Whew! That was close. I almost became a Methodist. Well, maybe I should explain. I come from a long line of Cumberland
Presbyterians. The Cumberland
Presbyterian (CP) denomination was formed on February 4, 1810, in Dickson
County, Tennessee. Three ministers are
credited with the formation that resulted in an action in which one of the
presbyteries (CP) withdrew from the Presbyterian (USA) denomination. The new CP church grew rapidly and churches
were established from coast to coast, from Oregon to Pennsylvania and from
Michigan to Florida. In 1906, after
several years of wrangling (discussion), about 70% of the churches including
most of the larger, city churches, reunited with the PCUSA denomination,
leaving a remnant of mostly smaller, rural churches. The churches at Mt. Olive and Barren Fork
(Mt. Pleasant), both organized well over 150 years ago, are two of the
remnant. The Calico Rock church was
established in December, 1923. That’s
church history in a nutshell. Anyway, my
great (times 6) grandfather was a CP minister and was a contemporary (close
friend) of one of the three men that I have referred to above. His descendants (my mother’s ancestors)
settled in the Barren Fork area of eastern Izard County. Meanwhile, my Dad’s father and brothers ended
up settling in the Wild Cherry area of northern Izard after moving from middle
Tennessee and via southern Missouri.
They were also CPs and were leaders in the establishment of the Trimble
Campground CP church. OK, the stage is
set. By the 1920s, Calico Rock was a
thriving community. The Evans from Mt.
Pleasant and Waylands from Pineville established businesses on Main
Street. Both families were CPs. My grandfather, a widower, also moved his
family from Mt Pleasant to CR in order for his youngest daughter, Muriel, to
attend public school. My mother was
employed as a secretary for Rand Wholesale whose offices were in the building
on upper Main Street next to the old State Bank. Excuse me if I have told this story before,
but I heard it many times from my parents.
It seems that one day, after my Dad had finished doing some banking
business, he was walking down the sidewalk to the drug store when he noticed
the attractive young lady at her desk near the front window of Rand
Wholesale. He remarked, “that’s the
woman that I’m going to marry.” Now at
that time, all the CPs who were living in the Calico Rock area worshipped at
the Methodist Episcopal Church (ME). I
don’t want to use any names because I might offend someone, but it seems that
after a time, some of the Methodist members began to object and started to
demand that the CPs join the church.
Sort of “put up or shut up” type
of discussions followed and the CPs decided to withdraw from the Methodist
congregation and start a fellowship of their own. Their meetings were held at the home of Mr.
Wayland. In a joint effort with the
Masonic Lodge, a two story frame building was erected and the fellowship soon began meeting there. Not to be outdone, the following announcement
appeared in the January 4, 1924, edition of the Calico Rock Progress
newspaper: “Methodists to Erect Fine New
Church Building Here – New Building to Cost Near Ten Thousand Dollars.” My parents ended the courtship phase of their
relationship and were married on December 23, 1923. The following Sunday, they
attended and joined fifteen others to become charter members of the newly
organized Calico Rock Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Reverend Y. Whitfield of Pineville was
employed as pastor of the congregation.
One of the first persons to join the new congregation was Ethel Thrasher
who later married a Methodist minister, Burl Long. Their sons, Dwight and Gerald, were two of my
best friends. Sometime I intend to write
about our deer-hunting escapades.
Anyway, the local CP congregation moved from the “church on the rock” to
their present location in 1952. Over the
years the CP and UMC congregations have had a very close, friendly relationship
but I sometimes wonder: What If? Sitting here in my corner of the Queen City
considering what might have been. Back
in two weeks. This is Reed. Bye for now.
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