Part 21 Bustling through the 1920’s

On September 5, 1916, Pastor Frederic Olsen, recently appointed to fill the shoes of the now departed Felix Powell asked permission for the church to be used for meetings of a proposed “ Brotherhood”, to be organized under the auspices of a “Men’s Bible Class. This was unanimously approved. This being the era that would lead to the women’s suffrage, Pastor Olson also suggested that the privilege of “Sisterhood” through a Ladies Bible Class should be extended if the women of the church felt that need. The Official Board duly voted on such an organization for women. In the very next month, Pastor Olson approached the Official Board (formerly known as the Board of Stewards and Leaders) with another suggestion on reaching out to the needs of the community. He proposed to form a “Benevolent Board” that would deal with emergency situations in the Village area, but the chosen leader (the pastor) would not be authorized to make gifts to the needy of more than $2.00 without approval of the other members of this board. The monies they would have to dispense would come from the “Necessity Fund”. Money to support this fund would come from contributions from each of the church’s organized societies. Voluntary contributions from the general membership were willingly accepted.

An area evangelistic crusade led by “Dr.Lyons” a famous evangelist from Chicago was planned for December 16, 1916. This crusade shared with other area churches was planned to last for six weeks. Note the time of the year, not an easy time of the year to get around to the various meetings and to think most communication and transportation was certainly much more limited than we would find it today. Pastor Olson along with W. E, Bryant and Edward Boltenhouse were chosen to represent Peoples in the planning and operation of the Federated Mission Crusade. From all reports read, the Crusade met with great success even if the weather for some of the time was rather foul.

In the following year a letter came from Reverand Gary White addressed to all Official Boards in the Maine Conference. Writing on behalf of the Conference Council of Claimants, Reverend White was requesting that all Official Boards on behalf of local churches send to the Claimants Fund an amount of money equal to the entire ministerial support to set up the Claimant’s Fund. It would appear that local churches until this time was responsible for providing pensions for ministers. The collection of funds requested would be gathered over a period of five years. The amount to be raised by Peoples Church through a Claimants Board formula would be $1360. It was reported later that the local committee consisting of a committee of two, Pastor Olson and Albert Thurrill had in one month solicited for pledges beyond the budget to meet this need. By the end of the first month $480 in pledges had already been raised.

In raising the preceding money there was some skepticism on the part of the Trustees that all of it could be raised. A note sent by the trustees to Reverend White reads s follows:
“ This board of trustees does not feel that it can guaranty the amount of money asked for by the Conference Claimants Committee, however, it will not fail in “loyalty and of spirit and effort”. This has always been one part of our financial obligations to the conference that Peoples people has always felt most obligatory to pay.

On September 21, 1917, Ms. Emily York asked the board for permission for the Red Cross to use the Lecture Room to serve a supper, the intent of which would be to raise funds for the work of the Red Cross locally. The board approved use of the hall for this purpose once it was known what the program would be. The use of the hall was granted free of charge. A year later in June, the Red Cross celebrated a yearlong association with Peoples for free use of the building. Mrs. Mellen, of the church, asked and was granted permission by the Official Board to sponsor a musical concert on September 10, 1918. Proceeds for this concert were also designed to assist local efforts of the Red Cross.

Peoples was also asked by the mayor of the city of South Portland, Mr. West, to use the Lecture Room for a wartime Thrift Stamp Drive.

While the church’s ruling board and membership was generous with community use of the church buildings and facilities they were not as gracious when there was a request from the District Superintendent to share our pastor with the struggling Trinity ME located in Knightville. The initial request from Superintendent Frost to have Pastor Olson serve both parishes was greeted with the following letter sent to the Superintendent and signed by Official Board Secretary Emily S. York.

