The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-03-30

Sss.S
for the price paid
The church at q bargain won. The
building was hauled to Lakeville.
Last December 1t was dedicated. as
the Lakeville Memorial Hall. to the
boys who went into the service.
In the hall is standard motion
picture outfit. Mcconnell and two
OF his members bought it, protector,
seats and all, for $1.1O0 on their
own responsibility. Pictures are
shown every Saturday night.
The roads are never SO bad the
farmers can't get to tho movies" says
Mcconnell. I'm just waiting for
two or three Of the Weather ones to
say they wouldn't be without them.
Then I'll tell them they can have the
whole outfit for just what we paid
i, for it,
The farmers were losing money
throughignorance OF modern agricul-
tural methods. He arranged with
| the State university for a series of
farmers Institutes.
The institutes were held in the
| church. Better orchards. better cat
tie, better crops were the result
Through the country are the ruins
OF abandoned rural churches. The
Lakeville church flourishes. But
rural churches cannot retain McCon-
| nell's at existing rural church sal
| aries. That Is the gordian knot which
| the Centenary program for America
| rural communities is planned to cut.
| In the netx five years nearly SILL
| 100000 will be spent to put such a
man in every rural center in the
/ country. That is the sum provided
for in the $105,OOO,OOO world recon-
struction program of the Methodist
| Episcopal Centenary.
I Another chapter in the pioneer his
tory of the new rural church and the
new rural preacher, is that of the
Maple Grove charge" and NJ. A.
l Dawber.
| Dawber had been a contractor. a
| singer, an organist. a salesman. and
a 7. NJ. c. A. worker. He came to
the new charge and found he had
four churches at which to preach each
Sunday. with a total distance to cover
/ of 80 miles, and 200 square miles of
| territory under his supervision.
Incidentally, he found ample OPP
portunity to use all his talents. Daw-
Der settled at Pixies Creek, one of the
four strategic points at which the
churches were, set, that they might
be within long range walking dis
lance of the scattered population.
Pixies Creek is in northeastern
Pennsylvania, eighteen miles from
| Wilkes-Barre and eight miles from
the nearest railroad.
Isolation had left the people of
the charge remote from medical aid
Dawber organized a Ladies' Aid Nurs-
ing Association among the women OF
his churches. to administer first aid
}~while the nearest physician, twelve
miles away was being summoned.
Maple Grove farmers had to hau
their produce to market over a bad
road. Dawber went to the State cap
ital at Harrisburg and put through &
bill by which the State was to ex
pend $1,000 to improve that road.
II A shortage of seed corn last yea,
threatened the next Name Grovs
crop. Dawber found and purchased
a carload of seed corn and parcellet
it out to the farmers At cost.
| On a plot Of ground beside his par
sonage. Dawber developed an agri.
cultural experiment station. ascertain
ed what crops are best adapted to the
soil of the vicinity. and gave the
Maple Grove farmers advice tina,
made or saved them hundreds OF
/ dollars.
When the Government call for big
ger crops. last year. left the Maple
Grove farmers puzzled, in view OF
the shortage of labor. Dawber Undue
ed them to attend two meetings OF
the Wilkes Barre chamber of com
merce. where the city men appealed
to them to plant the crops. and pledg-
ed themselves to help harvest them.
Three hundred city men kept the
pledge last fall.
One man who threatened to let hi
dog loose il the preacher ever enter
ed his gate. came to Dawber one da,
with an appeal to help bring back hi
wife. She had left him. he said, ant
the preacher was the only one wh'
could bring her back.
/ Dawber consented, and in half q
dozen visits completed the reconcilia.
ton.
n One OF Dawber's churches had ne
social hall. The preacher drew tn,
plans. estimated the order for the
lumber. and directed the construc-
ton Of the building. Farmers whe
couldn't contribute money gave theil
labor.
Meanwhile wawber teaches TWEEN
ty piano pupils. delivers one tall
| every week in each Of the eight pub
lie schools, repafrslic schools, repair.
the local organs and pianos, accom-
panies the occasional visiting violin
list. organized the teams for baske
ball, baseball. track athletics and
football: carries a step watch for
timing races; sometimes referee.
games, sometimes plays In them: and
publishes a little monthly magazine.
He has built new farmhouse
chimney. obtained four local branches
Of the State public library. arranged
annual stock-judging contests fol
boys and girls. encouraged farmers to
enter goods in the Dallas fair, exhib-
tied nrfzA corn hfmaAJf orrauized q