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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEarly Churches Panel Group 01July, 16, 1997 Conference Center Rm.: 106 Project Title: History of the Early Churches Moderator: Florace Kling Transcriptionist: Eileen Sather Interviewees: John Boyle Dr. Clare Gunn Helen Hawkins Larry Watson ►ial Copy FL: Operating at the present time? Okay. Anymore information about myself? What church are you a member of? CG: United Methodist, A &M Methodist. We didn't come until 1967, so I don't know how much I can contribute. JB: My name is John Boyle. I'm pastor at Wellborn Baptist Church. I've been in town since 1987, but we've just recently compiled a history of the church. FK: Thank you. HH: I'm Helen Hawkins from A &M United Methodist Church. I came in 54', and we have a history of our church. FK: And I'm Florace Kling, and I'm a member of the First Baptist Church of College Station. I've been in College Station since 1949, and we are in the process of writing a history of the First Baptist Church, College Station. ES: And I'm Eileen Sather, your transcriptionist. I'm a member of Peace Lutheran Church. We moved here in 1980, but I have some people that are still here that know a little bit about way back when. HH: I'm Helen Hawkins from A &M United Methodist Church. I've been here since 1954, and have participated in many of the activities of the church. JB: My name is John David Boyle. I'm pastor at Wellborn Baptist Church. I've been there since 1987, and have been intrigued by the writing of the history which we've just recently done. My wife works at Texas A &M, and my daughter graduated from A &M Consolidated High School in 92'. So I'm real glad to be here. CG: I'm Clare Gunn, we came in 1967, and we've been members of the A &M United Methodist Church. There are others I notice in the group such as Ms. Hawkins, and the Walkups who have much more definitive background and history of the earlier history, and so about all I can contribute in since the 70's perhaps. FK: What was your first church or synagogue like? Helen? HH: A &M Methodist Church started as a student movement on the campus, and the first organization some time in the period of 1919 and 1920. The presiding person was Dr. Edwin J. Kyle, Deacon of Agriculture, prayer was given by Professor A. I. Mitchell, father -in -law of Margaret Mitchell, who is a member of our church presently, and the first president was Frank Brunneman, a senior. The students at that time had compulsory chapel, and they had to attend, but a few skipped it. In 1919, First Methodist Church of Bryan had 500 dollars excess in their budget at the end of the year, so Rev. P.T. Ramsey, father of Katherine Blackwell, who is still living here, decided that something should be done for the students ofA &M. In 1919 a two -point circuit was appointed with King Vivian as the minister of Alexander Methodist Church, and A &M, which was original part ofA &M circuit. He was charged to raise 2,000 dollars for two proposed churches in 1932. James Thompson was instrumental in getting the church established. The land where the church is located was purchased in 2 sections. The north half was purchased from W.C. Boyett in 1921 for $1000. The first tabernacle, which was an old frame building, was built in 1923. The students still had to worship at the university, but Sunday school was started in 1932 for the children. From 1942 to 44 Wesley Foundation statewide supplied the funds for the church. In 1947 Reverend James Jackson, during his tenure, changed the church into two separate bodies. In 1946, the educational building was built, and it was parallel to the old tabernacle. In 1951, the present sanctuary was built, and the stained glass windows were installed. They were donated by different members, as memorials. In 1967, our office building was completed. CG: I can't add a thing, honestly. She is much more able than I. FK: Dr. Mr. Boyle, or do you go by doctor or reverend, or whatever, would you like to say what your first facility was like? JB: We do not know what the first church facility was like. We do know that there was a church in the 1890's. One acre of land was purchased for a church site by A. Hill and his wife, Anna Burk, in 1890, February 28, 1890. Trustee paid forty dollars for the land in the McMahem, Steven's subdivision in the Wellborn area. We know that that happened, and we know that there was a church building there. We do not know what it consisted of, or we think it was on the site where the church exists now, but we just are not sure what kind of building it was or anything. There was no record kept of that. We do know that during that early period that Wellborn had a cotton gin, a jail store, and a lumber yard, as well as a depot. And the Thomas Barrow family back in the 1870's were very instrumental in helping to build the church. Joseph Barrow was the railroad station master there, and in 1896, he was killed by a shot fired through the station window. And in April 1896, Joseph Barrow was killed there, and few months later his parents, his widow, and his four children, narrowly escaped from their burning home in the middle of a midsummer night. Mrs. Thomas Barrow, that was Joseph's mother, however, inhaled a considerable amount of smoke and died of pneumonia some time later. And the reason I give you all of this is that the Barrow family contributed to the erection of the first church back then, and Mrs. Joseph Barrow had been the organist of the church building was destroyed by fire later that same year in 1896. There has been a link between all three of these events, but no one knows exactly why, and the fire was never figured out. So I thought that was a very interesting part as far as the early church goes. Do you want information about the next church...Are you gonna... FK: It looks like we have some. Explain how your church began in this area, and I think we've covered that, and where was it located? How many times did it move? And why was it there? HH: Other than meeting on campus, we moved to our present site, and have been there ever since. JB: Wellborn Baptist Church, I think, is still on the land they bought in 1890. They did buy another area next door to expand the acreage to a little over two acres. There have been another church building was built in 1911 -1912, and that stayed in existence until 1958 where they tore down that structure and sawed lumber, took the nails out, and did all this work under the big oak trees there on the church property, and then built the current sanctuary which was built in 1958, on the same site. And we have since that time built a new brick fellowship ball in 1990 to add to our facility. FK: Neither one of these churches that were mentioned were started as a part to another church. You were the original, and was there all age groups? as the churches began, and continued to grow were there any special age groups? HH: