Newsletter Articles
Beginning
in January, articles related to our history under the heading “Marvelous History Corner!” were
included in the church newsletter as another means for informing church
parishioners and friends about and generating interest in our history. They are
shown below. The date shown after each number is when it was written. It was
published in the next church newsletter after that date.
1.
(1/1/06) I wasn’t quite sure why I agreed to become church archivist. Yes, I
love history and like to dig through old books and papers. I also knew some
help was needed. When recently going through all the MMUUS archival materials
stored at Syracuse University to understand what was there, I found the real
answer. Reading through the Sam May file folders, Rev. May mentioned several
times working with William Ingersoll Bowditch in his various abolition and
underground railroad activities (there is a William Bowditch house in
Brookline, Massachusetts, preserved because of its extensive use as an
underground railroad stop). In September our daughter married Sean Bowditch, so
I asked his mother (who had done research on the family) and, lo and behold,
Sean’s great-great-great-great uncle is William. So, with six degrees of
separation Janet and I can claim a direct connection to Sam May. How is that
for a resounding confirmation of why I volunteered and it shows the enjoyment
that can come from understanding MMUUS history? Look for a table in the social
hall on January 15 where some of our historical documents will be on display
and dream about your own connections to our past. Think, too, about
volunteering to help preserve our history. There are many ways you can
help. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
2. (1/18/06) “The Book” has been preserved electronically!
Yes, that red ledger everyone signs when agreeing to become a member has been
preserved through Bob Burdick’s great digital photography skill. From that
first page starting with Joshua Leonard and several others who “signed” (those
first few year’s worth of names were actually copied over) on September 3,
1838, to those many pages later when seven people signed the book on November
20, 2005, the book has now been photographed. So, give Bob a pat on the back or
“thanks” when next you see him.
We now have a new web page related to MMUUS history. It is
temporarily located on another server until our webmaster has an opportunity to
put it on the church server. If you are interested you can see it at /simulationpage.html If
you enjoy a stimulating sermon, you will find several of them from our past
settled ministers (and from favorite daughter, Rev. Elizabeth Padgham) you can
link to. If you find time to read them, tell me your favorite. I’ll keep a
running tally and provide the results later.
Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
3. (2/2/06) It has been a real joy and very
informative to journey through the ten boxes of material MMUUS already has
stored in the Syracuse University archives unit. I am a little over half way
through and keep discovering exciting “nuggets” that have helped me feel even
more a part of the glorious history that is May Memorial. We, as an
institution, as well as each of our past ministers (and many past church
members), have made tremendous contributions to the greater Syracuse area and
beyond.
On Sunday, February 19, there will be another History
display in the Social Hall after the church service. Plan to see it. In
addition to some more historical artifacts and another annual scrapbook from
many years ago, come see a picture of the most handsome minister we ever had,
Rev. Albert Willard Clark, associate pastor of May Memorial, 1902-1904. Look,
too, for a special display on Rev. Dr.
Samuel Robert Calthrop, our minister from 1868 to 1911. Outstanding preacher,
scientist, poet, and athlete, he made a huge mark in Syracuse. Don’t miss it! A
brief display on our former church locations and buildings will be included.
Also on display will be a copy of The Children’s
Bible, signed by our sixth minister, Rev. Robert Romig, and former RE
Director, Dr. Elizabeth Manwell. These bibles were given to all children in the
1940s. It was recently donated by a former member.
Remember,
too, the temporary web page that provides photos, information, and links to
sermons for all past settled parish ministers, Rev. Elizabeth Padgham (MMUUS’
favorite daughter), and Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Strong, our Minister of Religious
Education from 1988 to 2001 and our first settled woman minister. You can see
it at the following URL: /simulationpage.html Finally, look for a handout describing the
various ways you can volunteer to be part of preserving our history. Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
4. (2/22/06) We are proud to announce that MMUUS has won a
small grant ($3200) from the New York State Convention of Universalists to help
with preservation of our church archives during the next 12 months. This grant
will enable us to purchase archival quality file cabinets, acid free storage
containers, archival quality memory scrapbooks, and other archival supplies. In
addition, there will be some financial support for the repair and mounting of
the Sam May marble tablet. Look for a rededication service later this year.
Finally, we will be able to purchase some equipment for obtaining an oral
history of church memories from people long associated with the church.
Volunteers will be welcome for some of these activities.
We also have an archival committee (George Adams, June
Card, Mary Louise Edwards, Frank Healy, and Harsey Leonard) that will work with
me to develop a record management policy and implement procedures for gathering
and preserving information related to the ongoing history of MMUUS. Look for
our efforts in the near future.
Finally, if you have not recently looked at the temporary
web site I developed on our church history (/simulationpage.html),
you are invited to do so as much of the material shown in both the January and
February history displays have been included. Remember, too, to read some of
the outstanding sermons by past ministers that you can link to from this web
site. Our web master, Bob Schulz, will soon incorporate all this information in
our church web site. A final note: If you have any church-related historical
material, contact me to see if it should be included in either the archives at
May Memorial or in the archival collection stored at Syracuse University.
Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
5. (3/06/06) We have had some prestigious ancestors.
You have already been introduced to Rev. Elizabeth Padgham, our favorite
daughter. She and her sister, Clara, were accomplished musicians. From an
August, 1879, newspaper clipping, it was noted that Elizabeth played “Hebe” in
Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Good Ship Pinafore” at the old Weiting Opera House in
Syracuse. At age 5 and known as “Baby Padgham,” she had a “strong voice and was
a thoroughly self-possessed little performer.” She was in several other types
of performances and operettas growing up and continuing in musical activities
in college. Her father, Amos, who “signed the book” in 1884, was a County
Supervisor, and was first elected to our church Board of Trustees in 1889.
Another early leader was Dudley Phelps, who joined the
church in 1839. He was a member of the New York Assembly in 1855. He was early
opposed to slavery and was a delegate to the 1848 Free Soil Convention in
Buffalo. The Free Soil Party was
a short-lived U.S. political party (1840-1856) that was opposed to the
extension of slavery into any of the then existing U.S. territories. Frank
Hiscock, who also became a member in 1884, was a prominent Onondaga County
Judge. He was an active member of our Board of Trustees from 1919 into the
1930s.
Finally, there is John Wilkinson who became a member of the
church in 1839 and was instrumental in its early development. John was
Syracuse’s first lawyer, first Post Master, and instrumental in bringing
railroads to the Syracuse area. He also came up with the name “Syracuse” for
the town, suggesting it based on his knowledge of Syracusa in Italy. His wife,
Laura Starr Wilkinson, was an early home economist (called then Domestic
Economy) and helped form the first professional home economics association, the
National Columbian Household Association, in 1893. One of Sam May’s daughters
married a Wilkinson son. Many of you know Jack Wilkinson who graced our church
halls for many years, a direct descendent of John. Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
6. (4/4/06) Those who attended our Sam May Day service
on March 26 heard a wonderful presentation by David Kaczynski. You also heard
how fervently Rev. May expressed his own views against the death penalty, with
the six reasons why capital punishment should be abolished from his July 25,
1851, New York Daily Tribune article.
The more you learn about Sam, the more you realize how fortunate we were to
have his heritage as such an important part of our church history.
Thus, in the Sam May web page are three new items for your
reading pleasure. One is a wonderful thesis written in 1964 by Catherine Covert
Stepanek entitled, Saint
Before His Time: Samuel J. May and American Educational Reform, showing
another important aspect of Sam’s many contributions to Syracuse. Irene
Blakeslee is converting it to a digital format so our Webmaster, Bob Schulz,
can include it. Thanks Irene and Bob. Another is a paper also written by
Catherine, entitled, Heretic
in Syracuse: Samuel Joseph May, 1845-1871. The third is an address by
Catherine given in this church on February 13, 1972, entitled, The
Remarkable Mr. May. Dr. Stepanek’s executrix,
her daughter Carolyn Holmes, has kindly given us permission to include these
three documents on our web page.
Incidentally, Carolyn also loaned me a copy of the Life of Samuel J. May that her mother owned. This book, a memoir,
was published in 1873. It makes for great reading and although I have only read
parts of it, I have already learned so much new about the amazing Sam May. I
will share some excerpts at a later date.
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
7. (4/17/06) Many who read this newsletter think
fondly about several past and present social activities: Friday Night Pub, square
dancing, talent shows, potlucks, concerts, potlucks, Garnet Hill ski weekend,
etc.. Such socializing opportunities are very important and help make attending
MMUUS so wonderful. But, socializing has been very important since this church
was formed. In 1838 through the latter part of the 19th Century,
Syracuse was dominated by Calvinists. Presbyterian principles ruled and most of
the leading people were Presbyterian. In many ways it was stifling for our
ancestors and the Calvinists simply refused to associate with us because we
would not accept Trinitarian beliefs. The archives contain reports of how being
with each other became crucial. Thus was born lovely and lively Unitarian
social evenings of food, entertainment, games, and conversations, church hallmarks
that have continued for nearly 12 decades.
