You remember how I told you that just before I was 5 years old I started attending the York Center Methodist church and followed through my marriage and attending with our three little girls? When our three little girls were reaching teenage we changed and started attending the EUB church at the other side of this little cross road town of York Center Ohio.

Here is a picture of that church as it looked on a cloudy day in the 1960’s. A whole lot of drab! But the people in attendance were full of life and loaded with ambition for a bright, sunny future.

The Reverend Henry Brooks, who had grown up in this church, made the most gracious decision to drive up from his home in Dayton Ohio and present our Sunday sermon. He was associated with the seminary located in Dayton.

His sermons were so interesting that he had everyone’s attention, just waiting for what he would say next. I truly enjoyed the wonderful way he had of presenting his views. He had a way of bringing the biblical stories to life so that we could actually feel them. It was a whole new way of religious thinking for us, the fortunate people in attendance.

I don’t really remember for sure how the idea got started that we should build a new church, but it had to be with Reverend Henry (Hank) Brooks, his energetic wonderful mother (The backbone of this church) Arizona (Zone) Brooks and her daughter Josephine Brooks Wedding along with her husband Joseph Wedding. So it was kinda a family idea.

Our daughter Meredythe married Joey Wedding, Joe and Josephine’s son, in this church, so we were kinda connected to that family also. So you see………well……when they came up with the idea to build a new church my husband and I were very happy to join them in that effort as were all the other people who attended. We kicked this idea off with a big thanksgiving dinner we held at the York Center school.

These handsome smiling men of the church you see in this faded news paper clipping, served this meal which was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a vegetable, pie and coffee. The price was a ‘free will’ offering.

This was after my father had died and I took my mother to this thanksgiving dinner. Years later as my daughter Meredythe was sitting in the new church after it was built, Reverend Hank Brooks in his sermon told the congregation that when they counted the proceeds from that thanksgiving dinner they found a folded check from Mrs Rockhold, my mother, for $875.

My mother had told no one she had done that and I wouldn’t know if my daughter hadn’t been in church that day to hear Hank relate that story and later told me. By the time I learned of it, my mother was no longer with us. She died in 1969 at the age of 86.

I can’t remember what time of year it was that several of our women sold lunch each Monday at the farm animal auction at the stalk yard in Marion Ohio. Those of us in the church, gave food for this sale lunch. And several church women went to Marion to do the work.

With all the outside farm work I was doing I couldn’t go to Marion, a 20 mile drive, and help with the lunch. Instead each Sunday after attending church services with my family and then having our Sunday dinner at home, I spent Sunday afternoonpreparing food for the sale.

This is what I made each Sunday. I borrowed the large baking trays from the church to each hold 24 large home made cinnamon rolls that I iced. That made a total of 48 rolls that sold like “hot cakes”. I was really proud of them. I made that dough from scratch.

Oh… There is more! I also baked 4 fruit pies. Two peach pies and two cherry pies. To top it off, before starting all that I put a large roast beef in the oven to bake that when cooled along with the broth filled a gallon jug. I’m not sure how the ladies used that but they had ask for it. Afternoon into the evening my oven never got a chance to cool down.

And bless her heart, every Monday morning Audrey Pyers drove to my farm home, picked up all that food and took it to Marion to the sale for all the ladies to serve. And later that day she brought back those empty containers ready for me to fill again.

Making all that food allowed me to keep from feeling guilty that I didn’t go and help with the sale. So….you see…..there was a ‘method to my madness.’

Each and every one attending that little church helped and gave toward building this beautiful new church and they each were filled with pride for their efforts. There were many other money making activities that I have not mentioned here.

There were donations all along the way from church members who gave much more than they could actually afford to give. They wanted so much to help in this project. No one was coerced into giving. It was all completely voluntary and from their heart.

Surprisingly, many businesses from towns all around, gave donations as did many people outside our area. It seemed everyone wanted in on this beautiful project.

As we progressed with our money making to build our new church we were getting close to what we needed so I went begging. Well……..actually all I had to do was ask my mother for a donation. She wrote a check for $1000 and got a check also from my brother Bugs for another $1000 and called me to come pick them up. This was many years ago when $1000 was quite a nice sum of change.

This is the church in progress

Very soon after that the building began and you see it here in progression, the finishing touches to be added, landscaping, drive way and parking lot to be completed. This land is an extention to the land of the old church and was donated by Mrs Arizona (Zone) Brooks whose home was adjacent to the church.

This lady, with a big heart, would pick up women who didn’t drive and take them to church and church activities. It was said while driving down the road she would turn her head around to talk to the ladies in the back seat of her car. My daughter Meredythe road with her ONCE!!!!! She never stopped giving. After her death she gave her home and the remainder of her land to the church.

Today the Methodist church I had started attending at the tender age of five years, closed their doors and those people now attend the beautiful brick Evangelical United Brethren church all of us had built those many years ago.

This project took the culmination of our entire small congregation of church members, with hearts that wouldn’t quit, to build this beautiful church you see here that now is the only one left to service this entire area. My great granddaughter Holli took this photo you see below, with her IPHONE last week and sent it to my IPad.

AND WE…………..DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FRF ♥