A &M Methodist started as a student group with some of the professors joining and assisting the students. When they moved to the present location everybody was included. FK: How far did people travel? HH: I'm not sure, but I'm sure it encompassed most of A &M and College Station. JB: At Wellborn Baptist, we've got a history mainly of people in the local area back in the early days, because the traveling was so different and difficult, but this is one account of a lady in the 1940's early 1950's that would come five miles on foot from Airington Rd. over by the water tower, off what is now Greens Prairie Rd., and would walk through the pastures with her children and would bring lunch with her, and in the winter time, she would stay in the church sanctuary around the wood stove that was there, and the kids would play outside, and then she would stay for the evening service, and someone would take her home after the evening service. FK: Do you have her name? JB: No, I have and idea that it was one of the Airington's. The Airington Rd. named for her. FK: She probably established the road. JB: Right. I thought that was a very interesting part that people were willing to walk up to five miles to come to a church. FK: How did they get there from one town to another? By horse, horse and buggy, or auto... HH: The only transportation in the beginning was by foot. Eventually the train came in, and then they had a trolley to Bryan. The trolley rail went down Cavitt Street. The students had to live on campus. So they walked, went by train, or trolley. CG: Well, she can elaborate on this, but I just wanted to add to that. Even today, a philosophy that stemmed way back as I understand it, relationships to students has been powerful. This is why they have not moved, and later on the Baptist church next door, and stayed in that location. So I just want to emphasize that relationship to students has been very strong. HH: As far as I know, in the beginning they met only on Sunday, but later they developed other organizations which met during the week. FK: A mid -week service, perhaps? JB: As far as I know, Wellborn Baptist church met, and has always met on Sunday mornings, Sunday night, and Wednesday night for prayer meetings. Sunday school was not started until 1922. The Rev. Robert Koler of Word, Texas came, and Sunday school was organized. FK: What was the date there? JB: February 8, 1922. It's interesting to note the history of Sunday school because it was not always for the adults. It was for the children until the early part of this century. They thought that adults were too old to learn anything new, and that the children had to be taught. FK: Are there any experiences with a Brush Arbor? We hear our grandparents talking about going to a meeting at Brush Arbor. Have any of you heard anything about it locally? HH: There is no record of a Brush Arbor being formed. JB: hi the Wellborn area, there was some record among some of the old timers of Brush Arbor meetings at Mentor's Springs. It's just five minutes now in your car. I would imagine on a horse and buggy it would take at least a half an hour. But they did have meetings at Mentor Springs. I remember some of our old timers talking about that. FK: Can you name any of the denominational pioneers, in this area, such as Harvey, Wellborn, Shiloh, Peach Creek, Old Independence, Rock Prairie, Millican...Do you have any pioneer, denominational pioneers, Are there some famous names? JB: Uh -huh. HH: I've given the names of the ministers, Fred Brison, was one of the organizers. He was a student at the time. And, let's see...there was several more, but I can't come up with them right now. FK: How do you spell that? HH: B- R- I -S -O -N FK: What name changes did the congregation make over the years of your church? HH: We began as A &M Methodist, and now we are the A &M United Methodist. JB: We, as far as I know, have always been Wellborn Baptist Church, and even from the early 1890's. FK: Who built the early churches, and where did the supplies come from? JB: The earliest building evidently, the Barrow family in 1890, since he had a lumber yard there, I would imagine, they were very instrumental in giving the lumber for building the first church, the second church, of course, was erected in, the 1911 -12. We found that, in a called business meeting on August 18, 1911, they voted to build a new church building there. And, they bought the lumber from the Howe Lumber Co., in Bryan. Materials were paid with $726.50 cash advance, and the balance was made on a promissory note at eight percent interest with the total paid by October 1, 1912. And, Howe Lumber Co. took a mechanics lean on the one acre of church property, and we got the lumber from there. The second church, which was built in 1958, they did take down the old church, and took the lumber from that old church that was built in 1911 -1912. They stripped the nails out of it, and the whole community got involved in this This was just not the, church members, but everyone got interested in this, and would stop by, and in the evenings...they would gather around the oak trees, and pull the nails, and have a time of fellowship. I imagine the ladies brought some food, and drink, and they had a good time about doing this as a matter of fact, in 1959, after the second church was completed, they had a revival, and over twenty some odd people came to accept Christ and to join the church. So it was a time of community A community effort, and we just did some remodeling recently, in 1989 -1990 to put a door in our sanctuary to go over to our new building we built then. And its interesting to note, that, that lumber was so hard in the walls, that it dulled about three saw blades getting through it. Cause, like I say, it was put in there, it was the lumber that they bought in 1911 -1912, and so, it was full -sized lumber, and it was hard as a rock! FK: It had seasoned well. JB: It had seasoned well, yes! (laughter...) FK: Was there a woodshed, or outside privy? HH: Not to my knowledge. Fred Brison, in his history, doesn't mention it. FK: Uh -huh. JB: I would imagine that there was in the early days, its not mentioned, caused you just didn't talk about bathrooms, back then. But as far as the baptistery, we as Baptists, are known for emertion baptism, so in those early days, the baptizing was done in rivers, and stock ponds. And so, there was an old stock pond down by the gin in Wellborn, and they would go down there and baptize. At certain times of the year, they would save up those who had come to join the church, and maybe on a pleasant day we'd all go down and be baptized. FK: I wonder what they did in the winter time... JB: They just waited. FK: I mean here its not so bad, not like Minnesota. JB: Right, right. But, the first baptistery was, I think, in the church they built in 1958. So it wasn't until 1958, that we had an in -house baptistery. FK: You've mentioned a little