The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1921-11-22
PAYS NOTABLE
TRIBUTE TO
{. T.FAIRBANKS
Former St. ]. Pastor
Gives Most Discerning
Character Sketch

Chapman of that city, so well re-
E1embered as a former pastor of
the North church in st. Johnsburv.
The title of the paper was "Six
Plain Men" and the fifth in the
group was the man that st. Johns
! bury loved and honored. Rev. DR..
Edward I. Fairbanks. That por-
ton of Mr., Chapman's address re-
iating to DR.. Fairbanks here fol-
lows:
Very briefly and inadequately I
must now notice the fifth man in
my group of six. He too is an
exemplar of what is generally
thought to be the quiet life. A
country minister, he spent practi-
cally the whole of long working
day in one town. He was well born
to begin with, and that is much:
and he was excellently educated
which is often more. His family
belonged to old stock. 1t had roots,
traditions, permanence. and it had
courage with the spirit of indus
trial adventure. That family has
become known almost the world
around for its efficiency in devils
ing, ever improving, and always
honestly making and selling the
Fairbanks scale. Into one branch
of such seIviceable race this man
was born. His immediate family
had means rather than money. /
hope you see the distinction. They
had a compentence. They had
enough to do with. And that was
what they valued a compentenee
for-to do with, not to make
show Of or to rest at ease upon.
1t was not large competence but
1t sufficed. So this boy was sent to
excellent schools and later to Yale
university. After an honorable
career in these places there was an
interlude of foreign travel and
study which took him to Sinai and
Syria, then less visited than now
opened his kind and humorous eyes
to many ways and many men and
brought him home to the work of
the christian ministry. For this
too he had first rate training in the
schools of divinity and beyond that
there was a very vital faith in the
best things, a deep desire to be of
use to men, thorough liking and
sympathy of them and quite uni
que gift of imagination which gave
to both his written and spoken
words pungency, sweet, memoir
able ard wholesome as the SAVIOUR
of the spruce and pine he loved.
He settled in little parish in his
native town; served a notable ap-
premiership there; was called and
went after few years to larger
church-the church with which his
immediate family was connected in
the same township, though in a
larger village of it; and there spent
the remainder of his professional
life. Yet | do not like that word
professional" very well. We are
too apt to apply it to men whose
humanity is lost in their conven-
tions-whose essence is somehow
held subject to their environment.
This man always seemed to domi-
nate his circumstances. He was a
parSon-almoSt Enthusiastically that
a country parson, moreover, who
never appeared to desire to be any
thing else. He was conservative in
many of his tastes and in some of
his views of life and faith; but the
was radical, too, in loving the roots
OF things, the essences of life, the
souls OF people, all the deep and
lastingly significant aspects of our
being here and our belonging to
one another-things which too few
professor radicals seem to care
much about. So he lived for many
decades until the time came when
he felt that he must give up his
church. But he could not go away.
Neither was he willing nor could
the community spare him. So he
stayed at the head of an institution
known as Athenaeunl-a combined
library, art museum and purveyor
of all good things to the neighbor-
hood.
A pleasant, worthy, rather hum
drum life, you say. l answer, a life
of high and enchanting adventure.
This mans body stayed general"
at home except for his year or two
of foreign study and travel. But
the mind and soul of him were al
ways extraordinarily alert and &C
tive. He knew the secrets of mems
hearts. He was quick to note the
manners and matters of the COM
mon day. Birds sang, flowers
bloomed clouds floated in the sky.
rain watered the earth, snow mant-
led and blanketed it. Spring was
born again and Autumn bore its
fruits, just as though all were done
for this man. l do not mean that
he was a selfish or in anyway
selfcentered man. He was not; but
all these beings and doings of the
world spoke to him. Scarce a wind
blew by him. but whispered in his
ear some message that fed his soul
and helped him feed the souls of
others.
For a man of his very high or
der of intelligence, I do not think
he was particularly shrewd in deal
ing with people. He had too much
business of a better sort on hand
to stop to be shrewd. You might
cheat him, if you had a chance,
or twice-you could not many
times; but set him on horseback
and let him ride among the hills
and fields he knew; let him walk
up the village street where all
knew and loved him, and you
found him so wise and clear eyed
that shrewdness seemed but
sham wisdom after all. For he
could read the face of the world
and he could see into the hearts
and hinh dastinioc Of man Io ,,-nr