Part 35 Who to call when you need it fixed
Many folks have dedicated much of their life to The Church and there is no exception when considering those who have dedicated themselves to Peoples. In researching church records and documents from the 1950’s through the early 1980’s a name that comes up many times was Bernard Bruce. Some times “Bunny” was working as a trustee and other times his company was the successful bidder on larger church projects. It is not hard to believe that a number of the activities that he engaged in at church were also on his own.
The first instances of where Mr. Bruce was involved was in the installation of the wood work around the Rose Window which in turn was followed by weather-stripping and installation of outside doors both at the church and the parsonage which then was located as stated earlier on Broadway. Not all tasks that Mr. Bruce took on were large. Mr. Bruce installed all the small cardholders found on the back of the pews in the late 1950’s.
In order to advertise church events group leaders would place their advertising on walls and doors with tape. In time the goo from the tape would become difficult to remove and become unsightly. Mr. Bruce suggested that bulletin boards be placed throughout the church at entranceways and in the vestry. The suggestion was accepted and Mr. Bruce again volunteered himself to create and then install them. Many of those bulletin boards are still in existence throughout the church building.
In 1959, the steeple on the church was painted. It appears that the job fell to the Bruce Company which was done at a reasonable price. One of the bonuses of that contract was that Bunny ascended into the Bell Room, checked the condition of the bell, changed the rope and oiled the Bell’s bearings. It may have been the last time that was done although it may have been done again in the 1970’s when the outside of the steeple was vinyl sided.
When the new parsonage on Beverly Street was moved into and the old parsonage was vacated it again was Bernard Bruce and company that helped convert the old parsonage into an education building. It was he and his company that built a large fire escape from the second floor, a necessary activity in order to make the building compliant for safety purposes. Radiators were installed in the basement and the entire interior of the building was refurbished with paint.
Every time something needed to be repaired it seems that Mr. Bruce was called to fix it. Alterations were made inside the education building to allow for egress to the fire escape, bulletin boards were installed, changing the sinks and countertops in the Beverly Street parsonage, preparing the lofts on either side of the chancel for the new organ and its pipes, and installing the organ chamber grill work after installation were all projects that Mr. Bruce’s versatility was engaged in. The first cracks that appeared in the vestry wall in 1959 called for Mr. Bruce also. The stage floor in the vestry, renovations in the parsonage and the pastor’s study all claimed the expertise of this master of repair and construction.
With Pastor Chamberlain and his family moving in to the Beverly Street parsonage, the trustees wondered whether it was necessary and feasible to build a garage next to this house. Bernard Bruce was charged with investigating this possibility. Estimates of the project were developed, but at this time, and for that matter, for any time in the future, it was decided that the church did not have the money to afford this project.
In 1963, Bernard Bruce was called on to replace the linoleum and refurbish the kitchen in the parsonage for a cost of $600. For another $900, Mr. Bruce painted the parsonage and redecorated the front bedroom in September of 1963. Combination windows were also installed at the Beverly Street parsonage at that time.
It fell to Bernard Bruce to do an inventory of needs in 1965 and again in 1966 of items that needed to be tended to in the parsonage and church. The lists were extensive with some of the items being easily taken care of by members of the trustees and church while others were to be taken care of by professionals when money permitted. The exterior of the church was ready for scraping, puttying and painting once again in 1966 and it was the Bruce Company that submitted the estimate that was accepted. Sometimes it seems that the church and trustees were not always ready immediately to pay for the projects that Mr. Bruce had contracted to do.
In 1969 a building committee was formed to begin a drive to build a new education building. Earl Nicholson was chosen as the Chairman of this committee. Wilbur Ingalls was chosen as the architect to design this new edifice and eventually Langford and Low Construction was chosen to erect what eventually would become known as Ellis Hall. The building to be erected was built with a flat roof over the center of the building with four blocks of rooms built extending beyond the main roof. Basically all of the piping was placed in the cement base pad. This building was constructed and in use by 1971. Among the first groups using the building shortly after completion was the Mary group of young women, the Sunday school and a meeting of the Southern Maine United Methodist Men. Neither Mr. Bruce nor his company was engaged in the original building of Ellis Hall. We mention this note here because within an 8 year period, the parishioners began having some major construction difficulties with the new building. Pipes began to break below the slab and major reconstruction needed to take place with the piping eventually reconstructed above the surface, much of which can be seen at nearly roof level. At nearly the same time the heavy weight of snow on the flat roof began to produce rivers of leaks. The amount of weight on the roof also began to press down on the roof preventing the separator panels in the main area of the Hall to buckle or not open. In order to correct at least the roof issue Bunny Bruce and his company again was hired at a considerable amount of money to correct the problem. It was decided that flat roofs don’t work exceptionally well in snowy areas of the globe. What Mr. Bruce did was to elevate the roof and build the replacement roof with a four-way pitch that would prevent snow and water from accumulating. To date the repairs that were made at that time seem to have corrected the problem and Ellis Hall since has been host to many a celebration both for members and those wishing to hire the hall for activities.
