Part 28 Building a New Church
On June 17, 1945 the last services were held in the old People’s Church located at the corner of High and School Streets. Reporters from the local press were there and took pictures and interviewed some of the oldest members. The Morning service on that Sunday included a reading by the President of the Board of Trustees, John B. Woodbury. Appointed pastor of the church in May of 1945, Reverend H. Travers Smith gave the sermon. At the conclusion of this service the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was served. One hundred and twenty five knelt at the altar rail for communion. 200 folks were present.
Later that same day the Methodist Youth Fellowship conducted an evening service at 7 PM. This was the last service held in that church building.
The very next day, June 18, the men of the parish began dismantling the church, prior to the work by the working/wrecking crew. Some of the timbers would be saved from the old church to be used in the construction of the new church. Timbers that were dismantled found there way eventually to the new church where they would serve as support of the organ lofts to either side of the chancel. The organ was also dismantled and
put in storage for later restoration and installation in the new church.
On June 24, 1945 the congregation began meeting in what was formerly the Cole Memorial Universalist Church and at times known as the Townshend Club. This building was and is still located on the corner of Sawyer and Cole Streets diagonally across from the present location of the Lyric Theater (formerly the South Portland Church of the Nazarene). Services would be held in this location until the new Peoples’ Church was built for use on the corner of Harriet and Broadway.
The building committee who were members of the trustees and were entrusted with overseeing the building project included; John B. Woodbury, President, Walter W. Winchenbach, Vice President, Raymond E. Henley, Secretary, C. Jason Tilton, Walter W. Campbell, John Berdeen Sr., Granville E. Nickerson, and Edgar Steen. The reader may wish to note the fact that no women served on the building committee. As was mentioned in the last part of this continuing history because the country was still under war time conditions the War Production Board had to give permission as a “wartime emergency” permission to build the building.
Even before the lot for the new church was cleared, tested and then excavated, the trustees purchased the home on the adjacent lot, 312 Broadway, with the intention of it being used as the parsonage. Groundbreaking for the church was celebrated on July 25, 1945. Purchase of the new parsonage was in June 1945 with the Reverend Smith, his wife Kathryn (Kit) and baby Edson moving into the home in August of the same year. The home had formerly been occupied by the Richardson family and at the time of purchase at $6000 was 18 years old.
The architect that was hired to design the new church was John Howard Stevens of Portland. The architect communicated with the building committee regularly and on occasion would meet with the Trustees as a whole. Through the bidding process the company of Googins and Clark was hired as general contractors. Subcontractors named in the records included York Electric and the Willman Company was hired for painting purposes.
The original plans for the church included a vestry in the basement. The vestry would be used for the Sunday School. While it was not the original intention of trustees to use the vestry for anything else it became home to the congregation until the sanctuary was ready for occupancy. A fully operational kitchen, a boiler room that would house a coal-fired furnace large enough to heat the whole plant, a stage area with two class rooms behind it and two rest rooms completed the design of this area. The primary use of floor space above the vestry would be used as a sanctuary with a raised chancel area to the south end of the room. To either side of the chancel there would be two rooms large enough to house the pipes of the organ then in storage. Below the organ chamber to the right of the chancel would be a ladies parlor. On the Broadway side of the sanctuary would be two closets that would be found to either side of the main entrance to the sanctuary. The closet to the rear would be used as a men’s coat and hat closet and also the room where the cord to pull the bell in the steeple would be located. The other closet would hold miscellaneous items used in church services. The original plans also showed that there would be enough area at the rear of the sanctuary to provide a sound proofed glassed room to be used as a nursery during church functions. While most of what is written here was in fact the way the church was built, the nursery was not part of the final building for several reasons. Those reasons included the added cost this would bring to the church and another was that no glass available at that time was as soundproofed as the architect and builders felt was possible in 1946-48. Another factor that eliminated the nursery was issues that use of space would give when designing, constructing and displaying the stained glass windows that eventually would grace the sanctuary.
Groundbreaking for the new church began on July 25, 1945. Work on the new building was suspended during the winter months, as there was a wartime shortage of bricks available. Construction was begun again in the spring of 1946. The downstairs vestry and the shell of the sanctuary were completed by November of that year. The first sermon, given in the vestry by Reverend Elwin Wilson, was spoken on December 1, 1946. Reverend Wilson was the District Superintendent at that time.
The formal opening of the vestry was delayed until December 15, 1946. The following individuals contributed significantly to that “grand opening”: Bishop Lewis O. Hartman of the Boston area; Dr. William Vernon Middleton, Executive Secretary of the Board of Missions and Extensions at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Reverend Elwin Wilson, District Superintendent; and the Reverend H. Travers Smith of Peoples. Trustees at that time were slightly changed from the group that graced the Trustees when the decision to move from the Village was taken. Those serving on trustees at this time were led by President Walter Winchenbach and included Granville Nickerson, Harvey Woodbury, Walter Campbell, Malcolm W. Cass, C. Jason Tilton, Meredith Trefethen, Wilbert Brown, Ray Henley, and John Berdeen Sr..
The trustees took advantage of the guests and proposed that the people of the church would continue to work toward completion of the church building. Dr. Middleton indicated that he thought another $2000 in grants might be possible from his board. By this time the cost, which originally was estimated at $43,000, had risen to a completion cost of $75,000 with a number of the original plans and materials being changed to stay within this stated cost. Assisting in the payment of costs was at least $10,000 in gifts already granted from Home Missions and Church Extensions. Beyond the outright gifts the same organization extended loans of $36,000 toward completion of this dynamic project. In the final analysis nearly 40 % of the cost was still left in the hands of the parishioners at the time of building. Certainly the membership was appreciative and grateful for the assistance that the greater Methodist church had granted in building on Broadway.
