Bicentennial
Minutes
Sunday, May 18,
2003
Years
1901-1920
As a new century begins, President William McKinley was
assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt becomes President. Walt Disney is born in 1901 and a
ping-pong craze begins in the United
States.
In 1903, the Wright brothers make their history making first flight at
Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina.
This time era also saw such important events as the sinking of the
Titanic in 1912, World War I breaking out in 1914, and the end of the War with
the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Meanwhile, here in
Verona the following events were
taking place.
May 12,
1901 Rev. Oliver P. Devin began his three-year service to the
Verona church.
August 7,
1903 The church celebrated its Centennial
May 4,
1905 Rev. Aaron C. Stuart was called to serve the church. He did so for nearly 7 years.
In 1905, the Philathea class was organized. Later it adopted the name Jackson
Philathea from its long time teacher Carrie D. Jackson
Also in 1905, Elder F.T. Sleight presented
individual communion cups. The
larger cups and decanter were now replaced, but the silver plates were still
used.
In 1907, the first concrete walk to the church was
laid. The expense of the walk was
born by Elder Soper and Elder Warren.
September 1,
1912 saw the beginning of the service of Rev. John W.
Dennis. He was pastor of the church
until April 16, 1916.
April 24,
1917 Rev. Charles F. Luther, a native to
Vernon
Center, commenced his labors at the
Verona church. He served for 2 years.
December 16,
1919 Rev. Robert Grant was installed as pastor. He was pastor of the church until
October 12, 1920.
In 1920, the rule for the rotation of Elders was
adopted. This rule stated that no
Elder should succeed himself. The
following year the rule was rescinded.
Bicentennial
Moment
The Centennial Celebration of the First Presbyterian Church
of Verona was held.
The service began at 10
o’clock AM. It was
opened with a scripture reading and prayer. The Rev. O.P. Devin was presiding. During the service, there was music, a
historical paper presented by B. J. Dodge, a reminiscence of the Sunday school,
and an address by Rev. W.C. Taylor.
The service was followed by a free roast beef dinner held
at noon. The dinner was served at The Town Hall
for about 375 persons. There were
souvenir buttons presented to all attending.
The day ended after the Addresses made by Rev. D.I. Biggar
and Rev. Wm. A. Beecher at 2 PM. The day’s events were covered by the
Rome Sentinel, which gave ten and one half columns to cover the event.