Here is the origin of “chore boy” mentioned during the Sam
May Day service. It is from the Memoir of
Samuel Joseph May, Thomas Mumford (Ed.), Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1873
(available online at http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa;idno=ABJ1200),
p. 232, and attributed to Transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott (http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/
authors/alcott/), Sam’s brother-in-law: “Mr. A. B. Alcott was once at
Syracuse when Mr. May was engaged from morning until night in errands of mercy,
-- visiting the sick, burying the dead, helping fugitive slaves and canal boys,
and prisoners who wish to reform. When he reached home at evening, and was
drawing off the boots from his weary feet, Mr. Alcott said: ‘I have found a new
name for you. You are the Lord’s chore boy. You do the Lord’s chores.’ ” Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
8. (5/10/06) Florida Tracy, an active member of May
Memorial during much of the first half of the 20th Century, was a
fount of information about our church. Her involvement, observations, and
memory are recorded in many places throughout the archives. Here are some of
her remembrances. During WWI, May Memorial was the first church in Syracuse to
provide recreational activities for soldiers of the U.S. Army’s Rainbow
Division (part of the New York National Guard and 42nd Division, the
first Division sent to Europe in 1918 to support French troops) being trained
in the Syracuse area and camped at the State Fair grounds, known as “Camp
Syracuse.” Six days a week in the church dining room from noon to the evening
we provided a free cafeteria service with church women serving as hostesses.
Showers were installed in the cellar and our church President at that time,
Irving Merrill, taught literacy classes in arithmetic. WWI affected us in other
ways, too. Our minister during the time period, Rev. Dr. John Henry Applebee, took a leave to serve as a
Red Cross Chaplin. This war service on battlefields and in hospitals undermined
his health. On his return he found that his wife, Alice, was suffering from
cancer and died after much suffering. He never really recovered.
The Women’s Alliance, an active church women’s group during
this time period and up into the 60s, carried out a number of community service
activities. For example, each year the Alliance provided a noontime Christmas
dinner and entertainment on the last day of school before the holiday for 75 to
100 of the poorest first and second graders in two nearby public schools.
Eventually as the need for a meal lessened, it morphed into the “Mitten Tree,”
a traditional still carried on today. Church sewing groups also provided
clothes and bandages for the Red Cross to use and after both world wars this
energy went to producing clothing for refugee babies. As can be expected, and I
am talking to the men of the church now, where would we all be without the
tireless efforts, great energy, and super leadership of May Memorial
women. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
9. (5/17/06) May Memorial has been blessed throughout
its history, and continuing right up until today, to have had many pillars that
step up, often very quietly, to take on important and/or needed roles in the
church. From unsigned material in the archives, someone provided testimony to
two such people in our past. The first was Dr. Marion Sylvester Dooley, an
active member during the first part of the last century, who made it a life
long habit to visit people when they were ill. Many people in our church were
sustained by visits from Dr. Dooley and his wife. A doctor of medicine, for
many years he was Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology at the
Syracuse College of Medicine. He wrote some valued books related to
pharmacology and drug therapy during the 30s and 40s. He was President of our
Laymen’s League, a member of the Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Unitarian
Service Committee. All members of his family were active church members, too.
Miss Elizabeth Ann Lewis was thought of as a saint,
tireless worker, and premier thinker in our church and our denomination
regarding religious education. She was director of our church school during the
twenties and introduced liberal textbooks and liberal teaching in the
curriculum. She worked cooperatively with a few other advanced thinkers in the
Unitarian church to influence the direction of curriculum building committee at
our national headquarters. She also taught numerous adult education courses in
our church. She helped provide leadership for our lending library, the social
action committee, and neighborhood discussion groups active during that time.
She was very active in the greater Syracuse community, too. MMUUS’ heritage is
so rich because of people like Marion and Elizabeth. It makes me proud to be
part of this wonderful institution.
Finally, if you have not looked at the Sam May link on our
web page, there are four new pieces there about Sam. Two from historian, Dr.
Catherine Covert Stepanek, and two sermons from Rev. Richard (Rick) R. Davis,
First Unitarian Society of Salem (Oregon). All four are terrific and you
certainly will gain new insight into Rev. May’s life. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
10.
(6/6/06) The Other Sam – Our third
minister was Rev. Dr. Samuel Robert
Calthrop, a minister for 43 years (1868-1911) and pastor emeritus after that.
Rev. Calthrop was truly a renaissance man. See /simulationpage.html
and /backwardglance.html
for more information and a marble bust of Sam stands in the little foyer just
before entering the RE area.
Born in England, he entered Cambridge
at the age of 19 where he excelled. However, he refused to sign 39 Articles of
the Anglican church faith required by the university which prevented his
graduation and eventually led him to the United States and Unitarianism. He was
an excellent scientist having patented a streamlined train, discovered numerous
sunspots, and learned to predict the weather. He lectured in our church and
elsewhere on a wide variety of topics beyond religion such as astronomy,
botany, financial management, flowers, geology, physical training needs, and
even raising tomatoes. He was a personal friend of Sir Isaac Newton and Susan
B. Anthony. Like his predecessor, Sam May, he was very interested in education
and youth. A teacher prior to becoming a pastor, he organized the Syracuse
Boys’ Club, established the first playgrounds in Syracuse, and even taught at
Syracuse University.
Dr. Calthrop was a very physically fit
individual most of his life. Tall, with a big frame, and a great white beard,
he was an expert boxer in his younger days, and skilled at billiards, crew,
cricket, hockey, rowing, and tennis. His true passion was chess where he was
known as one of the best in the country by winning local and state
championships. He beat opponents while playing blindfolded and by playing
several at the same time. Able to quote verbatim from Greek and Latin Classics,
he was widely published, a gifted poet, and a sought after orator. All of this
while maintaining his pastorate here and being well loved and respected by both
May Memorial church members and people throughout Syracuse. Renaissance man,
indeed. Wow, were we lucky or what.
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
11. (6/26/06) As most who read this newsletter know by
now, the marble tablet honoring Sam May that was in the James Street church,
once thought lost, was found. It will be repaired, hung on the southwest
outside wall of the church, and dedicated on October 1. An exciting and
meaningful time for us, so I’m ruminating just a bit more on our beloved Rev.
May.
In many ways, Sam was always ahead of
his time. He helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. Hear the
power, poignancy, and even irony in his words when he spoke on May 8, 1834, at
the 1st anniversary meeting of that Society in NYC: “By the laws
which sustain slavery, millions of human beings are held as chattels. Yes . . .
they are driven along the streets of Washington, with less liberty than cattle,
in the sight of that proud capital, where the national flag is flying, and
where so many fine things are said in
the favor of liberty.” He spoke with such fervor for years throughout the
Northeast and was mobbed five times for the voice he refused to quiet. No
wonder he brought that fire here and eventually was front and center in the
“Jerry Rescue” saga. As our own Rev. John Fuller said in a 1966 sermon about
Dr. May and the Jerry rescue, “He was a man on fire for the freedom of all men,
on fire for righteousness, on fire especially for his poor brothers in
slavery.”
He was ahead of his times in so many
other ways, too. You know of his stance against the death penalty, but did you know
that in 1826 at age 29 he founded one of the earliest Peace Societies in the
U.S., the Windham County (Connecticut)
Peace Society. When he was President of the Syracuse Board of Education he
abolished corporal punishment. Peace, forgiveness, and do no harm obviously
were part of his lifelong motto. One can go on and on about our Sam May, so
once that marble tablet is in place, walk by occasionally and thank him for
being who he was. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
12. (8/9/06) History Committee members have been involved
in various preservation activities this summer. For example, George Adams is
inventorying our many files, folders, and boxes; Harsey Leonard is retrieving
images from slides and other media. Mary Louise Edwards and I are removing acid
from old papers and preparing material to be stored at Syracuse University. It
is hard work at times, but most enjoyable, and we keep learning more about our
wonderful history. We do need more help so please volunteer some time.
I can’t resist sharing one of the
items Harsey retrieved from an old microfilm. Someone photographed old
scrapbooks years ago and many delightful items have come alive. Let me take you
back to yesteryear, near the birth of our beloved church. The year is 1862 and
this delightful piece shows up in the local newspaper:
The Ladies of the
UNITARIAN SOCIETY,
will repeat their
entertainment
“An Evening with
Dickens,”
In Wieting Hall
On Monday Evening, Feb. 3,
1862
PROGRAMME:
1. Tableau – The Soldiers
Dream.
