FRUITA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH HISTORY

by Irma Harrison

The seed planted for the Methodists in Fruita, Colorado was starting a Sunday School in October of 1882. W.H. Coe was in charge and it was held in his two-room log cabin. He managed to give an additional sermon every other week. He also tried to run a farm, and the combination was just too much and his bean crop was a failure. From the log cabin, the Sunday School was being held in different homes, then a frame shanty, 10 X 12 feet, occupied by four bachelors was offered as a meeting place. Quote: "As the congregation grew, it became dangerous for the pastor to punctuate his sermons with even the slightest gestures." But, grow it did, and a larger room became available on the northwest corner of Park Square (now known as Circle Park). A Literary Society also met in this room and the two groups went together on finances and bought a second-hand organ. The Sunday School and Church had six copies of Gospel Hymns, #1, 2 and 3. In order for the worshipping group to pay their part of the organ, two women (unknown as to who they were) wandering through cornfields, jumping ditches and traveling long, dusty roads, collected $37.00. As the town of Fruita grew, the membership increased and the church held their meetings in the new Aspen Street school building. In order to pay the pastor, the ladies held bazaars and cooked suppers for other organization's dinner meetings. There was also personal solicitation. In 1889, a union Sunday School was formed with the then existing Congregational Church and this was the situation until the Methodists built a church at the corner of Aspen and Maple Streets. This building was completed in 1893. The membership had grown from seven to fifty and active charter members included Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Hollenbeck, Mr. and Mrs. O.P. Veach, James McCary, and Mrs. Lapham and her daughter. Mrs. Hollenbeck was the first president of the Ladies Aid and she held that position for 26 years. In 1910, she was replaced by Mrs. A.L. Merryfield. To raise money for financial needs, this ladies' organizaion often hand-cleaned beans, cut potatoes at planting time, and also did sewing for 10 cents an hour. River baptism was the normal procedure for the early church. A Rev. J.A. Allison made several preaching visits to the church. It was on April 21, 1888 that the Methodist Episcopal Church South was officially organized and Rev. Edgar White was appointed pastor. At this time, Frank Collins, C.E. Hollenbeck, Charles Kirkendall, J.A. Osborn, and N.J. Pffaffenberger were the church officials. Rev. White also started worshipping groups in some of the nearby country schools and one in Collbran. He started one at Stites and one at Lobacks in Delta. In 1895, the Fruita Methodist Church was the third largest church in membership in the western Colorado area, exceeded only by Grand Junction and Aspen. Following Rev. White were Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Simmons who had been missionaries in India. Mrs. Simmons gave painting lessons to aid the family budget. In 1898, H.M. Law was sent as pastor. The church had 168 members at this time. In 1900, Rev. J.C. Veeder with a family of nine became minister. He also opened two new Sunday Schools and an additional preaching place. During his reign there were eight more members added, the result of thirty revival services. He was followed by a three-month ministry by J.H. Merritt who was replaced by the very popular Rev. R.E. Bird. His daughter Rena was a very accomplished pianist. The little white frame church at Aspen and Maple was just twelve years old when it became much too small and a new church structure, just west of it was put into planning. Until this new structure was completed in 1908, tents were used for the over-sized Sunday School. This new church at Aspen and Elm is still serving the Fruita United Methodist Church members. It has outstanding stained glass windows and has been well preserved through the years to the present. In 1997, it was accepted as a local historic structure of Fruita. The interim years have been a history of ups and downs, highs and lows as is generally the norm. However, in a not-so-normal fashion, in 1983, there was a great split in the congregation, leaving but a handful of remaining Methodists. The group that split changed the locks on the doors and tried to claim the church building belonged to them. Rev. Guy Botkin was pastor at this time and he held the tiny group together. Through the court of law, the church was returned to its rightful members. As of 1997, membership has grown to somewhere in the low nineties.