosity of a friend in the congregation, the mother of one of the Willing Workers. For this help the committee renders its hearty thanks, but it hopes that the cost of any number or numbers that follow will be met, in large part, by the subscriptions of those who may desire to have copies of our little paper for their own use or for mailing. Copies of No. 1, without the mark 'Sample,' can be obtained from any officer of the band. Subscriptions and sugges- tions and kind words will be welcomed by
"The Editorial Committee."
74 St. Cloud Church
The Willing Worker was published until Mr. Whitaker resigned from the St. Cloud Church in 1894. Within four years' time, six copies were printed, all of which were true to the original purpose and make very interesting reading.
A year after the first appearance of the Willing Worker, on the first of October, 1891, the St. Cloud congregation attended the funeral of one of the elders who, among other qualities, had the distinction of being the oldest inhabitant and who had lived in the life-time of every president of the United States. To quote a report which appeared at the time:
"Mr. Moses Condit, of West Orange, the oldest native resident of the Oranges, died at his home in Pleasant Valley, at about 3 o'clock Monday afternoon. He was ninety-seven years old, and death was caused by the infirmities of age. He had been a man of remarkable mental and physical vigor, and retained possession of his faculties until a short time before death ended his long life.
"Mr. Condit was the son of Jonathan Condit, and was born on August 17th, 1794, in the old homestead, which has been in possession of the family for nearly two hundred years, and in which his grandfather and father lived and died. His grand- father's name was Captain Samuel Condit, who served in the Revolutionary War, and built the homestead.
"Mr. Condit's entire life has been spent on the farm, and he never followed any other occupation save that of a farmer. He enlisted in the war of 1812, and drew a pension from the govern- ment as one of the few surviving veterans of that war. In 1819, he married Miss Maria Corby, of West Orange. She died in the year 1874. Eight children were born to them, two of whom died, namely Jesse W. and Jonathan W. The surviving children are: Mr. Albert P. Condit, of West Orange; Mrs. Martha A., widow of the late A. W. Nevins, of this city; Mr. Theodore F.
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Condit, formerly of the firm of Condit & Romer, undertakers, of this city, but now of Baltimore, Md.; Mrs. Hanna C, wife of Mr. I. Newton Canfield, of Caldwell; Mr. Moses E. Condit, West Or- ange, and Mrs. Mary, wife of Mr. Andrew J. Van Ness, of West Orange.
"Mr. Condit was originally a Whig, but afterward joined the American or 'Know Nothing' party and then became a Democrat, continuing his allegiance to that party to the last. While taking an interest in local and political affairs it is not known that he ever held ofi&ce. He was a Presbyterian of the old school and joined the First Presbyterian Church of Orange, which he attended regularly until the St. Cloud Church was established, when he transferred his membership to that church, in which he was a ruling elder at the time of his death. Mr. Condit was very successful as a farmer, and at one time he was considered quite wealthy. Through various gifts to his children, losses, etc., it is not thought that he left a very large estate. Together with the sur- viving children named, he leaves a large number of grand-chil- dren and great-grand-children.
"The funeral services were conducted at the old homestead by the Rev. Mr. Whitaker."
An item in the Willing Worker for December, 1891, states that on the following Sunday, which was Communion Sunday, the empty chair of Elder Condit was dressed in black and held a sheaf of wheat.
76 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER XVII.
The little church paper to which reference is made above was, as stated, only one of Mr. Whitaker's many ways of making his parish work interesting and full of life. A man of wide and varied interests, he seemed to have infinite resources and tireless energy in devising ways of keeping his flock wide-awake and in touch with the outside world. The sequel of one of his vacations was almost invariably a lecture or a series of lectures, usually his- torical in character, as history was one of his greatest interests, but sometimes purely descriptive. On returning from General Assembly on the Pacific Coast, in 1892, he gave a double series of lectures — those given on Thursday evenings were more or less of the conventional type, dealing with "The Yosemite Valley," "The Top of Pike's Peak," etc., but the Sunday evening series was quite unique, and the program, though twenty-five years old, still arouses one's curiosity. It is entitled: "Some Modern Cities and Some Ancient Commands" and reads as follows:
Chicago — The Fourth Commandment. Denver — The Third Commandment. Salt Lake — The Seventh Commandment. San Francisco — The First Commandment. Portland — The Ninth Commandment, etc.
You are invited. Seats free. Bring a Bible. Congregational singing. Study the map on Saturday. On Sunday read Exodus 20 : 1-17, and Matthew 5 : 17-37. Come !
Another program which still retains a piquant flavor is one which was printed two years later in connection with a series of "Autumn Evenings" held at the parsonage:
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"During August the Pastor spent several days in historical studies in New England. In the coming Autumn months there will be short addresses at the parsonage, in which he will seek to share with others some of the fruits of his travel and research. The narration for each evening will occupy about thirty minutes. It will be preceded by selections of music and followed by a read- ing, recitation, or song. Maps, charts, photographs, documents, souvenirs or other objects illustrating the topic of the evening may be examined at the close." Under the title, which is, "The Hub, and Some of the Spokes," appears a quotation from Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Boston is the Hub of the Solar system. You couldn't pry that out of a Boston man if you had the tire of all creation straightened out for a crowbar." The program is as fol- lows:
|
1. |
Norumbega |
The Pioneers |
A. D. 1000 |
|
2. |
Plymouth |
The Pilgrims |
1620 |
|
3. |
Boston |
The Puritans |
1630 |
|
4. |
Salem |
The Persecutors |
1692 |
|
5. |
Newburyport |
The Preachers |
1770 |
|
6. |
Lexington |
The Patriots |
1775 |
|
7. |
Andover |
The Pedagogues |
1778 |
|
8. |
Cambridge |
The Poets |
1807 |
|
9. |
Concord |
The Philosophers |
1879 |
To read a few of these documents makes it easy for one to understand the congregation's enthusiasm for their many-sided and energetic pastor. But Mr. Whitaker did not rely on his experience alone to furnish material for St. Cloud lectures. He was quick to realize fitness in others, and in the first year of his pastorate, 1878, he arranged for a course of five lectures by eminent and able men, which was much appreciated not only by the members of the St. Cloud congregation, but by many strangers who came from various parts of the surrounding country.
78 St. Cloud Church
The first lecture of the course was delivered by Dr. Adams. His subject was "Self-Made Men" — a topic with which he was eminently fitted to deal, because of his wide acquaintance with men of all types and professions.
Dr. Wm. M. Taylor, of the Broadway Tabernacle, was the sec- ond speaker. He chose a topic not unlike that of Dr. Adams': "Some Poor Boys, What They Made of Themselves, and How They Did It." The third lecture on Village Improvement, prac- tical and popular, was given by Dr. Henry M. Field, of the A^. Y. Evangelist; while "Boots, Shoes and Naked Feet" was the inter- esting title of a very interesting talk by Dr. Llewellyn Besan, of the Brick Church, N. Y. The Rev. James F. Riggs, of Constanti- nople, delivered the fifth and last lecture on the subject of "The Turks," a successful ending to the course.
Lectures, however, were not Mr. Whitaker's only resource. He knew many ways in which to add to the interest of the church services. At one time (in the year 1884), wishing to increase the congregation's acquaintance with the hymn-book, he printed an alphabetical list of hymns to be memorized. One hymn was chosen for each letter of the alphabet— from "Abide With Me" to "Zion Stands, By Hills Surrounded." These printed lists were distributed among the people of the church and "Review Services" were held in April and in June, at which the hymns were called for by letter and sung with much enthusiasm.
Later in the same year, the usual devotional meeting on Friday evening was given over to a particular service. Cards were sent each member of the congregation with the request that they fill out a certain blank with "that name or title of our Lord, or that attribute of His character, the remembrance of which had been most helpful and precious during the past five months." These cards were taken or sent to the meeting and served as the basis of the service.
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Perhaps the most unique occasion ever presided over by Mr. Whitaker was the following : an account of which, entitled "Three Score Years and Ten," appeared in a local newspaper.
"Nine persons, all of whom had reached this ripe age, the parishioners and friends of the Rev. W. F. Whitaker, of St. Cloud, spent the afternoon and took tea with him last Thursday. The oldest guest had passed his 86th birthday, another was in his 80th year, another was 78 years old, and the youngest was in her 73rd year. The aggregate age of the little company was 688 years, and the average age was nearly 77 years. The afternoon was spent in mirthful recollections of the social habits and the domestic cus- toms of 'ye olden time.' One told how she was taught to knit in her fourth year; another spoke of his experiences in the war of 1812; others spoke of the wide fireplaces and the painted hearths, and of the foot-stoves and the corn-cob embers. One of the com- pany described a log house which stood 'between the mountains.' At 'early candlelight' the tea was served, and the cookies and gingerbread had a place by the side of the jelly cake. In the evening the old-time books were used — 'The Easy Instructor,' by Little & Smith, and the 'New Brunswick Collection.' From these books, with the 'Patent notes,' the company joined in singing 'Majesty,' 'Montgomery,' 'New Jerusalem,' 'Coronation,' 'China,' 'St. Martin's Ocean,' and 'Ode on Science.' As the leader of the treble was born in 1802, and the leader of the bass in 1806, and all before 1810, there is good reason to believe that the singing was 'of yore.' The guests finished their visit and started for their homes before the hour at which the first guest ventures to arrive at some social gatherings of the modern kind."
80 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER XVIII.
There can be little doubt of the fact that the Reverend Mr. Whitaker won the loyal affection of his parishioners. We read of many "Presentations" during the 17 years of his pastorate, to speak of merely material tokens of friendship. He was literally untiring in originating plans for the interest and profit of the young people of his congregation. Among many other things he organized a singing class, which met one evening a week in the church. It was very popular and largely attended. He also formed a class in stenography, which met in October, 1892, in the chapel, and continued its lessons until March 21st, having an average attendance of sixteen. Under the direction of the teacher, Mr. John B. Lander, the pupils gained a good knowledge of the theory of shorthand. The instruction was furnished gratuitously. The pupils, in recognition of the kindness of their teacher, presented him with an appropriate gift.
The church grew and prospered under Mr. Whitaker 's leader- ship. When at last the time came when he accepted a call to another church, it was stated that during his ministry the church membership had increased 1,000 per cent., or, in other words, that the number of persons included in the church membership was equal to the number of communicants at the organization of the church multiplied by eleven. General Randolph B. Marcy joined the St. Cloud Church on confession of faith October 7th, 1877. The strong ties of seventeen years were now to be broken, how- ever, and on the 25th of November, 1894, at the close of his anni- versary sermon Mr. Whitaker announced his decision to the con- gregation.
"It was stated," says a newspaper account printed at the time, "that this desire of the pastor was not due to a sudden decision.
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and did not arise from recent changes in the field. It was the re- sult of a growing conviction concerning personal duty. The pastor reminded the people that he had known the church in every year of its existence; that he had been with them in their home joys and sorrows for almost half of a generation; that he felt bound to them by ties not to be severed without great sorrow on his part. Reference was made to the early years of the pastorate and to the increased value and convenience of the church property at pres- ent. Tender words were spoken concerning the changes in the congregation by reason of removals and deaths. Dr. Adams, at whose suggestion the pastor was called, and General McClellan, in whose handwriting the document was drawn up, are commem- orated by tablets on the walls. Of the ministers who took part in the installation, Dr. Parker, Dr. Yeomans and Dr. Worcester have died; Dr. Mix and Dr. Green have moved away. Of the original elders of the church only one remains. Pleasant state- ments were made concerning the special and highly successful financial undertakings of the present year and the excellent pecun- iary condition at its close and also concerning the spiritual growth."
A full report of this congregational meeting clearly shows the deep feeling of attachment which existed between Mr. Whitaker and his people.
"The congregation of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church held a special meeting on Monday evening, December 3rd, to act upon the resignation of their pastor. The meeting was largely attended. The Rev. John M. Thomas, of the Arlington Avenue Presbyterian Church, East Orange, acted as moderator, and Mr. Wra. N. Will- iams, Clerk of the Session, was secretary. Mr. Whitaker pre- sented his request verbally, that his congregation unite with him in asking the Presbytery of Morris and Orange to dissolve the pastoral relation which had existed for seventeen years. He spoke
82 St. Cloud Church
with tenderness of his attachment and love for the church and people, but said that he had felt for some time that the day was approaching when it would be best for both parties to make a change, and the circumstances which had precipitated the parting at this time had come to him entirely unsought.
"Mr. Whitaker then withdrew from the meeting and remarks were made by Elders E. I. Jacobus, W. N. Williams and Theodore M. Timms, as also by Mr. Brown and Mr. Kimball, of the congre- gation. Very deep feeling and love for the pastor was manifested, tears filled every eye, particularly on the part of a large body of young people who have grown up under Mr. Whitaker's pastorate, and to whom he has been a very dear and helpful friend. The situation was the more sad as it was evident to all that no induce- ment could be offered to keep Mr. Whitaker in this small field, which is not capable of very great growth, when such an impor- tant work called him away. So with thankfulness for the blessing of many years of valued ministry, the vote was reluctantly given, unanimously, to unite with the pastor in his request. Elders E. I. Jacobus, W. N. Williams, with Messrs. W. E. Condit and A. R. Kimball, were appointed to convey the request to Presbytery.
"The Presbytery of Morris and Orange held a special meeting at Chatham on Thursday morning, December 6th. All the com- mittee were present and addressed the Presbytery. It was impos- sible to speak of Mr. Whitaker's work without seeming fulsome. He was known to be so useful in the community where he has labored, as well as wherever he is known throughout the bounds of the Presbytery. As Stated Clerk he was ideal. His place could not be filled and the pastors of all the churches expressed most sincere regret at losing his companionship and help. Mr. Whitaker was appointed to declare the pulpit vacant on Sunday, December 9th, and the Rev. Stanley White was named to act as Moderator of the session of the church in the interim.
St. Cloud Church 83
"At the close of the evening service last Sunday, Mr. Whitaker laid aside the gown which was given to him many years ago by the church and in which, as the symbol of his office, he said he had tried to be faithful. The occasion was a most pathetic one and never to be forgotten by all those who were present.
"Mr. Whitaker's last service at St. Cloud will be on Sunday, December 23rd, when he will preach in the morning and conduct the communion service in the afternoon at 3:30 o'clock.
"The church at St. Cloud is left in excellent condition, having a beautiful church edifice with a comfortable parsonage, and no debt except a small amount unpaid on the latter. The congrega- tion is united and earnest. The church has become a center of great usefulness in all the mountain region, and its helpful influ- ences have extended in many lines far beyond its own territory."
The Evangelist of December 6th, 1894, gives the following tribute to the value of Mr. Whitaker's work at St. Cloud:
"To this field Mr. Whitaker came seventeen years ago, a young man, only a year out of the theological school, but animated by consecration, zeal, and practical wisdom. Soon every home within reach of the church found in him its most cordial friend and wise helper. All classes in the community worked faithfully together, the church became the centre of good influences for all that country-side, and while in every way the church was faithful in all its denominational attachments and contributions, yet Mr. Whitaker's influence was such that members of many denomina- tions were made at home and took an active part in the practical work of the church. At a communion service representatives of eight denominations have been present. The interest of the whole community was stimulated in various lines of missionary and philanthropic work.
"Being an extensive traveler as opportunity offered, Mr. Whitaker has brought to this quiet rural community the result of
84 St. Cloud Church
his careful observation, a wealth of interesting information, inci- dent, and description which has been highly valued.
"Those who have been familiar with this church from the beginning, feel that it will be impossible to speak too highly of the influence of Mr. Whitaker for all that is best, in the past as well as the present excellent condition of the church. This great sphere of labor held him longer than any one dared to hope, and he is followed to a wider field with the affection and interest of a very large circle in all the churches of this Presbytery of Morris and Orange."
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CHAPTER XIX.
A committee to supply the pulpit and recommend a pastor was appointed, consisting of Messrs. Jacobus, Williams, and Timms, together with Messrs. Brown, Condit, and Kimball. Soon after the appointment of the committee, Mr. Brown's son, the Rev. William Adams Brown, wrote to the Rev. Chauncey W. Goodrich, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, who had been the assistant to Dr. Parkhurst of New York and who, at the time, was traveling in Europe. He asked his friend "to be on the look-out for someone for the St. Cloud Church, and asked if he himself would favorably consider a call." The answer to this letter was received late in January, 1895, and intimated that "Mr. Goodrich was not unfavorably disposed to the idea." The committee continued to communicate with him and in the Orange Chronicle for April 6, 1895, we find an account of the congrega- tional meeting held to proffer the church's call to Mr. Goodrich.
"A special meeting of the congregation of the St. Cloud Church was held Wednesday evening to hear a report from the committee appointed to recommend a candidate for pastor. The Rev. Stanley White presided and conducted the opening religious exercises. Mr. Timms gave an extended account of the proceed- ings of the committee and of the circumstances which had called its attention to the Rev. Mr. Goodrich as a candidate for the pas- torate. Mr. Timms stated that there had been at least 25 appli- cants for the charge, but that Mr. Goodrich had seemed most eminently fitted for it, and that at last, after considerable delay in correspondence, owing to the fact of his absence m Europe, the committee had received so satisfactory a reply that it wished to report the facts at once.
