The History of the Easton United Methodist Church

This history was submitted by Richard Rowley rrowley@erols.com.

EARLY HISTORY OF THE EASTON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

     Land donated by the Snell Family and located where the Easton Cemetery now is located, was the site of the former Easton Church. The church was white with colored glass windows. It stood near the road on top of the hill. It was heated by two large stoves and lighted by kerosene lamps which were placed in brackets along the walls. The organ and choir were situated at the left of the platform at the front with the pulpit in the center. There were two rows of pews with a center aisle between. The bell was rung for every service, and at the death of any of tie members it told their age by the number of times it was rung. The sheds for the horses were located at the southwest corner of the yard.

     The membership was large and covered a six mile square. In August, 1918, the church was struck by lightning and burned. The pulpit, Bible, and a few of toe pews were salvaged from the burning church. As the bell fell from the burning belfry, it gave one final clang.

     There was discussion as to where to build the new church, but later land was donated by the Hiram Brown family and the Green's Corner Church was bought and the night before it was to have been moved to the new location, it burned.

     The church which burned at the cemetery location was built in the spring of 1868 at a cost of $3,000 and on July 4, 1868, at was dedicated by Rev. Johnson of the Flat River Circuit.

     Ministers who have served the Easton Church

     (This history was written by Richard Rowley's mother Mrs. Helen Rowley and Mrs. Esther Stebbins. They obtained the information from recollections of former members and residents of the surrounding community. Helen was a longtime Sunday School Teacher and was very active in the Church.)

HISTORY OF EASTON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

     "The first religious organization formed in the town (Easton) was a M. E. class that met in a school house on Simon Welch's place about 1839 or perhaps earlier and included among its members the Welch, McLaughlin, Dexter families and others whose names cannot be recalled. There was preaching pretty regularly, about once a fortnight until 1864 when the class suffered a division. A portion of the class organized anew in Keene and others formed the Easton M.E. Class, #1, in the Madison neighborhood. The organizing members of that class included Granville Madison and wife, Richard Bishop and wife and Chas. Kellogg, with Madison being chosen leader. It was attached to the Flat River Circuit and continued to flourish apace." This information taken from the History of Ionia and Montcalm Counties published in 1881. In the spring of 1868 a house of worship was erected on Section 8 at a Cost of $3000.00 and on the 4th of July, 1868, it was dedicated by Rev. Mr. Johnson of the Flat River Circuit of which Rev. James Aikens was preacher in charge. Services were held at Easton Church once each fortnight. In 1881, the church referred to above there were 25 members: Wm Bradford, class leader and Supt. of Sunday School, and trustees, A. A. Hull, Wm. Bradford, S. T. Minard, T. E. Conner and Samuel White. School had an average attendance of 5 teachers and 50 scholars.

     The church, referred to above, was located at the Easton Cemetery site on land donated by the Snell family living just north of that location. This community included the settlement called Bolster, located a short distance south of it, which consisted of a blacksmith shop owned by the Fantow family and a general store owned by Bolster which included the Post Office of that area.

     This original Easton Church was of frame construction, approximately 30' x 50', painted white with colored glass windows and a "good bell." The interior included small rooms on either side of the entrance which were used for outer wraps in cold weather. It was heated by stoves and lighted by kerosene reflector lamps along the walls on either side. An organ, Pulpit and pews were furnished. It was called at that time "a neat commodious edifice that does credit to the citizens of that part of town."

     In August 1918, it was struck by lightning and burned, the only articles saved from it were the pulpit, the pulpit bible and a few pews. One of these pews, the pulpit and the Bible are in use in the present church.

     Families prominent in the church at that time were S. T. Minard, Thomas F. Conner, Wm. Bradford, Albert Stebbins, Irving Stebbins, George Stebbins, Jacob Snell, Joseph Snell, George Snell, Daniel Hunt and Noah Bishop.

     Some of the ministers serving the church during these early years were Rev. Buell, Rev. Gibbs, Rev. Vanderwalker, Rev. Tuttle, Rev. Kenyon, Rev. Birdsell and Rev. Nicholson.

     Several efforts were made to build a new church after the first was destroyed but none of the plans materialized until Rev. F. P. Frye was called from Iowa to this pastorate. Services were held in the Dexter school house. In 1926 the people voted to build on land donated by Hiram Brown. This new location was at the corner of Potters and Johnson roads. At that time the Ladies Aid and Mrs. Hiram Brown each subscribed $500.00 to begin the building. Much credit must be given to Rev. Frye for His leadership on planning and supervising the construction of the church.The building was completed in 1926 and dedicated the following January as the Easton Community M. E. Church. (.We are indebted to the Michigan Christian Advocate for this information.) We know that many donations of labor and money as well as many chicken dinners served to the public by the ladies helped in the completion of this project.

