#20 Faith – Baptisms, Marriages,
and Deaths, oh, my! …and maybe a party or two.
In our previous posts we’ve learned the history of
“George’s” church and “toured” it as well. All I can say is that it’s a good
thing that church was there. We Drums used it for all it was worth! Over the
years, members of the Drum tree were baptized in this church, confirmed into
this church, married in this church, socialized in this church, served the
church in various ways, and were buried by this church’s congregation. What
follows are just of a few of the ways the Drums served this church and this church
served the Drums.
So, we begin with someone who is not a Drum. Elmer Drum
married Ella Santee in 1919. The Confirmation Certificate below, written in
German, belonged to Ella’s Aunt, Sarah Santee. It is dated December 5, 1858 and
signed by John Berhard Poerner, Evangelical Reformed “prediger” (preacher), “St.
Johannes” in “Butler, Luzerne Co., PA.”
I suppose I should have started with this photo because it is
of a slightly earlier date than Aunt Sarah’s certificate but I just couldn’t
bring myself to begin another post with a gravestone. George’s son Philip, or
“Philip II” as we’ve been calling him in these posts, died on February 27,
1858. He was 71 years and 12 days old, according to the stone. Of George’s
eight children, only Abraham and Margarett died later. None of the siblings
lived longer, except we are unsure of Margarett’s date of death. Therefore, we
can’t be sure if Margarett or Philip lived the longest. All of them, like
Philip, were buried in the St. Johns Cemetery along with quite a number of their
decedents, and their mom and dad, of course.
And since I went here, I guess I can toss in one more
gravestone. This one is for Alonzo Drum. Alonzo was his middle name. His first
name was also Philip. Philip Alonzo Drum was born February 24, 1853. He was the
second son of John and Anna Drum. I am curious to learn where the name Alonzo
came from since I think this is the first time the name appears in this
family’s tree. After Philip Alonzo, who apparently went by his middle name
since his first name is not included on his grave marker, the name is used by
the Drums a few more times as a middle name, the most recent to my knowledge
being my grandfather, Elmer Alonzo Drum. Philip Alonzo Drum died rather young,
living only 30 years, dying May 8, 1883.
Elmer Alonzo Drum was born July 6, 1895. His baptismal certificate says he was baptized July 28,
1895 by J. B. Kerschner, “Pastor Ref. Ch.”
That Christmas, Nathan presented his wife, Mary, with a
“Pictorial Family Bible”. To be specific, the actual title of the volume is: The
Pronouncing Edition of the Holy Bible Containing the Authorized and Revised
Versions of the Old and New Testaments, arranged in Parallel Columns, Giving
the Correct Pronunciation of Every Proper Name Contained in the Bible.[1]
It provides a synopsis of various Christian and non-Christian denominations;
biographical sketches of reformers and bible scholars; plants and animals as
found in bible times and lands, biblical cites, holy land maps, histories of
the old and new testament books, ancient alphabets, and on and on. It even includes
pages for photos, places to list family members and their births, their deaths,
children; even a page where family members could swear off consuming acholic
beverages. Oh, and it also has the old and new testaments. The only page
completed, however, is the Presentation Page shown here. “Presented to Mrs. Nathan Drum by her husband December 25th, 1895”.
The book is approximately 11” by 12” by 5”. Maybe she
couldn’t lift it. I did find a four-leaf clover, Peacock tail feather, and a
yellow Aster bloom pressed between its pages.
Well, now that I’ve gotten out of the cemetery, for some
reason I feel the need to go back into the cemetery, I can’t seem to stay away!
Next, we see the Memorial Day services of 1909 being held, of course, in the
cemetery.
This picture was taken by Edwin Finstermacher. I like to think that
Mary and Nathan are in that crowd somewhere, Elmer and Christie, too! It must
have been breezy that day. The flag in front is fluttering pretty strongly
which probably made it a memorable Memorial Day, too.
My wife, Phyllis, and I also had a few memorable days.
Our first was the day we got married, July 2, 1983. If I’d known, I’d have
waited a day so we could have had the same anniversary day as my Grandfather! Rev.
W. D. Stoyer performed the marriage ceremony for Ella and Elmer on July 3,
1919.
In 1921, everyone dressed up to perform the Christmas Cantata! Well maybe not “everyone” but quite
a few! And here they are!
I zoomed in a bit and circled Elmer and Ella for you so
you could find them in the picture.
Everyone seems so happy! Merry(?) Christmas!
“Ok, men, everyone out on the front lawn for our 1923
Bible Class Photo. Now Remember, men, Bible Class is a serious business, so
nobody smile! Got it?!”
It must have been a warm day. The windows are open. The
door is propped open too. I circled Elmer for you. The hexagon marks his
father, Nathan. Also note the boy to the far right. His name is Herbert Wenner.
