HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1963-12-05, Page 12Page 4 -- Wingham Advance -Times, Thursday, Dec. 5, 1963
NEW CITADEL TO OPEN—This is the front
of the new Salvation Army Citadel on Ed-
ward Street, which will be officially opened
at the week -end. The tasteful brick struc-
ture is enhanced by panels of colored glass
at centre and above entrance.—A-T photo.
Salvation Army Has Gained
Several Officers from Corps
Many of the men and women
who served here as corps offic-
ers later held positions of high
rank and some became mission-
aries. It is impossible to ac-
count for all of the well over
100 who have been in charge in
Wingham, but we do know
about a few.
Capt. Nelson Rock, who was
here in 1905 and 1906 was re-
sponsible for bringing many peo-
ple to Wingham from England.
He was followed by Capt. Mag-
gie Andrews who left here in
1908 for India, where she spent
many years as a missionary.
Capt. John Gillingham was
the corps officer in 1911. He
later became a brigadier and
served as divisional command-
er in Alaska before retirement.
Brig. Gillingham, now over 80,
lives in Vancouver and every
Sunday evening leads the par-
ade downtown for the regular
open-air service.
Capt. Herbert Pugmire serv-
ed here in 1912-13. He be-
CAPT. KATIE CHAMPKEN and
Lieut. M. Roberts were offi-
cers in charge of the local
Corps from March 1914 to
March 1915. Captain Champ -
ken now lives at 89 Bleeker
Street, Toronto.
S.A. Membership
Nears Hundred
The Salvation Army has a
membership of 53 soldiers, 20
recruits and 22 adherents.
Adherents are the people
who have made no commit-
ments but regard the Army as
their spiritual home. Recruits
are those taking instruction pre-
paratory to being accepted,
and soldiers are the members
who have been fully accepted.
The uniforms are purchased
by individuals themselves.
Uniforms may be worn by sol-
diers or recruits in good stand-
ing.
Sunday school is held each
Sunday afternoon and attend-
ance averages between 75 and
100. Nine young people are
enrolled in ttte Singing Com-
pany or junior choir, with Mrs.
W. J. Henderson as the music
director. There are 11 com-
missioned Y.P. band members,
who are at present a part of the
regular senior band.
The Home League, the or-
ganization for women of the
congregation, meets weekly.
came national commander for
the United States with the rank
of commissioner. He is now re-
tired.
Many people remember
Lieut. D. V. Goodridge and his
wife, the former Elsie Ottaway,
who left here in 1957 for a term
as missionaries in Chile. They
were forced to return to Canada
because of ill health and with
their six children are living in
Sault Ste. Marie, where they
are in charge of the Spring St.
Citadel. They have since been
promoted to the rank of captain.
Wingham, too, has supplied
the Army with several officers.
Major Margaret Wheeler retired
to her hometown after 37 years
of full time service, many of
them as an officer.
Commandant Sarah Taylor,
who left a legacy to the Wing -
ham Corps when she died in
1939, also returned here after
many years as a SalvationAr-
my officer. Most of her offi-
cership was spent in Montreal
where she was involved in
social work.
Major Harry Ashby, retired
but bac.< in service as superin-
tendent at the Eventide Home
in Guelph, is another product
of the Wingham Corps. He and
his brother, Arthur, worked at
the Lloyd Door Factory about
1906. They both attended the
S.A. Training College and af-
ter they graduated went to Afri-
ca as missionaries.
Also retired is Mrs. Briga-
dier Wm. Martin of Toronto,
the former Florence Jarvis. Her
parents carne to Wingham with
others brought from England by
Capt. Rock in 1906, and her
father was bandmaster at the
time when the corps had such a
large and active band. Her
husband was corps officer here
in 1917 and 1918, and they
were married in Chatham the
following year. Brig. and Mrs.
Martin retired about five years
ago.
Wingham was the home
corps of Major Archie McTav-
ish of Amberley, who spent -
man) years as a missionary in
India. He is now retired but is
still active in social work in
London.
Major Cliff Hetherington,
who died about ten years ago,
went into Training College in
1926. His last appointment
was in one of the centres in
Northern Ontario.
Col. Fletcher Agnew and
Col. Milton S. Agnew, nativ-
es of this district, were not con-
verted until after they moved
to Chicago as young men. They
are both retired and are still
living in the United States.Col.
Milton Agnew has continued to
write material for Salvation
Army periodicals.
Most recent cadets from the
Wingham Corps were Alan and
Mrs. Neelon who now hold the
rank of lieutenant and are serv-
ing at Sussex, N.13.
The training college course
includes theology and social
and welfare studies. In special
cases the Army will send a per-
son to university for a course in
social work. Most of the ad-
ministrators and supervisors
have studied at university. The
cadets also visit institutions
during training and people in-
volved with this type of work
lecture at the college
CAPT. AND MRS. David E. Al-
len served here May 1929 to
June 1930.
