Gleanings From
In Christian Fellowship
By Shirley Lindahl
Edited by Jerry Rutherford
Old Church Building Sold and Second "Boom" Hits Kirkland
When the trustees completed the necessary statement of completion to the Building Society they asked for permission to sell the old church building. The 50 year old structure was sold for $300 to Chet Green who removed it from the site and used the lumber to build a garage and shed in back of Green's Funeral home. Work parties were held for several months to completely remove the old building and clean up the grounds. Permission to do this was granted in a letter that stated: "It is of course understood that the land on which the old church building was erected will be preserved by the church and properly landscaped so it will add to the beauty of your new building." (Today it is a blacktop parking lot for the church to the east of the building.)
Furnishing the interior of the building was done by the Ladies Aid (later to become "Circles"). The Senior Aid bought new dishes; Mary Martha Circle purchased the carpet and the Junior Aid bought the kitchen stove. (I think it is the one we still use!!)
Requests to use the church sanctuary and dining room necessitated establishing a fee of $20 for outside groups. It became the setting for many weddings in the community. The old hymnals were sold for 10 cents a piece. Reverend Pruitt remained during the summer and spent his vacation in Colorado attending a ministerial school with the church paying his tuition.
The war was having its effect on the church and the community in a number of ways. The Lake Washington Shipyard (Now Carillon Point) suddenly became a vital industry as the Navy orders piled up. The quiet town on the lake shore once again experienced a boom similar to the one of 50 years ago. Almost overnight the population doubled with the new residents living in wartime housing projects hastily constructed in the Houghton Area. Stewart Heights and Projects A & B occupied much of the land between NE 68th and 108th NE intersection south to NE 53rd. (This area is the Northwest College campus.)
With the increased population came new problems. The church received a letter from the War Emergency Committee of the Congregational Churches recommending a grant of $150 a month be paid to the First Congregational Church of Kirkland for six months for the purpose of engaging an assistant pastor to work in the housing projects where a Sunday School of 100 was being organized. "No church is more worthy of help than the Kirkland church," the letter stated. The money was granted by the Seattle Council of Churches and Vincent Widney was hired. He was a newcomer in the area with a ministerial background. Collins School in the area was used for Sunday School, according to Ruth Wiesen, who served then as one of the teachers.
Choir practice was difficult reported Florence Gildow, director. "The war caused a shortage of
men's voices and has caused in imbalance in the different parts." Verna Thormahlen was one of
the teenage girls in the church who sang with the Daughters of Music, a girls choral group
organized by Olivia Davis.
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