Many will be going to services for Christmas either on late Sunday afternoon or Monday morning across our region.
Imagine planning on going to a Christmas morning service and seeing your church in flames. It happened in Sidney, in December 1943.
As The Sidney Record reported on Dec. 30, “A fire, presumably starting in the kitchen in the basement early last Saturday morning, reduced the historic St. Paul’s edifice to a virtual ruin before being brought under control by the Sidney firemen.
“The fire was first noticed by an unidentified passerby, who in turn notified Postmaster Floyd Doolittle, who resides near the Church, and Dr. Doolittle turned in the alarm. The Rector, Rev. Robert Moore, was holding a service in Deposit at the time of the discovery of the fire and Mrs. Moore and son, Jeffrey, were talking to a friend in the Rectory of the building, which is attached to the church. Mrs. Moore detected smoke seeping under the door leading to the church.
“About 60 of our volunteer firemen, under Chief Spencer, were soon on the scene and worked for nearly three hours getting the fire under control. The slate roof of the building is credited with preventing the fire from gaining headway and preventing the flames from igniting near-by buildings.
“The walls of the church building are still standing but the inside is a complete ruin. At a meeting of the vestry called for Saturday evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. L.W. Cook, it was decided to raze the building and rebuild. It is thought that the rectory can be saved.
“Mrs. Moeckly, of the Bainbridge road, thoughtfully served hot coffee to the firemen.
“While the loss is partly covered by insurance there are many articles and paintings that cannot be replaced.
“The church structure was completed in 1893, while the Rev. Manns Howells was rector. The church recently observed its 50th anniversary.”
According to The Sidney Enterprise of Dec. 30, some of those losses included a three panel painting of St. Paul, St. Bartholomew and St. Michael, a memorial to Henry J. Higgs; a large painting in oil of Christ over the altar, presented by the Rev. Geo. J.D. Peter in 1900, as well as a sterling silver chalice and patch first used in 1890 and all the church’s memorial windows.
Undaunted by the loss, it was made swiftly known that that St. Paul’s Episcopal Church would be back — in time. Many saw an advertisement in the Enterprise of Dec. 30.
Work seemed to start with momentum, as Record readers of Jan. 6, 1944 learned, “At a meeting of the vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal church, it was decided to start work immediately in repairing the rectory, and Frank Lewis & Sons are already at work, with the probability that the rector and his family will be able to occupy the upstairs portion. It is estimated that the cost of repairs to the rectory will be about $2,500.
“As soon as these repairs are completed, it is estimated that there will be available from the insurance, for the church building of about $13,000. The tentative cost of building the new church will be about $30,000, leaving a building fund goal of $17,000, of which better than $5,000 has already been raised, and the intention of the vestry is to rebuild immediately after the church ruins can be razed, and specifications and plans prepared. The contract will then be let and the building quota raised.”
Whether it involved the insurance or the building plans, or raising the remaining funds, there was a lengthy delay in getting the church rebuilt.
Finally, news came from the Enterprise on July 19, 1945 that the new St. Paul’s Church would be dedicated on Sunday, Aug. 5.
The Enterprise then reported on Aug. 9, “The program of dedication began Sunday morning with a Corporate Communion Service of the communicants of the parish at 11 a.m., with the Rev. Robert H. Moore, rector, officiating.
“The climax of the celebration came in the evening when nearly 250 witnessed the evening ceremonies of dedication. The robed choir of 16 voices sang, ‘Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart,’ with Albert Odell as leader and Richard McClelland at the organ. The choir was followed by the various Episcopal ministers of the diocese and the ministers of the town.” It turned out to be well worth the wait.
On Wednesday, Norwich celebrated a first anniversary of Radio Norwich.
Oneonta City Historian Mark Simonson’s column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area before 1950. His Wednesday columns address local history 1950 and later. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is oneontanyhistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/opinion/columns/.