AN HOUR A DAY
I usually spend about an hour a day pecking away on the keyboard writing the verger’s voice, it has become one of my better habits. Although, some days I sit down at the computer and stare at the blank screen, my fingers are on the keyboard but nothing appears. Then there are other days when I can’t stop typing and two or three installments will be done before I know it. These last couple of weeks has been one of those times when nothing appeared. It is not like I have nothing to write about, in twenty-seven installments I haven’t even touched the history of our parish. We still have two rectors to talk about (I’ll let Mother Barbara write her own history) and then there is the Episcopal Home and Episcopal Square. I want to tell you about the bell in our tower, the Mary Garden, and the fireplace bricks. There is so much I want to tell you about St. Andrew’s but the words just wouldn’t appear on the screen.
When I couldn’t will my fingers to type anything, I would work on sorting papers from our archives. Three file boxes and a few large cardboard boxes filled with papers, pictures and old records. Old bulletins went in one pile, newspaper clippings in another and letters and pictures were put in smaller boxes. Then as I began putting each pile in some type of order and putting each page in a notebook, I suddenly realized this wasn’t the time to write about our history but to show you. For the next few weeks you will find four white notebooks on one of the tables in the parish life center. These books tell the story of St. Andrew’s better than I ever will.
The first book contains bulletins from years past. The oldest is from 1906 when the cornerstone was laid. That had to be an exciting day as the masons laid the large stone and the Bishop set it with three taps of the hammer. Then there is the bulletin from the soul/rock mass held here in the 60’s, can you imagine, rock and roll in an Episcopal church. Most of the others are from Christmas and Holy week through the years but be sure to look for a few other special services.
The second book has letters and papers that are very important to our history. Letters from 1903 that John Clifford Phillips wrote to arrange funding for St. Andrew’s. Letters from the Bishops of the diocese and important papers to organize a mission here. Letters and papers that show how we got to where we are today. There is also a transcript from an interview that Deacon Janice Fritz and Father Ted Babcock had with Father Ron Lynch, this is a must read.
The third notebook is filled with newspaper clippings from over the years. Most are from the 40’s,50’s, 60’s and early 70’s when things in the church were big news. Early articles are from the Harrisburg paper and the Churchman, writing about our beginnings here. Father Lynch had a knack for getting his picture in the paper, so there is a whole section about his years here. You will find things about building the PLC, the Episcopal Home and Episcopal Square and some of our members that made the news. This book isn’t finished, as St. Andrew’s makes the news we will keep adding to its pages.
The last book is pictures I found, you can also find other picture albums in the library. For some of us it will be like looking at an old family album and for newer members you may see someone you just met. As your looking through this book feel free to pull a picture out and write a comment or add a name. If you have a picture you would like to add to the collection, just give it to one of the vergers.
My hope is that you will enjoy these notebooks as much as I enjoyed putting them together.