2. Pantomime Ballad –
Mistletoe Bough.
3. From Dombey & Son –
[and it goes on from there for 13 acts]
Admission 25 cents –
Children 15 cents
Can’t you just picture people from
throughout Syracuse coming out to watch the Unitarian ladies and their
entertainment activities? As Big Russ would say (for those who have read Tim
Russert’s Big Russ and Me), “what a
country” and what a city where Unitarians can entertain people of varying
faiths with material from Dickens. It must have been something! Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
13. (8/29/06) On September 12 we can celebrate the 209th
anniversary of Sam May’s birth. Not necessarily a special occasion, but nearing
his birth date prompted me to read through an inspirational little book, In Memoriam. Samuel Joseph May. This
book was published in 1871 a few months after Rev. May’s death, July 1, 1871. A
committee consisting of Rev. Samuel Caltrop and several church members and
friends (Mr. C. D. B. Mills, Mr. D. P. Phelps, Mr. H. N. White, Mrs. Mary E.
Bagg, and Mrs. Rebecca J. Burt) prepared and published this testimony to the
life of Sam May. It will be scanned and added to the church web page in the
near future.
Just reading about the July 6 funeral
service brings both tears to the eyes as well as renewed awe regarding the many
lives that Sam touched. Many people participated in the service, some traveling
long distances to do so. This from the address of Mr. William Lloyd Garrison,
publisher of the very respected anti-slavery newspaper, the Liberator, sums up well the sentiment
expressed in many ways that day: “I have lost a most affectionate and
unswerving friend, an early and untiring co-worker in the broad field of
freedom and humanity, a brother beloved incomparably beyond all blood
relationship. Syracuse has lost one of its most useful and esteemed citizens;
the nation one of the worthiest of its sons; the world one of the purest, most
philanthropic, most divinely actuated of all its multitudinous population.”
Happy birthday, Sam, and thanks for gracing our church and our community with
your devoted service.
One of Rev. May’s least touted contributions, but, perhaps,
one of his most important, was his untiring championing of better education for
the youth of our community and our country. Historian Catherine Covert wrote a
well researched and delightful Master’s thesis on her way to a PhD in History
and distinguished teaching career at SU: Saint
Before His Time: Samuel J. May and American Educational Reform. Thanks to
the able assistance of Irene Blakeslee in converting a photocopy of this 1964
document to a digital format and the permission of Catherine’s daughter, this
wonderful document is now on the Sam May web page along with two other of Dr.
Covert’s pieces related to Sam May ( http://www.mmuus.org/who-we-are/history/sjmay.html
). They are highly recommended reading for anyone interested in education.
Finally, put the afternoon of October 1 on your calendar as
we rededicate the Sam May Memorial Marble Tablet that hung on the wall of our
former James Street church. More details will follow later. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
14. (9/17/06) I just love it when an article sort of
writes itself. On September 12 Janet and I were election inspectors for the
primary. Where I was assigned, one of my fellow inspectors was an 81 year old
man by the name of Walt Slagle. I thought nothing of the name, but during our
nine hours together I mentioned my involvement with May Memorial. He then
proceeded to tell me that he used to attend May Memorial at the former James
Street church. He taught Sunday School as soon as he was old enough and he
fondly remembers riding in 1941 with a carload of May Memorial boys driven by
Reginald Manwell (Hank’s dad) to a Rowe, Vermont, Unitarian church for a youth
conference. He remembers most fondly Rev. Robert Romig (our minister from 1941
to 1946) who he said was a wonderful man.
But here is where the fun began. I knew I should
know that name. Then he told me that his Mom was May Slagle and it all
“clicked.” I remember her name from pouring over old documents, but some who
read this newsletter will remember May as a long time and indispensable office
manager of May Memorial. As noted in May
No One Be A Stranger (p. 45) “in the minds of many church school children
who heard their parents mention May Slagle, she, not the minister from 100
years ago, was the source of the church name.” May was one of the most active
of all our volunteers in the school lunch program the church sponsored and ran
during WWII. She edited the church newsletter, for many years, too. She retired
in 1974 and died in May (what other month could it be) of 1978 at the age of
85. Walt remembers that Nick Cardell did a beautiful memorial service for his
Mom. Incidentally, his brother Eugene went to our church and his Dad ran a
woodworking center for youth in the James Street basement. His aunt, May’s
sister, Helen McKnight, was an active church member and served as church
historian for several years (thanks, Helen).
So this article is dedicated not only to May Slagle, but to
all the wonderful people who have served as office manager, treasurer, sextant,
custodian, and many other important staff positions during our 168 year history
down to people such as Karen and Leslie today. This church could not have happened
without you. We send a big thanks and salute back through the ages. Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
15. (10/3/06) The
dedication service on October 1 was wonderful and the rains stayed away. The
choir sang, we all sang, and several people spoke, including former member and
Historian, Jean Hoefer. She and Bill traveled from afar to be with us for the
dedication. In addition, Professor Ron DeRutte from SU described how he will
repair and mount the tablet this fall.
Here
is a bit about the tablet’s history. It was installed below a stained glass
window in the James Street church in 1886 as a memorial to Sam May. The sermon
delivered at its unveiling was by a good friend, Rev. William P. Tilden, who
had been influenced by Sam during Sam’s ministry at South Scituate,
Massachusetts. Rev. Tilden described Sam this way in words so consistent with
what we have come to know about Sam May: “Calm as a June morning, but firm as
Gibraltar, he was a Moral hero” (from this document found by Betsy Fuller –
Vinal, W. G., 1954, Old Scituate churches in a changing world, Norwell,
MA: Ladies Alliance of The First Parish Church, p. 34). See
/windows.html for a look at all the stained glass
creations in that church and click on the name being honored shown at the
bottom of each window to read a description. The tablet was broken while being
removed from the church in 1963 before its razing, transported to the Onondaga
Historical Society, then lost. Fortunately, it was rediscovered last summer,
transported to May Memorial, and soon will adorn our outside southwest wall.
Somehow it feels fitting that it will look out on the Memorial Garden and
Pavilion. See http://home.twcny.rr.com/hiemstra/maytablet.html for a color
photo of the tablet. The inscribed words are difficult to read in the photo, so
here they are as they were written one hundred and twenty years ago:
In memory of Samuel Joseph May, born in Boston
September 12, 1797, died
in Syracuse July 1, 1871. The beloved
minister of this church during twenty-four years, his life diffused the
radiance of piety and charity throughout this community. A loyal follower of
Jesus, he loved God supremely and his fellow-men as himself. He helped the
erring and sorrowful and uplifted the downtrodden. In the struggle against
slavery he was among the earliest, most fearless and most constant. A fervent,
devout preacher, an assiduous, loving pastor, an untiring apostle of education,
temperance and peace, a steadfast defender of spiritual liberty. Trusting
wholly in the ideal right he labored from youth to age to bring in the kingdom of God. When death was
near he said: “I may have hereafter a clearer vision, I
can hardly have a surer faith.”
I close with the words read by President, Fred Fiske,
as the official dedication of the tablet and pavilion: "We have gathered
here today to remember Ernie Archambault as a representative of the many MMUUS
parishioners over our history who have stood for selfless commitment to May
Memorial and to remember Samuel J. May as a representative of the many
ministers and others throughout our history who have provided leadership for
May Memorial to maintain an important place in the greater Syracuse Community.
May this pavilion and this marble tablet stand as symbols of such devotion for
many generations to come. We so dedicate these symbols." Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
16. (10/17/06) I looked through material recently and
reread the October 9, 2002, Post Standard article on Rev. Nick Cardell’s
death and what he meant to MMUUS, the Syracuse Community, and so many people.
It reminded me of his memorial service and all the things said about Nick by
various people. Then my “archive” mind lead to searching for similar material
on perhaps our two most famous historical figures.
In a
May 14, 1917, Syracuse Herald article about Rev. Dr. Samuel Calthrop
(see his marble bust now located in the Memorial Room near Sam May’s bust), the
author described how hundreds visited our James Street church for “one last look
upon the face of Dr. Calthrop.” A high bank of flowers had been built in front
of the chancel; over the pulpit and communion table, reaching from the ceiling
nearly to the floor, hung an American flag. Entering the church a visitor saw
only the flag and flowers and it was not until coming closer that within the
bier of flowers could be seen the coffin of the beloved pastor. Rev. Calthrop
was crowned with his black skull cap, without which he never appeared in public
other than when he delivered a sermon. He lay as if in peaceful sleep and
looked just as though he had sunk into an afternoon nap. Mothers lifted their
children to see his gentle face among the flowers and tears streamed from the
eyes of many who mourned his loss and revered the 49 years of service he gave
to May Memorial and the greater Syracuse community.
