"WE are the end-product of our history."

FLASHBACKSRevealing glimpses of our creative past

Official newsletter of theUNITED METHODIST HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN

Vol.-38. No 3September. 2007

FALL PILGRIMAGEEVERYTHING YOU WANTD TO KNOWABOUT ARCHIVAL PRESERVATION!!

The fall pilgrimage of Archives and His-tory will take place on Saturday, October6. This year the pilgrimage will be to theArchives center at the Conference Of-fices in Sun Prairie. It is several yearssince there has been a pilgrimage. In themean time, the archives have movedfrom the third floor to the first floor of thebuilding. This new site offers much largerspace with increased shelf space. Plansare being made for a display case thatwill be just inside the entrance to the Ar-chives.

The presentation for the pilgrimage willbegan at 9:AM and will start with a historyof the establishment and development ofthe Wisconsin Conference Archives. Thiswill be given by Mary Schroeder. Follow-ing there will be a tour of the Archives.

At 9:45, there will be information and helpabout developing your local church his-tory. Recently. there have been severalexcellent local histories written aboutcongregations in Wisconsin. Someonewho was involved with such a project willtalk about their work. Local Church histo-ries will be on display.

At 10:30, Lynn Lubkeman , the confer-ence archivist will demonstrate preserva-tion processes. Samples of archival stor-age and labeling supplies will be demon-strated There will be handouts aboutitems that local churches should collectand preserve.

At 11:15, Sandy Kintner, the conferencehistorian will talk about how he re-searched and prepared some of hisbooks on Wisconsin Conference person-alities.

Lunch at noon will be a cook out withhamburgers and brats, prepared at theconference center. Lunch will be availablefor everyone attending the meeting.

In the afternoon, the Archives and HistoryCommission will hold their fall meeting.

The United Methodist Conference Officeis at 750 Windsor Street, Sun Prairie.Advanced registration for the meeting isrequested.

You are cordially invited to attend this in-teresting and helpful meeting. Bring thechurch historian! Bring the conformationclass!

COME TO THE FALL PILGRIMAGE,OCTOBER 6, 2007

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BISHOP DAVID LAWSON

David Jerald Lawson presided as bishopof the Wisconsin Conference of theUnited Methodist Church from 1984 until1992. He died on May 31, 2007 at hishome in Franklin, Indiana, following alengthy illness.

David J. Lawson was born in Princeton,Indiana on March 26,1930. He was agraduate of the University of Evansvilleand Garrett Bible Institute. He was or-dained a deacon in the Indiana AnnualConference in 1956, became a full mem-ber and was ordained elder in 1959

In the Northwest Indiana Conference, heserved as pastor in Wolcott, Carrolltonand Tell City Churches. He also servedat the Wesley Foundation at Indiana Uni-versity and later served the Beech GroveChurch in Indianapolis. He was DistrictSuperintendent of the Evansville Districtand Director of the South Indiana Confer-ence Council on Ministries. He was thepastor of the Carmel Church in Indian-apolis when he was elected to the Epis-copacy.

Bishop Lawson was elected bishop in theNorth Central Jurisdiction Conference in1984. Following his years of service inthe Wisconsin Conference, he was as-signed to the Springfield, Illinois Confer-ence and served there from 1992 to1996.

Bishop Lawson held several national de-nominational offices while serving asbishop, including Vice-President of theUM General Board of Higher Educationand Ministry and as Vice-president and

President of the General Board of Disci-pleship.

While in Wisconsin, Bishop Lawsonserved as the President of the WisconsinConference of Churches. He was alsomember of the Executive Committee ofthe World Methodist Council and Presi-dent of its committee on InternationalTheological Education. He served astrustee of many colleges and universities.He also served as trustee in several hos-pitals including Meritor Hospital in Madi-son, Wisconsin

Bishop Lawson served on the Site Selec-tion Committee for African University,helping to select the site at Old Mutare,Zimbabwe. The proposal for the UnitedMethodist related university came fromthe bishops of the UMC in Africa. TheGeneral Conference approved the found-ing of the institution in 1988. It was toserve all of Africa, primarily founded byUMC congregations in the United States.The ground breaking ceremony was heldon April 6, 1991. By March, 1992, the firstclasses were started. Bishop Lawsonwas not only involved in establishing thesite, he also wrote the Mission Statementfor the University's Faculty of Theology."He probably lived and breathed AfricaCWU Schedule University for a while"said James Selley, the Associated vice-chancellor upon Bishop Lawson's death.

Following retirement in 1996, BishopLawson served as Bishop-in-residenceand a faculty member of the PerkinsSchool of Theology.

A memorial service celebrating BishopLawson's life was held June 11, 2007, atthe Sanctuary of Saint Luke, UMC , Indi-anapolis. A private service with intern-

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ment of ashes followed the Memorialservice. Bishop Lawson is survived byhis wife, Martha, two children and severalgrandchildren.