bit about the indebtedness of the church, and how it was handled. Do you have any later word that you'd like to share? HH: The Wesley Foundation Commission, for the whole state of Texas, provided $119,000 dollars of the $138,000 needed to build the Gordon Gay building. I don't have the information on how much the tabernacle cost, except for the first two thousand. FK: Would you explain what the Wesley Foundation is, and how it relates it to the A &M Methodist church? HH: The A &M Methodist church was a Wesley Foundation organization in the beginning. The administration and 2 groups were separated in about `47. But in the meantime, they had a very close relationship. May I tell an anecdote? FK: Sure. HH: During the early days with the tabernacle, a young minister came to town, and he had been told that the students had to eat on campus at 12:00, and they had to march in. His sermon ran overtime. He was going strong at 12:00, so the students stood up, marched out of the sanctuary (laugh). He learned a lesson very quickly! FK: He had to shorten his sermons. HH: Right. JB: As far as raising money, the church has always done it through its own people. They worked hard in those days. They were provided the funds, and were always able to come up with whatever it took. I know when we built our newest building, which is our fellowship hall, we used a Southern Baptist fundraising program called "Giving to Grow ". A program designed where people would make pledges for a three year period, and would give so much a month for three years, based upon that, a loan was taken out at the bank, and that's how we have always raised our funds, through events like that. FK: Explain where the Sunday school education was held. HH: In early days of the tabernacle, Gordon Gay, who was director of the YMCA, asked Ruth Mogford to make curtains for the tabernacle, so they could divide the large hall into classrooms. Later, those curtains were used to cover the openings in the sanctuary for the organ. So they were still in use, a good many years ago. JB: The Sunday school at Wellborn Baptist was done much the same way...we would divide the sanctuary up, and you have a group at the back, a group over here, and a group at the front, and they eventually did put curtains that went across. They could just draw the curtains, and have four different sections, and they actually met in the sanctuary, and when they were through, they just drew the curtains back, and they had church. FK: They kind of had to whisper, I imagine, cause it'd be too loud and noisy! JB: Well, I imagine they were used to it, and they just bore with one another. That's what they did. FK: They just had to understand that there were other groups there... JB: That's right. FK: I bet that took some discipline, though. JB: Uh -huh. FK: Were there nursery facilities? What were nursery facilities like? Were there quilts, or pallets for sleeping children... MI: There's no indication in our history as to what they did with the babies, but later they did have a nursery... when they built the Gay building. JB: At Wellborn, there's no record of that, because I think it was just assumed that the kids would come in, and be a part of church. Even today when a child gets sleepy, they just lay sown in the pew. And so, I would imagine that's what went on. In the sanctuary built in 1958, there was the glass, and the mothers could go back there. But that was eventually changed to a library room, and they covered the opening with a bulletin board at the back of the sanctuary. Nurseries are a recent phenomenon in the church. Probably from the 1950's on up, I would imagine. FK: Tell us a little about your church choir, and how many members are in it, singing conventions, or what was the piano like? Was there a pipe organ used? Anything that relates to the music program? HH: We have a church choir, and I'm not quite sure when it was organized, but the first choir director was Kay Beach. She taught at the college. Following her came Richard Jenkins, Bill Turner, then Robert Boone, and then since then, we've had others. We have about a sixty voice choir, now. JB: At Wellborn, I do not know how far back choirs went, but in 30's and 40's they would have singing conventions, where people would come, and maybe even into the 50's, and they would come from many different churches around the area, and meet at different churches, and spend all Sunday afternoon. Choirs would come from different churches, and they had different numbers that they would do. The church pianist, as far as I can remember, has always been someone from the congregation, and Ms. Uleyla Nealy form Wellborn was the pianist for a number of years, and from all accounts, her son, and daughter -in -law, they say she could really "cut a rug ". (laugh) And we are very fortunate today to have a minister of music, Medlock and his wife have been there for fifteen years. Matt is a math teacher at A &M Consolidated High School, and she plays the piano. And we do have a small choir, but we've incorporated music into our worship time. We have a flutist that plays, we have a bass guitar player, and we have a rhythm guitar player, as well as the pianist. So they've done a good job of taking the talent that's in our congregation, and using it for our worship time here in these recent days. CG: For A &M Methodist, I can't speak for the early history at all abut certainly coming in 1967, we discovered a very strong musical emphasis. And it has been ever since. Probably was just a piano person at first, and when I came, an electric organ was installed February 1987. I can't name the year, but Dr. & Mrs. John Haislet promoted the installation of the pipe organ. And that's recent history. All I can say is that there has always been a tradition of a strong musical program including children and now bells, and often accompanied by a community orchestra and other musical instruments, plus chimes. Mrs. Kay Beach, a teacher at the College, was the first choir director. FK: Now we'll talk a little bit about the pews... Any special way to describe them? HH: I have no information on what the early pews were like. Now we have donated pews. JB: The pews in our church, the people of the church bought a pew, donated money for a pew, and we still have those original pews in our church, as a matter of fact. I cannot remember the date of when it was done, but I know that on the pulpit, and on the end of the pews are brass plates that need to be polished up before you can see them, because they're pretty well tarnished But that's how they did the pews, and we have the original pews. They have been there for a real long time. They are made out of oak, and we had them refinished to make them a little bit more comfortable. FK: What about the lighting? Did you have electric lights, or kerosene lamps? Did you have ceiling fans? Now you have air conditioning, I'm sure. HH: Originally, I don't know what the tabernacle