Rev. Samuel May’s funeral
on July 6, 1871, had drawn an even bigger gathering of devoted worshipers,
friends, community and national dignitaries, and townspeople who respected his
great service. At 10 that morning his body in a metallic casket was moved to
the Church of the Messiah, our second church building, which had been
decorated, and placed before the pulpit from which he had spoken so many
faithful, earnest words (see http://mmuus.org/history/newhistory/MMUUSchurchbuildings.html
). The church doors were then opened and hundreds filed by for a last look at
his loving face. Subsequently, every church seat was filled, the porch was
crowded, and the stairway and yard outside filled with the old and young, rich
and poor, all eager to join in doing honor to the name and memory of a man who
had done so much for so many. Fittingly, Rev. Calthrop gave a moving prayer
during the service that brings tears to the eye just reading it some 135 years later.
A memorial book to Sam May published in 1871 is being prepared for inclusion on
the church web page this fall. It contains much more information about his life
and the funeral service that honored his living, contributions, and meaning to
May Memorial. It stands as a testament to the many leaders who have served this
church so well. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
17. (11/8/06) At
Dave Ashley’s urging, I’ve looked at material in our church archives and the
Syracuse University archives regarding the enormous work by so many associated
with conceiving, planning, designing, and building our current church.
Especially gratifying was reading through a two inch file at the Syracuse
University archival collection regarding the famed Dean Pietro Belluschi’s
numerous architectural contributions to our church. It was intriguing to see
the various push and pull discussions and a willingness by many people to meet
our needs while maintaining the design integrity. Getting behind the scenes of
our fascinating venture in the early 1960s was a real treat.
So many people from May
Memorial contributed countless hours to enable 3800 E. Genesee St. become the
wonderful place that we know. More than 100 people participated via a dozen
crucial committees to make it all happen. Some of the current members involved
included Doug Aird, Howland Auchincloss, Mal Clark, Al Obrist, Helen Obrist,
and Dorothy Riester. The next time you see one of them ask about their memories
of this important time in our church history. To look at some related photos
and papers, go to /churchbuilding.html
.
Many thanks go to Lisa
Obrist (with help from Helen and Al) who was able to identify several people in
photos from that time our current church was being built. Thanks also to Verah
Johnson, newest History Committee member, and Irene Blakeslee and Lyn Coyle who
have typed much of the new Web page material that has been added recently as
noted below.
Finally, three new Web page items have been
added that are well worth your perusal. One is Dr. Catherine Covert’s wonderful
Master’s thesis: Saint Before His Time: Samuel J. May and American
Educational Reform at http://www.mmuus.org/who-we-are/history/covert-may-thesis.html
. Another is a very moving story of Sam May’s life, death, funeral, and burial:
IN
MEMORIAM – Samuel Joseph May. This
can be viewed at /inmemorialsjm.html
. The third is May No One Be A Stranger
by Jean Hoefer and Irene Baros Johnson at /stranger.html
. This wonderfully written history of our church from 1838 to 1988 has been
enhanced with many links to relevant support material. Both these latter two
will be added to the church web page in the near future. Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
18. (11/21/06) I,
like so many, stand in awe of Dan and Doris Sage, who along with Dick Weiskopf,
Sam Feld, and Phil and Donna Muhs-McCarten recently traveled to Fort Benning, Georgia, to bear witness in this
ongoing travesty against social justice. Now called the Western Hemisphere
Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), the school trains Latin American
soldiers, police, and government officials, many of whom return to their
countries to perpetrate various human rights abuses. Dan and Doris, along with
Nick Cardell and other Syracuse residents paid a huge price in the past for
their witness there, even by serving a six month jail term.
May Memorial members and leaders actually have a long
history of heroic acts in the name of social justice. This began with our
direct ancestors in the 1830s who braved isolation, hostility, social
ostracism, and even persecution to start our religious home in Syracuse. Our
many ministers, too, have been courageous leaders for social justice issues. To
name a few, Sam May quickly comes to mind for his work with anti-slavery,
anti-capital punishment, women’s rights, peace, and educational issues just to
name a few of his many accomplishments. We also should not forget Rev. Calthrop
and his advocacy for the Syracuse Boy’s Club, Rev. Argow and his work with
public health and housing, Rev. Applebee and his work with the Red Cross during
WWI, Rev. Fuller and his work in civil rights, and Rev. Cardell and Rev.
Strong’s work with Planned Parenthood.
But it has been our many church wide efforts that have
marked May Memorial as an institution dedicated to social justice. Our various
women’s groups over the years have provided playground equipment for Onondaga
County orphans, bought and distributed milk for undernourished children in the
schools, provided reading and social rooms for unemployed people during the
depression, given financial support to a residence for elderly women, created a
USO-type social environment for soldiers being trained at the State Fair
Grounds during WWII, fed lunches to children whose mothers were working during
that same war, and collected food and clothing for European relief soon after
its end. More recently, our sanctuary efforts some two decades ago during El
Salvador’s horrendous history of abuse, our ongoing homeless and hungry efforts
through the collection of food and other items, and our preparation of meals at
St. Paul’s church serve as examples of that continuing social justice
commitment.
There actually is not room enough in this short
article to give all the credit that is due to the May Memorial people who have
devoted countless hours and many dollars to such important issues. You can read
more about this devotion and why it is easy to take pride in this church for
its ongoing social justice history by reading through
/backwardglance.html and
/stranger.html . So “tip your hat” to Dan, Doris,
Dick, Sam, Phil, and Donna the next time you see them and say thanks as fine
representatives of our great social justice heritage. Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
19. (12/4/06) Barbara
Mihalas recently pointed out to me a great UU web site for church history
buffs, the dictionary of UU biography: http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/index.html
. There is a great Sam May biography there. I’ve now been asked to write one on
Sam Calthrop and may do others later. Speaking of web resources, an 1885
booklet devoted to the October 20, 1885, James St. church dedication is now
online. It makes for some great reading. See especially the sermon by Sam May’s
son, Rev. Joseph May. It is a classic. This booklet is on the backup server ( /maychurch.html
), but eventually will become part of our church web site.
I
recently interviewed Hank Manwell as part of the History Committee’s efforts to
talk with long time May Memorial members so we can learn more about our church
history. We hope to make several interviews available online some time in the
future and they will serve as an important archival resource so current and
future May Memorial members can better understand our past. It was a delightful
interview and I gained much new information. Some of what I learned will appear
in later newsletters and it triggered the heart of this article. We are looking
for other volunteer interviewers; we will do the training and supply the
digital recorder.
I’ve
long been intrigued with the years of service given to May Memorial by Hank’s
parents, Dr. Elizabeth Manwell, our DRE
from 1935-1949, and Dr. Reginald Manwell. Hank provided great first hand
knowledge of their long term involvement with our youth. See May No One Be A Stranger ( /stranger.html
) to find out more about their impact on the church.
Reginald, for example,
wrote with Sophia Lyon Fahs the classic Beacon curriculum text The Church Across the Street (Beacon
Press, 1947; a revised edition was published in 1962). Reginald’s work was
based on his May Memorial church school classes that studied other religious
groups and visited many different congregations in the city. A wonderful
scrapbook in our archives captures the work that he and various young people
did during the 1940-1941 year learning about numerous churches. During then
they visited and studied such Syracuse religious institutions as Jewish
temples, a Russian Orthodox church, a Catholic cathedral, a Lutheran church, an
Episcopal church, a Presbyterian church, a Congregational church, a Methodist
church, a Baptist church, a Christian Scientist church, and the Society of
Friends. I can only imagine the knowledge and memories taken away by the young
people in Syracuse and around the country exposed to this curriculum and
certainly envy their experiences. This paragraph can best be ended by paying
tribute to all the people in May’s history from the 1830s right up through
today who have given of their time and talent serving the youth of our church.
We owe them much. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
20.
(12/30/06) I am very happy to report
that the repaired Sam May marble tablet now resides on our outside west wall
overlooking the Memorial Garden. It is so beautiful and takes your breathe away
when you think that it first adorned our James Street church wall in 1885. When
Jill Evans and I first saw it on December 17 sitting in a protective cradle
built by Dale Sherman while the silicone epoxy was drying, it was truly an
emotional moment. Professor DeRutte did a marvelous job and thanks to those who
helped in various ways, especially in mounting it at its final resting place.
Give Dale a big thanks when next you see him for all the volunteer hours he put
into its restoration and step down to the Memorial Garden and see this true
work of art.
