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After
World War II
Mortgage
retired; Rev. Barr; Rev. Haynes; Rev. Swenson. 1944-1982
The Masonic Lodge,
Garnet Lodge, Number 166, had been meeting in the auditorium in the parish hall
since 1936. The Masons had a long association with our church, from 1866, when
this Lodge was organized. The corner stone of our church was laid on Nov. 14,
1925 by the Masonic Fraternity. From the minutes of some Vestry Meetings after
World War II:
Nov. 3, 1947: Notice was
given to the Masonic Lodge of an increase of contribution from fifty to
seventy-five dollars per month.
Sept. 7, 1948: Committee
appointed to discuss with the Masonic Lodge means of making up the arrears in
this year’s pledge and to set up a pledge for next year.
Feb. 5, 1952: Carl Mattlin
authorized to contact the Masonic Lodge, relative to their finding new quarters
as our facilities were overcrowded.
In 1953, the
Masonic Lodge departed from Fulton Hall and moved their meetings to the Odd
Fellows Lodge.
In 1944, the Rev.
Frank Barr (see Plate) accepted a call as our rector. He served until his death
in 1953. Many of our
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Plate.
Rev. Frank T. Barr, Rector of St. John’s,
1944 - 1953
(click here
or on image for higher resolution views) |
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parishioners
remember Rev. Barr for his wonderful sermons. He was a very caring person, but
also very strict in the observance of church procedures. He regularly attended
the monthly Altar Guild meetings where he would give a brief sermon that was
much appreciated by the members.
For many years the
church was heavily in debt, but in January of 1948, the first mortgage was
retired, due to the efforts of the parish under the leadership of Rodney F.
Sturley Sr., chairman of the building fund, H. Allyn Warner, treasurer, and the
wardens, Carl J. Mattlin and Gordon Pole. Now that the church had no financial
obligations, it could be consecrated. The burning of the mortgage was done by
Gordon Pole, Junior Warden. On Sunday evening, Feb. 22, 1948, the Church of St.
John’s-in-the-Wilderness, White Bear Lake, was consecrated by Bishop Keeler with
the rector of the parish, the Rev. Frank T. Barr, parish officials and members
of the St. Paul clergy participating in the service and mortgage burning (see
Plate).
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Plate.
The mortgage is burned, February 22, 1948
(click here
or on image for higher resolution views) |
Rev. Barr, rector
of the parish said:
“For more than eighty-five
years the life of this parish has been sheltered, nourished and strengthened in
each generation by men and women of honest and good hearts who loved the Lord.
... May the Consecration of our church be to all of us a time of great
thankfulness for God’s guiding and enabling Spirit, and a time of earnest prayer
to Him that we may prove good and acceptable servants of His Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord.”
Frank Barr smoked
cigarettes and enjoyed bowling. On the last day of his life, a Saturday, he was
bowling with friends in White Bear when he got chest pains. It was a heart
attack. He went home, sat down in his chair and pushed a pack of cigarettes
across the table, saying to his wife, “I guess I won’t be needing these anymore
where I am going.”
From the White
Bear Press:
“Death came suddenly to Rev.
Barr Saturday, January 3, 1953. He died within hours, after being stricken with
a coronary thrombosis, and before he could be removed to a hospital. Rev. Barr
was born and educated in Ohio and came here in 1944. In addition to being the
Rector at St. John’s in the Wilderness, Rev. Barr was a charter member of the
local Lions Club and instrumental in the formation of the club here. Business
houses in White Bear Lake were closed from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, so that
many people could attend the funeral. Forty members of the W. B. L. Lions Club
lined the sidewalk from the street to the church entrance to form an honor guard
before and after the rites.”
When the Korean
War started, some of the people who had served in the Armed Forces were recalled
to active duty. At the vestry meeting of Nov. 23, 1950, it was noted Rex
Campbell and Harold Mattlin were recalled to service in the Armed Forces.
