Gnadenhutten High School - Goal Yearbook (Gnadenhutten, OH)

Forty THE GOAL June 19223 Rev. F. R. Nitzschke July 1922- now serving. The church observes "Love Feasts" on the Sunday nearest to August 13, Memorial Day of the Moravian Church, and August 17, Children's Day. These meetings are largely attended and visitors are always welcome. Confirmation usually takes place on Palm Sunday. New Year vigils are held on the last eve- ning in December and watch is kept until the opening of the first day of January in the New Year. Early on Easter Sunday the town is awak- ened by the playing of chorales by the trom- bone choir. Services are held at the church at 5 o'clock. At 5:45 o'clock the procession moves to the cemetery and services are held there at the time of the rising of the sun. These early morning services are well attended. The evening services are in charge of the Sunday School and fine entertainments are given. A cordial welcome is extended to every one to the services of the John Heckewelder Memorial Moravian Church. Gladys M. Brown '24 Milli HISTORY OF THE METHODIST CHURCH InTthe year 1798 a small band ofemission- aries settled on the banks of the Tuscarawas at the present site of Gnadhutten. Nearly all the missionaries of this first band were the early Moravians. But as time passed by and the settlement grew, more people came and among these were the pioneer Methodists. They were men such as William Hamilton, Lewis Peters, James McCreery, and Dr. Arnold. Being good christian men, they immediately saw the need of a church of their own creed. But on account of there being such a small number of them, they could not afford to build a church to worship in. So they held their services in private homes. The first services were held in William Hamilton's barn which was located about one and a half miles south of town. In this barn William McCreery, one of the present members of the Methodist Church was bap- tized. In a few years, this place of worship became too small so they built a church about two miles south of town, on the land now owned by William Schreiner. A small cemetery is all there is to mark the site of this first church. But while these activities were going on south o ftown, a similar church sprung up north of town, at the present site of Cross Roads school building. Here also a small cemetery remains to mark the site of this church. Both of these churches pros- pered greatly and the people begang to see the necessity of a central church at Gnad- enhutten. To this end they turned their endeavorsg but this was an uphill task because it was at the time of the great Civil War. But the perseverance of these pioneers made the building of the church possible. William Hamilton purchased the lot and donated it for the site. The new church was started about harvest time of the year 1861. The building committee consisted of Dr. Arnold, Lewis Peters, William Hamilton, and James McCreery. The task of building was very great, because all lumber had to be se- cured from the woods and hewn into lumber suitable for building. The carpenter work was done by the day. The foreman, Jim Kail, received a dollar and fifty cents per day, and the carpenters, Joe Rhodes, Jack Rasher, Jesse Ivens, and Reuben and John Mahn, received a dollar and twenty-five cents per day. Mr. Reuben Mohn laid the flooring at a dollar and thirty-seven cents per square, while the regular price was two dollars per square. Mr. Lewis Peters furnished the money for the cupola. James McCreery did the painting and his son John, a member of the present church, puttied the nail holes. Having favorable weather conditions, the carpenters finished the building by Christ- mas, at a total cost of two thousand dollars.