On June 17, 1945 the last services were held in the old People’s Church located at the corner of High and School Streets. Reporters from the local press were there and took pictures and interviewed some of the oldest members. The Morning service on that Sunday included a reading by the President of the Board of Trustees, John B. Woodbury. Appointed pastor of the church in May of 1945, Reverend H. Travers Smith gave the sermon. At the conclusion of this service the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was served. One hundred and twenty five knelt at the altar rail for communion. 200 folks were present.
Later that same day the Methodist Youth Fellowship conducted an evening service at 7 PM. This was the last service held in that church building.
The very next day, June 18, the men of the parish began dismantling the church, prior to the work by the working/wrecking crew. Some of the timbers would be saved from the old church to be used in the construction of the new church. Timbers that were dismantled found there way eventually to the new church where they would serve as support of the organ lofts to either side of the chancel. The organ was also dismantled and
put in storage for later restoration and installation in the new church.
On June 24, 1945 the congregation began meeting in what was formerly the Cole Memorial Universalist Church and at times known as the Townshend Club. This building was and is still located on the corner of Sawyer and Cole Streets diagonally across from the present location of the Lyric Theater (formerly the South Portland Church of the Nazarene). Services would be held in this location until the new Peoples’ Church was built for use on the corner of Harriet and Broadway.
The building committee who were members of the trustees and were entrusted with overseeing the building project included; John B. Woodbury, President, Walter W. Winchenbach, Vice President, Raymond E. Henley, Secretary, C. Jason Tilton, Walter W. Campbell, John Berdeen Sr., Granville E. Nickerson, and Edgar Steen. The reader may wish to note the fact that no women served on the building committee. As was mentioned in the last part of this continuing history because the country was still under war time conditions the War Production Board had to give permission as a “wartime emergency” permission to build the building.
Even before the lot for the new church was cleared, tested and then excavated, the trustees purchased the home on the adjacent lot, 312 Broadway, with the intention of it being used as the parsonage. Groundbreaking for the church was celebrated on July 25, 1945. Purchase of the new parsonage was in June 1945 with the Reverend Smith, his wife Kathryn (Kit) and baby Edson moving into the home in August of the same year. The home had formerly been occupied by the Richardson family and at the time of purchase at $6000 was 18 years old.
The architect that was hired to design the new church was John Howard Stevens of Portland. The architect communicated with the building committee regularly and on occasion would meet with the Trustees as a whole. Through the bidding process the company of Googins and Clark was hired as general contractors. Subcontractors named in the records included York Electric and the Willman Company was hired for painting purposes.
The original plans for the church included a vestry in the basement. The vestry would be used for the Sunday School. While it was not the original intention of trustees to use the vestry for anything else it became home to the congregation until the sanctuary was ready for occupancy. A fully operational kitchen, a boiler room that would house a coal-fired furnace large enough to heat the whole plant, a stage area with two class rooms behind it and two rest rooms completed the design of this area. The primary use of floor space above the vestry would be used as a sanctuary with a raised chancel area to the south end of the room. To either side of the chancel there would be two rooms large enough to house the pipes of the organ then in storage. Below the organ chamber to the right of the chancel would be a ladies parlor. On the Broadway side of the sanctuary would be two closets that would be found to either side of the main entrance to the sanctuary. The closet to the rear would be used as a men’s coat and hat closet and also the room where the cord to pull the bell in the steeple would be located. The other closet would hold miscellaneous items used in church services. The original plans also showed that there would be enough area at the rear of the sanctuary to provide a sound proofed glassed room to be used as a nursery during church functions. While most of what is written here was in fact the way the church was built, the nursery was not part of the final building for several reasons. Those reasons included the added cost this would bring to the church and another was that no glass available at that time was as soundproofed as the architect and builders felt was possible in 1946-48. Another factor that eliminated the nursery was issues that use of space would give when designing, constructing and displaying the stained glass windows that eventually would grace the sanctuary.
Groundbreaking for the new church began on July 25, 1945. Work on the new building was suspended during the winter months, as there was a wartime shortage of bricks available. Construction was begun again in the spring of 1946. The downstairs vestry and the shell of the sanctuary were completed by November of that year. The first sermon, given in the vestry by Reverend Elwin Wilson, was spoken on December 1, 1946. Reverend Wilson was the District Superintendent at that time.
The formal opening of the vestry was delayed until December 15, 1946. The following individuals contributed significantly to that “grand opening”: Bishop Lewis O. Hartman of the Boston area; Dr. William Vernon Middleton, Executive Secretary of the Board of Missions and Extensions at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Reverend Elwin Wilson, District Superintendent; and the Reverend H. Travers Smith of Peoples. Trustees at that time were slightly changed from the group that graced the Trustees when the decision to move from the Village was taken. Those serving on trustees at this time were led by President Walter Winchenbach and included Granville Nickerson, Harvey Woodbury, Walter Campbell, Malcolm W. Cass, C. Jason Tilton, Meredith Trefethen, Wilbert Brown, Ray Henley, and John Berdeen Sr..
The trustees took advantage of the guests and proposed that the people of the church would continue to work toward completion of the church building. Dr. Middleton indicated that he thought another $2000 in grants might be possible from his board. By this time the cost, which originally was estimated at $43,000, had risen to a completion cost of $75,000 with a number of the original plans and materials being changed to stay within this stated cost. Assisting in the payment of costs was at least $10,000 in gifts already granted from Home Missions and Church Extensions. Beyond the outright gifts the same organization extended loans of $36,000 toward completion of this dynamic project. In the final analysis nearly 40 % of the cost was still left in the hands of the parishioners at the time of building. Certainly the membership was appreciative and grateful for the assistance that the greater Methodist church had granted in building on Broadway.
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