     In 1963 the Women's Group started the project for obtaining an organ for the sanctuary. Donations from the W.S.C.S., the Clara Metzgar memorial fund, several individuals generous contributions, and proceeds from a ham supper and bake sales, made this possible, so that in May of 1963 the instrument was dedicated to Mrs. Metzgar, who served as church organist for 52 years, and to Frank Covert, a devoted member and lover of church music. Participating in the dedication were District Superintendent, Rev. Keith Avery and Eula Dodds Frost, guest organist.

     In 1962, another cooperative effort resulted in the church siding being scraped and painted by the church men and our pastor, Don Howard. Then again in 1971, another coat of paint was added. It was made possible with contributions from the congregation to have steel siding put on in 1978. Both men and women of the church were involved in the 1961 and 1981 projects of refinishing the sanctuary floor, which made necessary the removal of all the heavy oak pews before sanding and finishing could be done.

     During the years many improvements have been added from time to time; a new furnace in 1954, folding curtains in the basement to provide more Sunday School class rooms, new well in 1960. Prior to this time, water was brought to the church in cream cans by individuals. Many articles have been added to both the exterior and interior of the church with money received as memorials and gifts. Some of these are the red maple trees, flowering tree and shrubbery, park benches, steeple, steeple light, mercury light, white birches, storm windows, ceiling fans, storage shed, front doors, wooden cross, altar cross, pictures, hymnals, Bibles, flags, pulpit, piano and organ lights,clocks, conference tables, altar table , library, books, office furniture & equipment, candelabra, pulpit chairs, offering- plates, sound system, altar scarves, silver tea service and trays, pew cushions, two pianos, silver chalice, Yamaha key board, artificial Christmas tree, Sunday school supplies, plant stands, baptismal font, unity candle, kitchen and rest room remodeling, vacuum cleaner, classroom furnishings, kitchen stoves, music stand, lamps, kitchen appliances, communion sets, and tables for the dining room

     The need for adding to the structure had been felt for some time before actual building plans were formulated in the spring of 1967, when Rev. Kline was our pastor. After voting on and receiving final approval of plans, work got under way in September. It progressed rapidly and though the rooms were not completed, they were utilized for the Christmas program that year. Completed in the early months of 1968 were additional classrooms, rest rooms, and a remodeled and enlarged kitchen with additional sink and cupboards. again, this was achieved through the cooperation of everyone - the men planted a field of corn for a money making project that year and the ladies served public dinners monthly during that time and committees donated much time and effort to the project. Dedication of this addition along with several gifts and memorials was made in October 1968. The additional room opening onto the chancel was named The Stebbins room in memory of Harold Stebbins through the donation by Mrs. Wilma Stebbins.

     A custom continued each year from 1969 was the Garden of Memories on Easter Sunday when flowers from donations filled the church and were later distributed to the sick and shut-ins in the community. In 1974 new lights were installed in the sanctuary and prior to the 50th anniversary celebration at the church held on October 10, 1976, an extensive refurbishing of the dining room with new windows was completed. This was one phase of an extended improvement plan.

     The church has had a varied affiliation with other charges . We were associated with the Saranac Community Church until 1959, when they expressed their desire to have their own minister and no longer be a part of a two-church charge. It was at this time that a group of four met with our District Superintendent, Dr. Maurice McLean to discuss our future. He told us that as long as we had an active Womens Group and Sunday School, that the Conference would provide us with a minister.

     During the year of 1959 and 1960 we were pastored by a lay minister, Don Meikle, who with his wife and family of small children brought new life and interest to Easton. From this time to 1966 we were pastored by lay speakers, when we were added to a 5-point charge including Fenwick, Palo, Vickeryville and Orleans. This meant that we saw our minister, Rev. Ralph Kline every two weeks with lay speakers filling in for him while he pastored at other churches on the circuit. In 1970 the Zion United Methodist Church shared their pastor with us and we became part of a 2-point charge. This followed the merger in 1968 of the EUB (Zion) Church with the Methodist Church changing the name to United Methodist.

     Also at this time our Women's Society of Christian service (W.S.C.S.) became the United Methodist Women (U.M.W.). In 1978 a tape ministry was begun for those unable to attend worship services, and a coffee fellowship following the service was also started in this year.

