The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1942-03-12
Turning Over An
Old Leaf
By Phillip A. Gladheim

There were faces to remember in the
Valley of the Shadow;
There were faces unregarded, there
were faces to forget;
There were fires of grief and fear
that are few forgotten ashes;
There were sparks Of recognition
that are not forgotten yet"
Christendom is now in the Lenten
(Slow) Season. 1t is a season in which
we are to slow our temporal pace and
quicken the spiritual. This is especi-
ally a sober season of Lent, commence
rating not only our Lords suffering
and death, but also the Christian
martydom throughout the world, es-
pecially in Germany, once the strong
est center of Christendom. 1t was from
Germany that many of our forebears
came, and almost from the day they
settled in the mountains established
their churches.
So far as available records show,
Garrett county possessed four estab
lished churches before the beginning
of the Nineteenth Century.
The first itinerant preacher in this
section was Baptist clergyman from
the South Branch Valley, His name
was Rev. John Taylor. He wrote a
book in 1928, entitled, "Ten Baptist
Churches" He came over the noun
tains by McCulloch's Path in 1772.
1t was at that time that Rev. Taylor
visited what was then known as Fort
Morris. He called it the Sandy Glades
Settlement. 1t is now known as Glade
Farms in Preston county, West Va.
His preaching was we'll received. His
congregation was made up of families
in the Virginia (West) wilderness,
and those from across the border in
Maryland, now known as Garrett
county.
He mentions two families that We're
from the Friendsville section-the
Frazees and Benjamin Millers.
According to data collected by Miss
Elizabeth West, Traces Ridge Bap-
fist church was organized in ITS.
This likely means that the Frazee
mentioned in TayIor's history was
the person responsible for the organic
ing Of a Baptist church. If this is cor
rect, Frazee's Ridge Baptist church
is the oldest in the county.
The next in line is at the southern
end of the county. In the year 1884
there was organized what was then
called "Thc First Church of Jesus
Christ in the Youghiogheny Glades. "
It was established in the home of one
George Rinehart and his wife Susan,
devout Christians, who then lived at
Sunnyside. Rinchart also called it
"Susan's Church. From this parent
church stemmed the Parishes at Red
House and Aurora. George Rinehart
was Of the Lutheran faith. There was
also George Loar, likewise a Lutheran,
who married one Of the daughters of
George Rinehart.
The George Loars settled on what is
now the Truman Bittinger place, on
the Monte Vista road, three-quarters
Of mile south of Oakland. They
built log cabin, one-room affair at
first, then later on added to it. 1t was
in this log cabin of Mr.. and Mrs.
George Loar that Isaac McCarty, a
neighbour met with a group one Sun
day in 1929 and organized a Sunday
school under the auspices of the Meth
odist church.
Mr.. mccarthy, a layman, was per-
suaded by two ladies of New York to
found a Sunday school. 1t was not
many years before that Robert Raikes
founded the first Sunday school in
England. From that one Sunday
school the movement spread into every
Christian land.
1t was from this Sunday school, or
ganized in a Lutheran home by a
Methodist layman, which originated
the Christian religion in the Oakland
community. 1t was this very Sunday
school that lowered into St. Pauls
Methodist church. The Loar family
from then on became staunch and
faithful Methodists, but have retained
from the beginning a broad and help
full contact to all the churches and
the community at large. 1t is a fam
lily whose record of community uplift
has kept climbing through the years
1t is interesting to note that the
local Methodist church has an UNI
broken line from the day Of the found
crs to the present, Mr. and Mrs. George
Loar were the grandparents of the
Loars-thrce brothers and two sis
tcrs-who live together in their beau
tifu home on Second street. The
brothers are Harry, George W. and
Judson Loar and the sisters are Miss
Lottic Loar and Miss Grace Loar. One
Of this family, the late Lawson Loar
Of Clarksburg, West Va, recently
died. They arc the children of the late
Mr.. and Mrs. David II. Loar, of Oak.
land,