A seminary classmate and lifelong minis-terial colleague. the Rev. Lloyd M. Wrightoffered one of the very many tributes paidto Bishop Lawson. "We shared a rich lifeof talent and love, a legacy long to beremembered. David was a man of deepdrives of passion for ministry. He couldhold you spellbound as he described hisspiritual development at the time of hisordination as Deacon and at his ordina-tion as ELder. David spent much of hisleadership time with boards of ordainedministry He shared a real passion formaking every step into the ordained min-istry a step of faith and growth,"

LAKE STREET

EAU CLAIREBY MARGARET GRATZ

During the years 1846 and 1847, a saw-mill was built along the Eau Claire River.By 1855, there were 100 people livingnear the confluence of the Eau Claire andChippewa Rivers, mostly lumbermen. Afew of the men had brought their wivesand families. Rivers were the chiefmeans of transportation. There were nobridges until 1869. Settlement had devel-oped on both side of the Chippewa River.

Soon a need for spiritual companionshipwas felt. Individuals met in groups to-gether for worship before an ordainedminister came. Laymen like ThomasRandall and Thomas Barland led serv-ices. In 1852, the Methodist Conferencesent a young man, the Rev. Nicholas

Wayne, to the valley to plant a church. Hewas unequal to the task given him. Aftera few months, he departed after havingbeen attacked by some ruffians who hadassaulted him with stones and sticks

Two missionaries. the Rev. WilliamMcNair and the Rev. Alberoni Kiddercame to the Chippewa Valley to laborduring the fall of 1856. Their efforts re-sulted in the establishment of the Presby-terian and Congregational Churches.The first church building in Eau Clairewas built by the Presbyterians in 1857.Later it was used for several years by theMethodists.

A prayer meeting held at the home ofD.S. and Lucy Hastings during the fall of1857, attended by eight persons, is rec-ognized as the official start of the Meth-odist Church. In a letter written by LucyHastings, she speaks of being baptizedby immersion in the Chippewa River. InApril, 1858, the Rev. William Darnell wasappointed to the Eau Claire Church whichwas a part of the Prescott District .

In 1860, the Conference divided the EauClaire charge into East Eau Claire andWest Eau Claire, the east and west sidesof the river. The Rev. Robert Cobbinhelped plan the first Methodist churchbuilding in Eau Claire. It was located onSouth Barstow Street. The completedbuilding was dedicated on February 9,1868. It cost $4000.00. It was named theBarstow Street Methodist EpiscopalChurch.

On the west side, the Methodists met in aschool building on Broadway and FifthAvenue until the Wesleyan Seminary be-gan in October, 1861. This was a board-ing school for college preparatory. It was

located on Grand Avenue and LakeStreet. In 1872, the west side haderected a church building on the corner ofFourth Avenue and Lake Street. It wasknown as the Lake Street MethodistEpiscopal Church

(For a history of the Seminary, see theFlashbacks Vol. 32. No.2.)

At this time, the Conference limited thepastors to a one year term. The Rev.Cobbin was succeeded by the Rev.Isaac Springer. He laid the foundationstone of the first Methodist building . Itwas completed in 1868 during the pas-torate of the Rev. H.W. Bushnell.. Pas-tors' salaries were then $220 a year.During the Civil War, when there was ashortage of pastors, Rev. Cummings wasappointed to both churches in Eau Claireeven though the west side church wasjust starting.

Revivals were of great importance to theBaptists, Presbyterians and Methodistsduring the late 1800s and 1900s. Theytook place in church buildings, on collegecampuses ,in parks and playgrounds andin camp meetings. Besides the religiousfervor which they generated, they werelike family reunions. People traveled longdistances. In addition to special speakers,there were games, story telling and visit-ing

Some of the local newspapers did notapprove of them and wrote of "Enthusias-tic demonstration and exciting circum-stances of a minister stomping andpounding with his fist." One Editor said"Conversions brought about by men'semotions alone were not enduring."

Issues dealt with in the early revivalswere the uses of tobacco and alcohol,Wesley tradition, Christian perfection andseveral social problems. At each revivalthe number of converts were noted. Onerevival reported forty new members werereceived. Both churches had a steadyincrease in members. Generous dona-tions resulted in a financial lift. A largedonation in the amount of $175 was re-ported in one newspaper. Speakers werepastors of the churches who exchangedpulpits, out of town pastors including thepresiding elders, and several women.Mrs. A. Pilcher was described as an ex-cellent speaker. One four week revivalfeatured Mrs. Jenny Hewee Caldwell,wife of a Chicago pastor. A newspapercommenting on the women speakerssaid, "Some women possess the qualifi-cation to speak and should be licensed."

West Wisconsin Conference minutes re-port that Barstow Street went from 147full members in 1892 to 196 in 1900.The minister's salary was $950 yearly atBarstow Street and $1200 at Lake StreetM. E. Church.