Herbert, apparently, invented “Photo Bombing”!
If you are going to be promoted from the Primary
Department into the Junior Department of Sunday School, THIS is the promotion
certificate you are going to want!! For sure!! Harry made it from Primary to
Junior on October 16, 1932.
So, is it me or do these guys scare you too? This is the
Reformed Church Consistory of 1947. Once again, I’ve circled Elmer for easy
identification. Rev. Hesson is two seats to Elmer’s left. When Elmer died in
1959, Edward Longenberger, as President of the Consistory that year, signed a tribute
the Consistory wrote about Elmer to Ella. Edward Longenberger is the third man
from the left standing in the back row.
No need to comment on when, what, or where. The picture
is worth a thousand words on that account, or around 15 words, anyway. I did
point out Eleanor (Mom) and Harry (Dad) for you, both in back of the crowd. Mom
is just peeking from the very rear between two heads. Dad is a little less
hidden. Mom said she hadn’t met my Dad until a Halloween Party (in October) in
1949 so it is reasonable to assume that they were not acquainted when this
photo was taken in August. Maybe they should have tried harder. They are only
six people apart in the photo! And one of those was my dad’s mom! I zoomed in
so we can see them all better. It appears Elmer didn’t attend this picnic.
Mom and Dad got married, in the St. John’s Reformed
Church, September 17, 1950.
Of that day Mom said, “I cried all the way out of the church because it was all just so
beautiful.”
Of course, Reformed Church membership is not all fun and
games! It is also apparently men wearing Easter Bonnets in the Easter Parade!
Here is Dad in the church basement’s children’s classroom showing off his
Easter Bonnet of 1964.
In 1969, I got to be an Acolyte. Acolytes do the odd job stuff during the
Sunday morning services such as light the candles and snuff them out again.
Here I come ready to light some candles!
In 1982, St. Johns
U.C.C. celebrated it’s 190th Anniversary. There was a big program in
the Social Hall that evening and I was asked to be the MC. I got to introduce a
whole bunch of Ministers from all around the area while, in between, telling
all sorts of corny puns and jokes. People laughed – WITH me – so I guess I did
OK. That’s me, 6th in from
the left, surrounded by men with funny collars. I circled myself because you
may not be able to see the small arrow Mom drew on the photo pointing at me
from the floor.
These are the folks who attended the celebration. I’ve
circled my Dad. I thought Mom took the photo, leaving the empty chair there in
front as her placeholder but upon closer examination of the photo, that looks
like my mom sitting beside my dad so maybe Nathan, my brother, took the photo
and left the empty chair!
And we had cake! This just proves that you CAN have your
church and eat it too!
You know, now that I think about it, my Dad really was a
pretty good sport.
This is my dad, Harry, playing Santa for the church in
1982. Dad passed away in 1986.
People are proud of their membership in this church. There was even a page in the 200th Anniversary booklet that honored those members in 1992 who were “baptized, confirmed, and married in St. John’s U.C.C.” Phyllis wanted to get married in her home town of West Springfield, Massachusetts or I’d have been in that picture, too.
And then, On October 8, 1995, my son Philip was baptized
in the St. Johns U.C.C.
In the back row, L to R, are Phyllis’s sister, Susanne
Emanuelson; Phyllis’s mom, Mary Dupuis; Phyllis’s dad, Joe Dupuis; Phyllis’s
sister, Jane Dupuis; and John Emanuelson, Susanne’s husband.
In front, L – R, are my mom, Eleanor Drum; Philip’s mom, Phyllis;
me; and Philip.
And that’s how it’s been now, for 227 years and counting.
Babies being baptized, people being married, social gatherings being held to
celebrate special occasions (like Easter, Christmas, even Halloween!), clubs to
be a member of, classes to learn in, and special services and funerals to honor
and remember those who have passed away. Oh, and Sunday Morning Services, of
course.
In our next post, we go from taking a page out of the 200th
Anniversary Book to taking a page out of Eleanor’s book, literally. Between
2006 and 2011, Mom wrote a book about hers and her mother’s lives. Since we’ve
hinted a bit about her joining the church and meeting/marrying Dad in this and
earlier posts, I thought I’d share that portion of her story with you, as she
wrote it, literally taking a page out of her book.
Mom joins
the church will be the next post to appear in the Drums of Drums, PA
saga; March 25, 2019.
[1]
Williams, Prof. S. W., The Pronouncing Edition of the Holy Bible Containing
the Authorized and Revised Versions of the Old and New Testaments, arranged in
Parallel Columns, Giving the Correct Pronunciation of Every Proper Name
Contained in the Bible. (Phila.: A.J. Holman and Co., LTD, 1895)
No comments:
Post a Comment