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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1959-12-10, Page 19Minister' History Church Life In Ki 47 REV. A. M, GRANT, GM. ('1'llis article .appeared in a. re, cent edition of Western Ontario Historical Notes, :published quar- terly by the Lawson Memorial Library, The University of West- ern Ontario.) The site of Kippen on the Lon - cions Road, like SO xnallY hamlets in the ..early Huron days, was chosen neat' a running stream for the supply of cheap power to drive mills, The res:ords show the earliest settler families were Bells, Coopers, Doigs, and Mae - Leans who carie in the 1836.4Q Period. The first miller was Robert Hunt. With the growth of the community the necessary blacksmith, carriage b u i 1 d e r, general merchant, an Hotel, and Post office followed, Whcn .the Huron and Bruce railway built a station a grain elevator was added, This helped the prosper- ity of Kippen. Thus the physical needs of the settlers were not neglected; n e it her were their spiritual needs, The first service conduct- ed at this part of the London Roach was by Rev. Thomas Whitehead who spent the night with the road builders in their log shanty. From time to time later other itinerants held ser- vices. Alter Rev, Alexander Mc- Kenzie was settled as the mini- aster of Goderich and Egmond- ville in 1835, he preached at Many small neighbouring com- munities including Kippen for Several years. So also did Meth- odist itinerants. Then when Rev, John Ross, 'the man with the book', was called to Brucefield in 1851 be began to conduct services In the log school on the site of the present United Church manse, alternating with a Methodist minister. Early in 1866 Rev. D. Mc- Dougall who bad arrived from. Scotland held services in Kippen and the neighbourhood. In No- vember of the sante year a con- gregational meeting was called for the purpose of planning the erection of a church. A canvass of those interested produced $1640 in cash. This canvass was made in the summer of 1867 which happened to be a bitter election year for both the Do- minion and the provincial house. Mr. M. C.' Cameron (Liberal) and Mr. David Hood Ritchie { (Cons.) were 'the federal can- didates, and Robt. Gibson (Lib.) and Isaac Carling (Cons,) of Exeter for the provincial All four sent contributions to assist in building St. Andrew's church. The Presbytery of London had already on 3 February 1867 or- ganised the congregation. Rev. Daniel McDougall who had built up the attendance in school and barn returned to Scotland; never- theless the building of the brick church on the lot donated by William Cooper continued to its completion in time for its dedi- cation on. 22 December 1867. For the great occasion there were present Rev. Dr. George of Stratford, Bev. M. Comlon and Rev. Mr. 1VfcKidd of Goderich, Rev. Mr. McLeod. of Williams and the student missionary Mr. Baking. When the latter gradu- ated the following year he was called as the first minister of the congregation and ordained Timber failures can be checked Cattle will soon be coining into minter quarters, and some of them will not get out—killed by b t a b l e ceilings collapsing on them. Why do stable ceilings col- lapse?? B e s i des overloading, there are two main causes: poor ventilation and powder post beetles. In a poorly ventilate;: stable, the moisture given off by res- piration condenses on the cooler walls and ceiling—and this situa- tionis ideal for the growth of organisms which produce rot- ting of wood. The temperature is high and the continued moist- ure on the outside of the timber soon starts the moulds growing. Remember that a dairy cow breathes out between one and two gallons of water every day, In a 40 -cow herd, this could amount to 86 gallons of water being absorbed by the air—and much of it condensed on the ceiling and walls. Good ventilation gets rid of this excess moisture (and also removes stable odours and keeps the temperature down to a more healthy level for the livestock). And with this moistiire removed, moulds cannot grow on the wood, and the life of the barn— and its occupants—is increased. Powder post beetles can make hollow shells out of timbers that at a. casual glance from the outside appear to be sound. The beetles burrow inside timbers and leave a small deposit of sawdust in their