had, but by the time we came in 54', we had ceiling lights and fans. JB: Wellborn church, for years, in the 1911 -12 church had a big wood burning heater in the church. There is some talk about the roof catching fire one Sunday. I guess the ashes or something landed up on the roof, and someone said the preacher ran out, and stomped out the flames in his socked feet, and then came back down and finished the sermon. The early lighting was, I think gasoline, or kerosene lamps. I'm not sure. For the evenings services, it wasn't until 1937, that the church was provided electricity. There were no Sunday school rooms, so they all met in that one sanctuary like we talked before. We had propane gas brought to the church. it wasn't till the 1970's when they actually tapped into the gas line. So now we have natural gas, and of course, air conditioning was put in about 1958. FK: Local funeral homes would supply fans? JB: Yes, that was part of the cooling system. One of the businesses in Bryan donated those for advertising purposes. (laugh) They were the cardboard fans that you have memory of. FK: Did any one of your churches have stain glass windows? HH: Yes, we have beautiful stained glass Windows which were donated as memorials to different members Emma Gay has written a beautiful history of he stained glass windows. FK: When were hey first put in? HH: When the sanctuary was built and dedicated in 1951. FK: Was your congregation ever pastored by student pastors? HH: Not per se. The ministers assigned here ministered to the students, but the students participated in all activities, because it was principally for the students when we began. JB: In the early days, I would imagine they had pastors that were full time. In the 1940's students form Baylor would come down and pastor for two or three years at a time. Depending on how long it took them to get through school. We have people like Bill Shamburger, who went on to be a big denominational worker in the Southern Baptist Life. Dr. Toler, who's at the seminary now, was a pastor at Wellborn Baptist church when he was a student at Baylor university. We did have a history in our church of young people coming down to be weekend pastors. FK: Were there ever any from A &M? A &M never developed any students pastors. I've never heard of it. HH: The YMCA lead the Christian movement on the campus. They invited outstanding ministers and lay people to come. I think it was a whole week, or maybe two, on campus. The campus does have a chapel where certain activities can go on. FK: Were there any special ceremonies...like the anniversary of the church, or when you completed the church? Are there any special ceremonies that you'd like to mention? HH: When the sanctuary was dedicated in 51', they had quite a delegation from the conference and state there. Then in 68', we had our sixtieth anniversary with various activities, and the Bishop was there. JB: We were always taking the opportunity for having a time of eating. Baptists are known to be big eaters. You know the say the Baptist bird is fried chicken. So, I guess that's the case. We did have a dedication for our new building built in 89 and 90. We had an occasion recently for Dr. Toler. He was preaching at First Baptist church about a year ago, filling in for a weekend. And we got to have him out for a meal with the church. We had a great time of reunion... always having a time of get - togethers, especially in the early years. It was a time of socialization. FK: Do you have any running traditions in your church? Did the women sit on one side of the church, and the men on the other? We hear many stories about stuff like that. HH: I don't think there was any serious division in our church. JB: I don't think in our church, either. If there was, there was nothing said about it, and it was not made to be a big deal. FK: We need to talk a little bit about the pastor and whether or not he had a parsonage. What family did he bring with him? What kind of financial assistance was given to the pastor? HH: Well Ken Vivian was the first one. The story is that he built a two story, two room parsonage where the fellowship hall is now located. He brought the material from all over, and built it himself. He finally added a bath, then later on the church bought some property where the Wesley Foundation is now. We traded the Wesley Foundation for the connecting links between the sanctuary, and the educational building. JB: We have no early record of how they housed the pastor, during the time the students were coming here form Baylor. Families would take the students in their houses. Sometimes they would leave the door open in case they were gone, and the students knew they could go on in. They fed them, and had a place for them to sleep. If they were married, they had a bedroom for them, too. Then after the evening service, and sometimes on Monday, they would head back to the seminary. The seminary did not hold classes on Monday. The reason was that many of the pastors had to travel by train, or if they did not have the luxury of having a car, they had to travel back to Ft. Worth for classes on Tuesday. It allowed the young pastors to get back to seminary. Early in the 80's they had a parsonage, but that didn't work our, so they sold it. They decided to put up a housing allowance of the pastors, and that's the way it's handled even today. CG: Mrs. Hawkins, do you have any record of when the parsonage over on 1209 Walton Drive was established? HH: I believe that was in the late 60's or early 70's. The parsonage where the Wesley Foundation is now was too small, so they bought a parsonage over on Walton Street in 1957. Then that one was too small, so then they bought the one over on Munson. I'd like to say the parsonage had sort of an "open house" in the beginning When it was across the street from us, people would be coming in and out. And Gracie Jackson, who was the wife of one of our former ministers, R.L. Jackson, has written an account of some of the things that happened to the parsonage. For instance, one morning she came down the stairs, and there sat 17 turtles! She screamed for the Reverend to come and take them outside. She also housed a lot of the student's girlfriends, but they were given no key, and the boys were forbidden to go upstairs. One day they had the Bishop come to speak, and they were planning a dinner afterwards. Mrs. Jackson had prepared some ice cream, but when she went to the refrigerator to get it, there was a note saying, "It sure was good, guess who did it ? ". (laughter...) FK: You talked a little about the social needs met in church. What were the religious needs of the community9 What about the community and the church working together? JB: There are accounts back in the early days where some of the pastors took the youth on a camp out. Back then, Wellborn was quite a well open area, they'd just hike out into the woods, and camp out. I'm sure it was a