Gleanings From
In Christian Fellowship
By Shirley Lindahl
Edited by Jerry Rutherford
Church Life in 1915
In June of 1915 it was noted in the minutes that the treasurer was authorized to secure 5 cords of wood that it may be dry for winter. (Bet Arnie Berkey is glad he does not have to procure 5 cords of wood--we would probably have to have 4-5 times that much for today's church building.)
Dr. C. A. Smith of Seattle was asked to speak at the annual meeting held in September of 1915. His topic was "The Work of the Layman in the Church." He emphasized four points in his talk. The Lay person in the church should: (1) carry on the prayer meeting; (2) attend to the finances of the church, (3) have an oversight of the boys of the church and direct their activities and (4) superintend the Sunday School. "In short to do all the work of the church except the preaching" was his closing statement.
Harry French, now 65, was re-elected as a trustee for three more years. One of the church officers was Ollis Patty. He served as treasurer. He also served Kirkland for many years as postmaster and city clerk. He was active in the Masonic Lodge and its youth work. The DeMolay Chapter in Kirkland is named in his honor. The tradition of members of the Kirkland Congregational church is to always be active in serving the community of Kirkland.
Christian Endeavor was an active group at this time and raised money for Christmas baskets for the needy. Anita Reese Watson was active in C. E. beginning in 1916. Later she became a Sunday School teacher for many years. In her recollections she stated that she and her brother were the janitors for a while. She recalled, "We had to go early to start he fire in the old oil drum stove in the basement. A grate cut into the sanctuary was supposed to allow the heat to rise and warm that area. One of our other jobs was to ring the bell, which took the two of us to pull the rope--for that bell was heavy." (We now push a button to ring that same bell.)
The pastor's salary remained at $800 when efforts to raise it had not succeeded. Membership totaled 47 in 1916 with 9 listed as absent, 3 invalids and 2 removed that year.
Listed among those pledging in I918 were Mr. and Mrs. Clark Nettleton. He was editor of the Seattle P. I. Newspaper. After admiring the quiet little town on the other side of the lake, he chose it for the setting to build his home, a replica of his wife's childhood home in Missouri. The white columned mansion on State Street has been well-preserved. Since 1933 Chet and Agnes Green resided in it. It is now known as Green's Funeral Home.
The closing remark in this chapter of Shirley Lindahl's book states, "No church services or public gatherings were held in October 1918, because of the flu epidemic."
Back to History Previous Gleaning Next Gleaning