• "Mr. Kimball related in full Mr. Goodrich's record since his
86 St. Cloud Church
graduation from college, and read letters from several professors at Yale and at Union Theological Seminary. All of these paid a high tribute to his judgment and scholarship, devotion to work, principles, winning manners, unassuming character and worth.
"Mr. Brown, who knows Mr. Goodrich personally, spoke warmly of him, both as a man and as a preacher, and read a letter from Dr. Parkhurst, who stated that he had so large a respect and regard for Mr. Goodrich that he should await with interest any information on his plans. 'He is the best all-around man I ever saw,' said Dr. Parkhurst.
"Mr. Kimball then read Mr. Goodrich's letter to the committee, dated at Munich on March 6th, and referring to such matters as vacations, time for study, time of arrival, etc. Mr. Goodrich stated that he could not see his way clear to begin work before September 1st, for he should hesitate to do so during the summer, and there were matters that would require his attention between July, when he would return to this country, and September.
"After time had been given for remarks and discussion, a motion was offered that 'the committee be requested to communi- cate to Mr. Goodrich the decision of the congregation that he become their pastor.' The vote was taken by ballot, and was reported carried."
The committee at once cabled to Mr. Goodrich the action of the church, and mailed him a formal statement of the meeting. His acceptance was prompt. The Orange Chronicle for Saturday, May 11th, 1895, published the following letter from Mr. Good- rich:
Letter from Rev. C. W. Goodrich.
"Gentlemen: — Your communication of April 3, in behalf of the community of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church, in which you inform me of the desire of the church and congregation
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formally expressed at the meeting on April 3, that I should become their pastor, was received yesterday.
"I think there is little need to assure you of my appreciation of the privilege of service for Christ among these people, and of the kindly feeling manifested in their choice of one as their pastor who as yet is personally known to but few of their number. To their request that I shall take up my ministry with them, I give my cordial assent, and although some of the requirements of Pres- byterian usage remain to be fulfilled, I shall consider myself pastor-elect with the expectation of taking my place in their church early in September, the understanding with regard to compensation, etc., being indicated in your conmiunication now before me.
"With the prayer that our common service in the name of Christ may be greatly blessed in the building up of His kingdom, "Yours with cordial regard,
"Chauncey W. Goodrich.
"Berlin, April 18, 1895,"
The congregation then, formally, by a rising vote, elected Mr. Goodrich pastor of the church and appointed Messrs. Jacobus and Kimball as a committee to present the matter to the Presby- tery of Morris and Orange at its next meeting.
88 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER XX.
The new minister came in September according to the agree- ment. Soon after his arrival a reception to meet him and Mrs. Goodrich was given at Brighthurst, to which a large number of St. Cloud people and out-of-town guests were invited. An account of his installation taken from various newspapers, gives the following details:
"The Rev. Chauncey W. Goodrich, pastor of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church, of West Orange, was formally installed last evening (Tuesday, October 15, 1895) in the presence of a large number of the residents of St. Cloud. The sermon was preached by Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst of New York. The constitutional questions were propounded and the prayer of installation was offered by the Rev. Charles Townsend, pastor of the First Presby- terian Church of Orange. The charge to the pastor was by the Rev. Wm. Adams Brown."
This was an impressive scene. The young professor, a friend and classmate of the new pastor, rose slowly and with gentle, quiet dignity and in terms of genuine affection charged his young friend, touching the duties he owed to himself and the congrega- tion. "You are beginning," said the speaker, "what is in a true sense the first independent work of your life. You have had hard and responsible work to do before this, of course; but in the main you have been under another man's authority, doing what another bade you, and running whither another sent you. Now you are to stand forth alone, — alone, that is, so far as human aid and guidance goes. All paths lie open before you. The history of the church and this community in the next few years will be, under God, largely what you make it. He would be less than human who did not feel in this thought a mighty inspiration stirring him to action. The field may be small in area, but it is great in possibility." He further charged him "to be patient" and to "lean hard upon God," concluding as follows:
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"You remember that scene in Bethany, described in the Gospel of Luke : Martha, anxious and troubled about many things ; Mary, sitting silent at the Master's feet. One thing is needful. I charge you, my brother, for yourself and for these people, that you choose that good part."
Dr. Smythe, who has many friends at St. Cloud, delivered the charge to the people. He asked the congregation to revere and respect the pastor, for it had been said that a congregation treated its ministers in three ways: first, they caressed him; secondly, they criticised him; and finally they censured him. He asked them tc go to Mr. Goodrich with their troubles; if they didn't like his preaching they were not to whisper it 'round, but "go to him first, in an open, manly way — give him your confidence," and, added Dr. Smythe, "pay him his salary, all that you promised and as much more as you can aff"ord, because ministerial piety, however exalted, does not pay the butcher, tailor, and bookseller. Pay him promptly, cheerfully, generously. People seem to think that poverty is essential to piety, especially in a minister."
The following letter from Mr. Whitaker was read by Dr. Smythe :
Letter from Rev. W. F. Whitaker.
"My Dear Dr. Smythe: — Today's mail informs me that the charge to the people at St. Cloud has been assigned to you. I am very glad that the duty has not fallen to a stranger. They are a good people, a people that I loved, love now, and shall love; a people that I sought to serve with my best efforts for a decade and a half, a people never to be forgotten because of kindness shown in many ways. In your visits you have learned something of the sterling worth of the congregation found among those hills and valleys.
"I could suggest many things for your official utterance, but your wisdom and experience will supply all needful themes.
90 St. Cloud Church
You cannot, however, speak from a personal acquaintance of more than a dozen snows, but if you are disposed, you may convey to the people the salutation of the first man installed within those walls. Give them the greeting of their absent friend, and assure them that his prayer for them runs along the lines of Eph. iii: 14-21.
"Fraternally,
"Albany, October 14th, 1895." "W. F. Whitaker.
Mr. Goodrich was then publicly congratulated by Dr. Town- send and all the congregation shook his hand heartily.
The new pastor was much beloved for his unassuming ways and his popularity increased daily. He was an excellent preacher and untiring in his pastoral work. Mrs. Goodrich was greatly interested in the cause of foreign missions and gave much thought and time to preparation for the Women's Missionary Meetings, and was faithful in her efforts to arouse enthusiasm. There are few formal records left of the five and a half years of Mr. Goodrich's work in the St. Cloud parish. The church paper was not continued and the custom of printing church calendars and annual reports had not yet begun, but the years were full and bore fruit, as shown by the lasting friendship between pastor and people. In the spring of 1901 the congregation was saddened by the following announcement which Mr. Goodrich gave from the pulpit:
"It may be remembered by some of the congregation that a few weeks ago I was called by business to my early home, Cleveland, Ohio. While there I was invited to preach in the Bolton Avenue Presbyterian Church — a church in which I naturally had a warm interest, as it is an off-shoot from the First Church, of which my father was long pastor, and in which I, myself, first confessed my Christian faith.
"The pulpit of that church is now vacant and, while still in Cleveland, I was waited upon by the committee, who expressed their strong desire that I would consider favorably the pastoral
St. Cloud Church 91
charge of this church. Close upon this action followed a unani- mous call from the church and congregation to become their pastor.
"The trying nature of the issue brought before me, you will understand. I shall suffer a wrench of heart in the severance of those ties which have grown only dearer with each year of my service here; how sad the thought is of looking no more into your faces to speak the message of Christ and of entering no more into your homes where I have longed to serve you, however feebly I have realized my longing, I do not trust myself to say.
"It is of God's kindness that in the face of the present alterna- tive the way of duty is perfectly plain. The call which comes to me is a distinct summons along the path of promotion to heavier responsibility and larger service, for which increase in years and experience qualify one, and in loyalty to Him whom I desire to serve to the utmost, I cannot turn my back upon it.
"In order, therefore, that I may accept this call, I herewith tender my resignation as pastor of this church, my official relation to you to terminate with the conclusion of the services of Sunday, May 5th. And, in accordance with the vote of your session, I ask this church and congregation to meet immediately after morning service next Sunday, April 14th, for the election of two commis- sioners who shall appear before the Presbytery with your pastor to request the acceptance of this resignation.
"It is with some reluctance that on this day of Easter joy I have brought this message of sad import. But the best interests of the church permitted no delay, nor can I wholly regret that if I must needs speak as I have, it is on an occasion when as a house- hold of faith we are gathered in the intimacy of this service at the Lord's table, strengthened by that heavenly bread which sus- tains in every trial and in the felt presence of Him who, amid all the changes of life, is evermore our Savior, our Guide, our Friend."
92 St. Cloud Church
CHAPTER XXI.
Mr. Goodrich's resignation was accepted and the committee appointed to choose a pastor to fill his place suggested the name of the Rev. Robert Gardner McGregor, of Utica, assistant to Dr. Terry. He had been Bible instructor at the Hill School for Boys, and was highly recommended. At a congregational meeting held in October (1901) a unanimous call was extended to Mr. Mc- Gregor, whose acceptance was as follows :
Letter from Rev. R. G. McGregor.
"To the Members of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church and Con- gregation :
"My dear People:
"It was with great pleasure that I received the formal call to become pastor of the little church you love so much and it is with greater pleasure that I now write you of my hearty accept- ance of it. This conclusion is reached in no haste, but after much deliberation and prayer. I tried to run away, but could not. Today I feel confident that my work lies with and among you, and with God's help, I believe that it will be a blessed work. I shall come to you strong in the faith that God lives, that Christ needs men and that men need Christ, and to this end I shall labor.
"Word has come to me that the call is unanimous. I rejoice in this, and trust that the spirit of unanimity and honest deter- mination may animate all our efforts.
"For many reasons it seems best that the work should be com- menced at once. God willing, therefore, I Avill come to you dur- ing the week beginning November third.
St. Cloud Church 93
"May God bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you until life's end. "Most sincerely and affectionately yours,
"Robert Gardner McGregor. "New York City, October 31st, 1901."
There was no delay in installing the new pastor. On Novem- ber 15th, three weeks after his arrival, he was installed with cus- tomary ceremonies.
A large congregation attended the service. The Rev. John F. Patterson, pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church, was the moderator, and he put the constitutional questions and offered the prayer of installation. After the congregation had sung the hymn, "The Church's One Foundation," Dr. Smythe, of East Orange, read the Scriptural selection and then Dr. Roderick Terry offered a prayer. The sermon was preached by Dr. Charles Cuthbert Hall, president of Union Seminary; Prof. Wm. Adams Brown, of New York, delivered the charge to the pastor, and the charge to the people was delivered by the Rev. Wm. F. Whitaker, of Albany, a former pastor of the St. Cloud Church. After the Doxology had been sung the newly-installed pastor pronounced the benediction.
Mr. McGregor was a hearty and energetic pastor and most faithful in his work at St. Cloud. One of the most important and, perhaps, characteristic accomplishments during the five years of his pastorate was the securing of a parish house, which was needed as a social center for the community. A vigorous news- paper article entitled, "Pastor Starts 'Em Digging," gives the fol- lowing account of the proceedings in the year 1904:
"If the backs and biceps of pastor and people hold out, the St. Cloud Church and congregation will have a parish house be- fore snow flies. And at the first signs of the weakening of the muscles of the laity, the boundless enthusiasm of a husky young
94 St. Cloud Church
pastor will be ready to hearten the lay brethren who may have become weary in well doing. When the Rev. Robert McGregor, an all-round graduate of Hamilton College, came to the little mountain church, he enlisted the interest of the young men of the community by organizing a baseball team, of which he was a member. The young men fell in with the idea and on Saturday afternoon many more than the nine men gathered on the field. The idea was a great success. But that was in the open season. When the cold weather came on, the church had no meeting place where the men could get together in the cold evenings. A parish house was needed and this spring, one fine Sunday morning, Mr. McGregor told his people that he wanted one for their use and he wanted them to build it from foundation up themselves. He said he'd work with the rest.
"The congregation responded with enthusiasm. Mr. John Crosby Brown, head of the banking house of Brown Brothers & Co., gave a plot of ground a short distance from the church. Mr. Adams Delano, a New York architect, drew the plans. Mr. Frye, a mason builder, senior member of the firm of Buten & Frye, said he'd oversee the work. Some of the farmers who have stone quar- ries on their farms agreed to provide the stone for the foundation. Others promised the lumber and shingles and Mr. McGregor, one bank clerk, one inventor, a wholesale butcher, three florists, and some others promised to dig for the foundation.
"The first shovelful of earth was taken out on July 4th, Mr. Brown handling the shovel. Every fair evening from then on, the congregation has been digging away up over the summit of Or- ange Mountain. They will have to dig two trenches thirty feet long for the sides and two trenches, one twenty-six feet long and the other thirty-six feet long, for the ends.
"By the time they have finished, the stone will be on the ground, and the masons, amateurs and professionals, will begin
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their part of the work. Then the carpenters will finish the job. There are seven carpenters in the congregation and they will attend to that end of it. The house will be all ready for use this winter."
The dedication of the completed parish house, which took place in the fall, was quite a unique occasion.
The men who did the actual work on the building sat down at 6:30 o'clock to a dinner which had been prepared under the supervision of Mrs. McGregor, wife of the pastor, assisted by a dozen young women of the parish. There were twenty-six at the table, which was decorated with roses, carnations and chrysanthe- mums. When the dinner had been served the tables were cleared away and the room was soon crowded with the residents of the mountain and members of the congregation. Mr. E. H. Moore, president of the Men's Club, presided.
Mr. Brown gave reminiscences of St. Cloud. He recalled those who had been active in the social and religious life of the congregation and spoke of the library building which had once stood on the Fuller place. He referred to the connection the mountain has with the outside world by reason of its residents, and alluded to the fact that the President's sister lived on the mountain. He paid a tribute to President Roosevelt.
Mrs. Robinson, the sister of the President, expressed her ap- preciation of the words spoken in praise of her brother and of the honor which had been done him by the mention of his name.
Mr. McGregor spoke on the name and purposes of the new building. He said that fifty-three men had worked on it since the ground was broken on July 4th, 1904, and that thanks were due especially to Mr. Brown, who donated the lot; to Mr. Adams Delano, the architect, and to Messrs. Herman Frye, Charles Dean, John Olstead, George Waldman, George Strobert, and Augustus Ochs, for their work.
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Addresses were also made by Messrs. Timms, Kimball and Robinson. A resolution was adopted thanking the pastor for the energy manifested by him in securing the building.
The new structure cost $1,400, which was exclusive of labor, as all those who worked on it gave their services free. There were three rooms, the main auditorium seating one hundred and twenty. The Men's Club room contained a blue-stone fireplace and was fitted up with dishes and cooking utensils contributed by the Ladies' Missionary Society.
A great deal of interest was taken in the raising of the "Parish House Fund." Rummage sales, useful sales, and entertainments were held and quite a sum of money was thus raised. As soon as the parish house was opened, it was used on Tuesday and Thurs- day afternoons and evenings, and later entertainments were given there. A library was opened, classes of various kinds were held, and, altogether, the parish had reason to be glad of its new acquisi- tion.
The library was opened and the first entertainment given in January, 1905. The latter consisted of a musical program, several tableaux, and a rendering of the comedy sketch, "Thirty Minutes for Refreshments." The library was organized as a branch of the Orange Free Library, with Miss Emma Stenken in charge, January 17, 1905. Mrs. Alfred Jenkins, President of the Orange Library, and Miss Elizabeth Rowland Wesson, librarian, explained the scope of the institution and sent up a number of books.
The following year, 1906, the Men's Club started the custom of celebrating Washington's birthday by a big annual dinner with toasts, speeches, etc., which has been preserved to the present day. Nearly one hundred guests were present at the first dinner. The parish house was appropriately decorated with American flags and red, white and blue streamers. After an excellent menu had been served, the toastmaster, Mr. Brown, was introduced by Peter Duflf,
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president of the club. Before the speech making, the guests drank the health of President Roosevelt, and sang "My Country Tis of Thee." State Senator Everett Colby, the guest of the evening, spoke of reform movements in New Jersey state government. He received an ovation as he rose and even greater applause at the close of his address.
Mr. Treadwell Cleveland followed with a short speech con- trasting Washington with public men of the present day. After this, Dr. James Ludlow, pastor of the Munn Avenue Presbyterian Church, East Orange, brought a greeting from the Men's Club of that church, and Mr. McGregor, the last speaker of the evening, spoke on "The Why of Our Being Here," mentioning the success of the recently-organized Men's Club and outlining plans for future work.
Sales, fairs, etc., were often held in the building, usually for the benefit of the library or parish house, sometimes for such projects as the Church Repair Fund, etc. It continued to be a community center until the summer of 1910, when it was super- seded by a beautiful new building.
In the summer of 1905 the Presbytery of Morris and Orange held its second stated meeting at St. Cloud. An amusing incident in connection with this meeting still lives in the memory of the St. Cloud people.
