Baptist church marks 140th anniversary
By Erik Pekar, Town Historian
This Monday, Oct. 3, the Granville Baptist Church will be commemorating the 140th anniversary of the dedication of its present church building. The congregation first met in 1875, and the church was organized and incorporated in 1876. It initially met at Bardwell Hall, which stood at the corner of Main and Church Streets where the Swanson building stands today. The original church was dedicated in March 21, 1877. It was located on Morrison Avenue. In 1882, the growing Baptist church decided to build a new church, buying a lot on Quaker Street from Otis Dillingham.
An agreement was made with the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church to sell them the old church building upon completion of the new church. The Calvinistic Methodists later moved to a new church on Quaker Street, called the Peniel Church; they later joined the Presbyterian Church. The Morrison Avenue edifice later was occupied by the All Saints Catholic Church. The building burned while All Saints was located there and was rebuilt for the original All Saints Hall. The old hall building is now the Mettowee Valley Senior Citizens meeting rooms.
The Baptists first met for service in the current building in July of 1882; the dedicatory services occurred Oct. 3, 1882. The parsonage on Quaker Street was purchased in 1896 for $3,000, from Mrs. Theodore (Emma Laing) Stevens. Funds were raised in the mid-1890s for the purchase of a pipe organ; a $1,500 specimen was bought, and dedicated with a sacred concert on July 19, 1898. In the 1900s decade, a large addition was built in the back of the church, with a parlor and kitchen. In the 1910s, the 35 stained glass memorial windows were presented, installed and dedicated.
The Baptist Church has had a succession of 21 pastors since the establishment of the Granville Baptist Church in 1876. The list of pastors follows: Rev. L. A. Fish, 1876 to 1878; Rev. C. A. Johnson, 1878 to 1882; Rev. L. S. Johnson, 1882 to 1889; Rev. R. C. Bowen, 1890 to 1892; Rev. E. M. Alden, 1893 to 1895; Rev. L. T. Giffin, 1895 to 1902; Rev. G. S. Beckwith, 1902 to 1914; Rev. Horace C. Broughton, 1914 to 1922; Rev. J. D. Brehaut, 1922 to 1929; Rev. William Barlow, 1930 to 1941; Rev. Ira M. Stanton, 1941 to 1949; Rev. Sam H. Keister, 1950 to 1957; Rev. Lester M. Vier, 1958 to 1962; Rev. Arthur Weisser, 1964 to 1970; Rev. Andrew Dancer III, 1970 to 1973; Rev. George T. Herrick, 1973 to 1974; Rev. Roger D. Blinn, 1975 to 1978; Rev. Glen C. Bachelder, 1979 to 1987; Rev. Andrew Kilpatrick, 1988 to 1993; Rev. James C. Peterson, 1995 to 2020; Rev. Jeff Lamphere, 2020 to 2021.
The 140th anniversary commemoration of the church building will occur on Monday at 6 p.m., and will feature guest speakers Jackie and Harlow Gordon, and Pam Bolton. Dan Nelson will play the pipe organ. The public is invited to attend the event and commemorate 140 years of holding Baptist service in the church building on Quaker Street.
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The crisp, cool mornings are more frequent, as are the rainy days. Gone are the sunny scorchers of the summer. The leaves have started to change color and the area will soon have a colorful palette of yellows, reds and browns, with some green thrown in, all on the trees. Fall is upon us, and there is no denying it.
As September comes to a close, fall decorations are appearing by the score. Corn stalks, leaves, pumpkins, and other items are showing up on area houses. Another group of decorations are making their annual comeback: skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, ghouls and more. A few houses are already decked out with such items. These are all signs that show that Halloween is getting closer.
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Construction on the expansion and remodeling of the Poultney Stewart’s began the week of Sept. 15. This work started with preparing for the addition on the back of the building, which faces Main Street. Work also started for the new restroom in front, as the old one will be gutted to make way for the larger store space. Similar expansions occurred at the Hartford and Whitehall stores. No date has been announced for opening, but given Stewart’s contractors’ steady paced construction, the remodeled store could be ready before the end of October.
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Sunday, Sept. 18, was a banner day in Granville. Helen Macura’s 100th birthday, which occurred on Sept. 16, was celebrated with a drive-by parade. The event was organized by her great-niece, Tanja Mehalick-Guyette. Participants started gathering by 11:40 a.m. at the former Henry Hose firehouse at the corner of West Main and Quaker Streets.
The parade started off at 12 noon. The Granville Police Dept. assisted with traffic control, allowing the paraders to drive off from the launch site. Over 60 cars participated in the parade, passing by Helen’s house on East Main Street. Some had balloons and streamers on their cars, and even more honked their car horns to give their birthday greetings. Cupcakes were also given out. The parade wound down after 12:30 p.m., and family members then gathered to give Helen a birthday party.
Helen is the daughter of Adam and Susie (Strich) Macura; one of 12 children, six sons and six daughters, she is one of two surviving of the family.
Some gave birthday wishes beforehand. Some mailed cards to Helen. Visitors also stopped to see Helen. She remarked that some came to give birthday greetings from across the state, across the country, even as far as Arizona. Paul Labas visited Helen the week prior and sang her a song, “May God Grant You Many Years,” first in Slovak, then in English. Helen was moved by the song, especially the rendition in Slovak.
Sunday’s drive-by parade event was something Helen looked forward to, and she was very thankful and happy with the turnout. Tanja, who organized the event, was thankful for how it went. Thank you to all who participated and helped in making Helen’s 100th birthday drive-by celebration a success.
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