After the original completion of Ellis Hall, the trustees and others suggested that the main entrance to the church was not handicapped accessible. The family of Lou McGouldrick also was interested in purchasing and installing an elevator from the main entrance of the church to the level of the sanctuary. Others contributed to the fund as well. The result on the outside was the construction of a new bricked and cement entrance platform with an adjoining ramp for wheelchair accessibility. The project to construct, build and supervise the outside entrance was awarded to Mr. Bruce and company. It is obvious that this project was one of the pioneer projects for handicapped accessibility in a public building in Maine. From that time it took until 2001 to begin the upgrade that now allows the entire Peoples complex to be handicapped accessible.
The last major element of construction according to the available records that I have had that involved Mr. Bruce concerns itself with the preparation of the present parsonage for livability. When the home at 154 Mussy Street was put up for sale in the early 1990’s the trustees and the church thought it wise to negotiate its purchase. The house, built in 1910, was found to be of good construction and relatively ready for occupancy. Mr. Bruce was hired to modernize the kitchen, build a storage area to the back of the house, and to build a large deck. The Arnolds, the Schusters, the Nachbars and the Beddies have now lived in the home and all felt its comfort. Now the Arrisons; Gwyneth, Jamie, Faith and Dena reside in the house and all have Mr. Bernard Bruce and others who have worked on the house lovingly since for the convenience and beauty of the latest home to serve as a parsonage, the fifth parsonage in the history of Peoples United Methodist Church.
While there are many other individuals, men and women, who have contributed much to the history of Peoples, Bernard Bruce stands out as one of those major contributors, who’s dedication to God, Peoples’ United Methodist Church and to the people of the church and community is one for us all to emulate.
Little would anyone know that that little boy in the junior choir in the late 1920’s would have grown to have contributed so much to the Lord’s work.
Many folks have dedicated much of their life to The Church and there is no exception when considering those who have dedicated themselves to Peoples. In researching church records and documents from the 1950’s through the early 1980’s a name that comes up many times was Bernard Bruce. Some times “Bunny” was working as a trustee and other times his company was the successful bidder on larger church projects. It is not hard to believe that a number of the activities that he engaged in at church were also on his own.
The first instances of where Mr. Bruce was involved was in the installation of the wood work around the Rose Window which in turn was followed by weather-stripping and installation of outside doors both at the church and the parsonage which then was located as stated earlier on Broadway. Not all tasks that Mr. Bruce took on were large. Mr. Bruce installed all the small cardholders found on the back of the pews in the late 1950’s.
In order to advertise church events group leaders would place their advertising on walls and doors with tape. In time the goo from the tape would become difficult to remove and become unsightly. Mr. Bruce suggested that bulletin boards be placed throughout the church at entranceways and in the vestry. The suggestion was accepted and Mr. Bruce again volunteered himself to create and then install them. Many of those bulletin boards are still in existence throughout the church building.
In 1959, the steeple on the church was painted. It appears that the job fell to the Bruce Company which was done at a reasonable price. One of the bonuses of that contract was that Bunny ascended into the Bell Room, checked the condition of the bell, changed the rope and oiled the Bell’s bearings. It may have been the last time that was done although it may have been done again in the 1970’s when the outside of the steeple was vinyl sided.
When the new parsonage on Beverly Street was moved into and the old parsonage was vacated it again was Bernard Bruce and company that helped convert the old parsonage into an education building. It was he and his company that built a large fire escape from the second floor, a necessary activity in order to make the building compliant for safety purposes. Radiators were installed in the basement and the entire interior of the building was refurbished with paint.
Every time something needed to be repaired it seems that Mr. Bruce was called to fix it. Alterations were made inside the education building to allow for egress to the fire escape, bulletin boards were installed, changing the sinks and countertops in the Beverly Street parsonage, preparing the lofts on either side of the chancel for the new organ and its pipes, and installing the organ chamber grill work after installation were all projects that Mr. Bruce’s versatility was engaged in. The first cracks that appeared in the vestry wall in 1959 called for Mr. Bruce also. The stage floor in the vestry, renovations in the parsonage and the pastor’s study all claimed the expertise of this master of repair and construction.