On September 15.1872, the Lake Streetbuilding was dedicated and had cost$45.000. Annual conferences of 1872,1877, and 1884 were held there. Thewooden building with a brick veneer hada handsomely decorated interior and wasfamiliarly known as "The Old BrickChurch" The Rev. A. M. Pilcher wasone of the outstanding preachers of LakeStreet M. E. Church. He served from1884 to 1887 and was later a District Su-perintendent.

The parsonage for the Barstow Street orFirst Methodist Episcopal Church was on

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South Farewell Street until 1903, when itwas exchanged for property at 806. S.Barstow St. Later that was sold to the dis-trict and used as a District Parsonage un-til the early 1950s.

During the ensuing years, both churchesdid improvements and remodeling. Thesanctuaries were enlarged, fellowshiphalls and dining rooms were added to-gether with kitchen facilities.

Financial struggles to keep bothchurches going were great. A number ofsocial events were held to meet operatingexpenses and to pay off indebtedness. ACorn Festival, Maple Syrup Festival, oys-ter suppers. ice cream social, exhibitions,affairs and a New England Tea Partywere some of these events during thelater 1800s

In 1883, a small group of NorwegianMethodists requested a pastor in EauClaire. In September 1883, The Rev. El-liot Hansen was appointed. Meetingswere held each Sunday at the YMCA. Acongregation was organized in November1883 with forty members. By October,1886, they had built a building at Chest-nut and Sixth Avenue at a cost of $6,000.

On January 31, 1909. the First MethodistEpiscopal Church was destroyed by afire, possibly caused by an overheatedchimney. Some insurance money and asubscription drive provided funds for anew building. During the time until May,1911, services were held at the MasonicTemple. It is reported that Mrs. CordeliaTruax, a Congregationalist, gave a checkof $5,000 toward the building fund. Thenew building was dedicated on April 30,1911. It cost $30,000. It had been known

as Barstow Street M, E. but officially wasnamed First M. E. Church.

In 1916, increasing membership made itnecessary to build a new building for theLake Street Congregation. The old build-ing was razed. They worshipped in theCongregational building until the new edi-fice was dedicated on June 23, 1917.

In 1924, the two Methodist churches be-came part of a new form of religious in-struction in Eau Claire for children ingrades 5-8. At parents' request, childrenwere released from school for an hour onThursdays to report to their churches forreligious instruction. It was discontinuedin 1939 when it as judged illegal underthe state constitution.

In 1930, the Annual Conference andmembers of both churches agreed it wasadvisable for the two churches to merge.First M. E. congregation sold its propertyto a Lutheran Church and united withLake Street.

The Rev. Fred Jordan became the pastorof the united congregation. The PleasantValley Congregation was added to theparish . A frightening event happened onSunday morning in 1935 when the largeconcrete cross on the roof came crashingdown in the narthex at the close of theservice.

At the national uniting conference ofMay, 1939, the name changed to theMethodist Church. The three women'sgroups became the Women's Society ofChristian Service.

In the ten years from 1943-1953, therewere 500 new members received into thechurch which made up 50% of the total

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membership, This resulted in a steadyincrease in the Sunday school enrollmentso that in 1942 there were 965, in 1947,1012, in 1953,the total enrollment was533 with average attendance of 357.Finding space for them resulted in havingtwo sessions of Sunday School. A finan-cial drive was launched to plan for a newbuilding. A new addition, costing$171,338 provided three stories of class-room space, a chapel, a small kitchenand social parlors. The Education unitwas dedicated on October 26.1955.

In 1954, a unique,worship service wasinitiated. A Drive-In service was held atthe Star Dusk Theatre along Highway 53.Services were held every Sunday at 8A.M. from Memorial Day to Labor Day.This service still continues at the Geminitheater and is still managed by the menof the church and led by the pastors.

In 1959, the congregation sponsored thenew congregation, Aldersgate. SeveralLake Street members became a part ofthat congregation.

During the 1970s, a need was realized forreplacing the church heating system andobsolete electrical wiring. During the re-modeling form October 1874 to May1975, services was held in the YMCA andSacred Heart Hospital Chapel. The$359,195 cost of the building was com-pletely paid by 1988.

On 1979. the congregation received itsfirst woman pastor, Linda ChristmanPliska. The first pastor of minority back-ground was appointed in 1966, the Rev.Perry Saito of Japanese American ances-try.

In September 1969 the organization ofthe new United Methodist church hap-pened when the East and West Wiscon-sin Conferences and the EvangelicalUnited Brethren denominations merged .

In 1989, a third United Methodist Church,Hope United Methodist Church, was or-ganized in Eau Claire.

During the 1900s, a three year financialcampaign together with a bequest fromAnna White,a retired teacher, enabledfurther remodeling and addition. Thebuilding became handicapped accessiblethrough the addition of a ground level fel-lowship hall and ramp leading to thesanctuary and offices. Improvements tothe parking lot made it more accessible. Acanopy over the entrance created a com-fortable loading area for older and handi-capped individuals.