     November of 1978 saw our Sunday School chosen as a representative of smaller Sunday Schools in the Central District and was honored at a special meeting in Grand Rapids for the year's accomplishments. Due to a growing need in Missions, a Hunger Pot collection was begun on the last Sunday of the month.

     During 1979 the Reach Out and Touch group, composed of many active members, started a landscaping project to add flower beds, parking space and picnic grounds. In 1981 they sponsored a trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn. and while there purchased new dishes for the kitchen, the purchase partially financed by a spaghetti supper.

     During the spring of 1979, the land adjacent to the church to the east, owned by the Covert family, came up for sale. After several discussions, it was decided by the church membership to purchase the seven acres. Church members held a drive and raised a down-payment of $1,000.00. The remaining $6,000.00 was paid off by members' donations paid monthly to the bank on a loan secured and backed by Tom Baylis over a period of four years. A mortgage-burning ceremony was held on Feb. 6, 1983. This purchase made possible the expanding of the picnic area and instead of going to Bertha Brock park for our annual picnic, we invited the Zion people to picnic with us on our grounds.

     Later on, through a memorial fund from the Wilma Stebbins estate, a storage building was constructed on true picnic grounds to house picnic tables and the riding mower which was needed for the additional yard mowing.

     For a little over a year, our church had a part in sponsoring, along with other churches in Ionia, six young Vietnam refugees. This relationship proved to be a good experience.

     For some time the mens' groups, from surrounding Methodist churches had met together for breakfast and fellowship on a once-a-month plan. In 1981, plans were made to sponsor a Fall Festival to be held in August. People from the Zion, LeValley and Berlin Center churches were invited to share our picnic area. Plenty of food was made available by all Furnishing and later softball games and children's games were enjoyed. An evening musical concluded the festivities.

     In 1982, the First Methodist Church of Ionia was added to the UMM group and in 1985 the First Christian Church of Ionia joined the fellowship.

     After working and serving breakfasts from our kitchen the Men's group decided that the kitchen should be remodeled and enlarged. A benefit sale was held to help finance it. That added to donations from the Womens' group, members and friends and with donated labor, made possible the completion in 1983. The kitchen was expanded to include the room to to the north, new cupboards, an island work space and a pass-through window to the dining room. Members of the Womens group did the painting. A new ceiling, wall paneling and floor tile were installed along with updated electrical outlets and lifts. On February 6, 1983 an appreciation dinner was served followed by a mortgage-burning and kitchen dedication ceremony in the afternoon. A few weeks later linoleum tile was laid in the rest rooms and adjoining hall.

     In the Fall of 1986, Zion United Methodist Church expressed a wish to have their own minister and not be on a 2-church charge. The change was made on November 1 with Easton retaining Rev. Kathryn Williams as our minister.

     A need for a larger sanctuary and dining space and more class rooms was expressed in late 1983. Another need was for a barrier-free entrance to the church for those incapacitated. In early 1984 a questionnaire was sent out to the congregation with a Yes or No answer required as to their feelings for building an addition to the church. Three fourths of the replies were affirmative. A building fund was started and a building committee appointed to formulate Plans for proceeding with the project. Many hours were spent in securing plans and blue prints that met the required approval of the engineers and District Building and Site Committee. The estimated figures for building the basement and shell for an addition 44' x 70' was $95,650.00 and if we wanted only a basement the cost would run $53,467.00. Miracle Sunday pledges, public roast beef suppers, raffle projects on smaller items and unsolicited money gifts accounted for enough to construct the basement, with a loan from Ionia Independent Bank to finance building the shell.On August 11, 1987, District Superintendent Charles Garrod met with us for Church Conference meeting, when tie final vote was taken on whether to proceed with the project. There was a unanimous vote to build. Ground breaking was done on August 16, with Rev. Kay Coombs and Building Committee Chairman, Phil Jones turning the first shovel of dirt.

     Construction was started with the digging of the basement by Larry Daniels on August 17. Concrete work was cone by Karl Rusnell and the building construction by William Overbeck. The new section of basement was used on October 3, 1987, when our fourth annual roast beef dinner Was served to the public, the proceeds used for the building fund.

     (This history as written as and compiled by Helen Rowley and Esther Stebbins and was finished in December of 1987. Sources of information were taken from recollections of former members and residents of the community , the Christian Advocate, other news items, church bulletins and personal. diaries.)

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Last update December 24, 2007