A Moment in our History

A Moment in Our History #7 ­ March 1, 2009
By Drew A. Nicholson, Village and Church Historian

THE THIRD CHURCH: A STORY OF ALTERATION AND RENOVATION (Part 2—The Social Hall)

Prayer meetings, social activities and the Sunday School had taken place in a small “lecture room” attached to the rear of the church since it was first renovated in 1883.  Because this attached structure was much narrower that the actual church building, it does not show up in the known early images of the church (Figure 3).

            The “lecture room” was accessed by a main entrance which faced south (out the farm road toward John B. Dutcher’s home) and by two small doorways from the “main auditorium” (what we today call the sanctuary), similar to the existing passage arrangement into Fellowship Hall.  Because the “lecture hall” was so limited in size, “only the smallest social events could be held [there]”; this meant that “suppers, bazaars, etc.” were held either in the Dutcher House or “any available vacant store.”  Considering the Methodist ladies of the first half of the 20^th century had an even greater reputation than those today for providing good food in plentiful amounts on a frequent basis, it is easy to imagine the difficulties in transporting both cooking equipment and dishes from the “lecture hall” storage cabinet to the Dutcher House or a storefront several blocks away.  And add to this an ever increasing enrollment in the Sunday School!

            It was obvious that a much larger space was required.  “Early in 1916 the Ladies Aid Society set aside $100 in the Pawling Savings Bank as a ‘nest egg’ for future improvements”; by 1925 this amount had increased to $730, and by the time a decision to build was reached, the account had reached $1000, to which was added $500 raised by the Sunday School.  A committee (which I have named the “Social Hall” committee), chaired by J. D. Colman and joined by H. D. Carroll and H. A. Holmes, submitted plans for a structure costing $10,500; the committee was authorized to commence construction when one-half of the necessary amount had been deposited in the bank.  In the spring of 1928 “after numerous meetings and considerable agitation,” the “Social Hall” committee announced its readiness to begin construction.

            But one obstacle remained: The parcel of land on which the church rested was not wide enough to allow the new structure to be built as designed—one hundred feet long (north to south) and 29 feet wide.  This dilemma was resolved through the good auspices of Oliver and Jennie Donaldson, when on May 4, 1926 they deeded a strip of land approximately 2 ½-ft. wide and 102-ft. long thus extending the southern boundary of the church property; this would be the first of many such important gifts to their church.  [As an historical aside, those who were members of the congregation—especially the board of trustees!—during the pastorate of Rev. Pollock will remember the anguish the board went through resolving boundary questions when the new owners of the Donaldson property took liberties with the southern property line.]  Call it a “Fellowship Hall,”

  “Social Hall” (the preferred nomenclature in 1937) or “service hall” (1984 nomenclature), as completed in the fall of 1928 (Figure 4) this addition would finally give the Church the additional space and flexibility it sorely needed.

            However, even though monetary donations had been received from “57 different sources, including seventeen prominent Pawlingites—among whom were John D. Colman (Colman Lumber Co.), Henry A. Holmes (Holmes General Store), Oliver S. Donaldson (former owner of Pawling Pharmacy), W. H. Ferris (the Ferris Block), each of whom gave gifts ranging between $100-$1000, insufficient funds were raised to immediately pay for the hall’s erection and furnishing.  At a special meeting held on September 16, 1928 “the trustees were authorized to borrow $5000 at the National Bank of Pawling”; the note negotiated with the bank could be renewed “from time to time and [the Church would] pay such sums on the principal and interest as may be necessary.”  By the time the Depression struck in 1929, the note had been reduced to $3370 where it hovered until 1935. 

            In September of that year a canvass was conduced for special pledges of a “’penny per meal’ which was to be placed in small coin barrels and the money collected monthly toward the reduction of [the] debt.”  By 1937 the coin barrel collections, along with $425 received from the transfer of income generated by the Orlando J. Cowl Trust Fund were used to reduce the debt to $1600.  The 175^th Anniversary History of the Church written in 1984 reported that “the final payment of the debt [was made] on April 15, 1940” when Rev. M. S. Pressey, who had originally suggested using “penny barrels” to retire the debt, was reassigned by the Annual Conference to the Tarrytown church.  At that time only $325 remained and that small amount was quickly raised so that Rev. “Pressey could have the honor of burning the note.”   (To be concluded next week)

[Sorry…I told a little “fib” at the end of “Moment #6” last week—I should have said “continued,” not “concluded” and “Two Parts” is actually “Three.”  The story of the alterations to our (Third) church turned out to be more involved than I planned for.   I found myself not wanting to cut short the story of the addition of “Fellowship Hall” to the Church, thus I have stretched out what were originally to be two parts into three.  Here’s a teaser: Next week I tell the story of the “Blessing Chimes,” which only a few decades ago daily rang vespers from our steeple from 6-6:15 p.m.] 

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