10251 Highway 1: The Old Baptist Parsonage

Built: 1910

In 1908 the church decided that a new parsonage was needed.  Though ministers were not well paid, they had high status; a fine home was an incentive for good pastors. The church hired Charles Lowell and S.H. Daniels as builders, and everyone pitched in. The Sewing Circle raised $1555.71 of the more than $2000 needed. The men volunteered labour.

Many fine ministers with their families lived here. Surely the traces and echoes of another day still live in the walls of this house: the daily prayers, the late-night wrestlings with God, the hours of composing just the right sermon for that week. The women, men, and children who lived here meant so much to so many people.

Lew F. Wallace moved in just as the church grandly celebrated its centennial, in 1910. A.M. McNintch (1912-1915), a dear man who married while here, came to grief when he tried to alter the time of services at Paradise and Clarence.  I.A. Corbett (1917-1920), a fine and capable pastor, brought the church sixty new members.  Margaret Leonard, Clarence church historian,  remembered his “long lean frame clothed in a linen duster as he sat in his top buggy behind a good horse”.  Steadman Smith had the sad task of burying over fifty members in six years, (1920-1926) including four senior deacons.  Good thing Mr. Corbitt recruited so well!  Harry Barber (1926-1938) was “an Englishman”, so well-regarded that he was made Pastor Emeritus. During the war, Gordon Heustis (1938-1945) joined in with all community life: he played badminton in the new hall with the young people. He helped farmers in the fields or orchards, merchants with their books, and people with their problems. He encouraged all in their faith and the church prospered.  Mrs. Ralph Gregg (1945-1950) loved the parsonage, and made it a true home, with her own braided rugs, and her lovely gardens.

There were so many fine pastors in this house. More recently, we note  Earl Ward (1953-1958), a true leader, and a man with a compassionate care for those who suffered. His Men’s Brotherhood and Couples’ Club brought growth and meaning to many.  Ken Thompson (1958-1962; 1987),  an evangelist at heart, loved young people. Gideon Corey was a fine pastor who valued our farming culture.  Earl and Yvonne, Ken and Sandra, Gideon and Maxine, like the pastors’ families before them, were neighbours and friends.

This big, gracious house became a family home like any other after it was retired in 1986.