Throughout its history, Lake Street hashad a number of members entering fulltime Christian service as missionaries orpastors. Among the more recent onesare Elizabeth Clarke, Richard Mathison,Beverly Jackson Bowers, Michael White,Samuel Gratz, Richard G. Maser, KevinJohnson, Terri Koca, and Jenny Arneson.

Celebration of the anniversary has beenin the plans for the last two years. Thereis been extensive physical remodeling.$350,000 was raised for improving thephysical setting. A new roof, freshlypainted walls, improved sound system,new carpeting. pew cushions and a neworgan were part of the project.

United Methodist Women completed acookbook with over 800 recipes. Eachmonth, the newsletter, The Circuit Riderincluded an article about some aspect of

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the church history. A book Legacy ofLove chronicled the history of the church.

Place mats with sketches of historicevents are used in all serving occasionsin Fellowship Hall. A billboard calling at-tention to Lake Street's Anniversary wasvisible to the public traveling among abusy street during the summer months.

On September 9, the celebratory worshipservice will include a sermon by BishopLinda Lee. Several former pastors will bepresent. A song composed by one of theformer members will be initiated at theservice.

Confirmation pictures of the past 75years will be displayed. A heritage bustour is being considered for the fall whensites of important events of the church'shistory may be visited

IRONTONSubmitted by Dee Lambert, Lay-

Leader

(To find Ironton, look at Sauk County andgo west of Reedsburg.)

The Ironton Congregation will celebrate150 years as a Methodist congregation.

The first Methodist work in Sauk Countywas in a parish embracing Sauk, Iowa,Dane and Richland Counties. They werepart of the Rock River Conference whichdivided from the Illinois Conference in1840. This included northern Illinois,Wisconsin and some territory west of theMississippi.

September 2, 1841. Mr.A. M. Fullertonwas appointed to this parish which wasknown as the "Muscoda Mission." He

boarded with various farmers, sleepingwherever he found himself at night. Hefollowed dim Indian trails through darkforests and deep swamps in an untiringeffort to bring comfort and cheer.

In 1855 a spacious lot was set aside inIronton for a church and parsonage byMr. Jonas Tower. He had "acquired" pos-session of the Iron Mine and laid out thevillage of Ironton. Mrs. Tower, with Meth-odist connections, asked for itinerantpreachers to be sent. Church serviceswere held in school house on Brownell'sHIII. Sunday school was in the basementof Keith and Fuller's store. This laterbecame the Masonic Hall. They alsomet in Mr. Johnson's Cooper shop.

Because the preachers had to travel anan extensive distance to attend AnnualConference, and thereby incurring heavyexpenses, as well as loss of valuabletime, the General Conference of 1856was petitioned to divide the conferenceinto three conferences: the Wisconsin,the West Wisconsin, and the Minnesota.

It was at the second Annual Conferencein 1857 held in Mineral Point that theWest Wisconsin Conference recognizedthe Ironton Circuit. (There are varyingreports as what "classes" or churcheswere included in the Ironton Circuit)August Hall was appointed as the firstpermanent preacher.

In 1872. two lots were brought togetherfrom John Tout and his wife for $125 fora place to build a church and parsonage.Tout was an heir to Jonas Tower, founderof Ironton and the Ironton Iron works. Thedeed was made out to the MethodistEpiscopal Church and the trustees and

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their successors. The cost of the churchbuilding was $3000.

The money for this church was given bythe whole community including all othercreeds and especially the Congregation-alists who were to share the buildingjointly with the Methodists for someyears.

The church was dedicated Apri1,1873.The morning and evening sermon waspreached by J.H. Tombley, D.D. of theWisconsin University. After both services,an appeal for aid to lift the debt wasmade. Altogether, one thousand dollarswas given, enough to place the churchout of debt.

The church became the center of allcommunity activities. Besides worshipservices, Sunday School, School gradua-tion, local concerts, patriotic meetingsand Memorial day Programs were heldhere. In the basement, strawberry festi-vals, ice cream socials, oyster suppers,bazaars, dinners, fund raising entertain-ment, political rallies, and the Interna-tional Order of Good Templar gatheringswere held here.

In 1889, Cazenovia, Lime Ridge andSandusky were placed on a separatecharge. LaValle and Wonewoc wereadded to Ironton. In 1890, Cazenovia ,Lime Ridge, and Sandusky were placedback into the charge and Wonewoc wastransfered to Union Center. There were68 Members, 14 probationary membersand two lay preachers with five churcheson the charge. John Steele ended hispastorate in 1892, believing the work wastoo much for one pastor.

