Memories of Guthrie

Do you have any memories and/or photos of your time at Guthrie? The Anniversary Committee is hoping to gather these stories and pictures and feature them at their upcoming Anniversary in May. We’d also be interested in any memories which you’d like to share with us on this blog. You can send them to us at: guthrie.3256@hotmail.com

To get the ball rolling, here are a few of mine: 

Sunday School 

Memorizing things for Sunday School Class—the Books of the Old and New Testaments; the names of the Disciples; Catechism; the Lord’s Prayer etc. Did anyone else stress out about this? Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were relatively easy to remember, but some of those Old Testament names are hard to commit to memory, especially when you’re only seven or eight.  

Hearing the classic stories over and over again.  Jonah and the Whale; Moses being hidden as a baby; Samson and his hair; David and Goliath; the Fishes and the Loaves etc. I bet the images from those stories have stayed in your head all these years. I know they have in mine.  

Getting a little gold pin for each year of attendance.  

 

Singing children’s hymns before our class started. Two that linger in my memory are: “God Sees the Little Sparrow Fall” and “Jesus Bids Us Shine.” 

Ethel Annett being our Sunday School Teacher—one of her sayings was “The Devil Made Me Do It” which was from the Flip Wilson Show on television. When she went to Scotland on holiday, she brought back necklace pendants for the girls. Mine said, “Hope.”  I think others got ones that said, “Faith” and “Love.” I don’t think there were any boys in our class at the time.



 

Riding to Sunday School with the Ferguson family. Ralph and Dad took turns driving us. In an era before seatbelts, we’d all pile into one car and spend the entire trip debating the merits of Fords versus Pontiacs. 

Church Services 

Singing in the Junior Choir. Mary Gilroy was the Choir Leader and Organist; she was also our neighbour and talked my sister and me into joining. I cannot sing in tune so I wasn’t exactly an asset, but I’m sure we looked cute in our white gowns with the huge, red bows at our necks. 

 

The Junior Choir--Check Out the Size of Those Bows!

 

My grandmother allowing me to pass the collection plate. I felt very grown up until I dropped it. Talk about mortifying! The coins rolled down to the front of the church which, as you will recall, has a downward slope to it. The same thing happened when my sister dropped her bracelet. Not only did it roll to the front, but when it got there, it made a “Wobble, wobble, wobble” sound for what seemed like an excruciatingly long time.  

Wearing our Sunday best to church and getting a new outfit at Easter. This usually consisted of a new dress, coat, shoes, hat, white gloves and purse. My white straw hat made a re-appearance year after year. It must have been a favourite.  

 

Grandpa Maddock & Me in our Sunday Best

 

Speaking of Easter, Leonard McNeil singing, “The Old Rugged Cross” during the Easter service each year. 

How the sun would stream through the stained glass windows during church. It happened a lot and always felt like a sacred moment. Other times, I just sat perfectly still and counted the light bulbs in the ceiling. 

The era when we said “Forgive us our debts” instead of “Forgive us our trespasses.” 

Other Memories 

All those delicious church suppers including the homemade pie; also, how the Young People’s Society held a spaghetti supper in the late 1960’s. It seems quite innovative for the time. 

Getting a new Bible for my birthday—a cool one that had a zipper around it and a cross at the end of the zipper. 

Back in the 1960’s, my dad would stop sometimes at Three Maples Variety Store in Alvinston after church and buy a small brick of ice cream. We didn’t have a freezer back then so it was a real treat.  

The annual Christmas Bazaar—Evelyn Douglas’s delicious homemade soup; Nora McLean’s crocheted doilies; crafts made by Jean Lehrbass and others. The bake table was always divine! 

The era when women went to the church to work on quilts.

 

How sad I felt when they played "Amazing Grace" at Mary Gilroy's funeral which was held in the church.

My grandmother taking me to see Marilyn and Jack Dolbear's wedding. Marilyn was my Sunday School teacher. I think I was in Grade One at the time. I remember there was a solar eclipse that day. My grandmother wouldn't let me look at it in case I went blind.  

Well, you get the idea. As I reflect on my memories, the thing that strikes me is how much Guthrie is, and always has been, a community; some have likened it to a family. And while not all of my childhood memories of Guthrie are spiritual ones, I am happy to say that my values are Sunday School values. A big thank you to Ethel, Marilyn and all those dedicated teachers who taught us over the years!