Previous to the afternoon session a dinner was served in the new parish house by the women of the church. Some merriment v/as created at the dinner when it was announced by Mr. McGregor that he had been authorized by Mrs. Robert Baird, a prominent member of the church, to purchase a large saloon for the benefit of the clergymen attending the meeting. Although this announce- ment by the pastor seemed incredible, Mr. McGregor proved his statement by producing a dispatch signed by Mrs. Baird, which read as follows:
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"Kindly order large saloon. Both enjoying trip. Thanks let- ters." When the laughter had abated, Mr. McGregor attempted to explain. For several weeks the women of St. Cloud had been preparing for the entertainment of the delegates to the meeting, and included in the arrangements were elaborate preparations for the luncheon. Mrs. Baird had agreed to furnish a twenty-five pound salmon, but received a hurried call to Europe a few days before. In the confusion of leaving, the salmon was forgotten and nothing was thought of the big fish until Monday, when the pastor learned that none had been provided. An investigation was started, but neither telephone, messenger, telegrams, nor letters were successful in revealing any arrangement for furnishing the desired edible.
At last Mr. McGregor and his congregation gave up in despair and were casting their nets in other water for a fish to make the luncheon menu complete. Affairs took a new turn on Monday, however, when a Marconigram came from Mrs. Baird. For a few minutes after reading the dispatch the pastor was indignant, but on further consideration he decided that the Marconi operator had mistaken the word salmon for saloon.
The Marconigram caused much merriment and Mr. McGregor was repeatedly asked if he had made the necessary arrangements to take out a license.
Not long after this well-remembered Presbytery meeting, the St. Cloud Church lost the pastor who had added so much to the life and enthusiasm of the parish.
On the second Sunday in April, 1906, Mr. McGregor an- nounced to the congregation his decision to accept the call offered him by the North Avenue Presbyterian Church of New Rochelle, his resignation to take effect the last week in June. A letter writ- ten at this time expresses his regret at leaving the St. Cloud Church, to which he had become deeply attached during his pas-
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torate of four years and a half. His resignation was accepted by the congregation and a committee was appointed to secure a new pastor. On the 10th of June a farewell reception was given to Mr. and Mrs. McGregor.
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CHAPTER XXII.
The pastor chosen by the committee to fill the vacant pulpit was the Rev. George Kennedy Newell, a graduate of Union Theo- logical Seminary and, at the time, in charge of the City Park Branch, a mission of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn. The Orange Journal for September 22nd, 1906, records that:
"The congregation of the St. Cloud Church by a unanimous vote, Sunday morning, extended a call to the Rev. George Ken- nedy Newell. The Rev. John M. Thomas, pastor of the Arlington Avenue Presbyterian Church, East Orange, acted as moderator of the congregational meeting. Mr. Timms, one of the elders of the church, presented a report of the committee appointed to nominate a new pastor. The report indorsed Mr. Newell and a letter from Mr. John Crosby Brown was read by Mr. Timms, speaking in high terms of him and advocating his selection. Mr. Kimball also spoke in indorsement of Mr. Nev/ell. A committee consisting of Mr. Timms and Mr. Wm. Edgar Condit was appointed to present the call and to take the matter before the Presbytery."
An account of the installation appeared in the columns of the same paper in the following week:
"The installation services at the St. Cloud Church were con- ducted by direction of the Presbytery and the Rev. Robert Hast- ings Nichols, Moderator of the Presbytery and pastor of Trinity Place Church, South Orange, presided and asked the constitutional questions. The installation sermon was preached by Dr. Wm. Adams Brown, of the faculty of Union Theological Seminary. The charge to the pastor was delivered by the Rev. Albert Erd- man, pastor of the South Street Presbyterian Church, Morristown, who is the father-in-law of the new minister. Mr. McGregor gave the charge to the people, and the Rev. Stanley White, pastor of
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the Hillside Presbyterian Church of Orange, delivered the installa- tion prayer." The Journal account concludes with a few remarks about the St. Cloud Church, and refers to it as "one of the most prosperous churches in this section of the State."
It was in the year 1908, the second year of Mr. Newell's pas- torate, that the missionary interest of the church was concentrated upon one particular field. Lahore, India, was chosen as St. Cloud's "Parish Abroad."
From the very first the church had been vitally interested in missions. Addresses by returned missionaries were always a prominent feature of the year's program. The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society was strong. The girls' band, "The Willing Workers," has already been mentioned, and for some time there was, in connection with this, a society for younger girls also, which went by the name of the "Busy Bees."
Missionary entertainments were given and also stereopticon lectures, parlor meetings, concerts, etc., the proceeds of which went to missionary objects. In 1894 a missionary library had been presented to the church by Mrs. Brown in memory of her grandfather, Mr. John Adams.
The missionary interest, however, as is often the case, had been scattered. A mere glance over the list of countries named by Mr. Whitaker in 1890 as places to which the "Willing Workers" had sent contributions and gifts, is enough to show the truth of this statement, and when in 1908 this interest was focused on one field, it was felt to be a distinct gain. Lahore is still St. Cloud's parish abroad, and interest in that parish has increased.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
In the year following the adoption of this project the little church suffered a severe loss in the death of Mr. Brown, one of its wisest friends and most loyal supporters. This occurred on June 25th, 1909. The annual report, published in the following month, expresses the grief of the congregation :
"As we close our church year and note the work that has been done, we have to record the most trying loss that this church and, indeed, this community has been called to meet in the course of the whole thirty years of its existence.
"On June 25th, after a long and painful illness, Mr. John Crosby Brown passed on into the life of the heavenly world. In all these years he has been the generous and inspiring leader in every movement for the uplift of the neighborhood. In church at St. Cloud, in the weekly meetings for devotion, his gentle influence and helpful words modestly expressed have been a most power- ful influence for good; his place can never be filled. He has been preeminently useful and highly valued in the great world, religious and educational, outside of our mountain community, but in no place will his memory be cherished more aff"ectionately than here. We have the same Leader whom he followed and who inspired his every act; let us cheerfully continue in the coming years to promote the work which centers about this church, and with the blessing of God, it will become an increasing influence for usefulness."
Some months later, on the 17th of October, a tablet to the memory of Mr. Brown was unveiled at the St. Cloud Church. The little church was crowded. The pulpit was banked with palms and with chrysanthemums, Mr. Brown's favorite flower. A part in the service was taken by Dr. William F. Whitaker, pastor of the
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First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, N. J., who was for seven- teen years pastor at St. Cloud, by Rev. Robert G. McGregor, of New Rochelle, who was pastor from 1901 to 1906, and by Rev. George K. Newell, the present pastor. A letter was read from Rev. C. W. Goodrich, pastor of the American Church in Paris, who succeeded Dr. Whitaker in 1895. All the members of Mr. Brown's family were present, including Mrs. Brown, Dr. and Mrs. Wm. Adams Brown, Dr. and Mrs. Edward C. Moore, Miss Mary Magoun Brown, Mr. and Mrs. James Crosby Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher M. Brown, and Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. DeForest.
The tablet which was given by Mrs. Brown and is placed on the north wall of the church, near the pew Mr. Brown occupied, bears this inscription :
In memory of John Crosby Brown
Born May 22nd, 1838. Died June 25th, 1909
He that believeth in me shall never die. St. John 11:25-26
This verse is especially appropriate, for while he lives above the
stars the memory of his earthly life bears permanent evidence of
his thoughtfulness for others.
"The erection of this memorial and expression of loving re- membrance," said Mr. Newell, "will serve the purpose of true re- ligion by perpetuating a name honored and beloved, but far more by perpetuating a faith. Because the two were inseparable, the man and the faith, we include his name upon the walls of this church and feel that it is to the glory of God."
Dr. Whitaker next spoke as follows:
"To stand here this morning, within these walls, under this roof,' on this platform, and not to see the face of John Crosby Brown, is a strange experience. For more than twenty-five years he has been associated most intimately with work and worship here, walking along that aisle, filling a seat in yonder pew, stand-
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ing at this desk. For more than a quarter of a century he has been the inspiration and associate of those who have loved this church. Today, when the pews are filled, we all miss the one face made dear by these many years of fellowship. We do miss Mr. Brown. The chrysanthemum, which he loved so well and de- lighted to send hither to beautify the House of God, is here in its beauty; but the voice of one who invited us to share in the beauty of the roses and the splendor of the autumn flowers, as they grew at his home, is hushed this morning as we enter where it was his delight to join in song and supplication.
"Moreover, it is strange to feel his absence just at this season. On this October morning, all the great out-of-doors is aglow with beauty, ablaze with the rich colors of autumn, in hedge-row, field and forest. The dogwood, catching the eye in the spring with its welcome white, has now put on its rich attire of color. How he enjoyed the blossoms, the orderly and glorious unfolding of the seasons! How dear to his heart was the realm of nature. Two pictures of Mr. Brown are held in precious memory. In one I see the face of the thoughtful man of large aff"airs, a face serious but kind. In the other I see a man just from his office, free for the day, putting on his soft hat, shod in his stout boots, with Norfolk jacket and swinging cane, eager for the fields, ready for the path- less woods, a lover of Nature.
"He had a manifest fondness for the region lying just about us. This mountain ridge, and the parallel valleys which guard it, caught the eye of this observer. He was a pioneer. Here in the forest he laid the foundation of his country home. Here in the wood he made new paths, or guarded with care those which were traced in an earlier century. Here on this mountain he found rest, rest amid the manifold cares of a busy and fruitful life. Here on this mountain he fell asleep, near the June roses, beneath the tall trees of the forest.
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"But he found delight in mountains that were higher, the ranges clad with the eternal snows. One summer, a half dozen years ago, I found him amid the Alps, in the Swiss land. There he walked and thought beneath the shadow of those white summits, those massive, majestic, magnificent peaks, pointing to the sky and adorned with the white gifts of the clouds. What refreshment he found in that atmosphere! He told me of his climbing; he gave the narrative of a recent expedition in the neighborhood. It was easy to see that his soul found delight in this communion with the high hills. This gives meaning to a photograph which I cherish. In this, the center of the picture is filled by a pair of shoes. These have double-thick soles, two rows of nails, and other provision for use in hard climbing. In the background rise the high Alps, the mountains he so loved to climb. The shoes were his, but never again could they be used. The medical adviser had forbidden the quest of such high altitudes. There was no whine of disappoint- ment, however. The sweet spirit of full resignation breathes from the picture of the old companions which must be left behind for- ever.
"A mountain is unlike a plain. With one stroke of the eye, and from almost any point, one can survey all parts and features of the level expanse. To change the place yields no special change in prospect. But the tall mountain has a broad base, massive sides, a cluster of peaks, a lofty summit. To see it, to know it, one must go around it. No two glimpses will yield exactly the same vision. Mr. Brown was like the mountains which he loved so well; he was many-sided, he was seen to advantage from many points of view. Only two features of his life have been mentioned now; he loved God; he loved little children.
''He loved God. For this reason he loved Nature. He found an index of God in this. His handiwork. He thought, in the spirit of Miss Howett's poem, that 'God might have made the earth with-
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out a flower.' But the flowers were divinely ordered, to Vhisper hope, to comfort God's children.' Thus he gave heart and hand to the work of the Flow^er Mission. This beneficence may have been born of a woman's thought, but the efficient oversight of Mr. Brown made it possible for the color and fragrance of the gar- dens and the fields to find their way to the humble homes in the crowded city. This was reverent service; it was undertaken as for God. In the prayer in his own home, on Sunday evening, how often he has asked the blessing of God upon the little bouquets to go forth on the morrow, making petition that a precious mes- sage of cheer and comfort might go with them to the sick and sad, the poor and lonely.
"He loved God in His works, failed not to honor Him in cherishing His day, in seeking His house, in studying His book, in maintaining fellowship with His people. What a rich benedic- tion this church has enjoyed in the presence here, for so many years, of one who made it his chief end to glorify God.
"jfi^e loved little children. These stand at the other end of the scale of being. He who honors God and has manifest concern for little children, touches the termini, and between these no good end can be alien to his eff"ort. How Mr. Brown did love the little folk ! Whether these were of his own home circle, were members of the Sunday School here, or were those brought to his acres from the narrow and needy streets of the great city, the children never failed to make an appeal to his great heart. The 'fresh air' work, carried on for so many years at Brighthurst with that inviting log cabin for its center, bears witness to no ordinary eff"ort of phil- anthropy. But some of us will remember best Mr. Brown's min- istry as superintendent of the Sunday School. In this office, the only one that he was willing to accept, you have seen him standing just here, at this desk, leaning over it in his earnest address to the little children gathered in front of him. No picture of Mr.
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Brown is more vivid. In thought, in precious memory, we see him now, leaning forward a little, lifting his finger in emphasis, rais- ing his head for better vision, and then speaking to the school as tenderly and directly as though all were of one family, as though each child were in his care.
"This is not a work to attract public notice. Children are not 'lions' in society; children are not 'masters' in finance; chil- dren are not 'leaders' in the affairs of State. To serve them seems to be giving heed to trifles. But Mr. Brown knew where good work would tell for good. An eminent member of the Bar of New York in addressing the Alumni of a prominent New England col- lege, said in substance that he had been impressed with the futility of legislation. He declared that the statute-books were graveyards for enactments which might as well not have passed. They have amounted to little in shaping the course of the world or in guiding its progress. But the great work has been done by parents, by teachers, by those who in obscure places and in quiet ways have helped to shape the ideas of childhood. Judged by this standard of service, how high is the reward of one who was willing to spend and be spent for little children. Spectacular labors abound; modest ministries are overlooked. Talking to a Sunday School, in a little church, on a mountain apart; this may call forth no line of notice in the newspaper, but God alone knows the fruit thereof.
"The decisions of the great Judgment will turn upon trifles. Little deeds, forgotten deeds will have weight. We are going on to be judged, not touching the great aff"airs of life, the brave un- dertakings, the conspicuous accomplishments, but concerning things that are small, so small that they are not always remem- bered. When saw we? Mr. Brown was charged with great responsibilities; he had part in world-wide undertakings; but it is a pleasure to remember this day his faithfulness in that which seemed least.
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"Just there, on that tablet near his pew, we, and those who come after us, may read his name; but with his own life he wrote that upon our hearts. We thank God today for our memories of one who has inspired us with a deeper desire to glorify the Most High and to serve the most humble.
"The inscription on the tablet needs no amendment, but one may say of Mr. Brown in truth what the traveler reads upon a marble tablet beyond the sea, the memorial of one who
" 'At all times and everywhere gave
his strength to the weak,
his substance to the poor,
his sympathy to the suffering, and
his heart to God.' "
Following an address by Mr. McGregor, a tribute to Mr. Brown was paid by Mr. Newell, who also made the announcement that Mr. Brown's children proposed to erect a Sunday School Building to the memory of their father.
Mr. Newell referred to his association with Mr. Brown during the three years of his pastorate and gave some impressions of his fellowship with him. Speaking first of the power of reverence, he said:
"Reverence is an attribute of character of those who are truly great. In the gospel story it was the man who was important enough to have men under his authority who felt unworthy of receiving Jesus under his roof. So in the life we remember today the great influence of his name and place among men, the very honor that all accorded him, seemed to cause a deeper reverence to grow in his heart for things holy and sacred. Such reverence is a power. It binds us to all the good of the past by teaching respect for the faith which made our fathers great. It gives
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strength for the present struggle by recognition of the hand of God in this day's doings. It gives confidence for the future as we reverently consider the power of the love of God. Reverence for God teaches respect for one's fellowmen, and that wholesome self-respect without which no man can be a child of God.
*'During these last years of restricted activity it has been reserved for me to sound some of the depths of Mr. Brown's lov- ing interest in little children, and of his hopes for the youth of today, as shown in his conversations and in his prayers. His familiar, oft-repeated petition for God's blessing upon little chil- dren brought all who heard his word of prayer near to the heart of our Father in heaven.
"It was thoroughly characteristic of Mr. Brown that upon our Children's Day services on June 13 last, he sent a word of greeting to the children of this church; his last message to us was a mes- sage to the children. Nothing could be more fitting than a memorial erected to his name for the benefit of the children of his parish.
"It is my great joy to tell you that because of Mr. Brown's love for the children, provision will be made to meet the cue great need of this church, the need of a suitable room in v.hich to teach the children the truths of the religion of Jesus Christ.
"I am authorized to announce that the sons and daughters of Mr. Brown will erect and present to this church a memorial Sun- day school building. This new home for the Sunday School will preserve for generations to come not only the heritage of Mr. Brown's name, but also the one great inheritance of his life most worthy of preservation— his love to God and faith in Jesus Christ. Here will be taught the faith by which Mr. Brown lived and through which he entered into life eternal.
"As the years shall bring larger opportunities for doinsr the will of God in this community, through the grooving influence of
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the John Crosby Brown Memorial Sunday School building, this larger memorial outside of and by the side of these church walls shall bear a mighty witness to the text which we have written within the church, 'He that believeth on me shall never die.' "
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CHAPTER XXIV.
It seems not inappropriate to insert here a letter from Mr. Brown written in Europe in 1889. It was sent to the Rev. Mr. Whitaker, and was read by him to the Sunday School on an anni- versary, Children's Sunday:
Letter from Mr. J. C. Brown.