One of the most notable events in theIronton history was the tornado that oc-curred on May 8, 1918. An article fromthe Reedsburg Free Press described theevents of the day as follows "On Thurs-day, late afternoon... a tornado rippedthrough Ironton. The Methodist churchwas practically ruined, the upper partblown off, the bell was blown full length ofthe church and was found in thechancel...Church services were then heldat the I.O.O. F Hall"

On November 11, some of the men, in-cluding the Rev. Peckham, were workingon rebuilding the church basement whenthey heard a commotion outside. On in-vestigating, they discovered the bandfrom Cazenovia with lots of cheering fol-lowers, celebrating the end of WorldWar I.

The church was rebuilt in one year.On May 11. 1919,. the Methodist congre-gation of Ironton dedicated their churchwith celebration. The balance of the debtwas entirely pledged at the morningservice, and in the afternoon, $350 morewas raised to purchase a piano. Stainedglass windows had been donated as partof the rebuilding.

From September 1925 to September1926, the church was served by three dif-ferent student pastors. They were:Francis Blish, John Thomas, and ArchieHenry. On Archie Henry's last Sunday,he was called upon to perform his firstwedding when William Beddel, an 86year old Civil War Veteran took as hisbride, Mrs. Mary Andrews, a 74 year oldwidow.

In the 1830s. the Ironton Circuit was dis-banded, due to a small base support for a

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pastor or enough work to keep him busy.The church, however,was to continue andwas now assigned to the Wonewoc Cir-cuit which consisted of Wonewoc, Gaze-novia, and Ironton. The Ironton parson-age would no long be the home of theirpastor as he would reside in Wonewoc.

The fund-raiser that Ironton is most fa-mous for was its long-running biweeklydinners on Thursday, provided by the La-dies Aid. No one is quite sure whenthese began , but estimates claim that thedinners had been put on by the ladies forat least one hundred years. About 75%of those who patronized these dinnerswere senior citizens from many surround-ing towns. Because the group wassmall, the men of the church, after eatingwith the customers, took over the choreof doing the dirty dishes, while thewomen ate. Sometimes, in the summer,when they could not accommodate all thepeople in the dining room, picnic tableswere set up outside, Dinners usually con-sisted of turkey or beef, gravy, mashedpotatoes, rutabaga, hot vegetables, sal-ads and wonderful pies.

Many pastors over the years could havethanked the ladies for their salaries. Be-cause of their hard work, they were ableto worship in a warm sanctuary. Im-provements of the building and parson-age, as well as mission support camefrom these dedicated, hard workingwomen. These dinners were servedevery other Thursday like clockwork. Notonly did these dinners help fund manyaspects of the church, they provided fel-lowship and love to all those who at-tended. They were, in effect, a very im-portant mission in their own right. It wasnot until 2006 that these dinners had to

be stopped as an aging congregationfound it more and more difficult physicallyto continue.

Sunday School was also an integral partof this congregation. One of our earliestphotographs shows the Sunday 'schoolclass of 1858, long before the buildingwas in place. Earliest recollections ofSunday School are the classes meetingin the sanctuary for opening exercises bythe Superintendent. Usually, this was ahymn, opening prayer and some remarksby the Superintendent. Birthdays werealways celebrated with a birthday offer-ing. You were expected to put in a pennyfor each year old you were. Some adultsnot wanting their age known would slip innickels or dimes with the pennies.

Over the years, this little church has con-tinued to care for the community around itand has been very generous in their sup-port of missions, both locally and in theworld. Ironton takes great pride in meet-ing 100% of apportionments, year afteryear, even as membership has fluctuatedgreatly. A choir continues to enhanceworship, the members changing over theyear, yet, continuing for at least thirtyyears. Sunday School classes havebeen moved to Wednesday evenings,and today are mainly for children. Wehave begun an annual community picnic,open to everyone in the community andhope to build a revitalized relationshipwith the community once more.

In July 2006, the Charge was once againchanged. Wonewoc church joined acharge with Elroy. The La Valle and Iron-ton churches were yoked to the Reeds-burg United Methodist Church. They cur-rently hold combined worship services,

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alternating locations on a six-month ba-sis. The pulpit is filled mainly byLay=speakers,locally and from heGreater Sauk Circuit. Though small innumbers, the percentage of members at-tending the worship services has beenvery encouraging. With the help of God,we will continue to be a vital part of thiscommunity and the greater United Meth-odist Church

A letter written by Stella Sandgren, herthoughts on celebration 125 years in1933, which was read at the celebration,says much about the character of thischurch.