great experience for all the kids in the community FK: Can you tell about any revivals in your church? Where were they held? How long did they last. Did they include prayer meetings? HH: I don't know any that we've had. As far as revivals are concerned, I'm sure we had them. JB: We have had some...word of mouth story about Brush Arbor meetings at Minyard Springs. The revival in 1959 after we built our new sanctuary in 1958 was a really big thing. About twenty adults from the community joined the church. A number of those people are still faithful today. A few years ago, we had a revival with payer meetings beforehand. The sanctuary was kept open all week long. We had a list of people we were praying for. We had a great revival, and ended up baptizing ten people. FK: Tell us about the churchyard. HH: Oddly enough, there was a Methodist church at Shiloh. There was a cemetery, and when they abandoned that church, that cemetery was deeded to the A &M Methodist church. Later the Methodists donated Ft. Shiloh cemetery to the city. JB: The Wellborn community has a cemetery. It's never been run by the church, though. It's always been kept up by the people of the community. The early church of 1911 -1912 had a bell in the churchyard that was fenced in. They eventually built a new fellowship hall linked with a breezeway. That building is still there, now attached to our new sanctuary. We have pictures of people congregating in the churchyard before church. You had to go up the steps to get into the sanctuary. The men would go outside and smoke beforehand. FK: Who could be buried in the cemetery? You said yours was a community thing. JB: Right. HH: I'm not sure, but I know it was open to the public. I want to go back to the baptismal. FK: Okay. HH: Thanks Our first baptismal was a compote mayonnaise dish from home, and was about three inches tall. We had it in `68. And the cloth was a white napkin. If someone wanted to be baptized, emersed, then they were taken to another church. FK: Do you have anything special to add to that? JB: No, it was always in a, usually stock ponds, unless there was a river, not really a raging river, even in modem day, some of the missionaries take them down to the rivers. A lot of the missions do not have a regular church building, but there are a lot of fine memories of people that go there today. People that would be considered "old timers ". They have fond recollections of those days. FK: Tell me about the corps and A &M. And how the A &M faculty members attended church? What impact do you think the University, or College as it was called in the old days, had on your church? HH: Wesley Foundation was organized on campus, and remained there for a good many years until they built the tabernacle. The members were predominately the students, who could be enrolled as a full member, or an associate member. The faculty members and families also attended. JB: Our church, mainly, was a community type church. Not many students came out that far, because in the old days, it was a long way sway. Now in the late 70's -early 80's, there was a movement to reach our to students. Quite a few did come out during that time, but not in the old days. FK: Can you tell us about the Gay building, and the activities on campus? HH: I know that Leslie (my husband) and I attended them, but I don't know who the ministers were, one of whom was Dr. Charles Allen, minister of First United Methodist of Houston. It was a University sponsored activity. Mr. Gay would invite the minister to come to the church and talk to the students directly. So, that was a rich experience! They developed a program to go to Lakeview, which is the Methodist Assembly Plant, for the students for one week. FK: Explain what you know about A &M sponsored morning worship services on campus, with the attendants being compulsed by A &M students. HH: I think I mentioned this, they had chapel and it was compulsory. They were supposed to march in. Of course some of them skipped and fell out of line before they got there. FK: I think they checked the roll. (laugh) Explain the effects of W.W.II and its aftermath on the college ministry, not just the college students, but the military personnel and their families HH: I do know that one class, I believe the class of `42, joined the services in mass, but I don't know just what all happened in the church. But following them, the ministers were quite involved with the students because they were the directors of the Wesley Foundation, and the foundation minister served as associate minister of the church. FK: Did you have any to offer? JB: Not so much from the students standpoint. Of course every community had someone involved in the military services Like many of the churches we found up in our attic, a chevron, made out of wood, where they had hung the names of people in the community involved over seas. They kept up with that because of the students. It was a lot of involvement with the school. FK: We have completed the questions that have been supplied for us. Do any of you want to add some thing? HH: The Methodist church has quarterly conferences, and they keep a record of them. It seems that in 1923, Will Jay was dropped from the rolls for immorality, which is quite a contrast from what goes on now! (laughter...) JB: We had a number of events take place which I thought were very interesting... In the 1930's, during the Depression, on September 28, 1931, there is records of the church giving gifts to an orphanage home. I'm not sure where that was, it was not mentioned. But every Thanksgiving, they would build all year long and send certain things to this orphanage. On September 28,1931, the church sent 33 chicken hens, and in 32, they sent 33 chicken hens and three quilts, in 33 they sent 30 chicken hens and five quilts valued at 25 dollars. Not many people had money, but they were willing to give goods. It shows even in those days...hard working people were willing to give what they had. There was also in 1945, ten people along with pastor Ed Smith, that went to Peach Creek to help organize a Sunday school. They named it the Wellborn Baptist Mission at Peach Creek. We have a listing of who taught different classes. There were ten visitors form Wellborn, and an offering of $10.63 plus four dollars for song books. Mrs. Francis Dowling contributed five dollars for the mission. On July 22,1945, Wellborn Baptist church voted to extend support to the Peach Creek Mission. Evidently, it didn't last because there's not one there today. But they reached out from their own community to another community in the area. HH: We haven't mentioned the women's work of the church. (laugh) The Methodist organized a Women's Missionary Union. In 1922, they organized on their own. They were called the Women's Missionary Auxiliary. Now they are known as the United Methodist Women. You know Methodists have been involved in community outreach from the very beginning. They