"Langen Schwalbach, Germany, May 26th, 1889. "My dear Children :
"You will, I hope, be expecting to hear from me on Children's Sunday, and, unless some accident happens to this letter by the way, you should receive it in time for our usual Children's service.
"First of all you will want to know where I am; because a message always means more when one knows where it comes from. If you will look on your map of Europe, and trace the great river of Germany, the Rhine, from its mouth in the North Sea, past Rotterdam in Holland, Dusseldorf in Germany, Cologne, the seat of the great Gothic cathedral, but which you will remember better from the name it has given to the sweet-smelling liquid which so many of you use; then still farther south, past Bonn, the seat of one of the great German universities; then still farther up the swift-flowing river, now with its banks covered with vineyards stiff and ugly in their spring costume, looking like fields of bare, short poles with a little green sprouting at their base, but withal as neat as a freshly-raked garden-bed; passing now and then an old castle mostly in ruins, perched high up upon the hills; still on and up the river past Coblentz, and on the opposite side of the river the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, which Mr. Whitaker will tell you means 'The broad stone of honor' (probably from the
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fact that only thrice in its long history has it ever been taken by an enemy — once foully betrayed by its commanding officer, and twice starved into surrender after all food had been consumed by the garrison) ; still farther south, past more castles, many in ruins and all with a romantic history, to Bingen, where the valley widens out and the river makes a sudden turn to the east; then a few miles farther up, and you come to the little village of Elt- ville, situated in a perfect garden of vineyards, or as you would say at this time of year, of bare poles and brown earth.
"Leaving the historic river here, we take a carriage and drive about ten miles due north, first through the vineyards and then up a narrow pretty wooded valley past Schlangenbad, a famous German bathing-place, to this little village of Schwalbach, prettily situated in a high valley two hundred feet higher than the top of Orange Mountain. It is full of springs of water. It is a very quiet little place for most of the year; but from June to September it is filled with strangers from all parts of the world seeking rest and health. As yet there are not many people here.
"I am sitting in the open air at a little table under the trees. There are two things I want to tell about, and from each of them I am sure that both you and I can learn some useful lessons. We are wakened on Sunday morning by the sound of the church-bell. Ten o'clock finds us inside the German Reformed Church. It is an old building, very much like an old New England meeting- house, only built of stone with thick walls, and a wooden vaulted roof white-washed, or perhaps roughly painted within. The v/in- dows are tall and narrow, with a round top ; there are four on each side, two behind the pulpit and one on each side. All have plain glass and a white curtain to moderate the glare of the sun. The pulpit is on one side, and high up. It is just big enough to hold one man, and it has a sort of extinguisher on top. A staircase leads up to the pulpit, but it is hidden by a wooden screen extend-
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ing across that side of the church. Under the pulpit hangs the only decoration in the church, an engraving of the great German reformer, Luther. On a platform, in front of the pulpit, stands the communion table, made of dark stone or marble, and solid to the floor. This platform (on which the table stands) is raised three steps above the floor of the church. It extends across the side of the church. On each end, there are benches on which sit the children— the little boys at one end and the little girls at the other.
"I have no doubt this building will be very familiar and very dear to some of your fathers and mothers, who will remember it as the old home church in the old home country.
"I sat in one of the pews with my family, or rather I hung upon a narrow wooden shelf called a seat — a plain, unpainted board. It had a back, however, which the children's benches did not have. I looked around and found in the other pews a good congregation, and all women ! There was no minister anywhere. Presently the organ began. It was played beautifully and devoutly, and we sat for full five minutes. Then a little door in the screen behind the pulpit opened, and the minister appeared with his book in his hand, and walked to the communion table. The children in- stantly rose to greet him. All began to sing a hymn, and then everybody rose, and then I saw that all of the men were upstairs in the gallery. Men upstairs; women down-stairs; children on each side of the pulpit; ofl&cers of the church on a bench by them- selves at one side. The minister wore a black gown, like Mr. Whitaker's. He wore a peculiar white collar or bands, such as my grandfather used to wear when he was pastor in the old church in Troy, New York, and when he preached once in Orange in the old First Church, which stood in the middle of Main street, oppo- site Mr. Lindsley's store.
"After the opening part of the service was over, the minister
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retired behind the screen, and while we were singing a beautiful German hymn (everybody singing heartily) , the minister climbed up the pulpit stairs and stood in the queer little pulpit with his Bible in his hands. After reading the text in the Epistle of James, he preached a simple, earnest sermon lasting about an hour. Then after another hymn he came down from the pulpit, repeated the Lord's prayer and dismissed the congregation. Just as he began the Lord's prayer, the sexton tolled the church bell and continued until the prayer had ended — a beautiful notice (as it seemed to me) to all passers in the street and to the sick in their homes, of the time of this particular act of worship.
"Now, my dear children, why have I told you this long story, at some parts of which you may feel inclined to laugh? For sev- eral reasons, but mainly for two.
"First, to tell you of the oneness of the Gospel of Christ where- ever it is simply and earnestly presented.
"Look around at your own church-home, our beautiful build- ing, doubly beautiful as it will be this Children's Sunday with the flowers which our Heavenly Father has made. You see about you everything to attract the eye and gratify the taste. Instead of being bare and nude, and with uncomfortable seats, see what you have in your house of God — beauty, comfort, grace, everything to make you happy and reverential and good as far as outward things can. How you would turn up your noses if we were to ask you to sit on such seats as are used here! But, my dear children, the outside is nothing except as we use it to bring us nearer to God. When the good minister here read out of his Bible, in the queer- sounding accent, and with words of a foreign language, to people sitting in these plain pews, some women with bonnets and some without; and when he preached out of that Bible, it was no longer his Bible but it was also ours. It was God's word, and the min- ister's simple plea was that we should receive God's word in our
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hearts, love it, feed upon it, be hearers of it not only but doers of it also — and so, dear children, God's word is one and the same the world over, whether presented to us in English, French or Ger- man, or any other language under the sun, and it is my earnest prayer for you all that God's word may dwell richly in you at all times — that you may study it more and more; for I am sure of this, that the nearer you and I can pattern our daily lives after the example of our Lord and Master, the happier and more contented are we sure to be in this life — and in addition we have the promise of the life hereafter.
"In the second place, there were many lessons which I carried away from this simple morning service. For example, the audi- ence and especially the children were reverential and devout in their manners in the house of God. When the minister moved from one place to another in the different parts of the service, the children instantly and quietly rose and remained standing, till he had taken his proper place. For another lesson: They all sang well, and heartily; but best of all, even the little tots, the infant children, remained in church and took part in the service, singing or listening as the case might be.
"If you only knew how it grieves me to see that as soon as Sunday School is over so many of our children run home, as though they had no part or place in the worship of God's house with the older people.
"We can learn many good lessons from our good German friends. They teach us respect for our elders, reverence for God's house (even though it be little better than a whitewashed barn outwardly), and the presence of the children as an essential part of the congregation in the services of God's house on the holy day.
"I have read of the great times you have had recently at the Washington Centennial. I sometimes think that we are in great danger of losing a large part of the blessing which our fathers
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gained for us by forgetting many of their teachings and many of their practices. They were great men, and God used them to do great things, because they knew how to obey as well as to com- mand. They feared God, and therefore they had no fear of man before their eyes; and because they feared God they dared to do the right, and suffered all manner of evil and discomfort and persecution.
"We are trying too often and too much to make everything easy in our lives; but all great, noble and true lives have had and must have a cross; and my prayer for you, my children, is that you may not fear to be cross-bearers. In the grand cathedral at Cologne, on a pillar near one of the great doors, stands a beau- tiful statue of St. Christopher, with his little child upon his shoulder. I stopped over at Cologne especially to see it. It has such a sweet lesson to me, and it has such a touching story that I shall ask Mr. Whitaker to tell it to you one of these days. It is too long to repeat here, but I should like you to carry the spirit of the . story through your lives.
"Now my letter is so long that I can scarcely touch upon another subject, and yet I cannot bear to pass it over altogether. I will venture to add a very interesting sketch of a soldiers' ceme- tery near the Rhine.
"On the hill above Coblentz, between the Rhine and the Mosel, there is a great plain. During the Franco-Prussian war this plain was used as a camp for soldiers who were prisoners. During the war about 10,000 French soldiers were confined there, i. e., more than half the population of Orange. Many of these prisoners were brought in sick and wounded, and many died there. A little spot on the slope of the hill was fenced off for a cemetery. A little, very little chapel was built, and as the poor prisoners died they were laid to rest by their comrades in the little graveyard, with the burial service like that used at their homes. By and by the
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war ended. The living and the well prisoners went home. But the dead must remain behind, left to the tender mercies of their conquerors? What has happened? Coblentz is a German fortress and there are always many German soldiers stationed there. That little burying ground, ever since the French left it, has been most carefully guarded and cared for by the German soldiers. Not a weed is allowed to grow in it, and so carefully is it tended that if the soldier of the day who looks after it allows a weed to grow, or in any way neglects his work, he is locked up in the guard- house for several days. A monument was built, and on this monument, as well as at the head of each grave, is written the name, age, and all that is known of each poor Frenchman buried there. In all this most carefully kept land (of Germany) I have seen no more beautifully and carefully kept spot than this burial ground of French prisoners.
"Dear children, remember who it was that said, 'When thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he be thirsty, give him drink;' and be sure in all your lives to follow the spirit of these words. If you want to turn an enemy into a friend, be kind to him for Christ's sake. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
"And now, good-bye. May God bless you all, and bring us all together for our next Children's Sunday.
"Your affectionate superintendent,
"John Crosby Brown."
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CHAPTER XXV.
The proposed Sunday School Building was not only a most fitting memorial to Mr. Brown; it was an imperative need of the church. In the annual report for 1905 we read: "Our Sunday School shows greater growth than any other part of the church activity. THE iNEED OF A PROPER SUNDAY SCHOOL ROOM WAS NEVER SO PRESSING AS TODAY."
On the 12th of June of the following year (1910), the corner- stone of the memorial building was laid at the close of the Sunday service, as a part of the Children's Day exercises. Mr. Newell presided. Three of Mr. Brown's grandchildren laid this stone, under which, in a copper box, were the following articles : A New Testament used for several years by Mr. Brown, a program of the exercises, a list of the officers and members of the church, the membership roll of the teachers, officers, and pupils of the Sunday School, and a copy of the address delivered by Mr. Brown at the laying of the cornerstone of the new building at Union Theological Seminary.
The dedication took place on Sunday morning, November 31, 1910. An advance notice in a New York periodical gives the following details:
"A beautiful Sunday School building is to be added to the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church on Orange Mountain, which will carry over the entrance door on the interior this inscription :
"This building in loving memory
of
John Crosby Brown,
Born May 22nd, 1838. Died June 25th, 1909.
Was erected by his children.
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"This Sunday School is one of the most modern structures of its kind to be found in the Oranges. It is shingled on the exterior, while the interior finish is of finely grained wood. There is a main schoolroom, a kindergarten room and a primary department, besides three classrooms for the older students. For each class there will be a semi-circle of chairs, with a large table for use in the map drawing, which is one of the features of the graded system used in the school. There is also an office for the secretary.
"Mr. Brown was for thirty-three years the superintendent of the Sabbath School of the church, of which he was one of the founders, and into which he built many years of his life. In com- parison with the larger objects which occupied his attention, this little Sunday School was an inconspicuous thing, but he believed that valuable manhood and womanhood were outgrowths of truth implanted in childhood, and he gave a touching patience and persistence to the planting. Every child was to him new territory compact of lasting possibilities and a being belonging primarily to God's world, who must inevitably act his part in it. He wished, therefore, that all children should grow up in an atmosphere of unconscious preparation, with a foreknowledge of the importance of life and its responsibilities.
"The Sunday School building is to be enriched and hallowed by a rare and important work of religious art. This is a large golden bronze bas-relief by the sculptor, Chester A. Beach, which is to be placed in the space over the reading desk. The subject is a celestial figure holding the hands of two earthly children, whose differing characteristics bridge the interval between the unconscious joy of childhood and the period when it first hears the call of the purely spiritual. It is, as all great art must be, an inter- pretation of things seen, but not fully understood in their divine relations. The heavenly beauty of the central figure is the fixed shadow of the faith, hope and charity, which spend for others,
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and are the living motives of all religious teaching, while the two sculptured children represent the objects of effort thus inspired. It is a worthy memorial not only of self-denying effort, but of the enthusiasm which makes labor effective, and which belongs alone to the man who sees beyond the veil, who has the gifts of the prophet and the seer.
"It is easy to understand the relation between this tender and reverent work of art and Mr. Brown's altruistic activities. It is their heavenward aspect, the angelhood which underlies all con- secration of human gifts to the higher needs of the world. Such suggestions are rare in the able and varied art of today, which is far more concerned with material than with spiritual possibilities; but it is most fitting that such an exquisite memorial should spring from Mr. Brown's special love for the young, to bless for genera- tions the children of St. Cloud.
"Mr. Brown's character included the primitive virtues taught by Christ, and his large business relations with the world and his financial importance were characterized and ennobled by them. All uplifting measures found in him a ready sympathy, but he was accustomed to apply also to such plans a discriminating power or instinct which was able to make them practically effective. The radiation of this largeness of experience gave breadth also to his smaller and more personal efforts. On all sides of life, in his family, in his philanthropies, in his friend- ships, and in his church work, he illustrated the spirit of the text now appropriately inscribed upon the bas-relief erected in his memory: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.'
"Such men as Mr. Brown make us feel the worth of every indi- vidual. They prize the young lives which are to reach forward into the future and perpetuate under new and ever-changing forms
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the highest aspirations and influences of the past. To touch and mould the thoughts of the children of our own day is to serve the future age; and such service nobly performed lends fresh and beautiful significance to the words placed upon his memorial tab- let in the St. Cloud Church : 'He that believeth in me shall never die!'"
The following extract, published after the occasion, gives us a fuller account:
"Well-known characteristics of the life of John Crosby Brown, who was one of the founders of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church, were recalled at the services of the dedication in the new Sunday School building, which was presented to the church by his chil- dren. The services were held in the new building yesterday morning at 11 o'clock. The members of the Sunday School marched in a body from the church into the new edifice, singing 'Onward, Christian Soldiers.' They occupied seats reserved for them in the front, and the members of the church and congrega- tion filled the room. Among those present were the members of the Church of the Holy Innocents, who united in this service with the members of the Presbyterian Church.
"Mr. Newell was in charge of the dedication service. After an address by Dr. Moore, a son-in-law of Mr. Brown, Dr. William Adams Brown made the presentation, during which the bas-relief and the tablet over the door were unveiled. The latter was unveiled by two of Mr. Brown's grandsons who bear his name, John Crosby Brown 2nd, son of Dr. William Adams Brown, and John Crosby Brown Moore, son of Dr. Edward Caldwell Moore, of Cambridge^ Mass.
"Dr. Brown also presented a large pulpit Bible to Mr. Timms, who represented the session of the church; a smaller Bible to Mr. Winthrop D. Smith, superintendent of the Sunday School; a record book to Mr. Elmer Condit, secretary of the Sunday School,
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and the keys of the building to Mr. Alfred R. Kimball, president of the Board of Trustees.
"Two beautiful windows, one above the platform and the other at the opposite end of the building, were taken from the old Adams Chapel at Union Seminary, which was erected by Mrs. Brown in memory of her father, Dr. William Adams. A handsome brass vase, the work of a laborer in the east side of New York, was the gift of Miss Wald, of the Nurses' Settlement, New York City. It was Mr. Brown's custom to entertain every week parties of mothers and children and convalescents from the city at his home on the mountainside.
"Mr. Newell made the prayer of dedication, after which the hymn of dedication, 'Beatitude,' was sung by the congregation. The closing prayer and benediction were pronounced by the Rev. W. D. P. Bliss, rector of the Church of the Holy Innocents."
The Scripture readings and addresses are given here in full:
Dedication of the John Crosby Brown Memorial Sunday
School Building at St. Cloud, Orange, N. J.,
November 13, 1910.
Psalm 127.
Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep.
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them : they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
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The Wisdom of Solomon, Chapter 4.
1. For in the memory of virtue is immortality:
Because it is recognized both before God and before men.
2. When it is present, men imitate it; And long after it when it is departed :
And throughout all time it marcheth crowned in triumph, Victorious in the strife for the prizes that are undefiled.
7. But a righteous man, though he die before his time, shall be at rest.
8. (For honorable old age is not that which standeth in length of time.
Nor is its measure given by number of years:
9. But understanding is gray hairs unto men, And an unspotted life is ripe old age.)
10. Being made perfect in a little while, he fulfilled long years;
14. For his soul was pleasing unto the Lord:
Chapter 5.
9. Those things all passed away as a shadow, And as a message that runneth by:
10. As a ship passing through the billowy water. Whereof, when it is gone by, there is no trace to be found. Neither pathway of its keel in the billows:
11. Or as when a bird flieth through the air, No token of her passage is found,
But the light wind, lashed with the stroke of her pinions.