"All phases of human emotions havepassed over the portals of the old church:love and hate, sorrow and joy, regret, re-pentance, excitement of revivals andhappiness. There was the campmeetingin the summer and the...meeting in thewinter, the high windows of the churchsteaming and white with frost, while out-side, the blanketed horses stamped rest-lessly in the snow or quivered in the sub-zero weather....I have been thinking ofthe old church bell. How many messagesit has broadcast through the countryside.I can see Johnny Hearn standing in theentry, ringing us in to services,(And yes,our church bell still rings very Sunday) Ittolled for President McKinley's death, itrang out the old and rang in the NewYear.,,l certainly would enjoy having achicken wing with you and a jolly goodvisit. There are so many of us scatteredabout, and so many resting out on the hilleast of town, that I am saddened by thechanges. But the Good Book says thatThey shall come out from the East and

from the West, from the North and fromthe South and sit down together in the

Kingdom of God" and what a glad "goodmorning" that will be. With love to youall, Sincerely your friend, Stella SandgrenSmall"

I don't thinK any of us could say it anybetter for this anniversary, 74 years later.

NORTH CENTRAL

JURISDICTION

ARCHIVES AND HISTORYFrom July 9-12.2007, the North CentralJurisdiction met for their annual meetingin Des Moines,lowa .

For this editor one of my brightest memo-ries was of the setting of the convocationin the office building the Iowa Confer-ence. It is a new building, erected in2004. The building is situated on a large,grassy lot, south of Des Moines. Thebuilding has two long corridors, inter-cepted by a chapel and foyer. In the cen-ter of the building, under a sky light, alarge mosaic cross hangs from the ceil-ing. Water flows continuously from thecross to a sheltered cross below. Thefigure signifies the importance of our bap-tism. The building was erected with aseries of principles including extension ofthe church and a contribution to thecommunity.

As usual, the convocation included busi-ness matters and reports from variousmember conferences.

The theme for the convocation was"Christian Social Involvement in IowaMethodism." Several speakers presentedinstances of specific social action includ-

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ing an early anti-slavery stand in 1848.The Iowa conference opposed bootleg-ging and took a stand against severalwars. In 1958, it urged withdrawal fromViet Nam. In 1960, the conferenceurged recognition of Communist Chinaand a close relationship with Cuba.

On Wednesday, July 11,several IowaConference Projects were visited. Weworshipped in the first church building inIowa, now standing on State Fair-Grounds. There was a stop at SimpsonCollege, named for an early Methodistbishop. This UMC liberal arts college wasfounded in 1811. Lunch was at WesleyWoods Camp. a multipurpose camp andretreat center. There was a stop at theBidwell Center, a childcare center whichincluded an emergency food pantry andused clothing center. The final stop wasat Staves church, which began as aUnited Brethren Congregation.

In 2008, the convocation will meet on July7-10 at Mitchell, South Dakota. This willbe housed at Dakota Wesleyan Univer-sity. The university was organized in1883. It is the site of the archives to theDakota Conferences. Extensive informa-tion was handed to participants aboutboth the site of the convocation and otherinterests in the Mitchell area.

Future convocations will be held in theIllinois Great Rivers Conference in 2009and in Michigan in 2010.

ANDREW ROLAND

RENEAUAndrew and Phyllis Reneau were amongthe nine people present in 1949 when St.James Methodist Church was founded inMilwaukee. It was at a time when AfricanAmericans were moving from the south-ern states to the north, to places like Mil-waukee. In keeping with an expandingpopulation, the Lexington Conference ofthe Central Jurisdiction of the MethodistChurch expanded likewise. In 1949, theRev. Hermes Zimmerman founded thefirst African American Methodist Churchin Milwaukee

The congregation had been informallyorganized one year before after a groupof devout Methodists had been meetingas a prayer band in a private home. In-cluded in this group were the Reneaus.As the congregation grew, the Reneausplayed an increasingly important role inthe congregation. At the time of the 25thanniversary in 1974, Mr. Reneau waslisted as chairperson of the council onministries as well as acting on the financeCommittee and Chair of the 25th anniver-sary Committee. He also served forsome time as Church Lay Leader.

Andrew Reneau was born in Pontotoc,Mississippi on September 22,1916, thegrandson of pre-Civil War slaves. Hisfamily moved to Beloit, Wisconsin in1918. He graduated from the Beloit HighSchool and then enrolled in the Universityof Wisconsin, Madison, in September,1937. At his graduation in 1942, he wasone of only two Black students to gradu-ate.

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He met his wife, Phyllis Cabe! of MasonCity, Iowa, in 1940 at a Methodist ChurchConference in St. Paul, Minnesota. Theywere married following his graduationfrom UW.

Despite his college degree, the only jobhe could get in the Milwaukee area wasas a metal grinder at Allis-Chalmers inWest Allis. His wife was employed thereas well. Then, he was seriously injuredby a metal chard that penetrated his eye.He was blinded for a while, but eventuallygained his sight. But the accidentchanged his future. He flipped a coin, ei-ther the future as an attorney or a morti-cian. As a result of the flip, he enrolled atMarquette Law School. He was the onlyBlack law student at the time and be-lieved to be one of the first handful everat Marquette.