Carl J. Mattlin
was the Senior Warden at St. John’s church for a long time, perhaps twenty-five
years, through the 1930’s, the 1940’s and into the 1950’s! Mr. Mattlin owned a
construction company and whenever any maintenance or repair was needed, he would
send over some of his workers to fix it. Later, the church established time
limits for wardens so that an individual would serve three years as Junior
Warden, and then three years as Senior Warden. When Greenlee Haynes (see Plate)
arrived
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Plate.
Rev. J.
Greenlee Haynes, Rector 1956 - 1978 (click
here or on image for higher resolution views) |
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here in 1956 to
interview for the job as Rector, the first person he met was Carl Mattlin.
At the vestry meeting of
Feb. 6, 1951, Mr. Sturley agreed to look into the matter of having the county
fill in the swampy part of the cemetery in consideration of an easement granted
to them. On Mar. 6, 1951, Mr. Sturley announced that the county had agreed to
look into the matter of having the swampy part of the cemetery filled in the
spring.
In 1953, the Rev.
Russell E. Murphy began a rectorship of three years.
Dec. 19, 1954 saw
the largest recorded attendance, up to that time, of 390 in church to
witness Church School Pageant.
Feb. 19, 1956 was
the first service with the Rev. J. Greenlee Haynes, who began a rectorship that
lasted until his retirement in 1978. A change was made in the Sunday services on
Oct. 7, 1956, with duplicate family services inaugurated at 9 and 11 a.m.. For
many years the upstairs auditorium of “Fulton Memorial Hall” was used for many
social events and as a meeting place for organizations such as the Masons. In
the late 1950’s whenever there was a dance, Greenlee Haynes would often join the
band to play his saxophone. On Feb. 14, 1958, the parish held a St. Valentine’s
Day dance. Beginning with Christmas 1956, and many others during the rectorship
of the Rev. J. Greenlee Haynes, the season was made more joyful by a group of
Bell Ringers (see Plate). The bells were a Haynes
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Plate.
St. John’s
Bell-Ringers and Rev. J. Greenlee Haynes (click
here or on image for higher resolution views) |
family heirloom.
Every Christmas season, the interior of the church was decorated with fresh
evergreens. This was a problem for Rev. Haynes, as he was allergic to pine.
From the memory of
current parishioners, the church services going back to Rev. Barr’s time were
“Low Church,” without ceremonial trappings, as opposed to “High Church,” with
lots of ceremonial trappings. Over the years, along with changes in the service,
many would say we have become “Middle Church.” The old 1928 prayer book was
phased out in 1978. In 1977, the Rev. Greenlee Haynes was the Chair for the
Liturgical Commission for the Diocese of Minnesota. Rev. Haynes conducted some
trial runs of the new liturgy in our church in 1977.
On May 10, 1959,
new choir stalls that had been installed in the memory of Donald O. Opstad Jr.
were used for the first time.
For some time it
had been apparent that additional space was needed at our church, especially to
provide adequate rooms for Sunday school. As an example of the space shortage,
it was recorded in 1959 that men of the parish had converted the old coal bin to
a Sunday school room. On February 25, 1958, the vestry employed Ellerbe and Co.
Architects to design the proposed building.
During the summer
of 1959, the land consisting of one-hundred feet of frontage along First Street,
directly to the east of the church, was for sale at $16,500. This was the
opportunity the parish had long been waiting for, and the vestry entered into
negotiations for immediate purchase. By withdrawing $5,500 from current funds
and borrowing $11,000, the land was secured for the parish. Planning began for
the construction of a new parish hall. In September of 1959, it was announced
that Wells Inc. had been employed to supervise a capital funds campaign for the
new building. On Sept. 19, 1960, specifications for the new building went out
for bids.
In 1960, following
a successful fund drive, construction began for the new building. On Sunday,
Oct. 16, 1960, after the 11 o’clock service, there was a ground breaking
ceremony. The following day, Oct. 17th, the contractor began
preparatory work for the new building. The project included erection of a new
parish hall and educational wing on the new land, and renovation and remodeling
of the old parish hall. All of this work was completed in 1961 at a cost of
about $150,000.
