Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-04-17
"REMINISCENCES OF ALMA.

). f. Anderson became a resident of
Alma March %, 1864 He found no
church or religious organization i'll the
village, and the saloon, the river or the
woods was the resort of the citizens. In
hls trst letter to his mother, after COM
ing here, he told her THAT the sound of
the hunters gun, instead of that of the
church bell, reminds us of the recur-
renee of the Sabbath day" Although
not member of any church, Mr.. Ander-
son felt longing for the privileges of
religious society and christian teaching,
and on his own responsibility invited a
man named Perkins, the pastor of the
United Brethren church at Elm Hall, to
aid him in organizing "A Sunday school
here. Mr.. Perkins accepted the invita-
ton, and services were held Sunday.
June -, 1864, and the following Sunday
the Union Sunday school was organized,
the superintendent of which was a Uni
versalist and the assistant Spilituplist.
No invocation was offered at the open-
ing Of the school, as there was no pro-
fessed christian to lead A portion of
the gospel by st. John was read and
studied, to the profit of all who were
present. Considerable interest was
manifested in the school, and the at
tendance during the summer and fall
was good; as the winter approached,
however, the interest waned, and the
school was finally closed.
The Seventh Day Adventists began to
hold services here in July, and in
short time this sect became the dominant
religious element, and the Sunday school
organized by Mr.. Perkins and Mr.. An
derson was not reorganized until the
spring of 1866. On the organization of
the school two years before, Mr.. Ander-
son secured of the American Sunday
School Union, whose state office was in
Lansing, Sunday school library of
fifty volumes. This request attracted
the attention of the officers of the Union.
and they sent Father" Upson, Sun
day school missionary to this place, and
he organized Sunday schools in each
district where he could find interest
enough to warrant him undertaking the
work. While here Father" Upson
made his home with Mr.. Anderson, and
the cordial relations between him and the |
continued unbrol1en. In |
Apr '66, through the efforts of Father"
Upson the Union Sunday school was
reorganized, this time under much more |
favorable circumstances. The superin- |
tendent was an earnest christian man. |
The school was supplied with lesson |
helps and Sunday school periodicals, |
and was in very fiourishing condition. |
and was the only Sunday school in Alma
until late in the summer of 1873, when |
the M. E. society having built its house
Of worship, withdrew from the Union.
and organized a sectarian school.
Mr.. Anderson at once identified him
self with the work of this organization.
but did not lose his interest in the school
and an arrangement was made
between the officers of the two schools.
the Union Sunday school was
leld i'll the morning and the NJ. f. Sun
lay school in the afternoon This plan
continued in force until about 1880,
when complete separation took place
The Congregationalists were the next
% leave the Union organization (Which
leld its meetings in the then new Bap-
list church, and which gradually lost its
IDENTIFY and finally became the Baptist
sunday school of today Mr. Anderson
vas deeply interested in the prosperity
If the Union Sunday school, and having
'ssumed the responsibility of its care
Turing the year of its infancy. he made
md contributed the first book case for
he library, and this case is very prob
'bly the one in use in the Baptist
'hurch today.