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And rent asunder with the violent rush of the moving wings,
is passed through,
And afterwards no sign of her coming is found therein:
12. Or as when an arrow is shot at a mark.
The air disparted closeth up again immediately. So that men know not where it passed through:
13. So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be; And of virtue we had no sign to show,
15. But the righteous live forever. And in the Lord is their reward.
And the care for them with the Most High.
16. Therefore shall they receive the crown of royal dignity And the diadem of beauty from the Lord's hand ; Because with His right hand shall He cover them. And with His arm shall He shield them.
Address by Rev. Edward Caldwell Moore.
The Wisdom of Solomon, Chapter 4, Verse 2, ff.
"This house is a memorial of one who for a generation went in and out of this community, loving it and loved by it. As a young man he took up his summer residence here. He identified himself with all its interests, but particularly with its religious interests. Among these forests and hills, in his garden and with his flowers, he found recreation through years of heavy care and responsibility. Here as his strength declined and the pressure of the city increased for him, as it has done for all of late, he found rest. From here in the beauty of a June day, such as he loved, he entered into God's rest.
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"His children make this memorial recalling their own child- hood's associations with this church and Sunday School. They are reminded that their father was for many years the superin- tendent of the school. They desire that the children of this place shall recall one who loved children and who, in all the strength of his manhood, reminded us of Christ's word about 'the pure in heart who see God.'
"We are ourselves conscious how new cares absorb us and aware how new men come into a community and children are born into it to whom a man, who was once its stay, may be no more than a name.
"Memorials are fitting, but none so fitting as those in which a man's own beloved work and influence is perpetuated, in which in some true sense his life of usefulness is continued. As he in thought reached forward, looking to the welfare of this com- munity, so we in memory reach back to him. So the generations are bound together. Other men labored and we are entering into their labors.
"We sit here today by chance in the middle one of three build- ings which constitute the plan of this St. Cloud Presbyterian Church and as well the provision in some ways for the social life and pleasure of the village. Each of these buildings is typical of an aspect of religion as it existed in the fundamental conviction of Mr. Brown. In the few minutes in which I ought to speak to you I desire to set forth these aspects of religion and to renew, through his sincere and devoted conviction, the clearness and power of our own.
"The building on my left hand, which we see through these windows, is the church, itself in no small measure a memorial of a father and father-in-law, who stood in somewhat the same rela- tion to his own religious life as that in which he stands today to ours. Mr. Brown believed in a church with the whole intensity of
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his nature. He did not believe in it as an immobile, unchanging institution, as many do. Quite the contrary. He believed in it as the necessary organization of a life principle, which is itself unchangeable, but whose organization and adaptation must change from generation to generation and from age to age.
"In its statement of faith, in its formula of worship, in its scheme of government, in its adjustment to life and society, he believed that it was subject to those changes to which all things human, which live, are subject. On its one side the church is a human institution and partakes of all of the qualities of human institutions. It is divine only in the sense that it represents the divine principle of life which, exactly because it is divine and living, has power of adjustment and new expression to meet the changing needs of men. Many men in our day are alienated from the church. None knew this better than did Mr. Brown, and he realized that, in some measure at least, men are alienated from the church exactly because the ardent adherents of the church have refused to rcognize the principle of which we have just spoken. They have asserted that the church and all of its adapta- tions were unchanging, that is, dead. And the generation has drawn nigh to taking them at their word. But apprehended as a living thing, he believed sincerely and entirely in the church. Profoundly as religion was to him a personal matter, he yet real- ized that personal convictions are perpetuated in the world and they achieve the work of the world through combinations of men in institutions.
"He believed in institutional religion. The failure and mis- takes, to which the church like all other human institutions is particularly liable and of which it has been actually guilty, did not blind him to the great spiritual ideal for which it stands, and with eminent practical sense he devoted himself to that ideal. This first.
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"But secondly. The building on my right, which we see through the windows, is the building of the men's club, dedicated only a few days ago, ow^ned and managed by a social organiza- tion of the community in which the members of the church merely have a part. In the erection also of this, however, Mr. Brown's widow and others of his family have gladly had a share. It stands for adaptations of religion to life and permeations of life with religion, which were not much in the minds of Christians in Mr. Brown's own youth. They are sometimes regarded as the dis- tinctly modern aspects of Christianity, parts of its adjustment to the life of the present world of which I spoke above. Through such a club house as this, with its manifold activities, its uncon- ventional relations and its partly secular purposes, as the men of a former generation might have described those purposes, we attribute to the fact that the old distinction between sacred and secular, between religious and non-religious, has very largely dis- appeared. The whole life of man is sacred, all its relations are or should be divine, and religion exists to furnish that element whereby they are practically to be made divine. Men lived in the old days indeed in an intense conviction concerning the other world, surely more intense conviction to this than we do. In their zeal as to the other world they ran some risk that religion would have, or at all events appear to have, but slight connection with this world. They talked much of a future life. They ran some risk of neglecting elements of this life which yet, if neglected, revenged themselves upon the very quality of religion itself. We believe in immortality, but we do not talk much of a future life or of another world. We believe in making this life other than it is and incarnating now the principle of a blessed future for which we hope. If men are not now immortal through the indwelling life of Christ, it is not clear to us how they are ever going to be, and into the range of religion, into the area of the service of God and
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Christ, into the scope of the spiritual all of man's life is thus taken up, hallowed and glorified. These convictions also were pro- foundly held by the man of whom we speak, and with wisdom and generosity unbounded he furthered the humane, the charitable, the philanthropic, the social purpose in our time, and this not less but all the more because they were to him the aspect of the pure religion and undefiled of which the apostle spoke. That house, which we see, stands dedicated to those purposes and is the organ in this community in those regards, and the development of the work and the life of this community, which is therefore shadowed, would have had his most sincere approval and his heartiest cooperation. This is in the second place.
"And finally. This building in which we are is a Sunday School. The Sunday School also is in some measure in our time discredited. In part here, too, the cause may lie in its own fault, in insufficient flexibility of method, in ineff^ective administration, in the uncertainty of purpose and conviction as to method. But in many minds this phenomenon is only a part of a very much larger whole. Families and homes have grown uncertain as to the teaching of religion and they are, many of them, in the singularly illogical position of endeavoring to devolve the home instruction of children in religion upon the Sunday School and at the same time alleging that the schools are inadequate for this purpose. Men and women, not a few of whom we know, declare themselves so convinced of the intimate personal character of religion, of the nugatoriness of religion unless it be personal, that they allege that it is impossible or even undesirable that religion should be taught, and this appears all the more to be the case in view of those changes in statement of religion, to which I referred above. Mr. Brown believed in the teaching of religion. He believed in teaching it to his own children in his own home.
"He believed in teaching it to other people's children in the
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Sunday School. He believed in teaching it in any school, where just consideration of the liberty of others made it feasible. I repeat, he believed in the teaching of religion. He would have thought it an unpardonable dereliction had others not been placed under the same inestimable debt in turn to him. Not at all, you will see from what I have said above that he believed it neces- sary that those whom he taught should believe religion in the terms in which he taught it. Let me make my meaning clear. He fully expected that his own children and other people's children would translate religion into their own terms. It could not be their religion, intimate, personal, genuine, potent, upon any other terms. But while acknowledging that to the full, he did not see how religion was to be transmitted from one generation to another save in this affectionate brooding of the life of one age over the vital impulses of the next, which we do as a matter of fact in all other relations and seem only to shrink from in this. A college teaches science with the utmost possible accuracy and definiteness, not at all because it believes that the students who thus learn will have no occasion, it may be only a few years hence, to discard multitudes of so-called facts and schemes of well-intentioned inter- pretation which we now perpetuate.
"We profoundly hope that the advance of science will be such that they will have to do this discarding and we believe that our pupils will so live the life of the mind that they will all freely dis- card that which has become obsolete. But if we should say that because we realize that the appropriation of learning is a personal matter and that the progress of science will change much, that, therefore, we ought to make it a matter of conscience to teach nothing, you would say that we committed the greatest of absurdi- ties. Now, that is just exactly what I think we do commit in the whole area of religion when we say in this ridiculous fashion that religion cannot be taught or when we refuse our own responsi-
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bility in teaching it. We may be lazy, uncertain of our minds, we may yield in cowardly fashion to practical difficulties and then barricade ourselves behind this august assertion that religion can- not be taught, but at the bottom of our hearts that is disingenuous, it is cowardly. It takes courage to teach religion. I am only saying that Mr. Brown had that courage and only praying that we may imitate him in that courage.
"As I think of the religious life of our times, it seems to me that there are few more fundamental convictions than these three, to which I have alluded as having been a part of the deepest life of the man whom we honor, and I think it highly suggestive that these three buildings stand here, each one of them representative of one of these three convictions, in their unity, their harmony, their mutual adjustment and necessity to one another, and their importance to the religious life of this community and of the world. God grant us all faithfulness to our convictions in some such measure as that faith and faithfulness were manifest in him whose memorial stands before us here today."
Address by Rev. William Adams Brown.
"My dear friends and neighbors of St. Cloud:
"The part that is assigned to me in the services of today is a very simple and a very pleasant one. It is my duty, on behalf of the givers of this building, to turn it over formally to those who will make use of it. It is appropriate that a word should be said of the causes that lie back of this gift and of the spirit in which it is given.
"This Sunday School building is no new idea. It began as a dream in the mind of our pastor a number of years ago as he studied the different phases of our life here and looked forward to the needs of the future. The reasons which made such a build-
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ing seem desirable were the following: First of all, it appeared necessary in order properly to accommodate our Sunday School under the new conditions of Sunday School work. Under former conditions it was not possible to bring our Sunday School together in one place. Part of the school met in the chapel, part of it, the kindergarten, in the Men's Club. Part was housed in the pastor's study. Moreover, the closing exercises were interrupted by people coming into the church for morning worship and there was result- ant confusion and disorder. These facts led Mr. Newell, our pas- tor, to hope that we might some day be able as a community to provide a Sunday School building independent of the church, yet an integral part of its plant.
"Mr. Newell talked this plan over more than once with Mr. Brown and received his hearty approval and sympathy, so that when that life, so dear, I may truly say, to all of us, was cut short, it seemed a natural thing that this plan, which had been in his thought and of which we know he approved, should be carried to completion. This is the genesis of the Sunday School building, the gift of Mr. Brown's children to the school of which for so many years he was the superintendent, and into which he built his thoughts, his time and his love.
"I am going to ask two of Mr. John Crosby Brown's grand- sons, who bear his name, to unveil a tablet which has been put over the door.
"I do not need to describe the nature of the building, because you can see it for yourselves. I want to call your attention in a single word to the uses of the different rooms. On the right hand you see a large room which can accommodate our infant class, and adjoining it a room for the kindergarten. On the left hand side are other rooms, which can be used for the Bible class and for the older classes, and the centre is left free so that the teachers can meet their classes, not in the inconvenient pews which they were
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obliged to use in the old building, but seated in circles about tables, as is the custom in every well appointed Sunday School today. We have a comfortable room at the left for the officers of the school, and overhead a study where Mr. Newell can seek that retirement which a pastor so often greatly desires and so often finds it mighty hard to get. You will understand, therefore, that these stairs lead up to his private domain, and when the door is shut you must wait patiently until he comes out. These two win- dows which you see over my head and at the opposite end of the building are the gift of the Board of Directors of the Union Theo- logical Seminary, part of the old Adams Chapel which was destroyed as a result of the recent removal of the Seminary to Morningside Heights, and which was so closely connected with Mr. Brown's life that it seemed appropriate that these windows, which bring to so many of us associations of his own personal interest there, should be preserved here.
"I shall speak in a moment of the bas-relief at my rear, but will simply state here that it is the gift of Mrs. Brown to this building, she desiring to have some share with us in this memorial gift.
"May I say a single word as to the wider purposes which we have had in mind in this gift? It has been our hope that in some sense this building might serve the uses of the community as a whole. It was the original plan that the building on my right, the Men's Club, and this building should form a single structure, which could accommodate the demands of the club and the school together. But for various reasons this was found impracticable. And yet in our thought and hope the two buildings are in a very real sense one, that is, part of one and the same ideal. There will be many occasions, as the community grows, when we shall desire all to comie together to see one another and to exchange our views in a place which will be convenient for that purpose, and we trust
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that this room may serve this purpose and be used by all our neighbors as a common meeting ground. Reference has been made to the church on my left hand, but we do not forget that there is another church on my right, and we sincerely trust, Mr. Bliss, that you will feel that it is our wish to place this building at your disposal for any purpose in which it may be of service to you. If, for example, it should be convenient for you to use it as a meeting place for your own school, or in any other similar way, I trust that you will feel that it is at your service, not simply as a matter of privilege, but as a matter of right.
"A word or two of acknowledgment I must surely make. First of all, and on behalf of all of us, to our architect, Mr. Delano, who, because of his love for the one whose memory we commemorate, has given of his time, his thought and his interest to this building, and to whose taste and experience we owe the success which has been obtained. Secondly, to Mr. Olstead, the builder, and to those who cooperated with him in the work. How well they did it you can all see for yourselves. In the third place, I am sure we shall all wish to express our appreciation to Mr. Newell, to whom special thanks are due as the one in whose thought this building was born. In the fourth place, I wish to say a word of appreciation to the children of the school and to its teachers and officers. The Sunday School of St. Cloud has always been one of the most active organizations of the church and it is in a very literal sense true that to your fidelity and efficiency the presence of this building is due.
"There is one other word of acknowledgment which I wish to say. You see the vase which stands on the organ at my right. This is the gift to us of Miss Wald, of the Nurses' Settlement. It is a reflection of the loving thought which went out from this mountain top during Mr. Brown's lifetime to the crowded east side in which she is interested, to which yiear after year he sent
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flowers from his own home. It seems very appropriate, therefore, that this vase, the work of an east side workman, wrought out of a single piece of brass, should stand here to hold the flowers which from Sunday to Sunday will add dignity to our services.
"Now I will ask that the bas-relief, which has been placed here as a silent expression of the ideals which we hope this building may ever perpetuate, may be unveiled in order that I may say a word about it before we part.
[Here the bas-relief was unveiled.]
"This beautiful bas-relief, the work of Mr. Chester Beach, one of our best known sculptors, was, I think I may truly say, a labor of love. It represents, as you see, an angel gathering to her side two children, and that angel may represent for us the spirit of the Christian religion in its love and care for children. You will notice, too, that this angel looks very natural. As you look at her face it might be your own mother, and we hope this may be a type of the spirit of the teaching that will come to you through your teachers as they learn the lessons of the Christ and pass them on to you. Now, if you will look at these children you will see that there is a little boy and a little girl. The little girl is looking up into the face of the angel, and she has begun to understand what the teaching means and to respond to it. But the little boy — not, I hope, because he is a boy, but because he is very young — has not yet quite understood. You can see he is a little mischief, full of roguishness and fun, and the fact that he has nestled so close to the angel's side shows that we believe that little children who love fun and play have just as much part in the heart of Christ and just as rightful a place in His church as the older ones who have begun to know the serious side of life. So I trust that as you look up to this bas-relief from Sunday to Sunday it may signify to you the
^
'iMA
BAS-RELIEF IN MEMORIAL SUNDAY SCHOOL BUILDING
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spirit of the Christ whom we love, whose disciples we all desire to be and in whose likeness we aim to grow up.
"And now, finally, it becomes my duty formally to turn over this building to the officers who are to take charge of it in its various phases. First of all, to you, Mr. Timms, representing the session of the church, I give this Bible, as a symbol of the fact that the perpetual oversight of this school will rest with you and your fellow-elders of the session, and I charge you to be faithful to this trust. To you, Mr. Smith, as superintendent of the school, I give the same gift, but in smaller and more compact form, a size more adapted to the doses in which it is to be administered to those who are to be in your charge. This Bible which I place in your hands is a symbol of the fact that the truth which is here to be taught must be drawn from that eternal gospel which finds its final and perfect record in the word of God. To Mr. Condit, as secretary of the school, I give this book of records, in order that you may realize that we expect that you will add to sound doctrine good order, and I am sure that you will be faithful to this trust. Finally, to you, Mr. Kimball, representing the Board of Trustees, I give these keys, as a symbol of the physical oversight of the property, and may I say a single word to you as I think of what these keys mean. There are three keys, and yet they are all alike. You know that in great buildings where there are many doors which have to be locked we have what is called a master key. A master key is a key which opens more than one lock. Now, these keys are not, technically speaking, master keys; they will open only one door, and yet I trust that in reality they will prove to be master keys for this building. There are three doors which I hope they will be able to unlock. The first is the door of security, safety, salvation as it used to be called in the old lan- guage that we are almost forgetting how to speak. One does not have to live very long in this world in order to discover that there
136 St. Cloud Church
are dangers on every side. We try to insure ourselves against these dangers as best we can by laying up money, by increasing our knowledge, by adding to the number of our friends, but none of these ways is sufficient to keep us safe in the great crises of life. There is only one sure way of safety, and that is to lay hold on the eternal things which cannot be shaken — to know God as he is revealed to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord. This is one door into which I hope many may enter through this building.