1961,
One Hundred Year Anniversary. On Tuesday, August
29, 1961, one-hundred years to the day, the parish celebrated the anniversary of
the consecration of the first church and the dedication of the new parish hall.
More than 250 members of the parish were expected to attend the dinner and
participate in the activities marking the completion of the new parish hall wing
for the church. Presiding at the dedication was the Right Reverend Philip
McNairy, with various church dignitaries and the parish rector, the Rev. J.
Greenlee Haynes.
A new rectory was
completed in May of 1964 at a cost of more than $40,000. In 1976, the old
rectory on First Street was sold under contract for deed for $34,000. The
balance settled on Nov. 14, 1985.
In 1978, Bonnie
Yard, with input from Greenlee Haynes, designed the needlepoint covers for
cushions used in the chancel area of the church. The needlepoint work was done
under the direction of Dorothy Curtis by women who qualified by doing a sample
piece of needlepoint. The needlepoint cushions were dedicated on August 12,
1979.
During this time,
it was determined the church needed some repairs. From 1979 to 1982, a
restoration and revival fund drive, chaired by Bev Boyle and Harold Mattlin, was
completed for much needed repairs and improvements. Pledges, including organ
memorial gifts, totaled $216,000. In 1983, members of this church pledged
$68,228 to the Diocesan Fund to help with social needs being met throughout the
state.
The Rev. Daniel L.
Swenson (see Plate) began a rectorship
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Plate.
Rt. Rev. Daniel L. Swenson, Rector 1978 -- 1986
(click here
or on image for higher resolution views) |
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here in 1978 which
continued until 1986 when he became a Bishop in Vermont. In 1986, around seventy
members of this church traveled to Burlington, Vermont to attend the
consecration of Daniel Swenson as Bishop Coadjutor-Elect of
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Plate.
Bishop Daniel L. Swenson
(click
here or on image for higher resolution views) |
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Vermont. When Rev.
Swenson arrived at St. John’s in Sept. 1978, there was a strong desire for
developing and deepening a lay ministry within the parish. During the ensuing
years, eighteen parishioners volunteered for a Befriender Ministry serving both
the parish and the community.
Starting with his
first month, Sept. 1978, Rev. Swenson and the vestry began a program to
reorganize the vestry in a committee structure. A. J. Werlein, James Kroesch,
Fosten Boyle and Robert Spreng were among those who helped design a structure
where each vestry member was to chair a committee, and to develop yearly goals.
An executive committee, composed of the wardens and the rector, met monthly to
discuss the vestry’s work. In the fall of 1980, after the stewardship program
was completed, the vestry and the rector decided to propose a parish budget for
1981 which was based upon the actual pledges from parishioners, which would be a
balanced budget. For many years, perhaps back to 1956, St. John’s had a
tradition of receiving December offerings from a small number of parishioners,
who while not pledging, might give offerings when they chose. Much of that
offering was saved for a few years until we could afford a youth minister for
two or three years, until the money ran out. After 1982 we were able to budget
for the call of a Lay Director of Education and Youth Ministry.
Rev. Swenson
believed that the Altar should be moved away from the wall to make a free
standing Lord’s Table. This would allow the priest to face the congregation
while performing the Communion Service. Dan Swenson, being a skilled carpenter,
constructed a free-standing Lord’s Table and placed it in front of the Altar.
Later, in 1998, it was replaced by a reconstructed free-standing Altar donated
by Jane and Richard Kyle in memory of Helen Anderson Foley and Geraldine House
Kyle.
From the time our
church was built in 1861, and the following one-hundred years, the vestry and
officers of our church were always men. At the annual meeting, January, 1968,
Joanne (Josie) Power became our first woman vestry member. The following year,
1969, Nell Hillsey also became a member of the vestry. Our first woman warden
was Beverly Boyle, who became junior warden in 1980 and senior warden in 1983.
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