have supported many of the programs which we have now throughout Bryan and College Station, as well as nation wide and world wide missions. JB: All those that worked in the Peach Creek Mission were women. The ladies were the leaders in the mission movement. I think you'll find that in most of our churches. The ladies were the ones that took the initiative. CG: Again, I want to emphasize that mine is more recent history, but it was very obvious from the beginning, the A &M United Methodist church has had a very strong relationship to the University. Even though in Michigan our background had been Congregational, it seemed like most of the administrators, deans, and what have you, were members of this church. It was a very strong linkage between the University and the church. You saw a lot of your professional friends in church. I think that's accounted for growth. I don't know the membership at the current time, but it's hovered around 1600. FK: I do know that the Methodist church bought some property from the First Baptist church. CG: I was chairing the administrative board, when Bob Waters was the minister, and, we kid about buying out the Baptists, but at that particular time, they wanted more land, more space, and so the urge was there to develop another location. Waters took advantage of that opportunity. He said, "No, we don't want to move. We want to keep our linkage with the University in terms of location ". Not everyone in the congregation saw the millions of dollars of indebtedness as "bingo ", but the whole project was enthusiastically supported by the members. In a very few years, the indebtedness was paid off It has expanded into a meeting place, and youth facilities, and has become a great asset to us. It was expanding at such a rate, that we needed more space. Do you want to comment on that, Helen? HH: In addition to buying this property, we also bought the church of Christ building which was across the street. FK: Any other comments you would like to add to this HH: Our first collection plates were made by Cleve Walkup. He made several wooden ones over in the shops at A &M, and he gave three of them to the A &M Methodists. FK: I believe we've covered everything. Wait! We're not through, yet...Mr. Watson! what can you add to this? Tell who you are, and then tell us any useful or interesting information you can contribute. LW: I'm Dr. Larry Watson. I live at 3030 Hemingway in Montgomery, Texas. I lived in Bryan- College Station for many years. I just moved two years ago, but I still drive in two or three days a week to teach at Blinn I'm getting ready to finish a rough manuscript of he history of the First Baptist church of College Station. R.L. Brown established the church in 1923. So the First Baptist church of College Station is the only church in the United States that comes straight from the Baptist Student Union on campus. First Baptist had a lot to do with the farming at Northgate. As long as the first deacons were alive, they did not want liquor establishments to grow at Northgate. When they died, I think you saw some of the bars get bigger! (laugh) FK: Can you talk about the relationship of the campus and B SU? LW: RI. brown came from Pennsylvania to start a BSU on campus. It was not completely a new work, because the pastor at First Baptist in Bryan had already been leading services for cadets on Sunday afternoons, so he really wanted to help. FK: Did they meet on campus? LW: Yes, they met on campus, and there was pretty big crowds. They would meet on Sundays and Wednesdays. I think in the beginning it really wasn't a formal thing After Brown worked for a couple of years, he began to have a set Baptist group. From there, a few of the adults got together on campus, and then finally in 1923 the pretest for the formation of the church came when Dr. George Truit, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, came down and lead a revival at First Baptist Bryan. Many students were saved, and many were converted. Therefore they started going over there. Of course, in 1923, that was kind of a significant drive (laugh) to go to Bryan. Some of the students began to think, "We ought to have our own church ". That's when they initially formed the church. Then Dr. Walton, President of A &M, left first Bryan. He was a deacon there, and came to be a charter member of this new church. FK: Okay, now First Baptist College Station, is that the one still over on Welsh? LW: First Baptist Bryan did not want to start a second church in College Station. FK: Transportation was more of a problem in those days than it is now. Well, they didn't know College Station was going to grow like it did, either. LW: Judge Barron had a real role in establishing the church. He just got up one Sunday, and said," We're going to over there to start this church, and whose going to help me ? ". (laugh) I think he had a lot of prestige in the town of Bryan. That pretty much did it. Denomination seemed to really focus on College Station right after W.W.II in the early 1920's. The YMCA had been the religious focus on campus before that. A &M had a lot of religious orientation because of he military situation. They...I wouldn't say promoted religion, but it was pretty darn close. One of the motivators for the military is religion. In 1920, everyone was beginning to think that A &M was so big now, we needed some churches. HH: We have an organizational plan for the Methodist church, as where our pastors are appointed by the Bishop. LW: The Baptist church is known for being autonomous from any other Baptist church. Therefore we do not have a district supervisor. We have a director of missions, which is over an area. The association does not tell the church what it can or cannot do. The autonomy means that each church governs itself Each church calls its own pastors, each church decides what its going to give to missions, what its not going to give to missions, and they decide what they are going to do with their finances on their own. They receive suggestions from the local Baptist Association, the state convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention. But it's up to them to act on it. Many ask how can they join together to do anything? That's why we developed the Cooperative Program. It's been termed the `link of sand ". How does sand link together? It doesn't; but it works! And has worked over many years. FK: Does anyone want to offer anymore...before it's too late? LW: Well, I think in the early beginnings of churches in the Bryan- College Station area, the denominations worked together. There wasn't any rivalry. They had services together. I don't know about the Catholics, but the Protestants all got together. HH: A &M Methodists worked with the Catholics, and in fact, they had a program in our church at one time for children. LW: Many people overlook the fact that A &M really did have a religious beginning The first Presidents, especially Lawrence Ross. Lawrence Ross would go to every student, and tell them the Bible was the guidebook for life, and if they wanted to get an education, they'd know the Bible. Now, I don't know if a President can do that now! (laughter...) Of course the YMCA was at the center of that for a long time. END OF TAPE This is City of College Station Memory Lanes Oral History Project I'm interviewing for the Miss, Ms., Dr., Etc.) Today is time (month) (day) I (year) (Mr., Mrs., This interview is taking place in Room / of The ( S. at 1300 George Bush Dr. College Station , Texas . This interview is sponsored by the Historic Preservation Committee and the Conference Center Advisory Committee of the City of College Station. Texas. It is part of the Memory Lane Oral History Project. Have each person introduce themselves so their voice is identifiable on the tape recorder. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE City of College Station, Texas 77840 ORAL HISTORY DATA SHEET I hereby give and grant to the HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE, City of College Station, Texas, for whatever purposes may be determined, the tape recordings, transcriptions, and contents of this oral history interview. Also, permission is hereby given for any duplications of original photos, documents, maps, etc. useful to the history project to lie returned unharmed. Interviewee releases, relinquishes and discharges CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from all claims, demands, and causes of action of every kind and character, including the cost of defense thereof, for any injury to, including the cost of defense thereof for any injury to, including death of, any person, whether that person be a third person, Interviewee, or an employee of either of the parties hereto, and any loss of or damage to property, whether the same be that either of the parties hereto or of third parties, caused by or alleged to be caused by, arising out of, or in connection with Interviewee provision of historical information, whether or not said claims, demands and causes of action in whole or in part are covered by insurance. LOA/9-0E N Interviewer (Please Print) Signature of Interviewer , (°6,n. Place of I erview List of photos. documents. mans. etc. /f V S f/A wtS, I✓S Int rviewee ( Please print) Signature of Interviewee LI ,11 40. Name Address 6 4 Telephone Date of Birth 1 7'-G , -0<r - Place of Birth INTERVIEW STATUS: Completed '7 - /6 - l-1' In progress Interviewee agrees to and shall indemnify and hold harmless CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, causes of action, suits and liability of every kind, attorney's fees, for injury to or death of any person, or for damage to any property, arising out of or in connection with the use of the items and information referenced aboved by CITY, its agents, representatives, assigns, invitees, and participants under this grant. Such indemnity shall apply where the claims, losses damages, causes of action, suits or liability arise in whole or in part from the negligence of city. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE City of College Station, Texas 77840 ORAL HISTORY DATA SHEET I hereby give and grant to the HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE, City of College Station, Texas, for whatever purposes may be determined, the tape recordings, transcriptions, and contents of this oral history interview. Also, permission is hereby given for any duplications of original photos, documents, maps, etc. useful to the history project to returned unharmed. Interviewee releases, relinquishes and discharges CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from all claims, demands, and causes of action of every kind and character, including the cost of defense thereof, for any injury to, including the cost of defense thereof for any injury to, including death of, any person, whether that person be a third person, Interviewee, or an employee of either of the parties hereto, and any loss of or damage to property, whether the same be that either of the parties hereto or of third parties, caused by or alleged to be caused by, arising out of, or in connection with Interviewee provision of historical information, whether or not said claims, demands and causes of action in whole or in part are covered by insurance. Int : ry /ewe (P ,3eas 'print) L0 Rike,6 k M-- Interviewer (Please Print) AAry Signature of Interewer Place of Intkrview List of photos. documents. mans. etc. D. wte S ature of In vi Jai" Acy-1 - Name /� - o / 2 /7 � . l -)P / o / / s 7 Address Telephone Date of Birth // / / —S/7 Place of Birth e cirPu , ci Ta(, INTERVIEW STATUS: Completed /t _i Interviewee agrees to and shall indemnify and hold harmless CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from and against any and all daims, losses, damages, causes of action, suits and liability of every kind, attorney's fees, for injury to or death of any person, or for damage to any property, arising out of or in connection with the use of the items and information referenced aboved by CITY, its agents, representatives, assigns, invitees, and participants under this grant. Such indemnity shall apply where the claims, losses damages, causes of action, suits or liability arise in whole or in part from the negligence of city. Vo/ In progress The purpose of The Historic Preservation Committee is to gather and preserve historical documents by means of the tape - recorded interview. Tape recordings and transcripts resulting from such interviews become part of the archives of The City of College Station Historic Preservation Committee and Conference Center Advisory Committee to be used for whatever purposes may be determined. with The City of College Station, Texas Memory Lanes Oral History Project I have read the above and voluntarily offer my portion of the interviews (Name of Interviewee) INTERVIEW AGREEMENT In view of the scholarly value of this research material, I hereby assign rights, title, and interest pertaining to it to The City of College Station Historic Preservation Committee and Conference Center Advisory Committee. Interviewer (signature) Date 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Interviewer (Please Print) I hereby give and grant to the HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE, City of College Station, Texas, for whatever purposes may be determined, the tape recordings, transcriptions, and contents of this oral history interview. Also, permission is hereby given for any duplications of original photos, documents, maps, etc. useful to the history project to le returned unharmed. Interviewee releases, relinquishes and discharges CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from all claims, demands, and causes of action of every kind and character, including the cost of defense thereof, for any injury to, including the cost of defense thereof for any injury to, including death of, any person, whether that person be a third person, Interviewee, or an employee of either of the parties hereto, and any loss of or damage to property, whether the same be that either of the parties hereto or of third parties, caused by or alleged to be caused by, arising out of, or in connection with Interviewee provision of historical information, whether or not said claims, demands and causes of action in whole or in part are covered by insurance. F'Z OR 4c F IC 1,1 ri t^,... Interviewer (Please Print) _� .e4, i Signature of Inteewer S . � , Place of to P rview List of photos. documents. mans. etc. