Part 11 Not Without Controversy

During the 1880’s, Albert Thurrell was elected the Secretary of the Board of Stewards and Leaders. Mr. Thurrell was also the Village Pharmacist or Apothecary. His shop was located on the North corner of High and Sawyer. Often he reported that while the work of the board was concerned with the operation of the church they often met in his shop after hours or in the parsonage. He reported that they began their meetings at 7 ½ o’clock. Finally an action was taken in April of 1884 to standardize meetings usually on Tuesdays at 7 PM. (Does that sound familiar?) On occasion other times might be used and it appears in the record that several meetings even after that action might be held before or after the Sunday evening services.

In the records there is reference to salary arrangements for pastors, including John Collins. Relative to payments for Pastor Collins it was reported that the church in late April of 1884 still owed him $34.04 for 1883. A special collection would be raised on the following Sunday to make up the deficit. Thereafter in 1884-1885, Silas W. Prince was commissioned to collect pledges (some in arrears) for the exclusive purpose of paying the pastor. Mr. Prince was also given a 2% commission on those collected. There is no indication of how forceful Mr. Prince was in his dedication to duty, but there does not seem to be any significant reporting of failure to pay a pastor thereafter.

It was also decided that it was essential to employ a regular sexton and that C.A. Tilton was responsible for hiring said person. The first order of business at the July 14, 1884 meeting of the Stewards recognized E.J.Harmon as the new sexton and that he would be paid $60 for the coming year. In order to pay for various needs of the church the Board of Stewards and Leaders would approve a “special offering” that would be collected at one or more of the churches’ expanding worship services. It seems that there were often two Sunday morning services, one on Sunday afternoon and a final vesper service held on Sunday evening. Several references to committee meetings following prayer services during the week can be found in records of the period.

In some references it appears the church purchased a centennial bell for the new bell tower mounted high on the steeple. One would assume that would mean the Centennial of the United States which was celebrated in 1876 since the earliest church records date from 1839 and the state of Maine evolved from Massachusetts in 1820. South Portland’s separation from Cape Elizabeth did not occur until 1898 and Cape Elizabeth as a chartered town had occurred in 1639. At any rate we might see authorization for such bell around 1876, but the bell was not commissioned or purchased then. Again records indicate that such a bell came into the possession of the local parish and mounted in the bell tower late in 1884 or early 1885. Records also indicate that the frugal membership thought twice about the price of a brand new bell and found that a church in Portland, known as the Casco Street Church apparently was closing its doors. A committee consisting of Albert Thurrell, G.W. Doughty, and John Parsons were authorized to inquire about the availability and quality of that church’s’ bell. They found the bell to be of good quality, at least forty years old and weighing over 1300 pounds. A question arose about how such a bell might be transported, raised to the new bell tower and whether the beams might support a bell carriage and the bell. Determined that the tower structure was sound and authorized to pay no more than $200 for the bell the committee put in its bid along with others who desired the bell. The $200 won the bid, a moving company was hired to remove the bell from the Casco Street church, transport the bell by Ferry to the village and finally raised the bell to the new tower. In one sentence that action seems quite simple, but one needs to think of the tools of the day, how such a thing might be carted and eventually raised an emplaced in the tower before ever ringing for a service on a Sunday morning. A group called the Earnest Workers Society picked up the cost of the bell and the cost of moving as well, therefore, the church body did not have to absorb any of the cost.

While many may not see the value of this little vignette it is believed that when Peoples moved to 310 Broadway and the new church that the bell of 1884 was raised to the new belfry and today strikes a call to worship each Sunday, 118 years later and at least 158 years after it was first cast.