wake. Event - tally, they may riddle timbers so thoroughly that a light load may snap them, Powder post beetles can be controlled by fumigation, but the most practical method is to Use a spray, backache -tired oust 44-rtst disttirl�etilt ARE Ali WIVES FED UP? S> tv.;rb When they ire troubled by backache, that tired out feeling or disturbed rest, many, many women turn to Dodd's kidney Pills. These tonditiona tan bo caused by excess adds and wastes in the system and Dodd,a Kidney Pills stimulate the kidneys and aid their normal action of removing these excess adds and waster. Then life seems brighter, housework lighter! Why don't ydti, too, try Dodd's? ea and inducted 11 August 1869. During the pastorates that fol -1 lowed .one of the .outstanding: events was the introduction of the organ, In this very staid congregation this called for the! utmost in wise leadership by the new minister, Rev, Samuel Ache -1 son (1884-1901). In due time the 'hist of whistles' was installed. Another progressive move was made during the pastorate of Rev. M. C. AleLennan (1901-Q5). An .addition, semi -circular in from, at the rear of :the' church was built for the use and ae- eoMmodation of the Sunday school. It was one of the finest equipped Sunday school build- ings in the presbytery for many years. In Kippen there was also a Wesleyan Methodist church, a frame building, erected in 1868 at the north end of the village. At first it was part of the Ilen- sall circuit and sometimes part of the Exeter circuit. Prior to the building of the church, ser- vices were held in private homes or the Jog school. • With 'the growth of the congregation in the new church, Kippen beeame the head of a circuit with a parsonage, In 1886, it ceased to depend on general missionary funds. 1n 1899, it built a brick church on :the same site on the highway at a cost of $2000. As a thrifty congregation, like so many other village congrega- tions, it did much of the labour, and in three years burnt the mortgage. Throughout its his- tory, there were several re- arrangements of circuit. In the re - arrangement of charges due to the union of 1925, the Methodist circuit, composed of Kippen, Varna and Goshen since 19]1, was divided. Th Kippen church was closed and the congregation joined St. An- drew's which with I3illegreen be- came one charge. Varna, Goshen and Blake became the other charge. Mr. Hartley's successor, Rev. R. y. Thomson (1883-87), was of the quiet, scholarly type which later led to his being called to a professor's chair in Knox Col- lege, Toronto, During his pas- torate the Rodgersville congrega- tion decided to move to Hensall. This .movb, including the erec- tion of a new church, demanded so much of Mr. Thomson's time that be served Chiselhurst for little more than a year. Thus Chiselhurst was left to its own resources for pastoral care. It became merely a mis- sion station until once more the Cavescongregation at Exeter took it under its wing as part of that pastoral charge with Rev. William Martin as the minister. About 1890 it was felt that the old church had served its day, so it was decided to build a brick church which seated 200, included a choir loft with organ, and a'furnace in the basement. During the erection the con- gregation worshipped in the Methodist Church across the road. Then once more the con- gregation h e c a me associated with Hensall under the pastorate of Rev. J. McLean Smith, This arrangement did not last very long and the congregation was linked with Eguiondville con-' gregation with Rev. Neil Shaw as pastor until he was overtaken by ill health and finally death, In addition to the difficulty of securing permanent supply through the years, there was the needless duplication of church services in .communities by the Presbyterian and Methodist de- nominations which at the turn of the century these denomina- tions sought to eliminate. Chisel- hurst was such a case. So after much consideration and sorrow the Presbyterian congregation applied to the Presbytery of Huron for permissi,n to dis- band and :sell the property. This petition wad' granted at its meet- ing in December 1912, Brucefield According to Rev. William Graham's diary tinder date of 1849, some members of his Eg- mondville congregation 1 i vin g nearest the London Road ex- pressed the wish to have a preaching appointment at Bruce - field