The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1903-07-09
sketch KIN.

Charleston were well known men IN pup
lie life Among the number were Judg
McWhorter, now OF the supreme cour
of the state; L. y. 9fcyyhorter, hi
i nephew and law partner. Hon. =.
Martin, at present United States consu
in South American; Captain j. w era
craft, prominent lawyer and newspa
| per man; Uncle John Slack, 50 known
in the Kanawha valley; Jackson Ritter
the patriarch of Srethodism in that city
and A. G. Orcutt, on extensive lumber
merchant of the above Cracraft, Slack
Ritter and orcutt have passed over the
majority some years ago.
Mr.. Fullerton knew but little about
Charleston when his appointment was
made. He soon found that his new field
would give him plenty to do. There was
heavy church debt of long standing,
a congregation not well organized, a
number of so-caIled little bIings demand
ing Immediate attention, and to crown
it all a ssnorth and south" feeling not
easily understood after the lapse of a
score of years. That is to say the peo-
pie of the present day cannot readily
understand the prejudices of twenty
years ago which were found even in the
churches, and it is well they cannot, for
it speaks of better feeling and the pass
ing away of sectional lines and bitter
ness. The first thing the new pastor did
was to examine the church record In
this he was assisted by Judge McWhor-
ter. When tlIe examination was con-
cluded the membership roll was reduced
one-fourth. Some had moved away, 9th
ers were dead, a few could not be found.
and for years no revision had been made,
simply the :.'roIl went on forever
whether men lived or died, not bust
ness-like method for any pastor of a
church, and one which we hope is not
often found.
There should be MS much honestly and
accuracy in keeping the books Of
church as in looking after the affairs of
!. store or a bank. Committees on church
records have this suggestion free.
The State Street church had very
tan spire, ..the spire was taller than
the church The top of this pire had
been laid bare by lightning bolt 1t
presented an unsightly appearance, the
absent Notwithstanding haunting the
preached even in the hours of the night.
1t must be repaired. The men to do it
and the money To pay for il were not
easily found. especially the former. So
high, they all said, an immense amount
of scafolding to build, dangerous work,
how much will be paid for the work and
The risk? Well, it had to be repaired,
and it was done; paid for too, by cours
of lectures delivered by popular lecturers
and probably the first regular course that
had ever been given in Charleston.
The history of that spire is not yet
complete, however, for one dark and
stormy night-it was Saturday night
a mighty cyclone or tornado of wind,
raid, sleet and hail came down the street
and overturned the weathervane and rod
ut the point of the spire, leaving them
leaning over as though waiting for an
opportunity to fail. Then the talk be-
gan. Some said ''the iron rod was nearly
a ton weight. 1t would crash through
the roof; lives would be lost; they could
not come to church; were afraid of their
lives, etc, etc'' Something had to be
done. The pastor obtained authority toI
do it. He had the spire carefully taken
down as far as the bell cupalo, and the
wondering crowd saw the iron rod and
held it in their hands. 1t did not weight
I. ton, it was only piece of iron piping.
boy could carry it away That spire
teaches q lesson, wise is the master build
or who learns it. The cost of repairing
and afterwards removing the sPire was
almost rs much as the original cost OF
building the ''tallest spire in the valley"
which, the vanity of some people years
before thought necessary to the welfare
OF Methodism.
Mr.. Fullerton was determined to break
down the north and south feeling re
ferrcd to before. Accordingly he got the
ministers of the city to form an asso-
citation. This even included the Rabbi
OF the Hebrew temple. The ministers
frequently exchanged pulpits, and this
was always done without previous notice
to the congregations. The effect was
excellent and proved the leverage power
for building mp and expanding better
spirit among all classes. The pastors
helped one another in special meetings
and much good resulted. On two memo
| rial DAYS in two successive years Mr..
Fullerton delivered the memorial day
address in the opera house, and the sec
ond time there were present not only
the men who wore the blue, but also
the veterans who wore the gray. There
fell TO the lot of Mr.. Fullerton while IN
Charleston a pleasant privilege that PROB
| ably no other Methodist minister has
had. 1t was to assist in the marriage
ceremony of the daughter of the jewish