United Church marks 75 years

A lot can happen in 75 years . . . just ask members of Knox United Church in Fort Frances.
Members of the congregation gathered there Saturday afternoon for a come-and-go tea to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Church of Canada.
“The afternoon was wonderful, a really uplifting service of celebration,” said organizer Rhoda Dickson. “People seemed to enjoy reminiscing and had a fun time together.”
Some members hold memories of attending the church close to their hearts.
Olive Wright of Fort Frances, a member of the United Church of Canada since 1937, remembered when church services were held in the summer months and she had to walk three miles to get there.
“When I joined the church, it was a supply minister at the Barnhart Hall [near Emo] . . . the service would start at 7 p.m. and finish at 8, then we would have to walk three miles home,” she said.
“The hall burnt down in 1938/39,” she added.
Wright has been a member of the Knox United Church here for 10 years.
Over the years, Dickson has noticed less involvement with children and young people in the church.
“One thing I noticed, when looking through the records, is that there has been a core group of people who are highly involved and take a leadership role in the church and its activities,” she noted.
The first documented beginnings of the United Church in Fort Frances date back as early as 1875 when Knox Presbyterian, one of its precursors, was built.
In 1901, the church was enlarged and renovated at a cost of $2,200. But less than three years later, it was destroyed by a fire.
In April, 1904, the lot where the first Presbyterian Church once stood was sold to Louis Christie for less than $2,000 and three lots were purchased on Church Street across from the courthouse.
Later that year, a contract for a new church was awarded and the foundation stone was laid that fall.
Some 21 years later, a joint committee of the Knox Presbyterian and Grace Methodist churches met and issued a statement reading that the local union of the two congregations be confirmed.
It would be known as Knox United Church of Canada, with all assets and liabilities being assumed by the new organization.