because of roadconditions, but still to be served by Mr, Graham. Later when. Egmond- ville desired the full time of Mr. Graham's services, Brucefield called an 1850 graduate of Knox College, Rev. John Ross. At his induction in 1851, the Rev, A le x an d er McKenzie preached from. 2 Cor, iv:7—"We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power niay be of God," It was a text prophetic of Mr. Ross's ministry. An earnest pas- tor and evangelist, he became known as the 'Man with the Rook'. The Brucefield manse be- came the frequent meeting place for the ministerial association of the area. While building up his own congregation he was the means of establishing the foun- dation for other congregations. When the question of the Pres- byterian union of 1875 arose, Mr. Ross was opposed and did not enter' union, He sought to carry on a ministry to his smaller con- MICROWAVE LINK—Award of a $25 million contract for construction of 'a microwave radio relay system to Alaska is announced by Canadian National Telegraphs. The net- work will enlarge substantially communications between Alaska and the rest of the continental United States. The contractor, RCA Victor Company Ltd. of Montreal, expects to complete the network in two years. gregation and also reached out to neglected communities as far north as Bruce County until his death in 1887, The Brucefield minority with- out property or session was re- organized under the supervision of Rev. Finlay; McCuaig of Clin- ton and his two elders on March 10, 3.876. A roll of 74 charter members was received. In the same year this new congregation revealed their courage and de- 111111PUt,1t111ulIg1g11p11t111iiii 11n0„ut,n1111111111111110111p111111111111111g1l111Dtp11111111p11uHN11l1N1, The Bye Bye Buy Store BYE BYE TO GOOD ARTICLES YOU NO LONGER NEED We Pay Cash For Furniture, Electrical Appliances, Stoves Refrigerators, Television, Radios, Bicycles Tricycles, Cars, Trucks or Farm Machinery Buy Here Useful Items of any Kind We Have The Store! We Have The Time! We Are Here To Serve Youl SANDY ELLIOTT 444 Main Street, Exeter 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111/ 1111t111111111111111111111111111111111111„11111111111111111111/11 mill,llt111111,111t11 y, CI lrs fr I lr lr?►l is lr Ir u O ►! PAlam: Cir:tri is 0 on any one of 50 top quality ort Shirts $1.00 Off The Regular Price That's right! We're overstocked with sport shirts for Christmas. So we're offering this Saving BEFORE the big day instead of AFTER, Pick yours' now! alper's MENS WEAR PHONE 81 EXETER 0l�►�9►�1rA l/' 0i10 0f•1ra 0 -PIX 1lil, *fi Oil fR Lf 7a'�f0�1 �1�.y4vlr»v r'a OY 7' 1; is d sl it 1 1 i't 1 1 l 7 1 sl it it 1 i1 1 i1 $ 1 is r;2 0 lti+'1 1 't Z sZ 1 i1 1 I termination by building a new church which was opened on November 26, 1876. In the fol- lowing year a manse was added, and a Sunday school was open- ed. In 1916 the declining Metho- dist congregation joined the Presbyterians as a unit, The 'Tim*-Advoct, psc!I<i i.r 1O 1959 P:Pgs 11P. "1-lere's where our merry Christmas starts, Santa.” Anticipation is one of the joys of Christmas. Bringing in the tree to be gaily trimmed listening to the soft pat of snowflakes on the windowpane .. , watching the expectant eyes of the children—these arc pleasures we turn over in our minds many months before the event. And there's another pre- Christmas pleasure you needn't wait for. That's the satisfaction of watching a special BNS Christmas Gift Account grow. Even before Santa Claus makes his trip, this year, you can start your BNS Christmas Gift Account for next year. Then each time you make your small, regular deposit, you'll be reminded that Christmastime, 1960, will be a happy time for all. Open your Bauk ofNova Scotia Christmas Gift Account today. THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA PERSONAL CHEQUING ACCOUNTS • CHRISTMAS, VACATION & EDUCATION ACCOUNTS PERSONAL SECURITY PROGRAM • SCOTIA PLAN LOANS • SCOTIA PLAN CHEQUE -CREDIT Manager Exeter Branch, Kenneth W. McLaughlin .sem O. This Christmas .. . give modern eiectric appliances Modern electric appliances give lasting service and -pleasure because they're so easy to use, so inexpensive to operate. There's such a wonderful variety that you'll be able to please everyone on your Christmas list. 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