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.
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| 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.”
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| 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 18th. Admission
25c.” Normally, this might not appear to
be too significant in the overall life of the church.
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| 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.
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