Before the Methodist Church was built, services were held in the vacant school building which stood in the N.E. part of Stewart. Some of the early ministers in the schoolhouse were: Rev. Swinnerton, Rev. G.W. Scott, Rev. F.E. Fairbanks and Rev. Geo. W. Wright. Those holding office in the Church in 1896 were: Pastor Thomas Swinnerton; Presiding Elder, R.R. Atchinson; S.S. Supt. M.M. Prindle; Church Sec., Mrs. A.B. Hoyt (grandmother of Mrs. Gladys Larson). In 1896 the Ladies Aid had twenty-eight members. They had two meetings a month, a business meeting and a social meeting. Lunch was served at the social meeting and the families were invited. The ladies held a public fair and supper once a year which usually added $65 to $100 to their treasury. The Ladies Aid worked hard in those early years with suppers, ice cream socials and the like. August 13, 1900, W.E. Bennett, Mrs. Luckman, Mrs. C.K. Donaldson, Mrs. Betsy Rehse and Mrs. C.N. Perkins were appointed as a committee to select a lot and get subscriptions for a new church. This task was achieved and the Methodist Church building was built by Frank Senescall, who built three churches here within a few years. On September 14, 1902, the Church was dedicated by G.B. Hingeley, who was a Presiding Elder at this time. Miss Jenny Reed was S.S. Supt. and Rev. E.D. Face was the first pastor in our new church. Trustees were: Hiram Donaldson, C.R. Donaldson, Mrs. M.B. Luckman, Mrs. E. Nott, Mrs. Sarah Padden and Edward Padden. Stewards were: Mrs. Carrie Donaldson, Mrs. Sarah Padden, Mrs. E. Nott, Mrs. M.B. Luckman. In 1904, O.E. Smith, Supt. of the Public School became S.S. Supt. He served this position for a number of years until he moved from Stewart. There were seventy pupils enrolled and the average attendance was forty-five plus. Also in 1904, the Board decided we should purchase a parsonage. Rev. Face and his family had been living in three rooms in a home across the street from the church. They had come from a large city in Ohio and were not accustomed to the inconveniences here, but they were very patient and happy. $1,000.00 was borrowed from Mrs. Thesresa Ann Allyn (Allyn Ahlers' grandmother) and $342.00 was raised by subscriptions to pay Miss Jenny Reed on the parsonage. The first Junior Epworth League of thirtysix members was started by Mrs. Face, the pastor's wife. There was no young people's group in the Congregational Church, so they joined ours. Miss Nellie Cayott assisted Mrs. Face. Members of the first choir in our Church were: Mrs. C.R. Donaldson, her brother W.H. Houck, and Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Schultz. Mrs. J.E. Ahlers was the organist. A W.C.T.U. was organized in 1904, but there has been no such organization for many years. There was an active Ladies Aid and Women's Foreign Missionary Society of Christian Service was organized to take their place in 1940. Until 1926, there were resident ministers living in the parsonage at Stewart and taking the Buffalo Lake - Stewart Charge. Then for two years, Student Pastors were sent from Hamline University. From 1928 to 1946 again there was a regular minister living in the parsonage, then a retired minister for three years, then students for a few years. In 1956, Stewart, Buffalo Lake and Brownton were all put on one Charge and again had a minister. Membership was decreasing and it was a struggle to pay and keep ministers. By 1966, Buffalo Lake had joined with the E.U.B. Church there, and Rev. Biebighauser asked to be released to attend seminary. There was no promise for a replacement from the District Supt. Dr. Cowman, the D.S. called a special meeting on July 5, 1966. He had made arrangements for the Hutchinson Methodist pastor, Rev. Sheffield, to supply our pulpit for a year, at which time Rev. I.E. Kottke would be retired from the E.U.B. Church at Hutchinson, and he would be the minister. He served faithfully until 1974 when, due to several sad circumstances, the church was forced to close. The 75th Anniversary for the Stewart Methodist Church - Sunday, October 31, 1971, was a big day for Methodists in Stewart. Rev. Kottke had special services at morning worship and the St. Boniface dining hall across the street was used for the noon meal. Here, past ministers and our oldest and most faithful member, Mrs. Mattie Headley, were honored. A fine program was held and people reminisced to their heart's delight. June 1973, Rev. Kottke and his wife were honored on their 50th Wedding Anniversary and also 50 years of the ministry for Rev. Kottke. The congregation tried to keep going but found it was useless. On Feburary 7, 1974, Rev. Donald Walker, the Dist. Supt., met with the congregation at the Church and it was voted unanimously to close. The members have found church homes elsewhere in Brownton, Buffalo Lake, Hutchinson, Hector and Fernando. All the memorials from the church were returned to their donors. All other contents were sold at public auction on June 14, 1974, including the building which Milo Zieman bought and moved out to his farm where it was used for threshing shows for a few years. It is now used for storage. The parsonage was also sold later to Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Zieman. |
