River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-02-09
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION
of the
GongregationalChurch
1855-1905.
Held in the church Feb. 3,
1905,

To those who have resided in this
city during the past decade, it
seems hardly possible that the city
is growing old, as ages of cities are
counted in these days of rapid de-
velopment, but that the Congrega-
tional society of this city celebrated
it's fftieth anniversary on Friday
last, brings US face to face with the
fact that River Falls as town and
city has passed the fftieth mile
stone of it's political existence.
The world moves in cycles and
prides itself at stated intervals up
on the celebration of it's life and the
recollections of the past. An organ
ization reaching its fftieth year
looks back with pride and thought
full memory upon its past, and the
church having reached the age of
fifty years, felt it proper to make
this day a red-letter day of its his
tory and resolved to celebrate it in
such manner that without being
obtrusive, it might tend to draw at
tention to the church life and gather
up the threads of its history, which
while of much interest to those now
living will prove more and more of
value as the years go by. The first
religious society to organize here,
it has always been prominent fac
tor in the development of the town
and city in it's sacred work, cheer
fully however cooperative with and
giving credit to other organizations
engaged in like duties.
AS of necessity such meeting
must be a home celebration and the
audience would be largely composed
of those who are or have been mem
bers of the congregation. The pro-
gram was arranged, so far as pos
sihle, SO as to give an outline of the
story of the church and be a memo
rial Of those who have passed to the
other shore or have taken up their
homes in other places of usefulness
as we'll. With this in view the pas
tor, Rev. Mr.. Spencer, preached the
Sunday before upon Fifty Years
of Church Life in a Community"
and the service generally tended to
recalling the duties and relations
of the church to society. The regu-
lar celebration took place on Fri
day, February 3, 1905. The meet
ing was opened by the choir singing
the hymn, 80 God, the Rock of
Ages" The choir was largely
composed of members of the old
choir who, though by no means
superannuated, have yet in later
days turned their work into the
hands of the younger members of
the congregation. Many of the old
settlers of this vicinity will recall
with pleasure the Congregational
church choir which under the lead
ership of G. w. Pratt and his sue
cessor, Mr.. Joseph Nichols, was so
long a prominent feature of the
church worship and achieved a sue
cess rarely attained in so small a
town.
The Pratt and Nichols families
were born musicians. To them
music was a second nature from
childhood and they were to River
Falls what the Hutchinson family
of famous memory were to the town
of that name in Minnesota-leaders
in music, loving it for it's own sake
and for the use which could be
made of it as a church service.
From these families the choir of
this church has been largely re-
cruited from the early days even
down to the present, Mrs. Sarah
Tozer, daughter of Mr.. Nichols,
still presiding at the organ and
having direction of the choir. Sew
eral members of these families were
present and sang in the "old sing
ers' choir" with apparently all the
old-time vigor and expression, in
no way betraying the fact that they
sang the old songs almost fifty
years ago. The fact that so many
of these ''old folks" could be
brought together is of itself an
event of interest and must be our
excuse for this depression.
Following the music, Rev. Mr..
Burnley offered prayer, after which
Mrs. Elmira Powell presented a pa
per upon The Founding and Early
Days of the Church" That Mrs.
Powell herself though then quite
young was present at the iirst meet
ing of the society added. interest to
her paper.
Rev. Mr.. Spencer, the pastor, then
read extracts from several letters,