Pleasant
Grove Church
Founded 1873
Where everyone is Welcome!
Current Church Information
Church History
Cemetery Information
Annual Ice Cream Social
Other Pleasant Grove Churches
Groups for Youth of the Church
Compiled by Donna Jacobs
Pleasant Grove had active young people from its early beginnings. Family
life in the late 1800's and early 1900's was very much centered around
the local community church. In the early days the young people formed
what was called the Epworth League. Their meetings were held on Sunday
evenings. In the summer most walked to the church. In the winter many of
them skated to the meetings on the frozen Skunk River. Ida, Nora and
Bertha Jacobs some times came on their fathers's old grey mule named
Gyp.
This was a busy group of young people. They held ice cream socials,
special programs for the church and community and had activities such as
bob sled rides to entertain themselves. The Epworth League was called on
many times to pay the preacher. They had a three act play called
"Cranberry Corners" that they especially enjoyed performing. They raised
enough money with these performances to purchase the pulpit that we have
in the church today. It is believed that this was in 1913.
On Sunday mornings for Sunday School and also for Epworth meetings on
Sunday evening, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sowers used to sing duets. They
called it "note singing". They did not sing the words. The children
called it Do-Re-Me-Fa. Occasionally a couple named Taylor would play
guitar and violin for the services.
All holidays were special times. Christmas and Easter were especially
important to the church and the families of the community. Easter
Services always had a program by the children of the church and every
girl had a new dress, sometimes homemade. Christmas and Easter were the
times the families usually spent money for new clothes for the children,
or otherwise they waited until they outgrew what they had before buying
something else to wear. If you had brothers and sisters, you were
expected to wear the clothes that your older sibling had out grown.
These items were called "hand-me-downs".
One Christmas, Santa got stuck trying to crawl in the northwest window
of the church. Santa that year was John Hill. Sam Ballard got behind him
and pushed him into the church. The children especially enjoyed this as
they would today. This was before the basement was put under the church
so the windows were not as high off the ground as they are today. The
Christmas tree for the front of the church was cut from the timber area
around the church. Usually that was a job assigned to the men, although
many times the ladies felt they needed to supervise in order to get a
nice tree, otherwise the men might just cut the first cedar they came
to. Some times the ladies thought that a bigger tree should have been
chosen. One year, three church ladies decided that they could pick a
bigger and better tree themselves. Norma Keltner, Wanda Rahto and Donna
Jacobs scouted the area for the perfect tree. When they found it, a
neighbor named Harry Neilson came by and cut it down for them. They
stuffed as much of the tree as possible into their station wagon and
proceeded to the church. When they tree finally got the tree through the
church doors and set up front it was too tall even for the high ceilings
in the church and had to be shortened, but I still think it was the most
beautiful Christmas tree we ever had.
Christmas has always been a special treat for the congregation, even
today. Children were the center of this time of year and always a part
of the church service. Children usually presented a Christmas pageant.
Sometimes the adults took part. Former Sunday School members will still
comment on the year that it was their turn to be Mary or Joseph.
Readings were usually memorized to be recited at the program by the
children.
Santa usually came with treats for the children and some of the men of
the church knew about when he would come ahead of time. As children
became older they would guess who Santa was. One year, I remember, a
couple of young boys, who were at the age to doubt who Santa was, were
absolutely positive that it would be their Uncle Glen Keltner. So when
Santa came down the stairs to the basement to hand out treats they said
they knew it was just their Uncle. Much to their surprise, their Uncle
came down the stairs behind Santa. That year the Santa was Wayne Osborn.
What fun it was to see the surprise on their faces.
During one winter morning, a man and his wife were on their way to
church. They came with a team of horses pulling a sled. I am told this
was a double sled fastened together in the middle. The box was not on
the sled so the husband sat in front and drove the team and his wife sat
on the back bolster.
On the way, the middle section came unhooked and the woman was left
behind. Her husband, whose hearing was not good, could not hear her
calling him to stop, so he proceeded on to the church without her. He
did not realize she was missing until he reached the church! Some
neighbors came along and gave her a ride the rest of the way to the
church. I wonder if the couple sat together in church that morning?
In the early 1900's, Indians used to camp in the Skunk River and Bear
Creek
areas near the church and north in the river valley. In 1904, one lady
recalled walking to Sunday School with her sisters and being afraid of
the Indians. They were friendly but the children were not sure they
were, especially the young girls. The sisters remembered making big
pockets of their long skirts and filling them with wild plums. When they
would see the Indians they would give them the plums and run for home.
There is a list of choir members for the years 1910-1915. Their names
were: Cleo, Frank, Hattie and Margaret Bond; Veva Kersey; Bertha, Nora
and Ida Jacobs; Gertrude Harper; Si Thompson; Howard Davis; Walter and
Ethel Halstead and Myrtle Morgan. Organist at this time was Casper
Thompson who remained organist at Pleasant Grove for almost 50 years.
Choir director was George W. Sowers. During this time the choir was
known around the area for their talent in presenting beautiful music.
In 1914, the Pleasant Grove Orchestra was organized. The members were:
Casper Thompson, organ; Ernest Sanders, Cornet; Howard Davis, Cornet;
Frank Davis, Bass; Walter Halstead, Cornet; Albie Banks, Drum; Silas
Thompson, Trombone; and Olive Teigland. They practiced and played at the
church and the country club. The Pleasant Grove Country Club was a group
of neighbors from the community who would get together, taking turns
meeting at members' homes. They would have entertainment, usually by the
children, or readings by members and sometimes they would move the
furniture out, take up the rugs and the orchestra would play for dances.