In
keeping with our tablet’s history, in the archives is a collection of moving
memories about the James Street church. Back in the very early 1960s, a
committee headed by a Mrs. Kenneth Kindelsperger and a Polly Lape, asked a
number of current or former members of the Women’s Alliance, a very active
group at May Memorial for many years, to reminiscence about the church. The
decision had already been made to build a new church and they decided it was
important to gather some recollections. We are indebted to their
insightfulness. This newsletter piece and at least the next one will report
some of these nuggets. For example, Florida Tracy remembers how in the 20s and
30s special collections were taken during Sunday services to meet the needs of
several community charities that we having tough financial times because of the
depression. She also remembered Mrs. Bigelow, a stately older women, from one
of the wealthy Syracuse families, who wore small bonnets tied with a velvety
ribbon under her chin, basque [corset shaped] fitting dresses, with billowy
skirts. Mrs. Bigelow had told Florida that she remembered making lemonade as a
little girl for the annual picnic day that the Unitarians held for lower income
children. [We were doing our social justice in many ways a century ago.]
Helen
Eager, who was two years old in 1885 when the James Street church was
dedicated, remembered her grandmother telling about the very early days of the
church when Sunday meetings were sometimes held in cellars and in secret
because the negative feelings toward Unitarians in Syracuse were so intense.
Helen also remembers the last day of Sunday School each year as being very
special. The children would bring in wild flowers and those they picked from
parents’ gardens for decoration. Yards of daisy chains also were hung and the
church always looked very lovely. Finally, in May No One Be A Stranger,
Jean (see elsewhere the sad news about Jean Hoefer’s death from an auto
accident) and Irene talked about the memorial tree tradition that was started
by Nick Cardell (p. 51, /stranger.html ). In the
early 1900s we had another “tree” tradition, the Mitten Tree, where mittens and
other warm clothing were hung on a tree and later donated to people in need.
This tradition even carried over into our current church. It has been fun
peaking in on these great memories and more will be shared later. Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
Continuing
in January, 2007, articles related to our history under the heading “Marvelous History Corner!” were
included in the church newsletter as another means for informing church
parishioners and friends about and generating interest in our history. They are
shown below. The date shown after each number is when it was written. It was
published in the next church newsletter after that date.
1.
(1/9/07) When you get an opportunity,
stop down to the Memorial Garden area and look at the Sam May marble tablet. It
will take your breathe away when you think that it first adorned a May Memorial
church wall in 1885 and now it rests on an MMUUS church wall once again. Thanks
to all who helped in some way in the process of this becoming reality. Go to
our web page (www.mmuus.org) and click on the link to the Samuel May plaque
home at last for more information. Look, too, for a photo display just outside
Rev. Marsh’s office showing the process of placing the tablet on that wall.
As
mentioned in the last newsletter, here are a few more priceless nuggets from
the Mrs. Kenneth Kindelsperger and Polly Lape committee that gleaned some
reminiscences about out church during its long history. Elizabeth Manwell, for
example, remembered that for years in the James St. church, there were
“Children’s Sundays” several times a year and eventually with so many children
they actually encircled the entire congregation. She also recalled one Sunday
right after the church school had been given a victrola (wind up record
player). She placed it next to a curtain that separated the religious education
area from the sanctuary altar. During the junior service that first week it was
there she played a rousing record of an Indian Tribal Dance to illuminate a
folk story they were studying, not thinking about how the sound would carry so
well through the curtain. After the service, Rev. Dr. Argow asked her quite
gently not to that again. Her music happened just as he began his prayer in the
sanctuary; he thought it was coming from the organ and that the organist had
missed his cue, so he kept on praying thinking the organist would figure out
what was happening and stop playing. Dr. Argow told her that he just kept on
praying louder and louder thinking the organ would stop, but eventually he had
to stop praying thinking the organ had won until he figured out from where the
music was coming. Think about that the next time any of us hear some noise in
the foyer during a Sunday service and find ourselves becoming slightly
irritated.
Florida
Tracy talked with fondness about the wonderful work of the Women’s Alliance.
During the Rev. Calthrop and Rev. Applebee ministries right up until WWI, the
Alliance annually gave a Christmas noontime dinner and entertainment to our
church youth on a Saturday before Christmas. Eventually, the Alliance voted to
include the poorest children in the two nearby elementary schools. This
involved 75-100 children, ages 6-8, who typically did not have much of a
Christmas simply because their parents could not afford it. She talked about
the heart warming sight of seeing the wide-eyed kids before a lighted tree and
then as they received food and gifts. She talked, too, that this notion of
giving actually went all the way back to Rev. May’s era when church women made
hospital clothing and bandages that were shipped to the Union front during the
Civil War and then the making of garments and bandages that the Red Cross used
in WWI and WWII. They also made garments and sleepers for refuge infants during
both wars. It certainly makes me proud to belong to a church that has such a
wonderful and long social action heritage.
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
2.
(1/20/07) I just can’t resist sharing
a few more wonderful tidbits from that Kindelsperger and Lape committee on recording
remembrances in the 1960s about fundraising and about a couple of our past
ministers. Think of our current Fine Craft show or biennial Book & CD Sale
as fundraisers. Well, Helen Eager remembered not only concerts and plays as
ways of raising funds, but they also had wax work shows with human models (I
would loved to have seen those). She was part of a large committee, too, that
through Rev. Applebee’s ministry in the 20s made over 400 calls to members and
others who were troubled by the depression and declining economic situation.
One of her memories as a youth was about Sam Calthrop and his “famous”
forgetfulness: “Dr. Calthrop was a great preacher. He was an English man with a
beautifully pitched voice and annunciation. He wore a skull cap over his bald
dome when he thought it proper and started the service with it on. But it was
not proper for the prayer. He would sometimes forget to take it off and we
children would peek from beneath our bowed head to see how long it would be
before he remembered to slip his hand up, sneaking it off into his pocket.” She
also mentioned his propensity to be a bit long-winded at times: “My grandfather
was also English and he and the Doctor were close friends. Sometimes the Doctor
would get too absorbed in his sermon and go on and on. Grandfather was way down
in front and he would hold up his big repeater watch which the Doctor would
eventually see and wind up the sermon abruptly.”
It
seems so common today that sports contests can be held in the evening with all
the available stadium lighting. Floss Eustin remembered early in the last
century when she and family members would travel to Rev. Calthrop home, known
as Primrose Hill, on Sunday afternoons for picnics and visiting with others.
Sam, who was a tennis enthusiast, would string lanterns around his tennis court
so tennis matches could continue into the early evening and then there would be
dancing until midnight. Helen Eager also remembered people frequently going to
Primrose Hill after Sunday services where they could look through his telescope
and he would talk about his astronomy interests. Polly Lape talked fondly about
the custom of using the Sunday collection money gathered near Thanksgiving and
Christmas to buy food and clothing for those in need throughout the community.
She also remembered Dr. Applebee’s interest in dramatics and that he engineered
as a fundraiser in the church, a famous play in the 20s entitled, “The Old
Peabody Pew,” a Christmas romance about a
country church. She later became involved in annual Christmas pageants, also
used as fundraisers. Finally, Gladys Timmerman recalled another interesting
fundraising activity by the Women’s Alliance that “was a lot of work, but also
a lot of fun, and brought people together.” It was called the “Department
Store,” and involved the sale of various items. The Alliance also was known for
its fundraising dinners that were so popular there would need to be several
sittings before everyone was served. So the next time you are asked to help
with a fundraising event, remember that they have been an integral part of May
Memorial for many, many years.
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
3.
(2/5/07) Sam May’s legacy is
everywhere! In late January I was at Framingham State College (Framingham, MA)
to deliver a keynote address on teaching adults for the college’s continuing
education faculty. A panel of three faculty gave a reaction to my address after
I finished. I met with them a half hour before the session to determine
procedures. The first to arrive was a delightful Professor of History. As the
others were gathering he began describing his current research project, an
examination of the past Framingham State College presidents. He said his
favorite president was Samuel J. May. You could have knocked me over with a feather,
as I stammered that he was the man for whom my church was named. As we both
enthusiastically began sharing information, some pieces from his life prior to
living in Syracuse began dropping into place.
Horace
Mann, Massachusetts’s initial Secretary of Education, established the first
experimental normal school in the country to train women as teachers. This was
in 1839 and the first Principal (top official) was Harvard educated Cyrus
Pierce. Cyrus became ill and had to step down in 1842. Sam May had been
minister of the South Scituate (MA) Unitarian church from 1836-1842. Mr. Mann
convinced Sam that because he already had such a passion for improving
education, to take on the Principal role. He served the Normal School for two
full years where the enrollment doubled, the school was relocated from its
first location in Lexington to West Newton, and many new faculty were hired.