"The second is the door of service. It is not enough to be saved oneself; we wish to help others to a like security. We have heard a great deal today about the new outlook that has come into religion with the new day. We have learned that no one can be saved alone. We are saved ourselves only as we help our brothers, and the door which leads us to this is the door of service. This, too, is a door into which I hope many of us may enter.
"But there is still another door which needs to be added, a door that is often overlooked. What shall I call it? I will call it the door of serenity. There are many people, good Christian people, very certain of their own salvation, who are yet grim and repellent when we seek to approach them. There are many people who are active in the Christian life, filling all their lives with service, who are yet careworn and anxious. There is a gift pos- sible to us all if only we know how to grasp it, the gift of inner harmony and happiness, a peace of God which passeth under- standing, a joy of Christ which the world can neither give nor take away. God grant that as we pass through the door of security and the door of service we may not forget that inner room, into which the door of serenity leads."
The following letter to the St. Cloud Church from Mr.
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McGregor, who was unable to attend the dedication services, was printed in the church calendar for December :
Letter from Rev. R. G. McGregor.
"The invitation has come to me to be present at the dedication service of the John Crosby Brown Memorial Sunday School Build- ing. How I wish I could be present, but 11 o'clock should and probably will find me here in my pulpit; but I shall be with all of you, my dear friends, in thought and affection; for when I think of John Crosby Brown my mind holds the form of a man whom I learned to respect and admire for what he was and did ; and may we not say also for what he is?
"Surely he, being dead, yet speaketh, and I can think of no greater tribute to his memory than that some boy or girl, man or woman, should seek with all their heart to be like him, so gentle, so generous, so wise and so willing. These are character- istics of his life which made him one to be patterned after.
"I am glad to know of the completion of this worthy memorial by his children. May the door swing wide open and for genera- tions to come may the boys and girls of St. Cloud Church come together to learn of Him whom John Crosby Brown honored so much in his private and public life.
"Faithfully and affectionately yours,
"Robert Gardner McGregor."
The Sunday School building was more than welcome. The annual report for 1911, published in July, speaks of it in the highest terms of praise and gratitude:
"This memorial gift has proven by months of use to be suited most admirably to the needs of the school. A cheerful room, with comfortable arrangements of classes, it has been enjoyed by
138 St. Cloud Church
teachers and scholars alike. With thanksgiving we remember this great addition to our equipment for service.^'
A resolution of thanks drawn up by the officers of the church reads as follows :
"The dedication of a beautiful and well-equipped Sabbath School building for the use of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church is an event which calls for particular recognition; the more so because this building is given in memory of a dear friend of the church by his children, who have grown up in this Sabbath School.
"We recall with gratitude the many years from the beginning in which Mr. Brown was with us, a joyous helper in every interest which centered there. A large measure of the success attained has been due to his quiet, uplifting influence; patient under any dis- couraging conditions, always looking ahead to the wider use- fulness.
"The officers of the church desire to convey to the donors of this beautiful memorial the thanks of the many who in the years to come will enjoy the blessing of this gift, cherishing the expecta- tion that the unending benefits they have thus conferred will return to each of them a thousand-fold.
"St. Cloud, West Orange, November 13th, 1910.
"The Officers of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church :
John P. Condit Theo. M. Timms
Willet C. Roper Elmer Condit
M. E. Condit William E. Condit
Alfred R. Kimball Edmund H. Moore
Robert Baird Winthrop D. Smith
Moreau Delano"
Another welcome addition to the equipment of the community given at this same time was Mrs. Brown's memorial to her hus-
St. Cloud Church I39
band, a new and beautiful club house to take the place of the parish house which was built by the congregation in 1904. The two memorials were built at the same time on adjoining plots of ground and harmonize in their architectural design. The archi- tect was Mr. William Adams Delano, who gave his services.
"The club house," to quote from an Orange paper, "is not a part of the church equipment, the club being non-sectarian, but it is designed as the social center of the community, and plans for enlarging its activities are under way. It contains a main assem- bly hall, 28 by 40 feet in size; a completely equipped kitchen, and a reading room. In the latter there is a collection of books from the Orange Free Library, which maintains a branch here. Organi- zations of boys and men use the club house, and it is also the headquarters of a district nurse. There is a big playroom in the basement, and the building is heated by steam and lighted by electricity."
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CHAPTER XXVI.
A year after the dedication of the Memorial Sunday School Building, Mr. Newell received a call to the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Chicago — a pulpit left vacant by Dr. Merrill's accept- ance of the call of the Brick Church in New York. On the 26th of November Mr. Newell announced at the Sunday morning serv- ice that he felt it his duty to accept the call. This was a great loss to the St. Cloud Church, for Mr. Newell had been an excellent pastor and a good preacher, and was much beloved by the con- gregation. His departure was quite sudden, but his parting mes- sage, written from Chicago, was printed in the church calendar for December :
Letter from Rev. G. K. Newell.
"Dear friends of the St. Cloud Church:
"This calendar offers me an opportunity for a final word.
"Religion is not a luxury nor an amusement, but a serious necessity; it is necessary for the salvation of the individual, the home, and the community. Your gifts to the church, your per- sonal labor for the church are your contributions, in the name of Jesus Christ, toward safeguarding the moral conditions and developing the spiritual forces of the neighborhood.
"With your splendid church equipment and with the incen- tives of a new pastorate it will rest largely with you, under the blessing of God, whether your church shall show satisfactory results. A full church and a fresh interest in spiritual things will help your minister to do his best; kindliness, neighborliness will attract men to the church who do not ordinarily attend.
"These past days of parting, with all their sadness, have left
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me and mine much richer for your good wishes. A wealth of happy memories goes with us. Best of all is our constant assur- ance of the good things in store for the church. May God's kind favor and rich blessing be with you all.
"Your sincere friend,
"G. K. Newell."
A committee with Mr. Kimball as chairman was appointed to consider the selection of a new minister. The choice fell upon the Rev. A. Roy Ehman, a graduate of Auburn Seminary, who had preached at the St. Cloud Church on Thanksgiving Day (1911) and who supplied the pulpit for two months during the following winter. Mr. Ehman was living in Newark at the time, having resigned his former pastorate in the Onondaga Valley Presbyterian Church on account of ill health.
The choice of the new minister was an affair, not only of the committee, but of the whole congregation. One hundred and ten members of the St. Cloud Church and congregation, representing practically every family in St. Cloud, signed a petition in the spring of 1912 urging the calling of Mr. Ehman. "The proceed- ing by petition," says a current newspaper, "is an unusual one, but is sanctioned by the form of government of the Presbyterian Church."
A congregational meeting was called for Sunday, May 19th, 1912, and was held directly after the morning service. The Rev. Charles B. Bullard, pastor of the Elmwood Presbyterian Church, East Orange, acted as moderator and Deacon Willet Roper as secretary.
Mr. Kimball, chairman of the pastoral committee, reported that they unanimously recommended extending a call to Mr. Ehman. Letters were read detailing Mr. Ehman's activity in mission work during his college years, his energy in his former
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pastorate, his success with young people, and his participation in athletics. The request of 110 residents of St. Cloud Church that Mr. Ehman be called was also read.
The wish of the young people of the congregation that a call be given was expressed by Miss Margaret Todd, representing the teachers of the Sunday School; by Miss Emma Olstead, speaking for the school, and by Norman Barker, representing the C. E. Society. On the motion of Frank H. Jamison, the recommendation of the committee was concurred in.
Mr. Eugene Delano expressed gratification at the unanimous statement of the church and on the motion of Elder Timms a com- mittee was appointed to prosecute the call before the Presbytery.
The announcement that Mr. Ehman had accepted the call to the pastorate of the St. Cloud Church was made at the services the following Sunday, May 26th. Mr. Ehman stated in a letter read to the congregation by Mr. W. Roper that he proposed to accept the call, should it receive the sanction of the Presbytery, and that he did so with a deepening sense of the responsibilities and oppor- tunities of the work. It was also announced that on the following Sunday he would conduct the celebration of holy communion, assisted by Dr. William Adams Brown.
Four weeks later the new minister was installed. Five Pres- byterian ministers and one of the Protestant Episcopal faith assisted at the services on the evening of June 21st, 1912. The presiding officer was the moderator of the Presbytery, Rev. David 0. Irving, pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church, East Orange. The Scripture reading was by Rev. W. W. P. Bliss, rector of the Church of the Holy Innocents, St. Cloud. The sermon was preached by Rev. Chauncey W. Goodrich, formerly pastor of the church and lately of the American Church in Paris. The prayer of installation was offered by Rev. Charles B. Bullard. The charge to the pastor was given by Dr. Charles Townsend, pastor
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of the First Presbyterian Church in Orange, and the charge to the people by Dr. William Adams Brown, professor in Union Theological Seminary. Mr. Ehman pronounced the benediction.
The need of more intensive thought and faith was dwelt upon by Mr. Goodrich. He spoke of the advance in education, but said that notwithstanding this it would be as difficult for the average person today to justify his faith by expert and thorough knowl- edge as it was for the disciples of old. In order to enjoy a beau- tiful flower, he said, it was not necessary for one to be a horti- culturist, and so, for one to be a Christian, it was not necessary to be versed in theology. Faith, he said, was the great necessity.
In giving the charge to the pastor Dr. Townsend congratulated him upon being called to a church on the mountain top overlook- ing the great city and the ocean, describing the mountain as "God's beautiful panoramic synagogue." He said there must be some peculiar sustenance and ability transmitted to men by the St. Cloud Church, for the valleys, when they grew hungry, called its ministers away to Albany, to Paris, to New Rochelle, and to Chicago.
Dr. Townsend advised the pastor to take plenty of time for spiritual refreshment and study. He predicted that the minister would be criticised and perhaps denounced, but said that denun- ciation was one of the easiest accomplishments. He advised him not to go around with his pocket full of interrogation points and not to strive to be a "popular preacher," but to give a spiritual message. Dr. Townsend hoped that there would be no "tailboard members" in the church, but, if there were, he suggested that they be pushed off the tailboard and put to work moving the wheels.
In charging the people Dr. Brown recalled that all the pastors of the church had been his friends, and that, having grown up in the parish, he felt that whatever he said applied to himself as well as to the congregation. He urged that the people should not
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expect the pastor to use his hands to the exclusion of his heart, or any of these functions solely. He said the people should make their pastor their confidant and friend, and on their behalf he pledged to Mr. Ehman their hospitality, friendship, loyalty, affec- tion and prayer.
The church was decorated with palms and flowers. The occa- sion was a happy one, and the congregation seemed pleased with the minister of their choice.
Soon after, on the evening of July 1st, a reception to meet Mr. Ehman was given by the officers of the church. All the congrega- tion and its friends were invited, and the new pastor received a warm welcome.
Of all the ministers of the St. Cloud Church, none have been more earnest and untiring in their efforts for the welfare, both material and spiritual, of their flock than Mr. Ehman. His Ford car has been at the service of all his people. It has given rest and refreshment to the worn and tired, and pleasure to young and old. In it he has carried the sick to the hospital, and after faith- fully visiting them while there, he has brought them home again. His desire for the church is well expressed in the following extract taken from the church calendar for August, 1916:
"In the minds of an increasing number of people the greatest need of this mountain is a revival of religion, that religion which has to do with a soul's relation to its God and which results in an overflowing heart of love. Undoubtedly this is true. But it must not be forgotten that the secret of such an awakening lies in the hearts of those who desire it. The spirit of prayer, which has been more or less active during the past year, must grow. More must share in the service. Is it too much to ask that all who have named the name of Christ should join in this prayer circle? And is it not necessary that all, when they pray, should be willing, even
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anxious, that God's work should begin in their own hearts? These days are splendid days for this very important work."
The church has progressed materially as well as spiritually, and all anxiety as to its permanent financial support has recently been relieved by the gift of a trust fund from Mr. Eugene Delano, a beautiful memorial to his wife.
The following quotation from the church calendar for May, 1917, gives the official announcement of the gift:
"At the annual meeting of the church congregation on Sun- day morning, April 15th, 1912, the following report was pre- sented: The Board of Trustees of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church have been informed by Mr. Eugene Delano that he has established a trust fund in the hands of the United States Trust Company of New York, the income of which is to be paid to them for the maintenance of the church ; and this fund is to be named in memory of his wife, Susan Magoun Delano, and a certified copy of this agreement has been filed with the secretary of the Board of Trustees.
" 'In acknowledging the establishment of this fund, the trus- tees of the church desire to record upon their minutes and convey to Mr. Delano an expression of their high appreciation of his gen- erous impulse in thus providing for the permanent continuance of his support of the church, and their gratification that this gift is to be associated forever with the name of one whose gracious presence and useful activity is a precious memory in the life of the church and the community.' "
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
On Sunday morning, July 9th, 1916, Mr. Ehman announced from the pulpit that the news of the death of Rev. William F. Whitaker, at his home in Elizabeth, had just reached him. It was very sudden, as on Saturday afternoon he was apparently in good health and had just returned from visiting his aged parents at Southold, Long Island. The sermon which he expected to preach in the morning lay on his writing table, and he had prepared everything for that Sunday morning service as usual.
The congregation of the St. Cloud Church was greatly shocked and affected by the sad news and many tears were shed. For the memory of the work of their former pastor. Dr. Whitaker, is held by them in affectionate remembrance, for his work and labor of love they can never forget.
The funeral service was held in the evening of July 11th, in his own church, the First Presbyterian, of Elizabeth, N. J.
A year later, on Sunday morning, July 15th, a very inter- esting and unique service was held at the Presbyterian Church in Southold, Long Island, where a tablet was unveiled to Rev. Epher Whitaker, and also one to his son, the Rev. William F. Whitaker. The former was ninety-six years of age and had been pastor and pastor emeritus of that church for sixty-five years. The other tablet was to his son. Rev. William F. Whitaker, who for seventeen years was pastor of the St. Cloud Church, for thirteen years of the First Presbyterian Church of Albany, and for nine years of the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth.
This service was of peculiar interest to the people of the St. Cloud Church, as Dr. Whitaker's father had given the charge to his son when he was installed as its pastor on November 22, 1877.
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CHAPTER XXIX.
During the past year the St. Cloud Church has celebrated its fortieth anniversary. A detailed account of this celebration appears with similar accounts in the appendix of this book.
In closing, it is interesting, however, to notice the prominent part which the children played on this last occasion. The Sunday School pupils, taking the part of historians, themselves gave the account of various bits of church history. This was a happy thought on the part of Mr. Ehman, for it not only recognized the custom, which has always been observed at St. Cloud, of cele- brating Children's Day and the church's anniversary at the same time, but it added greatly to the interest of the service, and, most important of all, it fixed in the minds of these members of the rising generation facts well worth remembering concerning the history and achievement of their church.
It is this same hope of preserving the history of the first forty years of the life of the church that has been the motive and inspiration of this little volume.
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APPENDIX
ANNIVERSARIES.
The St. Cloud Church, in observing its anniversaries, has always combined these celebrations with the Children's Day serv- ices— a custom which has already been referred to in the account of the first joint celebration — June, 1878. It is of course true that the church has not observed its birthday every year, while Children's Day, on the other hand, has been observed annually, and of Children's Day services other than those held in connec- tion with church anniversaries we have the following account :
"At the sixth anniversary, an address was delivered by the Rev. I. H. Polhemus; the eighth was marked by a more elaborate program, which included among other features, addresses by Mr. Brown, Mr. Jesse B. Rogers, and Mr. Timms. The Rev. Isaac E. Gates made the address on the occasion of the twelfth Children's Day, and in 1890, on the thirteenth anniversary, the address was given by the Rev. William Adams Brown, who had just graduated from Union Theological Seminary. On the seventeenth Chil- dren's Day Mr. Whitaker delivered a short address reviewing the history of the school from the time of its first meeting in the incompleted church building (May, 1877) ."
In offering a review of the main anniversaries of the church, the 5th, the 10th, the 25th, and the 40th, indulgence must be craved for a certain amount of repetition, which, however, is unavoidable. It is felt that this disadvantage is counterbalanced by the value of preserving in consecutive form the record of the successive occasions.
Although the third anniversary was not one of those particu-
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larly emphasized, we find this hymn, which was adapted for the occasion from a Centennial Hymn prepared for a New England church :
Almighty God, this church today To Thee her vows would gladly pay, And on this anniversary raise A reverent song of grateful praise.
We thank Thee for those men of God Who reared this altar to their Lord; And that Thy care its flame shall keep Alive, e'en when the fathers sleep.
Through these three years its wall secure In "strength and beauty" safe endure ; While sheaf of wheat and font of stone Recall loved faces that are gone.
We thank Thee for Thy holy word, Whose blessed truths have here been heard; We thank Thee for this comfort true, The promise: "I will come to you."
We thank Thee for the "strength" received By men and women who believed Thy word ; and for the memories rare That cluster round this house of prayer.
For all Thy care in these three years, 'Mid joy and sorrow, hopes and fears,
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We praise Thy name; and ask that still Thy presence blest our hearts may fill.
Today we bring our past to Thee; Help us more consecrate to be: Forgive our sins; and may this place Still know the blessings of Thy grace.
