Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-12-03
PROSPECT WILL ASK AID
To Rebuild Church That Was Burned
 aShot Time Ago.

when Her sons were turning out III
 goodly numbers and taking their
 places at the front in defense of the
 federal government. as 1t is at the
 present time. During the past few
 years much has been said about the
 town in connection with it's public
 library and monument, but it re-
 mained for the fire which destroyed
 their church few weeks ago and
 left the townspeople without place
 of worship to set everybody in Wa
 terbury talking about their neigh
 bors across the line. Prospect was
 originally part of Waterbury, but
 in 1880 it thought it could attend
 to its own affairs and has since been
 getting along nicely without any as
 sistance from its neighbors and was
 on the high road to success when the
 fire f1end entered it's capitol and re-
 duced the church which was raised
 sixty-four years ago to ashes. While
 that was the date of the laying of the
 corner stone of the Congregational
 church at Prospect center, an ec- clesiastical society existed there since
 1779, and the town has been the scene of many very important church conferences during that period.
 Former Representative Lavergne
 G. Clark talked with a Democrat re-
 porter regarding the church Ques-
 tion yesterday and appeared to feel somewhat displeased at the conclu- in one of the Waterbury papers, which intimates that Prospect will re- build mightier than ever and without seeking aid from outside.
 T don't see," said MT Clark, "why anybody should have made such statement. A committee of three of which I have the honor to be one, the others being Halsey s. Clark and Stephen A. Talmadge, have been ap- pointed to look after this church question, and while we have not com pleted plans for raising funds to re- build the church, I am free to state that when we get to 1t we shall issue an appeal for aid from our friends in other towns. Prospect has a popu- lation of $40 souls, eighty-nine of whom are members of the Congrega- tional church and are now holding service in the grange hall. It should be remembered that we lost every thing, even the handsome flag made by the ladies of the parish forty-five years ago, and of which we were very proud, falling victim to the flames with all the rest of the furnishings.
 Some may say that if We can af- ford to build a monument to com memorate the heroism of our sons who rose from time to time, accord ing as the country needed their ser vice, and went out with their broth CTS and fought for the nag and what it represents, We ought to be able to rebuild our house of worship, but it should be remembered that the state gave $1,000 to the monument fund and the balance was raised by sub scription. We have not yet made up the whole of the money that was to be paid by voluntary subscription, but we are on the last $100 and hope to clear it up shortly. While was mainly instrumental in getting that passed through the general assembly, I was by no means alone in the fight. In this as in other things your townsman, Judge Cowell, gave us a helping hand, and MT Phelan, who was senator from Waterbury at the time, did us great service, too. I never could understand why that young man was not returned to the senate. I don't want to be under stood as criticizing the electors of but seeing I have men toned his name l should like to re- mark right here that he was "a great credit to Waterbury and the whole state in Hartford. Yes, Waterbury people helped us to get an appropria- ton for the monument and they also to make some of what had to be raised by subscription. presume you know Mir Peck, he was fin the senate at the time the bill was passed, too, and in addition to voting for an appropriation he gave us a of $1Vu towards the balance"
 Mir Clark talked at some length of Prospect of to-day and Prospect of an earlier date. In his younger days the population was made up almost of Americans, while at the present time the old stock ap- pears to be in the minority. In one of the schools all the pupils with the of about half a dozen are children of foreign percentage. Mir Clark didn't call attention to this be- cause he objects to the new order of things but to show that the num- Der of people who can be looked to for the sinews of war in the building of new church is small now com pared with what it was when the church recently destroyed was raised. True, the number is small. but every man and woman connected with the church is thoroughly in earnest. and where the disposition to help them selves is so manifest there can be no doubt but that in short time the church will have been rebuilt and that when they come to look back over the experience they will be able to say that they were not left 10 take care of themselves su their hour of