Phyllis continued to work at Allis-Chalmers to finance Andrew's dream ofbecoming a lawyer. In 1946, he receivedhis Juris Doctorate. He had promised hiswife that if she helped to finance hiseducation, she would never need to workagain., She accepted his offer and spenther time in raising their four sons. Theirsecond son, Paul, was born on the day,September 25, 1949, that the church wasfounded.

Mr. Reneau maintained a successful lawpractice for thirty years. He worked withthe late James Dorsey in an office on 8thand Walnut. He specialized in criminaldefense and family law. He was the firstAfrican American to run for a MilwaukeeCounty Judicial post in 1955 and the firstto be offered an appointment as Milwau-kee County Assistant District Attorney in1964. In 1976, he accepted an ap-

pointment as an Assistant Family CourtCommissioner for Milwaukee County. Helater was named Milwaukee CountyFamily Court Commissioner in 1978, aposition he served with distinction untilhe retired in 1995.

Mr. Reneau served in many capacitiesin the city. He was a past president to theMilwaukee chapter of the NAACP, thefirst editor of the The Globe. one of Wis-consin's first African American newspa-pers, served as a member of the StateBar of Wisconsin's Board of Governors,and was vice-chair of the National Con-ference of Christians and Jews. He was afrequent guest lecturer of family law atboth the University of Wisconsin andMarquette University Law Schools.

Mr. Reneau died on May 6, 2007 at theage of 90. He was preceded in death byall eight of his siblings, and by his wife of53 years, Phyllis. He is survived by hisfour sons, nine grandchildren and twogreat grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on May 12,2007, at Wisconsin Memorial ParkChapel of the Chimes in Brookfield,Wis-consin. The service s was conducted bythe Rev. Lawrence McGuin and the Rev.Mary Council-Austin, both former pastorsat St. James United Methodist churchand both family friends.

HOLCOMBEChurch History complied by Bill Stimeling

A decisive vote determined the fate of thechurch in Holcombe in 1905. There wasno organized church but there was avote. Twenty-five people cast their ballotto make the determination of which de-

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nomination should be organized. Onevote was for the Baptists, four for Catho-lics and twenty for the Methodist Church.A request was sent out and the Rev. B. C.Barnes was appointed to start the con-gregation. Because of failing health,Pastor Barnes left before the buildingcould be erected.

Meanwhile, in 1881, in response to dec-ades of pressure from the MethodistEpiscopal Women, the General Confer-ence created the office of Deaconess. In1903, Miss Florence Moore, a graduateof the Chicago Training School for Dea-conesses, was assigned to the position of"District Deaconess of the Ashland Dis-trict." Her duties were primarily to supplycharges lacking male pastors and coop-erating with the pastors in revival work.The presiding elder, the Rev. F. M.Haight, sent her to Holcombe, for "a fewweeks". To quote the Rev. Haight "Itsoon became evident that the people ofHolcombe were not in any great hurry tohave a preacher sent...and a little laterthey hinted that they kind of liked the onethey had! Finally, they were bold enoughto tell me plainly that they hoped I couldnot find one, and if I did, he probablywould not fit!" He added "If our Deacon-ess Training School had a supply of suchworkers, I would take SIX!"

But they needed a building. A requestwas made to the Eau CLaire RealtyCompany for a donation of land. Thecompany donated the land for one dollarand deeded the parcel of land to thechurch trustees.

During 1905, a subscription paper wascirculated raising $355.00 It was esti-mated the church could be built for

$700.00. That estimate was finallyraised to $1,600 but eventually the build-ing cost about $1,700.0. Some moneywas borrowed and a mortgage signed byfour members covered the cost.

Donations were sought for a bell. Dea-coness Moore wrote her friends, askingfor donations from all over the country.The cost of the bell was $74.00 and wasinscribed "From the friends of Miss Flor-ence Moore."

Work started on the building on October15. 1905. The first service was held onJanuary 7, 1906. Deaconess Moore conducted the service. The completed build-ing was dedicated on August 5, 1906

To ring the bell in the old church, a largediameter rope hung in the upper level ofthe foyer. It had to be puller vigorously. Anumber of current parishioners rememberthe BIG responsibility of ringing the bell.If you were a little child,one of the ushersof the day would sometimes help to getthe momentum of the bell started. Littlekids would be lifted off the floor by therope as the bell worked back and forth inits cradle!

At the time of construction of the newbuilding ,the bell was removed from thesteeple and transported to the newchurch property. It was eventually housedin a newly constructed storage buildinguntil the bell tower was ready to receiveit. The bell tower is more than a structurefor supporting the bell...lt served as a fo-cal base for what is an ever-expandingMemorial walkway, replete with plantings,benches and engraved bricks, dedicatedto loved ones, past and present.

14 boring towns .