We walk by faith, for, though we see
Not yet the glory that shall be,
We know the "path" our friends have trod —
It leads to heaven; they "walk with God."
r:
Guide Thou this church in years to come, Till all Thy saints are gathered home, And in Thy blessed presence stay. Whose thousand years are as one day.
The details of the joint celebration at the time of the fifth anniversary can be gathered from the following notice (1882) :
"The anniversary of the founding of our church will be observed tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock. There will be a 'Children's Service' in place of the usual order of worship; and this will include responsive readings, presentations of emblems by the classes, selected hymns, etc. The superintendent of the school, Mr. Brown, who has been in Europe for more than a year, has just returned to his home, and he will be welcomed by his teachers and scholars in an exercise which has been arranged for the occasion. Wild flowers will be used this year for the decora- tion of the church.
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"During five years the membership has increased about 300 per cent, and there has been a steady growth in the congregation and the Sunday School."
The decennial of the church was the occasion for a series of services, an account of which appears in a local newspaper:
"The services at the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church on Chil- dren's Day were the first of a series extending through the week, and marking the tenth anniversary of the church. On Sunday there were songs and recitations by the little people. The history of the decade was reviewed by the pastor in connection with the building of a tall pyramid of ten parts by the larger pupils. One feature of the decoration was a floral piece in which the date, 1877, was worked in wheat, while 1887 was worked in daisies. On Tuesday evening there was a social reunion, with reports of ten departments of church work, a few addresses, and letters of con- gratulation. Refreshments were provided in two tents pitched near the church. On Thursday afternoon the ladies of the congregation held a praise meeting. There were reports of mis- sionary work at home and abroad, and an address with maps and charts by Miss Grace Wilder, of India. The thank-ofl"erings sent to the meeting amounted to more than $130. Last evening there was a memorial service, and the necrology of ten years was pre- sented. The report showed that there had not been one death among the regular attendants in the infant department, only two deaths among the pupils in the main school, and only eight deaths among all those in full membership in the church."
At 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon there was a public meeting of the "Willing Workers," with which the series of anniversary services closed. During the week congratulatory letters were received from Dr. Mix, Dr. Edward C. Moore, Dr. Stephen Wickes,
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Mr. Eugene Delano, Mr. Orlando E. Condit, and many others. The letter from Dr. Moore reads as follows:
Letter from Rev. E. C. Moore.
"Yonkers, N. Y., June 13, 1887. "To the church and congregation at St. Cloud:
"It would be a very great pleasure to me if I could be with you in some of the exercises of this your anniversary week. I cannot forbear to send you my word of remembrance and greet- ing, that I, too, may be associated with you in the joy and thanks- giving of these days.
"Four years ago I spent three months of a summer vacation with you, in the absence of your pastor. That was but a little experience to you. But it was not small to me. It was my first experience in continuous preaching, and my first experience of pastoral work. The whole thing sank deep into my heart and life, and went far toward my making, and from that time, as I have now and then returned to you, you have received me with a remembrance and regard which have been most deeply grateful to me. I have always felt that I owed to the dear little church on the mountain much of all that which a pastor always owes to his first charge, and have had much of the same affection for the church. I rejoice with you, on this your anniversary occasion, giving thanks with you and for you, for all the way that God has led you, and praying, both with you and for you, that He will bless you in all things even more richly than He has done in the past, especially in the outpouring of His Holy Spirit on your hearts, the turning men by your means unto Himself, and the building up of you all on your most holy faith. "Most truly yours,
"Edward C. Moore."
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Of the 25lh anniversary services we have a detailed account. Appropriate services were held June 15th, 1902, in celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the organization of the church. All the services were attended by unusually large congregations, and there were also many guests present from the Oranges, Mont- clair, Newark and other cities in the vicinity. A feature of the day was the presence of the two former pastors of the church, Dr. William F. Whitaker and the Rev. Chauncey W. Goodrich.
The children's singing was led by Miss Jessie A. Lander with the cornet. Mr. McGregor made an address, followed by Dr. Whitaker and Rev. Mr. Goodrich. The latter paid a worthy tribute to Mr. A. A. Quimby, who has been organist of the church since its foundation.
In the afternoon the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was cele- brated. The evening service was opened with singing. The scripture lesson was read by Mr. Goodrich, who also offered prayer, and after the hymn, "How Firm a Foundation," Dr. Whitaker spoke of "Reminiscences." He recalled the names and interest and work of men and women who had been connected with the church for twenty-five years. He paid fitting tribute to Gen- eral Marcy, General McClellan, Dr. Adams, Mr. Marcellus Hart- ley, and others associated with the church. "While," said the speaker, "this church is small and has been attended by compara- tively few, yet God has blessed it abundantly, and its benefactions and its contributions to deserving claims have made its influence felt in many places as a sweet fragrance."
Thank-offerings were given at the anniversary services for the raising of a sum of money to pay off a debt on the church and parsonage. Up to last Saturday the total amount of the outstand- ing debt was $3,100. Half of this was pledged, and although no detailed report of the offerings has been made, it is believed that
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announcement will be made from the pulpit tomorrow that the church is absolutely free from debt.
At the morning service Mr. McGregor read congratulatory let- ters from Dr. Eldridge Mix, of Worcester; the Rev. J. A. Ferguson, of Hanover, who gave the charge to the people when the first pastor was installed; from the session of the First Presbyterian Church, the mother church of the Oranges; from the Rev. G. Smythe, of East Orange; Professor W. Adams Brown, of New York City, and Mr. Alfred R. Kimball, written from Milan, Italy.
The following extract from the church calendar for June, 1917, indicates the way in which the 40th anniversary of the church was celebrated:
"On Children's Day, June 10th, the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church will be forty years old. The occasion will be observed at morning worship on that day in connection with the exercises of the Sunday School. It has seemed wise to let the part the school would naturally take assume the form of a historical review of some of the interesting features of the church's story."
THE ORDER OF SERVICE The Processional
The people will rise as the School enters and remain standing until after the response
Hymn, "Brightly Gleams Our Banner"
The Invocation
The Response
Responsive Reading
We have heard v/ith our ears, 0 God, our fathers have told us,
What work Thou didst in their days, in the days of old.
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We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength, and his wondrous works that He hath done. That the generation to come might know them, even the children
that should be born; Who should arise and tell them to their children, That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works
of God. Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, And causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy
courts ; We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house; and of
Thy holy temple. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory upon
their children, And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the
work of our hands establish Thou it. Hymn, "Summer Suns Are Glowing" Primary Department
The Story of the Church
Important Dates Mr. Drew's Class
The Buildings Miss Katharine Schroll's Class
The Charter Members Primary Department
Hymn, "Faith of Our Fathers"
The Pastors of the Church Miss Hufford's Class
Memorials of the Church .Miss Amy Schroll's Class
Hymn, "For All Thy Saints"
Pictures from the Past Miss Wulff's Class
St. Cloud Church 157
Hymn, "Church of the Living God"
Report of Secretary
Awards
Offering
Hymn No. 247— "America the Beautiful"
Benediction
The church was well filled and the service was most successful in securing the interested attention of the congregation. All those present were asked, as they left the church, to sign their names in a blank-book near the door, as a record for the future. The fol- lowing letters to the congregation were read:
Letter from Rev. R. G. McGregor.
"The North Avenue Presbyterian Church,
"New Rochelle, N. Y., June 1, 1917. "The Rev. Alfred Roy Ehman. "My dear Brother:
"I am in receipt of your invitation to attend the 40th anni- versary of the organization of the St. Cloud Church. I wish I might be present in person, as I shall be in spirit, but my having just returned from a two weeks' absence at the General Assembly makes it quite impossible for me to be away on the 10th, much as I should like to.
"It gives me pleasure, however, to send to you, and through you to the officers, members and friends of the dear mountain church, my heartiest greetings and good wishes. My! how the years go by! It does not seem possible that this can be your fortieth. Why, it was only a few days ago that we celebrated the 25th, the great silver anniversary of the church. Personally, I
158 St. Cloud Church
do not feel a day older, and for the little church you serve my love is as great as when I was the honored pastor.
"I am reminded, though, that these years have thinned the ranks of those who loved the church and served her well. I am thinking now of Mrs. Delano, of Mr. William N. and Mr. Orlando Williams — also of Mrs. Jacobus, and Mrs. John Condit and of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Baird. I am thinking of Mrs. Timms and Mrs. Quinby; and then I'm thinking, too, of him who served that little church so long and faithfully, her first pastor. Dr. Whitaker. Truly the years since our 25th anniversary have left their marks.
"In Westminster Abbey, marking the resting place of the two Wesleys, are these words:
" 'God buries his workmen, But carries on his work.'
May this be realized to the full in dear St. Cloud. May new workers from the boys and girls who knew these good and true men and women who have served so well arise to carry on the work they have laid down.
"My personal greetings to you, my college classmate and friend, and to all who worship with you in the church I love dearly. Mrs. McGregor joins me in hearty congratulations and continued good wishes.
"Faithfully yours,
"Robert Gardner McGregor." "June 6, 1917.
Letter from Rev. G. K. Newell. "Dear Mr. Ehman:
"It is a very hapy and auspicious event that the birthday of the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church falls on Children's Day. Would that more churches would mark their anniversaries by their Chil- dren's Days.
St. Cloud Church 159
"During my St. Cloud pastorate the Sunday School was one of my chief delights. God bless the St. Cloud Church in its ministry to boys and girls.
"The 40th anniversary of the founding of the church brings a flood of memories. It was but yesterday that I helped at the 30th birthday of the church.
"I wonder whether the last ten years have not witnessed as many changes at St. Cloud as there were seen in the previous thirty years. This may not be so, but I know there have been many changes, both in the membership of the congregation and in the dwellers upon the hills and in the valleys around about the church. Two names come to me that were found upon the orig- inal church roll who are there today, Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie. Mr. Delano was a charter member, although his actual church membership is not found in the St. Cloud records at present.
"How many names are held in sacred memory today because of their association with the St. Cloud Church; whatever the changes and the losses, faith survives, and the church of the living God remains.
"An interesting thing to note: that but one of the pastors of the St. Cloud Church has died. No one would have rejoiced in this fortieth anniversary more than Dr. Whitaker, had he been living. Who knows whether he does not rejoice with us?
"Mr. Goodrich is in Paris, called by the opportunities of the war; Mr. McGregor has just been elected a member of the Board of Foreign Missions. I am working at Home Missions. And you, Mr. Ehman, are rounding out the forty years with your excellent ministry — sacred years, years filled with devout study of the word of God — years of humble waiting upon God in prayer and years of blessed fellowship with men and women of Jesus Christ.
"I thank God for the lessons learned at St. Cloud. There were moments of prayer I cannot forget. There were incidents of
160 St. Cloud Church
spiritual triumph that bespoke the power of the Holy Spirit. May the rich blessing of God attend those who worship within walls hallowed by the continued presence of godly men and women. May the blessing of God radiate from the church and Sunday School, carrying the influences of Jesus Christ into each home on the first mountain — and the second mountain, and in the beautiful valley between.
"With warm regards and remembrances to you, the pastor, and through you to all the church of God at St. Cloud, I am, "Very sincerely yours,
"G. K. Newell."
The Reverend Chauncey W. Goodrich.
I am unwilling, on so important an occasion as the fortieth anniversary of the St. Cloud Church, to allow this history to be published without expressing my regret that our second pastor should not be represented with his successors, the Reverend Robert G. McGregor and the Reverend G. Kennedy Newell, whose letters appear in these pages.
Mr. Goodrich is now in Paris, as pastor of the American Church, and is also deeply engaged in war work. I have heard it said that his days sometimes begin at 5:30 A. M. and end at midnight. It is now six months since I sent him the program of the service. I have also written him several times, but in these uncertain days my letters may never have reached him, or his reply may have been lost at sea.
It is with a very keen sense of disappointment that I find myself unable to wait longer for any news of him; but as my book has now been ready for two months, and in the hands of the printer for one month, I do not feel justified in delaying farther its publication.
St. Cloud Church 161
No one can for one moment doubt Mr. Goodrich's love for the St. Cloud Church, nor his devotion to its people and its interests. I recall one incident which made a great impression on my mind, as showing what a remarkable man he is and how deeply spiritual. When he was acting as assistant pastor for Dr. Jowett I was very much interested in a patient at the hospital. It was a peculiar case, and I was perplexed regarding the right thing to do, since the man, as I knew, could live but a short time, and had had no religious training. While I was anxious to talk with him, he was in such a precarious state of health I feared that I might alarm him unduly, and perhaps precipitate a fatal result. I called, therefore, on Mr. Goodrich and asked his advice. He helped me in just the way I wanted to be helped, and then quick as a flash he added, "And I will put him on my prayer list, Mrs. Brown." Surely one who could make such a response as that in regard to a perfect stranger could not fail to remember in his prayers those to whom he once ministered as a pastor.
Were he to write you, I am sure he would recall most beauti- fully the forty years in which "the Lord hath led us." I deeply regret that these words of mine should have to be substituted for a direct message from him, a message which I feel sure would have come straight from his heart. M. E. B.
FINANCIAL.
From time to time in the history of the St. Cloud Church the statement has been made, with perhaps a touch of pardonable pride, that the organization has never been in debt. This is sub- stantially true. In spite of the fact that all contributions are voluntary, that there are no pew rents, and that the revenue comes only in the form of yearly subscriptions or through the regular
162 St. Cloud Church
weekly offering (envelope system), there has never been a time when anything other than a slight deficiency has been reported by the treasurer. These deficiencies have always been promptly paid by special contributions on the part of the congregation, and various funds, "Furnace Funds," "Organ Funds," repair funds, etc., have been raised in the same way.
The first treasurer's report to be read to the St. Cloud congre- gation was the one given by General McClellan at the dedication of the church, September 13, 1877. (See page 32.)
We hear of the annual report being read again by General McClellan in July, 1885, a few months before his death. After this the accounts ran for three years without any report, when, at the request of the officers of the church, Mr. Alfred R. Kimball went over the books and made up the account for the time between July, 1885, and July, 1888. The report was then read and on the first Sunday of July in each succeeding year, until 1896, when the report was first printed. A separate treasurer's report was published for the next nine years. In 1905 this was included in the annual report, published for the first time in this year and printed annually ever since.
The church is indebted to Mr. Eugene Delano for his faithful services as treasurer and clerk of the session in the early days of its history, as shown by the beautiful records which still exist; to Mr. Kimball, who has always stood ready to assist the church in administering its financial matters, as in many other ways; to Mr. Willet C. Roper, who for several years gave much of his time and energy as treasurer, and to Mr. Elmer Condit, who for the past few years has labored faithfully and efficiently in that office.
In 1907, with the arrival of Mr. Newell, the pastor's salary, which from the first days of the church had been $1,500 a year, was changed to $1,800, the amount which still obtains.
In the spring of 1910 the officers of the church discussed the
St. Cloud Church 163
advisability of taking the St. Cloud property from the custody of the Presbytery of Morris and Orange and of placing it in the hands of a board of trustees of its own. The Newark Evening, News gives the following report of a meeting held June 13:
"For the purpose of considering the advisability of creating a board of trustees, a special meeting was held last night by the ofl&cials of the St. Cloud Church. Although it is nearly thirty years since the church was organized, the property has been self- supporting, but until now no step has been taken toward having the congregation assume the custody and control of the property."
During recent years large extensions have been made, and with the erection of the John Crosby Brown Memorial Sunday School building, the officials have reached the decision that a board of trustees should be erected. The question will be pre- sented to the congregation on Sunday, when arrangements will be made for a special meeting in the near future, at which the matter will be voted upon."
The congregational meeting was held soon after, and the fol- lowing is the list of St. Cloud's first trustees:
Robert Baird Elmer Condit Wm. E. Condit Moreau Delano Alfred R. Kimball Winthrop D. Smith
The full list of the trustees of the succeeding years is on a later page with statistics of a similar nature, but this is a fitting place to quote from a letter written by Mr. Newell, July 11th, 1912, from Chicago. It is of value as showing his continued interest in the church.
164 St. Cloud Church
"News has just come from St. Cloud which makes me happier concerning the church than I have been for a long time, the elec- tion of Mr. Duff as a trustee and the election of Mr. Olstead and Mr. Jamison as deacons, being an element introduced into the management which will mean untold good in the development of the church life.
"When I think back two years and note the changes, it seems too good to be true. The change began in the election of the trus- tees. Then the new buildings — the Sunday School and the Club House — magnificent gifts to St. Cloud; but it is most interesting to mark the aftermath. It is more than good to have Mr. Duff as a trustee, and in Mr. Olstead the church has captured a strong and vital element for the club and neighborhood."
In 1913 a new method of collecting contributions for benevo- lences was instigated by Mr. Ehman. Before this time they had been made to special objects at special occasions, and the giving, instead of being dependable and systematic, had been too much influenced by the weather and by differences in the eloquence of speakers. In the hope of systematizing this giving to benevolent objects, it was proposed to put it on a new basis. Each member of the congregation was asked to state in advance the amount which he or she would pledge to benevolences during the year, the aggregate amount thus subscribed to be divided by the session as might seem just — the amount being reported to the church. This project was further explained and established by an "every mem- ber canvass" in 1914, since which the benevolences have been ad- ministered on a business-like and systematic basis.
