Forward Through the Ages: Volume I

By Holly Lee Vecchio

Once upon a time, a small group of worshippers came together under an old oak tree in an arroyo. Out of that gathering eventually blossomed the church now known as Calvary Presbyterian Church, South Pasadena, California.
The little congregation struggled to survive for 10 years - 1887 to 1897 but simply couldnt support the church financially, and finally had to disband. Five years later, however, life was breathed back into the church, and this time it took. Nearly 110 years have past since that little congregation was re-organized, and the church it became is still strong.
This first volume of the churchs history aims to capture the lost or hidden years, and to describe the life of the church up to 1925, the year the congregation moved into the beautiful three-story gothic building it now occupies.
This is the story of Calvarys earliest pastors and the people who enriched the church, all in the context of the dawning community of South Pasadena, California.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463453022

Holly Lee Vecchio

Holly Lee Vecchio, a former Director of Christian Education in Presbyterian (U.S.A.) Churches, has been a member of Calvary Presbyterian Church, South Pasadena, California, for thirty-five years. She has served as teacher, deacon, elder, and member of various committees over the years. Her other books are Return from a Far Country, Acts from the Heart, and Under the Belly of God - a Book of Daily Devotionals for Those Who Love Animals and Each Other.

Book preview

Dedication 

To whom does one dedicate a book about the history of one special congregation?

We could dedicate it to those wonderfully faithful persons of our past that we have come to know through our research, who cared and dreamed, and gave of themselves to the ministries of Calvary Presbyterian Church, those saints whose rest is won, but whose spirit still touches us.

Or we could dedicate it to the congregations of our future with whom, in some mysterious way, we feel connected—and for whom we pray that God will pour out blessings, upon the gatherings and upon the individual members.

But instead this book is dedicated, lovingly and gratefully, to our present congregation, for teaching each other in ways, formal and informal, about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, for putting arms around those in need in our midst and around the world, for being caring, thoughtful stewards, for an exquisite sense of community in worship, for being a faithful family. If you were a member of Calvary as of June, 2011, your name is presented in Appendix A. This book is dedicated to you.

Holly Lee Vecchio

Warm Thanks To—

(Please see Appendix B)

FORWARD THROUGH THE PAGES

 

Anyone who reads a book of history has the right to expect that it will be absolutely accurate. We have tried very hard to sift through a myriad of resources, blow away the chaff and find the facts that can be confirmed as true. Many early sources offer tales about South Pasadena or about Calvary that contradict each other. In each case we tried to find the base source of the story, to make this journey through our history as precise as possible. Our aim was to put all the scattered scraps of accurate information about Calvary’s earliest history into one book. (And we were intrigued at how very intertwined Calvary’s early history is with that of the city of South Pasadena.)

We wavered back and forth about what style to use. Should the language be bookish to match the research, and to fit the image of a history book? Perhaps—but this is a history of the members of Calvary Presbyterian Church. We are a family. No family speaks to each other in scholastic diction. This is our family, our history, and so we have chosen to speak in a more natural voice, one that even includes an occasional hint of humor. We truly hope this will not detract from the effort to make this an historically authentic book.

The reader may want to refer to the Outline/Contents page now and then to keep the organizational flow of the material in mind.

Contents

Dedication 

FORWARD THROUGH THE PAGES 

Chapter One 

Chapter Two 

Chapter Three 

Chapter Four 

Chapter Five 

Chapter Six 

Chapter Seven 

Chapter Eight 

Chapter Nine 

Chapter Ten 

Chapter Eleven 

Chapter Twelve 

Chapter Thirteen 

Appendix A 

Appendix B 

Appendix C 

Appendix D 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chapter One 

ANNIVERSARY WALTZ

A light rain fell on the evening of November 9, 2002—but the band played on!

As members and friends arrived from near and far for the 100th Anniversary of Calvary Presbyterian Church, member Orville Houg and his band, The Maestros, greeted us with the irresistible beat of Dixieland jazz.

A hastily erected canopy protected their instruments from the drizzle as the band struck up such rowdy numbers as When the Saints Go Marching In and Hello, Dolly. So exhilarating was the music that a few couples danced right there in the rain.

Inside, we greeted long-time friends, accepted hors d’oeuvres from circulating caterers in quaint costumes, and wandered from one historical exhibit to another. In the South Parlor, we were filled with nostalgia as we looked at photo albums and posters of our church’s one hundred years of activities, gathered and displayed by Ruth Melissa, who, as a chairperson of the event, had put in much time and energy on all parts of the evening. In the library we were touched by the newly-mounted photo portrait of Winifred Andrews. Helen Sue, librarian at the time, had placed it there to honor the 35 years Winifred had served us as librarian. And in the Rainbow Room of Calvary Preschool, we watched a video showing the school’s wonderful growth and development.

Our Living History Room was unveiled for the first time. Photos of our pastors through the years, a bulletin board history of our early days, and precious documents and pictures were all there on display.

Kristen Dube, chairperson for dining arrangements, had a sweet surprise for us when we moved into Fellowship Hall for dinner: a model of our church, crafted entirely in solid chocolate, graced the front table. Even the tower, which was taken down after southern California’s 1971 earthquake, was there in this wonderful creation by caterers Dining with Andre. It is surely a small miracle—well, actually a big one—that this congregation of chocoholics didn’t eat that miniature church that Saturday night. But Sunday morning at coffee hour was another story. The tower was the first to go.

A small commemorative 100th Anniversary pin was found on every plate at the dinner, along with a printed program that included an abbreviated history of our one hundred years together.

Because of our history and ministry, and because of the denominational leaders our church has nurtured over the years, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) named Calvary American Presbyterian and Reformed Historical Site #441, registered by the Presbyterian Historical Society. Historical Site #441 still proudly displays the plaque in the Living History Room in Livingston Hall. We also received that night a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Adam B. Schiff, member of the United States Congress, 29th District.

Our keynote speaker for the anniversary dinner was the Rev. Dr. Jack Rogers, who had just completed his term as Moderator of the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Altogether it was a high-spirited evening, honoring our singular past, enriching present friendships, and embracing our future as a community of faith.

However, for the purists, there was one little glitch. In one sense, it could be said that we celebrated in the wrong year!

Chapter Two 

WAS IT OUR 100TH ANNIVERSARY—OR OUR 99TH—OR OUR 114TH?

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The original Cathedral Oak, beneath which it is said that

Calvary got its start.

— Courtesy of the South Pasadena Public Library

Mists of Time or Urban Tale?

Actually, it wasn’t really the wrong year in which we celebrated our 100th anniversary. We did re-organize in 1902, making 2002 a perfectly legitimate year to celebrate. And our re-incorporation was a year later, in 1903, making