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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
