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The Church and It's People

As the work progressed, scaffolding was needed. Bill Richardson, a local “pound” fisherman, went out into the bay, took in his nets and brought his poles to the church to build the scaffold. He lost several weeks of fishing. (When the job was done, he put his nets back in the bay and according to Bill, he caught so many fish that first day back, that he made enough money to cover his loss and made an additional profit).

Meanwhile, it was necessary for them to secure lumber for the beams, sills, and flooring. A trip to American Lumber Company was made and Mr. Sidney Dull agreed to sell us his finest hand-picked lumber at his cost and let us pay within 30 days! At just the right time, the Lord sent a carpenter…a building inspector for the township who just happened to be in the business himself. He agreed to get the beams and sills in properly for us at no cost. Added to this was the promise that he would set the rafters…even cut them…if they would order them according to his specifications. And true to his word, Mr. Newton Mallett was there on Saturday to cut and set the rafters for them. It is amazing what the Lord can and will do for those who believe!

“I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day” sang the pastor as he worked on the roof to lay the sheathing. Their crew now numbered about 15 men and the work was progressing smoothly. Tired and elated the pastor turned aside to rest for a moment as he sang, “still praying as I onward bound, Lord plant my feet on higher ground.” At that precise moment, John Batton drew down on one of the sheathing boards and it pinched the preacher furnishing him with a large longitudinal blood blister that he was to remember for days. “Can’t sit on the job”, pastor, said John…the preacher agreed sheepishly that he couldn’t sit anywhere else for a long while! This is one church that can truly say that it was rebuilt with the preacher’s sweat and blood.

“Vee need to vaterpruf da walls,” said Sam Larsen. Asked just how he expected to do it, “Must leaf it to me,” said Sam. The following Sunday they were to look at his handiwork…a heavy coating of tar now covered the inside of the cement blocks. The drop light which hung from the ceiling was of little value and try as they would the details on the inside were swallowed up in the darkness. It was decided that in order to make use of the new part of the church they would have to cover the black up somehow. The rough floor had already been laid and they could therefore use this part of the building on Sunday for classes if they would only “brighten the corner.”

John Batton suggested a coating for the walls which “might work” and so the following Saturday there were 15 strong men trying to make “light” of the work. “This is the prettiest white I have ever seen,” exclaimed John as he plied his brush…it was amazing what a change the white walls meant to them. Willing hands made short job of it and they thanked the Lord together for the change it had made.

Charles Wilner, known better as “poppy” was a former sailing ship carpenter who came and laid the hardwood floor in the new addition. (That floor was so well constructed that nothing was ever done to it until Hurricane Sandy hit us. And then all that was done was cleaning).

The work was eventually completed. No fund raisers, just the preacher who believe in God, announcing that material was going to be delivered that week and we had to pay for it. The money came in. When the last nail was driven into the last shingle, the preacher climbed down from the roof, walked over to the lawyer and handed him back their $300, and said, “This is what God can do!”
 

A couple of years later, it was discovered that the main beams and sills of the church had a lot of dry rot and would need to be replaced. The floor was in horrible condition. There were several friendly arguments at the men’s meetings to determine just what needed to be done. With all the bickering, nothing was done. It was a Friday night, Bill Richardson came in after a day of fishing and a few too many beers, and said, “I am tired of all this arguing,” and promptly began stomping a large hole in the floor. Saturday, the men had to patch the hole with plywood so Sunday service could be held. It was agreed that the work had to be done…finally.
The day the work began, the men showed up ready to work…while the sanctuary work was being done, the services would be held in the back room. John Baton, who was an outspoken critic of the work to be done, insisted that all that was needed was a little more plywood to fix the floor. (He was from Missouri). The day the work began, John came in and stood in the middle of the church floor and stated his point, “just cover it with plywood.” With that, the entire floor gave way just like an elevator and went into the basement of the church, John standing in the middle. John looked up very sheepishly and then stated, “I could be wrong.” Over the next several weeks, the main beams and sills were replaced and a new plywood floor with tile purchased from the old Montgomery Wards catalog was installed.
The church flourished until the “fish factory” closed its doors and the fishing fleet moved south to the Carolinas. With that closing went many of our church families. Many of us still fondly remember Capt. Joe Buttrey. Joe was a dynamic Southern gentleman who loved the Lord with all his heart. He was what would today be considered as an “uneducated” man, but his insight into God’s Word rated him right up there with the most learned men. I remember him asking an elderly woman how she was feeling, then after she went on with a mile long lists of her aches and pains, Joe looked her right in the eye and said, “Everyone is talking about going to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Over the years, God called many of our folks home to be with Him and many of our “church family” moved down South and began many other churches in their new home towns.
And so, the rebuilding of our congregation began. There were a lot of ups and downs, and we are still a small group, but we are a group that loves the Lord with all our hearts and we love each other as family.

Henry Schacht served as head deacon for many years and was the pastor’s right hand man. Day or night, the pastor could call on him for anything he needed and Henry was always right there. Henry would lead the congregation in the “responsive readings” every Sunday morning. Henry also made sure his entire family was at every church activity…be it services, Sunday school, prayer meeting, or Bible study. Henry had the attitude with his family, “if you were well enough to breath, you were well enough to go to church.”

 

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