Upon Mr. Pierce regaining full health, Sam then accepted the position at our
church. As the Normal School eventually moved to Framingham and ultimately
became a state college, Sam is called the institution’s second president. To
read just a bit more and, especially, to see a photo of Sam in those early
years and when he did not have a beard, go to this link:
/normalschool.html
Just
a bit more about Sam. When he was beginning his ministerial work in
Massachusetts, he laid much of the groundwork for his ministry with us. He
formed a Peace Society in 1826 and in 1827 called the first State Convention on
Education to consider the defects of common schools. While at the Scituate
church his Sunday School children became staunch adherents of Peace and
Universal Freedom. In his efforts to promote total abstinence, he also organized a “Cold Water Army” of a few hundred young
people, who marched through the town and chanted "eternal hate to all that
doth intoxicate." He put the rum dealers and liquor establishments out of
business, but the people still loved him as a pastor. That was our Sam!
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
4.
(2/13/07) Since becoming the MMUUS
archivist, I have been fascinated with Sam Calthrop, our third minister.
Besides being a beloved long-time minister of this church, he was well known as
an athlete, philosopher, and even poet. However, one of his favorite avocations
was dabbling in science. For example, on August 8, 1865, he filed a patent (No.
49,227) for “improvement in construction of railway trains and cars.” This was
way ahead of its time and the forerunner of what became known as the bullet train.
It called for tapering the front and rear to lower wind resistance, encasing
each car with a false bottom for further sleekness, raising the tender to
create a bullet shape, enclosing doors to make them flush with the sides of
each car, enclosing the intervals between cars with flexible hoods, rounding as
much as practicable the sides of all cars, and avoiding all projecting surfaces
such as window ledges. The patent material included drawings that also seemed
ahead of their time even by today’s standards. A need for cash with a growing
family eventually resulted in sale of the patent. Oh! If he had only kept it
and willed it to May Memorial!
Another
endeavor was his interest in the sun and sun spots. Using a telescope, he
studied the sun for many years and began forecasting the weather based on his
growing knowledge. The local Syracuse papers even relied on some of his
predictions. For history buffs, an interesting related article can be found in
the Syracuse Herald, April 4, 1915. Those non-skiers who have suffered
through the cold and snow as of late can take solace in Sam’s thoughts from
that article: “Be patient with the present weather conditions. The longer these
conditions continue, the better weather we will have during the summer.” So, if
you can find the sun, give it a glance and know that Sam is predicting a great
summer for us.
On
another note, Janet and I had a great time visiting Hank and Sally Manwell in
their Melbourne (Florida) UU church a few Sundays ago. Thus, it seems fitting
to quote Hank’s mom, Elizabeth, from her September 20, 1964, reminiscence on
the James Street Church. She remembered four great thoughts from the sermons of
past ministers: Dr. Argow – “You are God. He is not up there, out there, he is
the great creative force about and within all.” Rev. Romig – “You have
wholeness within you. Think not mainly of your immaturities, think of your
strengths.” Rev. Canfield – “Cultivate the growing-edge of your minds.” Rev.
Zoerheide – “Seek to find the hidden loveliness that is in every human being.”
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
5.
(3/3/07) As we are near finding our
next settled minister, let’s remember our past ministers. Much could be said
about each, but only a few highlights are presented here. Our ministerial
history begins with Rev. John Storer (1839-1844). He worked diligently to raise
money for our first regular building, the Church of the Messiah. He traveled
throughout the east soliciting nearly 40% of the necessary funds from friends,
many of whom were not Unitarians. Most readers of this newsletter know
much about Rev. Sam May, our 2nd minister (1845-1868), and Rev. Sam
Calthrop, our 3rd minister (1868-1911), as several past history
corner pieces have been about them (see the two web links shown at the end of
this article for more information).
Our 4th
minister, Rev. John Applebee (1911-1929), was very active in the Syracuse
community as well as with his May Memorial activities. He headed several civic
and charitable organizations and supported the Association of Workers for the
Blind, learning Braille so he could transcribe literature for them. Rev.
Waldemar Argow, our 5th minister (1930-1941), was highly respected
for his sermons. He was actively involved in Syracuse with membership in the
Onondaga Health Association and a committee to study housing needs. He also was
active in denominational activities and was a member of several American
Unitarian Association committees.
Rev. Robert Romig
(1941-1946), our 6th minister, was not only respected as an effective
church leader, he also stepped up during WWII to serve on the United War Fund
that raised funds for the USO, War Prisoners' Aid, Seamen's Service, and
various foreign relief agencies. Our 7th minister, Rev. Glenn
Canfield (1946-1952), was active in the NAACP during his May Memorial ministry.
He also chaired a Syracuse Council of Churches housing committee to improve
living conditions for black residents. Our 8th minister, Rev. Robert
Zoerheide (1952-1961), also served on the board of NAACP and supported civil
rights and better housing efforts. He was instrumental, too, in convincing our
congregation to support the Unitarian and Universalist merger. Our 9th
minister, Rev. John Fuller (1961-1973), was very active in social action
activities within the community, including the Civil Rights struggle and the
anti-Vietnam War effort. He also counseled conscientious objectors and women
seeking legal abortions outside of New York.
Rev. Nick Cardell
(1974-1995), our 10th minister, served as Chairperson of the Planned
Parenthood board during the 1970s. He also protested the School of the Americas
(SOA) at Fort Benning, Georgia, was subsequently arrested, and served a
six-month jail sentence. Rev. Liz Strong (1988-2001), our first female minister
(of Religious Education), also was heavily involved with the Planned
Parenthood. In addition, she coordinated a strong adult education program for
May Memorial. Our most recent settled minister, Rev. Scott Taylor (1997-2004),
helped organize our efforts with the Southside Interfaith Housing Corporation
and facilitated numerous Soul Matters adult education groups. Wow! What energy,
dedication, and devotion to May Memorial and our community from them all. The
heritage they helped create provides a solid foundation upon which the new
minister will build our future. Check out
/backwardglance.html,
/stranger.html, and our church web page for even
more information.
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
6.
(3/20/07) On behalf of the History
Committee, I am pleased to announce that MMUUS has received another grant from
the New York State Convention of Universalists. This will enable us to continue
our preservation activities, create some additional history display areas, and
even share what we have learned as a committee with others in the St. Lawrence
District. We still welcome anyone who would like to join the committee or
volunteer to word process old material, scan documents, prepare documents for
Syracuse University Library, etc.
There
have been many pieces in this column written about Sam May, but there is so
much information pertaining to our namesake that can be shared. Thus, here is
another piece. As many already know, Sam grew up in a fairly privileged home.
He had eleven siblings but, as was often the case in the 19th
Century, eight died as youths or as young adults. Only one sister and brother
lived beyond their mid 30s. Sam therefore had many opportunities in terms of
education, obtaining private schooling as a young person and then two Harvard
degrees, including graduation from divinity school. The circles in which he was
able to travel meant that he knew people like William Ellery Channing, Horace
Mann, and Daniel Webster. Later in life he became friends with notables such as
Susan B. Anthony, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Garrit Smith, and William Lloyd Garrison
(publisher of the anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator).
He
had many interesting relatives, too. One relative in the 17th
Century published a history of the English Parliament. On his mother’s side a
great grandfather was minister of Boston’s Old South Church, another relative
wrote the first anti-slavery book in 1700 (The Selling of Joseph),
great-aunt, Dorothy, married John Hancock, and great grandfather Chief Justice
Joseph Sewell of Salem, was the first official to expose the Salem witchcraft
delusions. His father, Joseph (a successful businessman who would have become a
minister had not the Revolutionary War intervened), was a long-time Warden (lay
leader, often involved in day-to-day church operation) and ardent supporter of
King’s Chapel in Boston, the first Unitarian Church in the United States. In
fact, Joseph is buried in a church crypt. Andy Tripp shared a photo he took of
the explanatory marble tablet. It can be seen at
/crypt.html. Finally, his sister, Abigail, was the
wife of Transcendentalist, Amos Bronson Alcott, and their daughter was Louisa
May Alcott who authored Little Women and many other books. Sam obviously
led an interesting life, including the time he spent in Syracuse with our
congregation.
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
7.
(4/2/07) Father Roy Bourgeois’ April 1st
Sam May day presentation on his ongoing work to bring about closure of the
United States’ shameful School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia, was
most meaningful. He said many things that conjured up connections to our
history. Obviously, we all feel tremendous pride in the sacrifices Nick
Cardell, Dan Sage, Doris Sage, and several others from Syracuse and throughout
New York made directly related to the SOA watch, but there are other historical
connections.
Quite
early Rev. Bourgeois said, “our greatest enemy is ignorance.” Sam May is
remembered for his important work in abolition and his foundational efforts in
the eventual repealing of the dreaded Fugitive Slave Act. However, what many
don’t know is that Sam overcame some initial ignorance about slavery to reach
these crucial efforts. Sam preached his
first sermon on the evils of slavery in
It
was William Lloyd Garrison who helped Sam overcome his ignorance about the
injustice of the Colonization Society’s approach. After hearing an October 15,
1830, speech by Garrison, Sam and others talked for hours with him and Sam had
what he later called his “midnight conversion.” He said “that night my soul was
baptized in his spirit, and ever since I have been a disciple and
fellow-laborer of William Lloyd Garrison.” Fortunately, out of that initial
ignorance grew a leader who became so important in helping to rid the country
of slavery.