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE City of College Station, Texas 77840 ORAL HISTORY DATA SHEET Interviewee Please print) C 6 ,in signatu(ff • f I - r ewee Name Address /6' 6/aite Telephone �� Date of Birth_ 2/, h`, Place of Birth C 4'nd ,l /e) /l fid% J INTERVIEW STATUS: Completed 7-16-q- In progress Interviewee agrees to and shall indemnify and hold harmless CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from and against any and all daims, losses, damages, causes of action, suits and liability of every kind, attorney's fees, for injury to or death of any person, or for damage to any property, arising out of or in connection with the use of the items and information referenced aboved by CITY, its agents, representatives, assigns, invitees, and participants under this grant. Such indemnity shall apply where the claims, losses damages, causes of action, suits or liability arise in whole or in part from the negligence of city. l6 . Initial 0 HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE City of College Station, Texas 77840 ORAL HISTORY DATA SHEET I hereby give and grant to the HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE, City of College Station, Texas, for whatever purposes may be determined, the tape recordings, transcriptions, and contents of this oral history interview. Also, permission is hereby given for any duplications of original photos, documents, maps, etc. useful to the history project to Je returned unharmed. Interviewee releases, relinquishes and discharges CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from all claims, demands, and causes of action of every kind and character, including the cost of defense thereof, for any injury to, including the cost of defense thereof for any injury to, including death of, any person, whether that person be a third person, Interviewee, or an employee of either of the parties hereto, and any loss of or damage to property, whether the same be that either of the parties hereto or of third parties, caused by or alleged to be caused by, arising out of, or in connection with Interviewee provision of historical information, whether or not said claims, demands and causes of action in whole or in part are covered by insurance. In e iewe (Ple se print) Sign at ' o-f interviewee FL- 0 E 1\1 <;- Interviewer (Please Print) Signature of Inter*iewer Place of Interview List of photos, documents. maps. etc. _�ti 2 ,� ors ��✓ Name 3U ✓G /447 / .c /�c 7 73 - c - C Address, Telephone Date of Birth ,'/ `/ -r- Place of Birth Lirri e /(i2 J /g,? 7 Date ?_ j_f_40 Initial J ,/ INTERVIEW STATUS: Completed q 7 In progress Interviewee agrees to and shall indemnify and hold harmless CITY, its officers, agents and employees, from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, causes of action, suits and liability of every kind, attorney's fees, for injury to or death of any person, or for damage to any property, arising out of or in connection with the use of the items and information referenced aboved by CITY, its agents, representatives, assigns, invitees, and participants under this grant. Such indemnity shall apply where the claims, losses damages, causes of action, suits or liability arise in whole or in part from the negligence of city. Remarks: Memory Lane: City of College Station Memory Lanes Oral History Project interview No 1,c/9; Name Tnhn RnlT1 A Interview date interviewer Florao Flora vi ; n3 interview length interview Place PnnfPranrP Canter Special sources of information Date tape received in office # of tapes marked Date Original Photographs Yes No # of photos Date Recd Describe Photos Interview Agreement and tape disposal form: Given to interviewee on Received Yes No Date Signed Restrictions - If yes, see remarks below. Yes No Transcription: First typing completed by Pages Date (name) First audit check by (name) Sent to interviewee on 8/13/97 Received from interviewee on Copy editing and second audit check by Final copies: Typed by • Oral History Stage Sheet Churches Barbie (name) Pages Date Pages Date Pages Date Proofread by: 1) Pages Date 2: Pages Date Photos out for reproduction: Where to: Date: Original photos returned to: Date: Indexed by: Date Sent to bindery by Date Received from bindery Date Deposited in archives by: Date emarks: Memory Lane: • City of College Station Memory Lanes Oral History Project Copy editing and second audit check by Oral History Stage Sheet Churches Dr Clare Gunn Interview No. Name Interview date 7 /16/97 Interviewer Florace Kling Interview length Interview Place Conference Center Special sources of information Date tape received in office # of tapes marked Date Original Photographs Yes No # of photos Date Recd Describe Photos Interview Agreement and tape disposal form: Given to interviewee on Received Yes No Date Signed Restrictions - If yes, see remarks below. Yes No Transcription: First typing completed by Pages Date (name) First audit check by Barbie Pages Date (name) Sent to interviewee on 8 /13/97 Received from interviewee on (name) Final copies: Typed by Pages Date Proofread by: 1) Pages Date 2� Pages Date Photos out for reproduction: Original photos returned to: Indexed by: Sent to bindery by Received from bindery Deposited in archives by: Where to: Pages Date: Date: Date Date Date Date Date Remarks: Memory Lane: City of College Station Memory Lanes Oral History Project Oral History Stage Sheet Churches Helen Hawkins Interview No. Name Interview date 7/16/97 Interviewer F1 orage Kline Interview length Interview Place Conference Center Special sources of information Date tape received in office # of tapes marked Date Original Photographs Yes No # of photos Date Rec'd Describe Photos Interview Agreement and tape disposal form: Given to interviewee on Received Yes No Date Signed Restrictions- If yes, see remarks below. Yes No Transcription: First typing completed by Pages Date (name) First audit check by Barbi Pages Date (name) Sent to interviewee on R/11/97 i Received from interviewee on 1/ 1° Copy editing and econd audit check by � 1 Pages 2 319 Date /70 (name) Typed Final copies: by Pages Date Proofread by: 1) Pages Date 2 ' Pages Date Photos out for reproduction: Where to: Date: Original photos returned to: Date: Indexed by: Date Sent to bindery by Date Received from bindery Date Deposited in archives by: Date