The "Susan Magoun Delano Trust Fund," established this year (1917) and already mentioned in the body of this history, is a fitting climax to this brief review of the financial matters of the St. Cloud Church, and opens to us a vista of long years of useful- ness, unhindered by care or anxiety as to material resources.
St. Cloud Church 165
MEMORIALS AND OTHER GIFTS. Memorials.
1. Susan Magoun Delano Trust Fund to endow the church, given by Mr. Eugene Delano in memory of his wife.
The following articles were presented by the persons whose names are here mentioned:
2. Memorial window. From Miss Caroline Delano, in memory of her niece, Martha Delano, born July 27th, 1875, and died August 16th, 1876. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Delano.
3. Font. In memory of Mary A. Marcy (Mrs. Randolph B. Marcy) by her children.
4. Memorial Tablets.
Dr. William Adams
General McClellan
Mr. John Crosby Brown
5. "Welcome" sign on the front of the church. In memory of Carrie Nevins Condit, died February 21st, 1891. Given by the "Willing Workers."
6. Hymn-board. Given in memory of Ernest Anderson, grandson of Dr. Anderson. Died July 27th, 1884.
7. Organ lamp and pulpit lamp. Given by Mr. and Mrs. Condit in memory of their daughter, Carrie.
8. Pulpit table. Given by Mrs. Moore in memory of her husband, Mr. Alfred Moore.
9. Organ in the Chapel. Given by Mr. and Mrs. Hartley in memory of Emma Hartley, died March 3rd, 188] .
10. Desk in the study. Given in memory of Almira Rogers by her husband.
166 St. Cloud Church
11. Revised Bible and Presbyterian Prayer-Book. Given by Miss Kate G. Moore in memory of her father and mother.
12. Velvet cover for pulpit desk. In memory of her husband, by Mrs. Robert Martin.
13. Kneeling-bench used for baptisms and weddings. In memory of Albert Condit and his wife, Rachel C. Condit, by their children, December, 1909.
Other Gifts.
The church organ. Presented by Mrs. John Crosby Brown.
The six small stained glass windows in the Adams Chapel, each containing a conventional flower and a verse of Scripture. Also a gift of Mrs. Brown.
A portrait glass window of Dr. Adams in the chapel. Pre- sented by Mr. Thatcher M. Adams.
The floor tiling. A contribution from Mr. Alexander Brown, of England.
The Communion Table. Gift of Miss Caroline Delano.
Large Communion Service. From a member of the church.
Individual service. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop Smith.
Small Service (used for the sick). Gift of Miss Frances Mor- ris and Miss Eleanor Crawford.
Foot benches. From the Church of the Covenant. A gift sug- gested by Mr. Kimball.
Cover for table in pulpit. Gift of Miss Kate Moore.
St. Cloud Church 167
JOTTINGS. Supplies and Special Sermons.
1883. Dr. Edward Caldwell Moore — three months, during Mr. Whitaker's absence in Europe. And again in 1906, for two months.
1895. Rev. Caldwell Morrison — two months, in the interim between Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Goodrich, and Rev. William Adams Brown during the Summer.
1902. Dr. William Adams Brown— October 15th to Novem- ber 12th, during pastor's absence.
1907. Sermon by Dr. Whitaker (then at Elizabeth), in cele- bration of the 30th anniversary of his installation at St. Cloud.
Presbytery at St. Cloud.
In the years 1886, 1905 and 1916.
Miscellaneous Facts.
The first death in the communicant membership of the church was that of Mrs. Randolph B. Marcy, a charter member. The font given as a memorial to her by her children was used for the first time at the baptism of Amy Brighthurst Brown by the hand of her grandfather, Dr. Adams, July 21st, 1878.
In the early years of the church "Neighborhood Meetings" were held in the various homes of the parish in addition to the regular Friday evening prayer-meeting and sometimes in its place.
The gown was first worn on April 24th, 1881. Early in Mr. Newell's pastorate the ladies of the church, discovering that it was fast wearing out, constituted themselves an informal committee,
168 St. Cloud Church
with Miss Emma Stenken as chairman, and raised the funds for a new gown.
The Communion Service was held every three months, until January, 1902, when, by vote of the Session, it was decided to hold it every two months.
The first printed order of service was issued in 1897.
The Fourth of July Celebration, in the early days of the church, was held a few times on the church grounds or on the lawn in front of the parsonage. Later the custom of having a picnic at Verona was established. This continued until 1915, when the present custom of having an undenominational community entertainment on the church grounds was started.
The Christian Endeavor Society was reorganized in 1913 and became the Young People's Association. In November of the same year the Association first instituted the custom of making monthly visits to the almshouse, the Orange City Home in Living- ston.
The Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society and the Sewing So- ciety, both of which have existed since the early days of the church, have been valuable adjuncts to the church work.
In 1906 a kindergarten department for children from three to six years old was opened. (April 1st.)
In 1907 a Sunday School lesson study class was held at the parsonage before prayer-meetings, at 7:15.
The Orange Mountain Sunday School Association, an organi- zation of the various Sunday Schools on the two mountains (Liv- ingston, Roseland, Northfield, etc.) has held several of its meet- ings at St. Cloud in the past few years.
In 1912 the graded system of Sunday School lessons was insti- tuted at St. Cloud.
It has always been the custom on Children's Day to present Bibles to those pupils who have learned the books of the Bible
St. Cloud Church 169
by heart, also to those who have had the best record of attendance. The records for attendance are held by Norman Barker and David Duff. The latter had a perfect attendance for five years (1910 to 1915).
Norman Barker's record of ten years of perfect attendance (1907 to 1917) is the more remarkable as he is blind. For the past few years the Sunday School has given him its prizes in the form of books of the Bible in New York Point. At the present date of writing (1917) he owns seven volumes, including all the books of the New Testament and the following Old Testament books: Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, the Psalms, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. These have been awarded him for committing to memory different parts of the Bible, as well as for his remarkable attendance. He has learned and knows by heart ten or fifteen Psalms and as many New Testament chapters.
For thirty-three years Mr. Aaron A. Quimby was the organist of the St. Cloud Church. During these years he never missed a single service, in spite of summer heat and the difficulty of trav- elling along the mountain in winter, when it was covered with ice and snow. On the Christmas following the 25th anniversary of his connection with the church, the congregation presented him with a watch as a token of their affectionate appreciation of his faithful services. He was succeeded October, 1910, by Mr. Frank L. Drew, who has sustained the musical reputation of the church and has filled the position most acceptably.
170
St. Cloud Church
STATISTICS.
Pastors.
Rev. William F. Whitaker Rev. Chaunce'y W. Goodrich Rev. Robert G. McGregor Rev. George K. Newell Rev. A. Roy Ehman
G. B. McClellan E. Delano M. Condit E. I. Jacobus W. N. Williams T. M. Timms M. E. Condit E. H. Moore J. P. Condit W. E. Condit
M. E. Condit J. P. Condit A. W. LeClerc W. E. Condit R. Baird W. D. Smith
E. Condit W. C. Roper
F. H. Jamison J. 0. Olstead
Nov. 22, 1877— Dec. 6, 1894
Oct. 15, 1895— April 17, 1901
Nov. 25, 1901— June 26, 1906
Sept. 28, 1906— Nov. 25, 1911
June 21, 1912—
Elders.
June 10, 1877— Oct. 29, 1885
June 10, 1877— Jan. 26, 1888
Sept. 27, 1877— Sept. 28, 1891
Sept. 27, 1877— Nov. 27, 1899
May 27, 1888— April 15, 1907
May 27, 1888—
July 5, 1896—
May 7, 1905— Oct. 1, 1911
August 4, 1907—
August 4, 1907—
Deacons.
July 1, 1888— July 5, 1896 July 1, 1888— Aug. 4, 1907 July 1, 1888— Feb. 23, 1902 July 5, 1896— Aug. 4, 1907 May 7, 1905— July 2, 1911
May 7, 1905— Nov. 12, 1911
August 4, 1907—
Dec. 22, 1907— July, 1912
Aug. 4, 1912— June 15, 1915 August 4, 1912—
St. Cloud Church
171
Trustees.
R. Baird E. Condit W. E. Condit M. Delano A. R. Kimball W. D. Smith J. Schroll P. Duff
1910 to 1911
1910
1910
1910
1910
1910 to 1912
1911
1912
Sextons.
John Holterman June, 1877 — May, 1880
Fred'k McKenzie May, 1880—
And he has continued his faithful service ever since.
172 St. Cloud Church
PARTIAL LIST OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Historical Sketch 9
"The Christian Path" 10
"Orange Mountain," Poem, by Rev. H. N. Cobb 11
Orange Valley Congregational Church Mission 14
Origin of St. Cloud Church 16
Laying of the Cornerstone....* 20
Revolutionary Signal Station 21
Opening Service of St. Cloud Church 24
Dedication of St. Cloud Church 29
Architectural Description of St. Cloud Church 34
Rev. J. 0. Averill 37
Installation of the Rev. William F. Whitaker 37
Christmas Celebrations 39
Harvest Home 44
Praise Service of the Flowers 49
Giving Festival 51
Mrs. Bella Cooke 52
Death of Dr. William Adams and Memorial Service 54
Eulogy of Dr. Adams, by General George B. McClellan 54
Death of General McClellan 59
Meeting of Presbytery at St. Cloud 62
The Parsonage 63
Installation of the "Parson's Pony" 65
Circulating Library 70
The Willing Worker 71
Party for "Three Score Years and Ten" 79
Singing Class 80
Stenography Class 80
Resignation of the Rev. William F. Whitaker 80
St. Cloud Church 173
Rev. Chauncey W. Goodrich 85
Installation of the Rev. Robert G. McGregor 93
Parish House 93
Washington's Birthday Celebration 96
Resignation of the Rev. Robert G. McGregor 98
Installation of the Rev. George Kennedy Newell 100
Lahore, India 101
Memorial Service for Mr. John Crosby Brown 102
European Letter from Mr. John Crosby Brown to the St.
Cloud Sunday School (1889) Ill
Laying of Cornerstone of Memorial Sunday School Building 118
Dedication Service of Memorial Sunday School Building 118
Address by Dr. Edward Caldwell Moore 124
Address by Dr. William Adams Brown 130
Bas-relief, Sunday School Building 134
Men's Club 139
Resignation of the Rev. George Kennedy Newell 140
Installation of the Rev. A. Roy Ehman 142
Trust Fund of St. Cloud Church 145
Death of Dr. William F. Whitaker 146
Fortieth Anniversary of St. Cloud Church 147
Anniversaries 149
Financial Matters 161
Memorials and Other Gifts 165
Jottings 167
Statistics 170
174 St. Cloud Church
INDEX
PAGE
Adams, Dr. William, Death of and Memorial Service 54
Adams, Dr. William, Eulogy of, by General George B.
McClellan 54
Averill, Reverend J. 0 37
Bas-relief, Sunday School Building 134
Brown, Dr. William Adams, Address by 130
Brown, Mr. John Crosby, Memorial Service 102
Children's Day Celebrations - 41, 149
Condit, Mr. Moses 74
Christian Path, The.. 10
Christmas Celebrations 39, 66
Cooke, Mrs. Bella 52
Circulating Library ..70, 96
Ehman, Rev. George, Installation of 142
Giving Festival 51
Goodrich, Rev. Chauncey W. 85, 160
Harvest Home 44
Historical Sketch 9
Lahore, India 101
Lectures 76
Letter from Mr. John Crosby Brown Ill
Letter from Rev. Edward C. Moore 153
Letter from Rev. William F. Whitaker 89
Letters from Rev. Chauncey W. Goodrich 86, 177
Letters from Rev. George K. Newell 140, 158
Letters from Rev. Robert G. McGregor 92, 137, 157
McClellan, General George B., Death of 59
McGregor, Reverend Robert G., Installation of 93
McGregor, Reverend Robert G., Resignation of 98
St. Cloud Church 175
Memorial Sunday School Building, Laying of Cornerstone.... 118
Memorial Sunday School Building, Dedication Service 118
Moore, Dr. Edward Caldwell, Address by 124
Men's Club 96, 139
Nev/ell, Reverend George Kennedy, Installation of 100
Newell, Reverend George Kennedy, Resignation of 140
"Orange Mountain," Poem by Rev. H. N. Cobb 11
Orange Valley Congregational Church Mission 14
Praise Service of the Flov/ers.... 49
Parsonage, The 63
Parson's Pony, Installation of 65
Parish House 93
Revolutionary Signal Station 21
St. Cloud Church, Origin of 16
St. Cloud Church, Laying of Cornerstone 20
St. Cloud Church, Opening Service 24
St. Cloud Church, Dedication of 29
St. Cloud Church, Architectural Description of 34
St. Cloud Church, Meetings of Presbytery at 62, 167
St. Cloud Church, Trust Fund of 145
St. Cloud Church, Fortieth Anniversary 147, 155
Singing Class 80
Stenography Class 80
"Three Score Years and Ten" 79
Washington's Birthday Celebration 96
Whitaker, Rev. Wm. F., Installation of 37
Whitaker, Rev. Wm. F., Resignation of.. 80
Whitaker, Rev. Wm. F., Death of 146
Willing Worker, The, Church Paper 71
176 St. Cloud Church
Appendix
Anniversaries 149
Financial Matters 161
Jottings 167
Memorials and Other Gifts 165
Statistics 170
St. Cloud Church 177
Letter from the Reverend Chauncey W. Goodrich
FOR the Fortieth Anniversary, but Received Too Late to be Placed with the Other Letters in the Book.
Paris, France, Oct. 20th, 1917.
To My Friends of the St. Cloud Church: — It seems a far cry from Orange Mountain to Paris, but in the past weeks the distance has been bridged in delightful fashion, as I have had the satisfaction of meeting one after another of those who knew St. Cloud and the Church and could join with me in pleasant memories of the years spent there.
A month or two ago a young ambulance driver on leave was in my study consulting about other forms of service, when he said, "Oh! this will interest you. Yesterday I remarked to a group in our section, 'When in Paris to-morrow, I am going to ask Dr. Goodrich about army enlistment.' 'Dr. Goodrich?' an- swered one of the fellows. 'Why, he baptized me.' " It was Robert Duff who spoke, and since then I have seen him more than once and shall hope to see him more. He is now render- ing most efficient service in connection with the Red Cross.
A few weeks later, at a morning service, I noticed a nurse's costume among the khaki uniforms, and I was not long in recog- nizing the wearer as Miss Dorothea Moore, whom I first knew at the Mountain Church as a very little girl. She holds a post of much importance in one of the larger American hospitals in Paris.
But a few Sundays later in one standing a half head higher than his neighbors in the pew, I recognized so old a friend as Mr. James Crosby Brown, whom I have known from boyhood in summers on the Mountain. In the financial management of
178 St. Cloud Church
the great Red Cross work in Paris he is occupying a position of heavy responsibility.
And, last, when talking with a British colonel, of the Gen- eral Staff, whose acquainfance I had made in our hotel, I found that he, too, knew most pleasantly the Mountain and the Church.
It is not without significance that these friends, who renewed in so welcome a fashion the links with the St. Cloud Church, all finely represented the spirit which has characterized the church through all the years — the spirit of self-giving service. None were here in Paris as travellers or sight-seers. All were here to help, by work for the great cause, arduous and exacting. As I recall the life of the church of twenty years ago, there are those conspicuous for their large service whom I could easily name, but rather I prefer to emphasize that common fidelity which dis- tinguished the great body of the congregation. In that scattered community, with the absorbing demands of the daily task, with the hindrance of heat and cold, snow and rain, yet ever the things which concerned the church were to be maintained at their best. Though it meant the postponement of other things, and long walks or drives, and tired home-goings, tliere could be no sagging or neglect in the things of the Church. From my people in St. Cloud I learned why the Apostle ranked so high the grace of "patient continuance in well doing." In the life of any church nothing counts for more.
As I write I can glance up at a picture of the "Little Church" on the mantel, photographed and colored by one of your faith- ful fellow members. "Little" it has not been in its influence nor in the congregations, which often equal those found in much larger edifices. But its structure, standing in the setting of open country, has always appealed, not by grandeur, but by a certain friendly intimacy. The building, which we could make all bowery with blossoms on Children's Day, all green with ivy at
St. Cloud Church 179
Christmas, has been peculiarly dear to us all. No one who has worshipped often in that church has failed to carry it always in his heart.
Every worshipper at St. Cloud understands why, from of old, men have sought the high places for adoration. Away from the roar of cities, away from murky smoke clouds, the soul hears with less effort the still small voice and the upward way of prayer seems more manifestly open.
Thus an old pastor turns often in memory to a people whom he will always love and, amid the rush and strain of a great capital in the midst of war, he finds himself "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day" with those who gather in the dear Church on the Moimtain.
Fraternally yours,
Chauncey W. Goodrich.
The Abbey Printshop East Orange, N. J.
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BRITTLE DO NOf PHOTOCOPY
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