There
have been many others in May Memorial’s history that followed Father Bourgeois’
words, “the truth cannot be silenced.” Think of the three past MMUUS ministers
who marched in support of Civil Rights (Cardell, Fuller, and Papandrew). Think
of Lilian Reiner’s relentless pursuit of eliminating the death penalty. Think
of the courageous church leaders who turned MMUUS into a safe haven for El
Salvadorian refugees, even at the risk of criminal prosecution had the
government decided to pursue such action. Think of the current Thursday morning
church members who are creating such history by holding vigil against the Iraq
war. There have been many other examples in our history, but space limitations
means such information is saved for later articles. Suffice to say, there is
much for which we can be proud that echo Rev. Bourgeois’ words, “not in our
name.”
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
8.
(4/14/07) The story of Sam May and Prudence Crandall,
a Quaker, is a forerunner of his advocacy both for education and abolition
while in Syracuse. Prudence opened a Female Boarding School in 1833 in
Canterbury, CT, near Brooklyn, CT, Sam's first ministry. Within a few weeks
Prudence enrolled Sarah Harris, daughter of a black farmer. The entire village
soon was in an uproar and several leaders demanded she dismiss Sarah. She
courageously refused and community members began pulling out their children.
Sam heard about it and wrote Sarah offering to help in any way he could.
She found
solace and courage in his encouragement, making it known her school would be
opened to "young ladies and little misses of color." The community's
uproar became even more intense and she wrote to Sam requesting assistance. He
quickly came to Canterbury and found much about which to be concerned. He
returned to Brooklyn and rallied others to provide her support. She asked Sam
and Calvin Philleo, who later became her husband, to represent her as attorneys
at a Canterbury town meeting. Sam and Calvin were vilified there and even
physically threatened.
Prudence
eventually had several black students, but there was much harassment by
community members, including physical damage to the school and her home. The
Connecticut state legislature even enacted a "Black Law" which forbid
the establishment of any black school unless approved by school district
voters. However, Prudence kept her school open, was then arrested, and jailed.
She was brought to trial in August, 1833, and the state's Supreme Court
eventually overturned a sentence. Unfortunately, the community continued
tormenting Prudence and the students, almost succeeding in burning down the
school. Prudence finally closed it out of fear for their safety. Sam May was the
one to tell students the school was closing and later stated how much agony he
felt: "I felt ashamed of Canterbury, ashamed of Connecticut, ashamed of my
country, ashamed of my color." This all is a sad reminder of how little we
have changed during the past 175 years.
Three quick
notes: (a) Photos of Sam and Lucretia May's headstones are at http://www.mmuus.org/who-we
Rog
Hiemstra, Archivist
9. (5/3/07) I was delighted a
few months ago to discover in our archives an 83 page manuscript written in 1939
by Edith Calthrop Bump, Rev. Sam Calthrop's daughter. It is a biography of
Sam's early years, including when he lived in England and then into his first
several years in the U.S. Edith donated it to our archives where it has
languished for these past several decades. Lyn Coyle recently volunteered to
word process it and I added numerous links so that it now serves as a way of
getting to know Sam better, but at the same time provides an historical journey
through England and the United States for several decades beginning in 1829.
This delightful read is at
For example, read about his very early years,
including his time at a boarding school. Gain some insight into why he became
such an incredible thinker, how he developed an interest in science, and the
process by which he became such a talented athlete. Read about his skill
development as a chess player, including descriptions of how he defeated
several older opponents. Experience his growing skills as a teacher.
In terms of this web page as a history guide, see how
he came to know William Henry Waddington, a school mate, who eventually became
a French Prime Minister. Learn when Robert E. Lee asked him to teach West Point
cadets how to play cricket. Enjoy the first time he met such notables as Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Julia Ward Howe. He even preached for
several months in Theodore Parker's (a famous early Unitarian minister) church
in Boston before coming to Syracuse. An enjoyable chapter is Edith's
description of how her father invented and patented the "Air Resisting
Train."
Another delightful experience (archivists have all the
fun) was discovering in our archives several weeks ago a 380 page unpublished
manuscript that is a biography of Sam May. Authored by Professor W. Freeman
Galpin (a long-time SU history professor until his death in 1963), it provides
a wonderful new glimpse into Rev. May's life. I gained a much deeper
understanding of Sam by reading it. The good news is that it can soon be shared
with everyone. I obtained permission from his daughter to include it on our web
page. I've word processed the first chapter and placed it on the web to give
you a sneak preview:
10. (6/4/07) Several
things came together compelling this article: (a) Feeling so gladdened by Paul
Darmody-Latham's safe return from Afghanistan; (b) hearing John's powerful
Memorial Day sermon; (c) our weekly anti-war vigiling efforts; (d) viewing The
Ground Truth, about the struggles many U.S. men and women face after
returning from Iraq; and (e) thinking about Michael and Mariah Dillon's
daughter currently in the military as we all hope she stays out of harm's way.
The angst many
of us feel about war, patriotism, and political wrangling is real, but
not new in our church history. Sam May experienced much personal conflict
throughout life regarding people's suffering because of war, slavery, gender
discrimination, and many other issues. He was especially torn as the Civil War
approached. Sam felt deeply that war was a sin but also believed that any peace
built on continuing slavery was a bigger sin. From his diary in July, 1862:
"Nothing but slavery seems to be so bad as war." He finally came to
the agonizing decision that the war must be fought to end slavery.
This type of
agonizing has existed for May Memorial parishioners and leaders for decades.
Several of our past church members served in the military, with many
war-related deaths in World Wars I and II. Rev. John Applebee (minister from 1911-1929)
so agonized over WWI that he received a leave of absence to work with the Red
Cross overseas for several months. Rev. Nick Cardell (minister from 1974-1995)
was a prisoner-of-war during the second world war. Nick Cardell, Dan and Doris
Sage, and others in the Syracuse community even served prison time after
protesting this government's training of South American military leaders who,
in turn, brutally suppress people in their own country.
It is, of
course, naïve to assume that such agonizing will ever cease. Our inability to
get along with others seems a constant, and new generations usually repeat the
errors of the past. Perhaps the cries for peace, justice, and good will that
reach us down through the history of May Memorial will sustain us in our own
efforts to work together even more successfully through our new Covenant of
Right Relations.
Ending on a
brighter note, June Card was pleasantly surprised in leafing through 1947
Beacon Press The Church Across the Street by Reginald Manwell and Sophia
Fahs to find a photo (p. 285) of the minister in the church where she attended
as a young person. He also came out of retirement to officiate at her wedding
to Howard. Finally, two new web page tributes are available: one to Sam May at
11.
(7/16/07) I've recently read what has been on my
"to do" list for some time, a sermon preached by Sam May to our
predecessors on Sunday, September 15, 1867. By my reckoning, it must have been
nearly two hours in length, but, wow, was it revealing. Entitled "A
Discourse," it turned out to be Rev. May's resignation sermon. It no doubt
caught many parishioners by surprise, but the energy, compassion, and
retrospective insights he packed into what was eventually labeled as "A
Brief Account of His Ministry," must have kept the audience captivated
throughout.
Fortunately,
as often happened during that time period, a power packed sermon deemed worthy
of historical capture immediately resulted in several church leaders formally
requesting by letter that Rev. May make his copy available. Then a group placed
his hand written message into a publishable form and disseminated it. A copy survived
and was included with Sam's papers donated to Cornell University after his
death. You can read this fascinating account of his life as a minister at http://dlxs.library.cornell
Read about Sam's
views on the rise of Unitarianism, how he became involved with abolition,
education, intemperance, Native American conditions, pacifism, the deplorable
conditions of "canal boys" and other orphans, and women's rights. Sam
was revered throughout his life and after his death as a person consistent in
his beliefs and one who truly lived by a firm mental and moral discipline. He
was referred to by many as God's Chore boy and reading this discourse you
really come to understand why. I heartily recommend this moving sermon and am
confident you will obtain a greater understanding of our namesake. (The
biography of Sam entitled God's Chore Boy, by W. Freeman Galpin, is
being added to in the simulation web page as chapters are typed. It, too, makes
for great reading:
Finally, the
History Committee will be coordinating the Sunday Service on August 12. We'll
take a walk down memory lane regarding our past church buildings with slides,
narration, and reflections by several church members who were part of our
church community bridging across the former James St. church to our current
site. We hope you can join us. Immediately following the service there will be
a formal dedication of permanent photos of our past ministers in the Memorial
Room. Join us there, too.