In the latter part of the last century, anumber of people moved into the area.The congregation fostered a plan to ex-plore the construction of a new sanctuary.Fueled by Faith, in 1990, the congrega-tion started a building fund for a new ad-dition. Because of the cost in vovied inupgrading a every old building to complywith state codes, it was suggested to pur-sue the construction of a new building. Atan all-congregational meeting on Sep-tember 2,1994, a straw poll clearly fa-vored the building of a new church. OnDecember 18, the congregation voted togo on with the construction. On Decem-ber 17, a formal building committee wasformed. In the spring of 1996, land wasdonated for the site. A member of thechurch, who was an architect/builder byprofession, agreed to take the contractfor the new building. The old buildingwas sold for exactly what was needed forthe mortgage. Construction of the newbuilding began in April,1999. The firstservice was held in the new building inNovember,1999.

The dedication of the new building washeld on August 5, 2006, exactly 100years after the dedication of the originalbuilding was held.

The congregation has a series of continu-ing events. There is an annual Quilt Showand Salad:Luncheon where quilts aredisplayed and which is attended bydemonstrators from other states..An an-nual Madrigal dinner introduces the Ad-vent Season. There is a children's fallfestival. The congregation operates anArea Food Pantry at which the U. S.Postal Service helps to collect food items.A Summer Vacation Bible School drawschildren from both Holcombe and neigh-

THE ANSON WAYCollected by Don Hauser from the effortsof Pena Melville and Arlene Mcllquham

The Anson congregation is joined to theJim Falls and the holcombe congrega-tions.

The Anson congregation dates its historyto the year the church building was con-structed, 1906. However, like many ruralcongregations, the Anson United Method-ist Church started before that in a schoolhouse, the Copp School House. In 1870,Mrs. Henry Boss was the superintendent.The Rev S. E. McLain came from hisjewelry store in Cadott to preach. An-other Sunday school met on the banks ofthe Yellow River. A third was organizedusing the name "Lake School."

Originally, Native Americans of theOjibwa tribe populated the area. In about1866, a smallpox epidemic forced theremaining Ojibwa from the settlement.

The township of Anson was organized in1863. It was said to be named after An-son Burlingham, an official in the GilbertLumber Company. In the early days, thetown of Anson extended over one hun-dred miles from the present boundary allthe way to Bayfield County. It took in partof Rusk and Sawyer Counties, shaped bythe waterways of the Chippewa and Yel-low Rivers.

A 1913 Plat Map shows what was knownas East Anson, South Anson, and AnsonCorners. Eventually, Anson Corners be-came known as "Old Anson" In 1864, anAct of Congress gave land to the West

15

Wisconsin Railway Company for the pur-pose of building the railway from theTown of Tomah in Monroe County to theSt. Croix River. Ten sections on eachside of the proposed route were given tothe rail company. One of these areas in-cluded the site of the present church. Therailroad sold the land off in small particlesto the many immigrants flooding Wiscon-sin. Large parcels were sold to the lum-ber companies,

In 1905, William and Mary Howe "Sold" aportion of their property to the Trustees ofthe Anson Methodist Church. The costwas $1.00. In the winter of 1905-1906,the Ladies Aid Society pledged $200.00toward the new building. The constructionwas finished in 1906 and the buildingwas dedicated that year. The Ladies AidSociety also provided pews, furnaces, anoutside stairway and a number of otherimprovements. In 1955, a Fellowship Hallwas added to the building.

For the past ten years, the most frequentuse of the kitchen and dining area hasbeen a stained glass crafting workshop.An outstanding aspect of the narthex is aseries of stained glass windows. Itstarted with a small piece that became afull 800+ piece of stained glass artworkthat was fashioned with the theme of thehymn "This is My Father's World." Afterthat, there was a complete replacementof all the major windows in the sanctuary.

In 1991, there was a possibility of mergerwith the Jim Falls Congregation. The twocongregations decided to continue theirseparate sites anH work the HolcombeCongregation in a Common Faith andpositive relationship.

The written history of the church startswith an interesting description of the AN-SON WAY,

The "Anson Way" describes a pattern ofChurch Survival that probably exists inmany small church communities through-out our country. It's what happens whensomeone recognizes an immediate needthat a church member, or the Church as awhole, has. Without fanfare, without rec-ognition, without even a request, theneed is met by groups of men, womenand children working together to accom-plish a task for the good of the Church orindividual members. They do so out ofloyalty to one another and because theyknow it is the right thing to do. Whetherit is building a sanctuary, a fellowship hallor a narthex, it gets done and paid for insome manner. Strawberry suppers, auc-tions, stained glass craft sales or Stur-geon Festivals are all conducted in amanner that's the "Anson Way". Therewere times in the past when memberssaid "If we can just make it to our cen-tennial." Well, we have. Built on theshoulders of those who created ourChurch's existence, the "Anson Way"continues into its second century...we willcontinue to serve the Lord in whateverfacility we have using "The Anson Way".

Phone: 414/347-1745lcolsen@execpc.com

Material of historical interest, churchanniversaries, recollections, activities of

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