History of the Guthrie Christmas Puddings

If you’re a fan of Christmas pudding, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to taste one made by the members of Guthrie Presbyterian Church in Alvinston.

Rheta McLean & Isabel McLachlin

This sixty-five year tradition began when Gladys McCallum brought the recipe home from a cousin’s church in Kincardine.

Approximately twenty puddings were made in one pound coffee tins at the home of Jessie McKinlay and the vegetables were put through hand grinders. The next year, twice as many were made at the church. 



Goldie Armstrong

For thirty years, Gladys’s sister Rheta McLean, supervised the morning shift. Some other early names included: Thersa Steele, Ethel Annett, Anna McDougall, Neilena McLachlin, Helen Armstrong, Annie Ferguson and Helen Wrightman.  






 

Mary Gilroy obtained head-cheese loaf pans from Burns Grocery in Watford and the production increased yearly from 289 two pound puddings in 1975 selling for $3.50 each to a high of 627 in 1990 at $6.50 each. By 1999, the church was selling 400 puddings at $8.00. 

 

 

 

Electric grinders and later, two Kenwood Chefs eased the labour as did the assistance of church men.

 

 

 

 

 

The Parkers sold puddings from their hardware store until they moved to Watford and a church freezer was purchased in 1986.  

 

Florence McNeil took over the morning shift in 1981; while Mildred Maddock looked after the afternoons. Evelyn Douglas, and then, Lorne and Isabel McLachlin continued the mornings; Mary Gilroy and then, Dolores Ferguson, the afternoons. Evelyn returned and gradually passed on the job to Anne Redick. Grinding started Monday morning, the batter was mixed early on the next three mornings and steaming went on for three days with two shifts daily. Mysea Carruthers and Lorraine Douglas looked after the steaming. The purchase of a large stove fan was also an asset.  
 

Although this account ends at 1999 when the above-mentioned booklet was published, the tradition of the Christmas puddings continues at Guthrie to the present day. This year, puddings are available for purchase at $12.00 each. Not only does the making of these puddings raise funds for church projects and uphold a long-standing tradition, but it has become an important time of fellowship for everyone involved. And yes, after sixty-five years, the puddings are still delicious! But don't take our word for it; as the old saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding!”

Excerpt from: 125th Anniversary Edition of Guthrie Presbyterian Church Alvinston, Ontario 1974-1999  by Helen Armstrong.

Photos from: 125th Anniversary Edition of Guthrie Presbyterian Church Alvinston, Ontario 1974-1999 by Helen Armstrong; The Birthday and Anniversary Calendar for Guthrie Presbyterian Church, Alvinston, Ontario and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Napier, Ontario by the Ladies Aid 2011.

Rev. Jo-Anne Symington's Faith Journey





Rev. Jo-Anne, Hannah and Nathan Symington
Photo Credit: Real Canadian Superstore, Strathroy, Ontario

 

My faith journey has taken me from my early days at West Adelaide Presbyterian Church through my study at Ontario Bible College, University of Waterloo, McGill University and Presbyterian College. I look back to when I was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church in Canada on June 26, 1990.

My first charge I served in was St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Kars and Osgoode Presbyterian Church in Vernon, ON from September 1990 to March 1998. I moved back closer to home when I married Wayne Symington on April 18, 1998. After I married Wayne and moved back to this area, I did pulpit supply until I had the opportunity to serve in Brigden Presbyterian Church for 1 1/2 years between 2000-2002.

I started at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Napier and Guthrie Presbyterian Church, Alvinston on August 4, 2002. By the time I came to Napier and Alvinston, Wayne and I had two children. Hannah was 3 and Nathan was 1.

I remember the night of my induction which was held in the church in Alvinston. The choir blessed us with the singing of “Welcome to the family we are glad that you have come to share your life with us.” Not only have I been able to share my life with the congregations I serve in but they have shared their lives with me. We have experienced many seasons together, where we have laughed, shared, visited, worked, and even cried together, but through it all God has been a steady rock and still is.

