Waski_the_Squirrel
Resident of the least visited state in the nation.
I've mentioned before that I go to a small country church. This summer we celebrate our centennial. (July 1 if any of you want to wander up this way). The celebration will be fairly modest.
As part of the centennial, I've been working on a history of the church. I've been scanning pictures and collecting information. It's amazing how little is there. But there are still a lot of resources. A gentleman wrote up a detailed history back in 1924 that tells a lot about the very early days of the church: when it was held in people's sod homes. Somebody was also fairly good about identifying people in the early pictures (though they are very few). I may have mentioned before about my difficulty identifying people in the later pictures. I'm getting some help from older church members, but even that isn't going so well. Also, trying to get details about some events is proving difficult. Our 95-year-old member is awesome for describing events of the 30s and 40s. He seems disinterested in later events!
It's a shame someone didn't start this project about 20 years ago. The people who could have helped were still around then. Thankfully, someone back then did at least make up photo albums which I have found very helpful. I've looked at a few church histories, but they don't seem to contain much. I'm trying to do a good job with this one, but suddenly I'm really rushed to finish it!
Here is an early group (1908 or 1909) meeting at a sod home:
Here is a Sunday School group in 1910 meeting at the old school house (before the church was built):
Some "young" people:
A group of unidentified people on the front steps:
Our 95-year-old member is the boy on the white horse:
A 1978 picture of the church that was used for a national TV program on country churches:
and (one last one): the church as it appears today:
So, I'm curious: who has worked on a church history? What kinds of information do you put in it? How do you write it to keep it interesting?
As part of the centennial, I've been working on a history of the church. I've been scanning pictures and collecting information. It's amazing how little is there. But there are still a lot of resources. A gentleman wrote up a detailed history back in 1924 that tells a lot about the very early days of the church: when it was held in people's sod homes. Somebody was also fairly good about identifying people in the early pictures (though they are very few). I may have mentioned before about my difficulty identifying people in the later pictures. I'm getting some help from older church members, but even that isn't going so well. Also, trying to get details about some events is proving difficult. Our 95-year-old member is awesome for describing events of the 30s and 40s. He seems disinterested in later events!
It's a shame someone didn't start this project about 20 years ago. The people who could have helped were still around then. Thankfully, someone back then did at least make up photo albums which I have found very helpful. I've looked at a few church histories, but they don't seem to contain much. I'm trying to do a good job with this one, but suddenly I'm really rushed to finish it!
Here is an early group (1908 or 1909) meeting at a sod home:
Here is a Sunday School group in 1910 meeting at the old school house (before the church was built):
Some "young" people:
A group of unidentified people on the front steps:
Our 95-year-old member is the boy on the white horse:
A 1978 picture of the church that was used for a national TV program on country churches:
and (one last one): the church as it appears today:
So, I'm curious: who has worked on a church history? What kinds of information do you put in it? How do you write it to keep it interesting?