12. (8/19/07) Harsey
Leonard and I, assisted by other History Committee members conducted the August
12 Sunday Service (see /aug12oos.pdf
for the Order of Service). Slide shows supplemented the “sermon” presentations
(see /churchbuildings.pdf)
as well as a handout (see /buildinghistory.pdf).
We were gratified by a large summer attendance and appreciated the support of
Doug Aird, Malcolm Clark, Hank Manwell, and Al Obrist as they shared some
memories. This was followed by a dedication service for our past ministers’
photos now hanging in a permanent “memories” display on the east wall of the
Memorial Room. See /dedicationprogram.pdf
to examine the related material and see the photos when next you are in church.
A few weeks ago I learned that the SU
Special Collections had purchased 12 letters (eight by Sam May), written
1852-1858, on Sam’s efforts to develop a school for youth on the Onondaga
Reservation. Reading them was enjoyable and I’d recommend the experience. See /sammayletters.pdf for more information. About the same time President
Fred Fiske shared with me a new Beacon Press book. Titled Beacon Press and the Pentagon Papers, it is a fairly quick read but
excellent discussion of Beacon Press’ courageous decision to publish the
Pentagon Papers in the early 1970s and the legal entanglements that followed. The
book is chilling in many ways and as one reviewer noted, it is a message for
our own time.
I was recently doing research on Sam
Calthrop and came across a fascinating description of him in The Craftsman, an October, 1905,
publication by Gustov Stickley. It is
worth examining just to see the neat ads of Stickley furniture. You can read it
at http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/DLDecArts/DLDecArts-idx?id=DLDecArts.hdv09n01
.
Finally, here is a bit of MMUUS
history trivia. Why did Rev. W. W. W. Argow have so many names? He was a fifth
generation minister and his parents may have expected he, too, would go into
the ministry. His first name, Wendelin, was for the father of Transcendental
philosophy, German scholar Wendelin Meyer. The second name, Waldemar, was for
the bishop of West Goths, who in 390 A.D. brought Christianity to the pagans of
the Teutonic woods. His third name, Weiland, stood for the father of
spiritualistic or idealistic poetry as noted in our early church history, A Backward Glance O’er Traveled Roads.
Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
13. (9/05/07) Janet and I recently visited the John Brown farm and grave
in North Alba, New York (http://www.nyhistory.com/gerritsmith/nelba.htm), near
the Lake Placid Olympic ski jumping complex. We are both reading Russell Bank’s
Cloudsplitter, a recounting of
abolitionist John Brown’s life, including the legendary raid on the Harpers
Ferry armory, so the visit seemed appropriate. It was a wonderful experience
and I highly recommend both the visit and the book.
We had a wonderful guide, whose great,
great grandmother helped John’s wife, Mary Ann, when John was gone because of
his abolitionist activities. The guide provided an excellent tour of the home
and regaled us with many facts and stories. It was clear that Mary Ann, like
many spouses of abolitionists, had to carry a very heavy load just to keep the
family afloat, as John was away from home more than he was there. John’s death,
as well of the deaths of several sons during the raid, was a tremendous blow to
be endured throughout the remainder of her life.
It reminded me of the huge load
Lucretia May had to carry when Sam was so heavily involved in abolitionist
activities and away from his family for many weeks at a time. In one letter
Lucretia said, “I have counted the days and shall begin to count the hours till
your longed for return; don’t disappoint us, but come, come speedily to warm
hearts if not wise heads.” A more telling lament was in a later letter: “You
have been gone four weeks tomorrow and perhaps are beginning to be weaned from
us. I should not be at all surprised if you were, you must have so much more
peace and quietness than when subjected to the . . . interruptions caused by
wife and children. But my greater wonder is that we ever marry at all,
especially those who intend to be world reformers and pass their time at a
distance from the families. It would seem to me more wise and more judicious as
well as more kind to avoid such entanglements and such burdens altogether.” Wow!
(See /galpin-may.html for more insight into Sam and
Lucretia’s lives.)
No doubt John Brown, Sam May, and the
many others who chose to be away from family for long stretches of time thought
about what was being left behind and lamented, too, about the sacrifices.
Obviously, this still happens today and those of us fortunate enough to be able
to spend quality time with family can count our blessings.
Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
14. (9/20/07)
MMUUS will host
the Samuel Calthrop Chess Championship on December 1 (http://www.mmuus.org/news&events/samuel-calthrop-chess-championship.html).
It is a chance for us to showcase Rev. Calthrop and an opportunity for chess
players in the area to become acquainted with our church. Perhaps some readers
of this newsletter will consider participating. At Anton Ninno’s urging, I
developed an informational piece for the media and any others who may want to
know more. Here are some of the highlights.
Our
beloved minister for 43 years, the longest pastorate in our history and one of
the longest in the history of Unitarianism, Sam made many contributions to
Syracuse. He started the Syracuse Boy’s Club and gave lectures and offered
classes to church members as well as others on a wide range of subjects,
including botany, philosophy, poetry, geology, and astronomy. His skill in
predicting the weather by studying sun spots led Syracuse newspapers to rely on
his forecasts. He even grew the first tomatoes ever shown at the State Fair.
Rev.
Calthrop was a gifted athlete, too, excelling in numerous sports during his
lifetime, including billiards, cricket, crew, tennis, rugby, and boxing. He
made local news when one night he discovered a prowler in his house and dropped
the poor man to the floor with a left to the chin. When he awoke, the burglar
found the police ready to take him to jail. Sam Calthrop’s athletic prowess
made him much desired as the person to teach others and during his time in the
U.S. he coached crew teams for Yale, Cornell, and Syracuse Universities. He
also coached the West Point cadet cricket team.
One
of his biggest loves, however, was chess. Having learned as a youngster, he
grew in skill and began playing some of England’s best in his teens. He
continued his passion for chess in the U.S. He was one of 16 players invited to
the first American Chess Congress held in New York City in 1857. After moving
to Syracuse he accomplished more chess feats, winning the New York State Championship
in 1880 and 1883. When chess genius
Harry N. Pillsbury once played ten simultaneous games of chess while
blindfolded, his only loss was to Sam Calthrop. Sam, too, loved to play
blindfolded and also play several games simultaneous. Among Syracuse friends
with whom he played regularly were a rabbi, priest, and Presbyterian minister.
Ah, Sam, our ecumenical pastor.
Rog Hiemstra, Archivist
15. (10-3-07) I could write every newsletter article about Sam May for
years to come and only begin to scratch the surface of his complexity. I
anticipate that in many ways he thought of himself as no one unusual, just
committed to things in which he believed. But, oh, there were so many things!
In this article I provide a brief chronology of just his first three years in
Syracuse where only a few of his many activities, endeavors, and interests give
some insight into his varied life.
·
1845: April,
arrives in Syracuse; July, delivers a speech on the evils of war; July,
delivers a principal address at the Sons of Temperance celebration; October,
among 170 Unitarian ministers to sign a protest to American Slavery; November,
preaches a sermon in our church on what will become his famous “Rights and
Conditions of Women” (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?naw:3:./temp/~ammem_33Hy::)
·
1846: June 1,
writes an anti-war (Mexican-American war) letter to be published in the Syracuse Star and is publically called a
traitor by the editor; June 18, petition of protest in Syracuse Star has 110 names (including many from our church); June
24, Sam’s letter appear in the Star;
August, delivers a lecture “The Education of the Faculties and Proper
Employment of Young Children” (it is published the following year); chosen a
member of the Board of Managers of the State Temperance Society
·
1847: August,
present at the founding of the Free Soil party (opposed to an extension of
slavery into the U.S. territories newly acquired from Mexico) in Buffalo; September,
Sam May and Frederick Douglas are leading speakers in a Syracuse abolition
meeting; September, Sam attends the Syracuse meeting of the Liberty Party
(anti-slavery in focus) and is selected as a delegate to the national meeting.
Sam also was devoted to our church and seldom missed a
Sunday service. He also found the time and means to minister to his “flock,”
even though he frequently had to travel within New York and beyond. No doubt
his time with his family was not what he wanted it to be, but Lucretia bravely
kept the home fires burning. What little time he could spend with her and his
children was precious indeed as he noted in his diary and in letters home.
For those who want more insight into his hectic but
important life, and he kept up the pace hinted at above throughout his adult years,
here are some selected web sites:
Heretic in Syracuse (http://www.mmuus.org/who-we-are/history/may-heretic-in-syracuse.html);
Saint Before His Time (http://www.mmuus.org/who-we-are/history/covert-may-thesis.html);
and God’s Chore Boy (/galpin-may.html).
Rog Hiemstra, Archivist