New Citadel Is Fourth Meeting Place
For the Salvation Army in Wingham
The first meetings of the Sal-
vation Army were held in the
town hall but the corps later
purchased the building that had
been erected as a Primitive
Methodist Church. This build-
ing stands on the northeast cor-
ner of Victoria and Minnie
Streets and now serves as a
double dwelling, occupied by
Murray Gerrie and Provincial
Constable O. Whitfield.
The citadel recently de-
molished to make room for the
new ediface was built in 1891.
The building was 30x80 feet
with sixteen feet at the back to
be used as a residence for the
officers in charge. It has been
stated by Major A. G. Ashby,
who became a Salvationist here
in 1907, later living in the
States and commanding officer
of the Tennessee Citadel Corps,
that Albert Lloyd donated most
of the timber for the building.
He also mentioned that in 1906
and 1907 all the businessmen
attended the free and easy Sun-
day afternoon services at the
Army.
A complete renovation of
the citadel was made possible
in 1939 through a bequest left
by Commandant Sarah Taylor.
The officers in charge remark-
ed that after the renovation
they were able to put away the
buckets and umbrellas that had
been used because of the leaky
roof. The living quarters were
enlarged, the hall was painted
inside and out and two ante-
rooms were added, one on ei-
ther side of the platform.
In 1945 hardwood floors
went into the residence and a
new ceiling was put in the hall.
The hall was redecorated in
1952.
NEW CITADEL
The new citadel, which has
been erected at a cost of ap-
proximately $45, 000 including
furnishings, is 35' 6" wide and
94' 10" long. For the first
time in the history of the corps
pews will be used rather than
chairs and the seating capacity
Captain and Mrs. G. S. Newman
Capt. and Mrs. G. S. Newman received their commissions
as Auxiliary Captains in October, 1960, and were the first in
Canada with that rank, Capt. Newman, a native of York,
England, emigrated to Canada in 1925. He settled at Salis-
bury, N.B., where he taught school. He had also been em-
ployed as a salesman and bookkeeper. He entered S.A.
Training College and graduated in 1928 with the highest
marks in his class. He joined the Canadian Army in 1940
and during his 17 years in the army served with the Medical
Corps, Public Relations and Pay Corps. He was in the pro-
cess of being discharged when he was appointed to the
Salvation Army here in 1957.
Mrs. Newman is a native of Pilley's Island, Newfound-
land. She was educated at Bell Island and St. Thomas,
Ontario, coming to Canada in 1919. Mrs. Newman was an
operator for the Bell Telephone Co. before entering Officers'
Training College. She graduated from the college in 1927.
Capt. and Mrs. Newman were married in 1928. They
have two children, Mrs. J. S. (Dorothy) Drinkwater, busi-
ness manager at People's Church in Toronto, and Donald
G. Newman, co-ordinator of Teen Ranch in Sydney, Aus-
tralia. His wife is the former Doris Evangeline Watt,
daughter of Rev. Robert Watt, of Livingstone Press, and
People's Church. Capt. and Mrs. Newman have three grand-
children, Dawn Elizabeth 8, Darryl 3, and Dallyne, 6 months.
They are the children of Mr. and Mrs, Donald Newman.
of the main hall is 150. Seat-
ing for the band is on the plat-
form. An innovation is the
"cry room" or nursery, where
mothers may take fussy or cry-
ing babies but will still be able
to see the service through a
large window, and hear by
means of a sound system. The
latter convenience, which is
installed in both the nursery and
basement, for overflow ser-
vices, was a gift from Rev. and
Mrs. Cox of Bluevale.
The junior hall or Sunday
school has individual class -
'rooms and separate from the
Sunday school itself is the pri-
mary department. There is
also a corps kitchen downstairs
and accommodation for band
instruments. Basic colors in
the decoration are beige and
pink. The lower part of the
walls in the basement have
been sprayed with a glass -like,
indestructible finish.
The nursery will be used for
counselling during the week,
which will offer complete pri-
vacy. Administration will be
done from a room in the of -
Major M. Wheeler Almost
50 Years in Social Work
Major Margaret Wheeler,
now retired but still an active
member of the local corps, has
been a Salvationist for 50 years.
She and her father, Henry
Wheeler, joined in Wingham in
1913. Her mother joined the
Salvation Army three or four .
years later.
In September, 1915, Mar-
garet Wheeler went into full
time service and entered the
Salvation Army Training Col-
lege in Toronto, graduating in
May, 1916. Attending college
at the same time was FlorieJar-
vis, daughter,of Bandmaster and
Mrs. R. W. Jarvis, who is now
Mrs. Brigadier William Martin.
She retired when her husband
did five years ago and they live
in Toronto.
Major Wheeler was in social
work during her entire officer -
ship and found her career inter-
esting and rewarding. She serv-
ed in Toronto and Ottawa child-
ren's homes, Bethesda Hospital
in London, the girls' home and
hospital in Hamilton and re-
ceiving homes in Toronto and
Montreal.