While in the Alvinston charge I lost my mom to Picks disease on March 22, 2006. Another loss that was devastating to my children and me was the loss of Wayne, a husband and dad, on September 07, 2010 to a massive heart attack. Through this journey of grief and loss and helping my children continue along without their dad, God has been and still is a loving, faithful God, Who promises to always be there for us.

As I reflect back over my life and all that I have been through, my relationship with Jesus has grown with everything I have been through. He loves me and is a constant presence in my life. I trust the plan that God has for my life and the lives of my children. I continue to trust God in every step of this journey and onward I go with God.

I love the people that God has called me to journey alongside in the congregations that I serve in Napier and Alvinston. May God bless each of them as they continue to grow in Christ and walk with Him in their journey of life.

Rev. Jo-Anne Symington

Photo Courtesy of Real Canadian Superstore, Strathroy, Ontario

Guthrie in the News

Researching history is similar to assembling a jigsaw puzzle; it’s comprised of many little pieces. As one puts these individual pieces together, a picture emerges gradually. Similarly, this blog will not be a chronological one in which Guthrie’s story is told from start-to-finish. Instead, it will feature a range of eras, events, people and activities that, when put together, help to tell the story of Guthrie Presbyterian Church. As anyone who has assembled a jigsaw puzzle knows, every single piece counts.  

One important source of information is the various local newspapers which have been microfilmed and are housed at the Lambton County Archives in Wyoming, Ontario. In an era when the church played a central role in the life of the community, it was typical for numerous news items relating to the church to be placed in each week’s edition of the local newspaper. Today’s concerns about privacy were not relevant; the day-to-day business of all the churches was splashed on the front pages of the newspaper for everyone to read. 

For instance, in the July 11, 1890 edition of the Watford Guide Advocate, the Minutes of the Presbytery of Sarnia were published. In these minutes, it was mentioned that the Rev. J.R. Johnston had resigned his charge at Alvinston and Napier. During the discussion that followed, it came out that “the utmost harmony existed between Rev. Mr. Johnston and his congregation,” but that the “wideness of the field” and the “state of the roads” compelled him to “desire a change.”  According to the minutes, the resignation was tabled until a committee could study the possibility of re-arranging the “field” around Alvinston and Napier.





Watford Guide Advocate July 11, 1890

 



In this modern era of cars, how many of us have stopped to think about the logistics of travel with which the early ministers of the church had to contend? In her book 100 Years in the Life of Guthrie Presbyterian Church Alvinston 1874-1974, Helen Armstrong alludes to this fact when she writes, that “Rev. R.J. Johnston, M.A. was called by the congregation in 1881 and remained for nine years doing faithful work over a large and difficult field.”  She indicates that Rev. Johnston served until 1890 so in the end, his resignation must have been accepted. It was also around this time that Presbytery separated the congregations of Alvinston and Napier and the Cameron congregation was added.  

 

Official minutes were not the only items that appeared in the local papers. On February 24, 1915, a marriage announcement appeared in the Alvinston Free Press for Sadie Ann McPhail and Duncan D. Livingston. As one reads through the news item, one discovers that the officiating minister was Rev. R.G. McKay who was the minister at the Presbyterian Church at that time. It also states that the couple “have been faithful and capable members of the Presbyterian choir of which the bride was organist for a term prior to her marriage.” 

 



Alvinston Free Press, February 24, 1915



Details such as these are noteworthy for several reasons: one, it would be rare for a modern couple to include this level of information in their marriage announcement; two, it provides important information about individual church members which might otherwise be lost and three, it was not uncommon for women to give up their “jobs” once they married.  

On June 9, 1915, the Alvinston Free Press included a small news item that read, “Come and hear the good program at the Presbyterian garden party on June 18^th. Admission 25c.”  Normally, this might not appear to be too significant in the overall life of the church.