“Dear Dr. Frost:
Our pastor reports to us your request for Knightville. The following is the policy agreed to by the meeting specifically called to consider the matter.
“Whilst fully conscious of the deep need of our Knightville Church we at the same time unanimously feel that neither our pastor nor our church are able to surrender to our Knightville friends, the services they require at this time.
We are unanimously convinced that it would be unwise and inexpedient to make the arrangements you ask us to make. We sincerely trust some better way out of the problem may present itself.
On behalf of our official board we respectfully submit this resolution with every good personal wish.
Yours very sincerely,
Emily S. York,
Secretary of the Board.”
Trinity Church had been in existence since the 1880s and had built the edifice that today serves as the City Hall for the city of South Portland. It had started as a mission of the Cape Elizabeth church on Ocean House Road. Dwindling attendance and high costs of operation forced the Trinity membership to sell their church to the city in 1929. No mass movement of members can be discerned in the rolls of the other Methodist churches in South Portland.

Ironically at the time that the opportunity was presented to the board at Peoples, Pastor Olson was actually looking for additional employment beyond his service to this one church. Some writing of the period indicates that the parish would allow Pastor Olsen to do most anything else, but were not willing to share the pastor with another Methodist Church that appeared to be in dire straights relative to its membership and financial condition.

In January 1958, Pastor Olsen was invited to attend the dedication ceremony of the now paid for church on Broadway. At the time he was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and was unable to attend. Likewise his wife was in poor health. He wrote a letter, however, that showed the keen mind that he still had. The letter is as follows:

“Greetings to everybody in your rejoicings!
For 10 years I served the People’s Church in South Portland. I learned much about these good folk, and they learned a good deal about we six English folk.

The church was situated in Ferry Village, the name had a romantic association, the townsmen carried a romantic air. It comprised sailors, captains, fishermen, boat builders, sardine packers, finishing off with a fine marine hardware works.

They were a husky people, and took their religion---religiously. Their hearty singing lifted you to the heights of Paradise; to see them sing, and hear them, made you go along with them. Their week night prayer meeting carried some heart cheering earnestness, and the “Class” meeting was a great declaration of the goodness of God, and the reality of His Providence. The Sunday school rallied to the three hundred mark. Two services of Sunday sought to comfort, and counsel the saints in the morning, the evening sought out the sinners, and penitent’s salvation was often reached.

The young folk’s work was well assorted, the missionary flavour being the most prominent. It was a busy church. When Uncle Sam was but a week old in the First World War, seventeen sewing machines were buzzing with work for the Red Cross. The missionary group was a big, and vigorous one, while the Home Mission young women made a fine, hard working, happy company.

The scouts were well housed, as were the children’s groups. It was a vigorous, spiritually minded church.

The building was notorious for its peculiar look. It looked not like a church, a castle, a factory or a public institution, but inside it was a delightful place. The architect who produced it was never mentioned, folk have suggested when the architect saw what he produced, he vanished with fright, and was never heard of since.

The society was cosmopolitan----probably. Believers and the other sort, but they were the chosen of the Lord; we loved one another, and in our memory they have imperishability.”

This letter provides a rich source of what a former pastor thought of his former flock and describes how active the people of the church were at that time.



A committee from Peoples at this time became interested in investigating the possibility of another location to start a Methodist mission church at the top of Meetinghouse Hill. They could see that population was moving from the waterfront beginnings of the city and that a Methodist presence should be established within 5 years in that area. Investigations even went so far as to look at a piece of property on Chase Street, not far from the site of the original house of worship that Peoples had evolved from. That location was near Willard Square on what is now called Pillsbury Street. There is no indication in the records that the committee continued to pursue the establishment of this mission. Yet in about 20 years the leaders of Peoples were looking for a new home for Peoples with one site not far from the Chase Street property considered for a new church. That site would be located on Cottage Road on the property located across from the Cape Theater (today the Phyllis Schyler Thaxter Theater, home of the Portland Players).

As a final irony to the saga of Peoples relationship to Trinity it was found that Oscar Emerson, secretary for the Trustees and Treasurer of the church appointed himself a committee of one to visit the defunct Trinity Church and came away with “some chairs and settees” that would be used in the parlors of Peoples.