When she left college she
was placed in the children's
home in Toronto, where the
Army aids unwed mothers. Gov-
ernment welfare programs were
not organized as they are today
and deserted mothers who were
trying to make a living were
also assisted. Many of the
children lived at the home and
attended school from there. Ba-
bies of unwed mothers were
adopted from the home.
Major Wheeler says, "We
are always learning and methods
improve. The.newer system of
a Children's Village, where the
children are placed in smaller
numbers in cottages with a man
and his wife to give a family
atmosphere, is working out
well." It has been found that
children living under these cir-
cumstances are better adjusted
and have more confidence.
Her duties in the girls'
homes and hospitals were var-
ied. Major Wheeler worked
wherever she was needed, on
the floors helping the nursing
staff, in the nursery where
there were from 25 to 30 babies
to be cared for, helping to plan
and prepare food in the kitchen.
Sometimes she was sent out to
bring in abandoned or homeless
babies. The Major was always
fond of children and enjoyed
her assignments in the nursery.
Most of the maternity cases
were unwed mothers, but other
'women also use the facilities
of Bethesda.
The receiving homes handl-
ed many sad cases including
'police court, missing persons,
alcoholics and the unemployed.
Girls in police court were
often those who had gone to
the city hoping to find work.
Many were disappointed, es-
pecially in depression years and
for various reasons quite a few
ended up in the courts. Each
case had to be studied. Some
of the girls were returned to
their homes and others, after
finding their capabilities, were
placed in jobs.
The courts often put girls in
the custody of the Salvation
Army, sometimes with the pro-
vision that they be sent to their
homes. Major Wheeler remem-
hers many tithes, especially
while she was in charge of the
Montreal receiving home, wher
she did not know where she
would get the girl's fare as she
took her from the court room.
It was not uncommon to have
people give her money as she
left the court and to find that
by the time she was on the
street she had the railway fare.
The Major also says that the
railway companies were very
generous in giving reduced rates
to the Army.
The officers were also in-
volved with trying to help al-
coholics, some of whom lived
in the home and others out.
They operated an employment
bureau of their own, finding
work for the alcoholics and try-
ing to see that they remained
steady in their jobs and handl-
ed their money wisely.
The missing persons depart-
ment was challenging and Ma-
jor Wheeler can recall many
happy experiences when rela-
tives and families were found.
They were able to accomplish
a lot in this field after the war,
when many European families
had been separated.
Most of Major Wheeler's
officership was spent in Mont-
real where she was assistant for
ficers' quarters. It is hoped
that in the future a welfare
room will be added to the pre-
sent structure.
The living quarters at the
rear of the building are behind
the main auditorium with a
connecting door. Entry into
the quarters is from a side en-
trance. There are two bed-
rooms, the room to be used for
administration, a living room
and dining room combined, a
kitchen and bath.
COMMUNITY GENEROUS
This beautiful building has
been made possible through the
generous support of people in
this area. Credited with pro-
viding untold assistance and
enthusiasm is the Advisory
Board, which was formed and
has functioned since 1957.
Members of this board are W.
T. Cruickshank DeWitt Miller
and Frank Howson of Wingham,
F. Mitchell of Brussels, Chas.
E. Webster of Lucknow and W.
E. Smyth of Teeswater. The
board's purpose is to head up
Red Shield campaigns and other
activities, and members work
in their own communities in
the interests of the Salvation
Army. They also are the com-
manding officer's contacts in
the various centres served by the
Army. The Advisory Board does
not, however, dictate policy.
Assisting the C.O. with corps
policy and spiritual interests is
the Senior Census Board. Mem-
bers of this board are Corps Sgt.
Major Joe Clark, Bandmaster
W. J. Henderson, Home League
Secretary Mrs. Joe Clark and
Recruiting Sgt. Mrs. Stewart
Henry.
one year and in full charge for
nine years of her 14 years' ser-
vice there.
The Major's final assignme,
to
was at Charlottetown, P.E.I. ,
where she was sent in 1946 to
open a home for elderly ladies.
Sunset Lodge at that time ac-
commodated 16 women. In
1953 an addition was built,
made possible mostly through a
legacy from an elderly lady who
died in hospital while hoping
for admittance to the home.
Margaret Wheeler received
her commission as a major in
1937. Her rank as a senior ma-
jor is next to a brigadier. She
retired June 1, 1953 and return-
ed to her home town. Major
Wheeler and her sister, Mrs.
Mary Hogg, live on Edward
Street.
After being fully engaged in
social work for almost 50 years
it is no wonder then that the
Major finds it hard to let up.
Her cheerful visits to patients
in the hospital are eagerly
awaited, where she makes her
rounds regularly.
FOUNDER'S SON — Herbert H. Booth and his wife,
Cornelie, were pictured with their son in 1900. The
armband on Mrs. Booth's uniform was the official band
of mourning. Herbert Booth was a noted musician and
poet. They later moved to the United States.