 

Alvinston Free Press, June 23, 1915



However, on June 23, 1915, a larger item in the Alvinston Free Press reads, “Alvinston People Had a Close Call.”  Apparently, while returning from the Presbyterian garden party at the home of A.B. McNeil, the bus team (a form of local public transit?) ran away and threw the occupants into a deep ditch along Concession 7 in Brooke Township. The article states that Mrs. Annie McPhail was seriously injured, but improving. It is unlikely that stories of this nature would appear in the official minutes of the church, but they help provide an understanding of events that took place that would have had an impact on the congregation of its day.  

Although photos from this era are limited, these kinds of stories are not and will continue to be featured in future blog articles.

History of Guthrie Presbyterian Church

As early as 1866, student missionaries held services in Cameron Church (Euphemia Township) and the Log Church (Brooke Township) as well as in the school and homes of Alvinston, Ontario. When the new railway drew more people to Alvinston, London Presbytery appointed Rev. Archibald Stewart of Burns Church, Mosa Township to moderate a meeting of the above-mentioned sessions to start a congregation in Alvinston. The first church, a white frame building, was built on Church Street in 1873; the first sacrament observed on June 7, 1874. In 1879, the first Alvinston Elders were Peter McDiarmid, John McPhail, Neil Campbell, E.G. Elliott and Angus McKinlay. 

The first church was moved to the back of the new brick and stone church which was built in 1897 at a cost of about $5000. The January 1898 dedication service drew capacity crowds during three services.

Sadly, both buildings were destroyed by fire on February 2, 1914; however, plans were soon underway to build the church we are in today. 

They purchased an acre of ground, an apple orchard, for $600 from D.J. McEachern. John Walker used his team and chains to pull out the apple trees. Meanwhile, the minister, Rev. Robert McKay, Mr. Walker and others went around the countryside soliciting funds for the new church which cost $18,000. Mrs. McKay and other women supplied many meals for the builders, Dan Downie and John Chalk, and many other volunteers. The old “Palace,” a former skating rink, was moved from the fairgrounds by Robert McVicar and made into a shed for horses and carriages. There is still a single step beside the church for women to dismount from the buggy. 

The new cornerstone was laid on July 1, 1914; the dedication service was held on May 9, 1915 with standing room only crowds. On Monday, the Ladies Aid fed about seven hundred people with food left over for tea on Tuesday. In each event, music selections played a big part in the celebration. Thanks to the generosity of those in attendance and later donations, the church was free of debt by 1920.  

Thanks to the late Helen Armstrong, much of Guthrie’s history has been recorded in 100 Years in the Life of Guthrie Presbyterian Church Alvinston 1874-1974 and continued in 125^th Anniversary Edition of Guthrie Presbyterian Church Alvinston, Ontario 1974-1999.  

In 1965, the 50^th Anniversary of the congregation brought people from far and wide, including new and former choir members. An estimated seven hundred people attended in the morning with many seated in the basement. Five hundred people enjoyed a turkey and ham dinner in the community hall. 





Photo by L & M McVicar

Over the years, there has been a Young People’s group, a long-standing W.M.S., a Sunday School, a faithful Choir, and of course Ladies Aid who added to the church coffers via bazaars, bake sales, Burns’ Suppers, silent auctions, chicken dinners, puddings etc. We join other churches for Easter and Christmas events. In addition, physical improvements have been made to the building, the kitchens, roof, brick work, and we have added washrooms, piano, organ, furnaces, paint, carpet etc. 

Although our congregation has grown smaller over the years, our faith has not. Like many present day churches, we still try to “keep the faith” and serve the community spiritually and otherwise. 

July 1, 2014 will mark the 100^th Anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of our current building as well as the 140^th Anniversary of the first Presbyterian Congregation in Alvinston.  We would like to invite everyone to join us on Sunday, May 25, 2014 to help celebrate these important milestones in our church’s history. Stay tuned to this blog for more details!

Excerpted from: The Birthday and Anniversary Calendar for Guthrie Presbyterian Church, Alvinston, Ontario St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Napier, Ontario. Ladies Aid, 2011.

Postcard Photos Courtesy of Maxine & Alex MacKellar