With Pastor Chamberlain and his family moving in to the Beverly Street parsonage, the trustees wondered whether it was necessary and feasible to build a garage next to this house. Bernard Bruce was charged with investigating this possibility. Estimates of the project were developed, but at this time, and for that matter, for any time in the future, it was decided that the church did not have the money to afford this project.
In 1963, Bernard Bruce was called on to replace the linoleum and refurbish the kitchen in the parsonage for a cost of $600. For another $900, Mr. Bruce painted the parsonage and redecorated the front bedroom in September of 1963. Combination windows were also installed at the Beverly Street parsonage at that time.
It fell to Bernard Bruce to do an inventory of needs in 1965 and again in 1966 of items that needed to be tended to in the parsonage and church. The lists were extensive with some of the items being easily taken care of by members of the trustees and church while others were to be taken care of by professionals when money permitted. The exterior of the church was ready for scraping, puttying and painting once again in 1966 and it was the Bruce Company that submitted the estimate that was accepted. Sometimes it seems that the church and trustees were not always ready immediately to pay for the projects that Mr. Bruce had contracted to do.
In 1969 a building committee was formed to begin a drive to build a new education building. Earl Nicholson was chosen as the Chairman of this committee. Wilbur Ingalls was chosen as the architect to design this new edifice and eventually Langford and Low Construction was chosen to erect what eventually would become known as Ellis Hall. The building to be erected was built with a flat roof over the center of the building with four blocks of rooms built extending beyond the main roof. Basically all of the piping was placed in the cement base pad. This building was constructed and in use by 1971. Among the first groups using the building shortly after completion was the Mary group of young women, the Sunday school and a meeting of the Southern Maine United Methodist Men. Neither Mr. Bruce nor his company was engaged in the original building of Ellis Hall. We mention this note here because within an 8 year period, the parishioners began having some major construction difficulties with the new building. Pipes began to break below the slab and major reconstruction needed to take place with the piping eventually reconstructed above the surface, much of which can be seen at nearly roof level. At nearly the same time the heavy weight of snow on the flat roof began to produce rivers of leaks. The amount of weight on the roof also began to press down on the roof preventing the separator panels in the main area of the Hall to buckle or not open. In order to correct at least the roof issue Bunny Bruce and his company again was hired at a considerable amount of money to correct the problem. It was decided that flat roofs don’t work exceptionally well in snowy areas of the globe. What Mr. Bruce did was to elevate the roof and build the replacement roof with a four-way pitch that would prevent snow and water from accumulating. To date the repairs that were made at that time seem to have corrected the problem and Ellis Hall since has been host to many a celebration both for members and those wishing to hire the hall for activities.
After the original completion of Ellis Hall, the trustees and others suggested that the main entrance to the church was not handicapped accessible. The family of Lou McGouldrick also was interested in purchasing and installing an elevator from the main entrance of the church to the level of the sanctuary. Others contributed to the fund as well. The result on the outside was the construction of a new bricked and cement entrance platform with an adjoining ramp for wheelchair accessibility. The project to construct, build and supervise the outside entrance was awarded to Mr. Bruce and company. It is obvious that this project was one of the pioneer projects for handicapped accessibility in a public building in Maine. From that time it took until 2001 to begin the upgrade that now allows the entire Peoples complex to be handicapped accessible.
The last major element of construction according to the available records that I have had that involved Mr. Bruce concerns itself with the preparation of the present parsonage for livability. When the home at 154 Mussy Street was put up for sale in the early 1990’s the trustees and the church thought it wise to negotiate its purchase. The house, built in 1910, was found to be of good construction and relatively ready for occupancy. Mr. Bruce was hired to modernize the kitchen, build a storage area to the back of the house, and to build a large deck. The Arnolds, the Schusters, the Nachbars and the Beddies have now lived in the home and all felt its comfort. Now the Arrisons; Gwyneth, Jamie, Faith and Dena reside in the house and all have Mr. Bernard Bruce and others who have worked on the house lovingly since for the convenience and beauty of the latest home to serve as a parsonage, the fifth parsonage in the history of Peoples United Methodist Church.
While there are many other individuals, men and women, who have contributed much to the history of Peoples, Bernard Bruce stands out as one of those major contributors, who’s dedication to God, Peoples’ United Methodist Church and to the people of the church and community is one for us all to emulate.
Little would anyone know that that little boy in the junior choir in the late 1920’s would have grown to have contributed so much to the Lord’s work.
posted by Arthur Tordoff | 7:58 AM
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