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Several people responded to our calls for photos from the past and most of their

submissions are in this presentation. We also searched on Facebook for past family

photos and some are also included. There is almost no limit to how many can be

included. We are discussing an extension of the church’s website to honor our

departed. Look in the handout for details.

No two people will recall the past exactly alike, but we should be thankful that any

part of it can be recalled. Let’s take a tour into our heritage.

Lee and Gerry Turner moved here at an early date, holding

services in their home on 68 Street, then built this building withth

lots of volunteer help. This would be in the late 1940s.

We will have a separate series of slides in a few minutes depicting

those who get their start as leaders from the Minnehaha Church.

Involved in the earliest days were Abe and Vivian Smithline,

Ken’s parents. Vivian was anxious for the whole world to come

and listen to the Gospel. She was Mrs. Enthusiasm.

The gracious Sally Stoner was here nearly from the beginning.

Her cowboy husband Mert became a believer in the closing years

of life.

Their children followed the Faith: Joyce Barnett, Nora Bergquist

and John Stoner, married to Marilyn. They are here today.

Sally is remembered for bringing the church to tears singing

Whispering Hope.

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This is the oldest photo of the church building we own. It is from

the Boyd Sisseck Collection, thanks to Dennis Sisseck. This is the

oldest sign and shows the earliest known color of the building. It

was designed as a house in case that was needed, but it never

was.

Among the very early members were Edna and Perry Smith, in

front in this photo. They had been involved in the early days of

the Battle Ground Christian church before it merged with the

Methodist church. Perry ran a logging business. He said that one

day he went to where his men were having lunch and they were

figuring out how much money he was making. He said he decided

to sell the business right then and retire. He was a decisive Scotsman.

The lady on the left back row may be Ida May Emery, Edna’s younger sister. She

worked at the family-owned the Brush Prairie General Store at one time. She also

attended here with the Smiths.

In this photo, the auditorium is facing west. The pews were made

in a local cabinet shop of plywood. Some thought it was

hardwood ply. They were not real comfortable, but cushions

were added as time went by. The slide was exposed to dust

sometime before it was converted to digital. We appreciate

Jonathan Turner taking time to make the change from the 35

mm slides to the modern format.

These key people from the late 1950's are in the back row: Joe

Nelson formerly the drunk of Rosemere; Perry Smith; Clayton

Newkirk, who made his living selling Watkins products from door-

to-door; and Bill Womelsdorf from north of Battle Ground. When

he was converted, Joe Nelson went back to the people he knew

and told them he was a different man now and why. We will identify the ladies in

the next slide.

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Here on the same occasion, from the left are Nellie Copley, who

taught school many years at Washington Elementary School in the

Rosemere district; Laura Womelsdorf; Beulah Nelson; Inez

Newkirk; and Edna Smith. Notice the early era radio before

transistor became available for miniaturization.

Nellie Copley left an indelible mark on the Minnehaha Church of

Christ. She was raised in the Camas Christian Church were her

father was one of the first elders. After moving to Vancouver to

teach school, she attended the Disciples Church on Main Street.

When they accepted the Revised Standard Version of the New

Testament and its denial of the Virgin Birth, she left to attend

Minnehaha for the rest of her days.

She left an indelible mark as a Sunday School teacher, imparting

the Scriptures to youth in her classes. Some thought she was too

hard, but later expressed appreciation for what she had imparted

to them.

When Lee and Gerry Turner made plans to go to Pakistan, she became their

forwarding agent, handling their stateside business very responsible.

Inez Newkirk liked being a hostess, so here she is serving Angel

Food cake to her guests. Inez often sang special music for church

and taught Sunday School classes under the watchful eye of her

best friend, Nellie Copley.

The lady furthest left is probably Inez Newkirk; then Sally

Stoner; mother of Joyce now Barnett. In dark blue is Evelyn

Boyd sitting next to Jan Miles, Stephanie Kennedy’s

grandmother. Lois Dailey is holding Chuck on her lap, then there

is the preacher wearing a bow tie and Clayton Newkirk. The

setting is probably Nellie Copley’s house. She often opened her home for church

activities.

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Hazel Jones and her daughter Shirley lived on Salmon Creek

Avenue, near the present Washington State University. Her home

was a gathering place for picnics in the summer and taffy pulls in

the winter. Hazel was always in church and helping to supply

something, even after her hearing became bad.

She and Shirley came to Christ as a result of the testimony of two

sisters from the Coos Bay Church who were attending the same

summer camp. (McQiston)

Shirley Jones contracted Cerebral Palsy very early in life and was

always confined to a wheelchair. Shirley outlived the projections

from the doctors and was present at the assembly as often as her

health allowed. In her later years in a nursing home, she pointed

at least two of her friends to Christ. Any story of the early years

of the Minnehaha Church would be incomplete with reference to Hazel and Shirley.

This is a taffy pull at Mrs. Jones house. Messy, but fun for the

teens. It was an effect way to clean one’s fingernails, too.

This church gathering was probably at Hazel Jones’ home. We

will identify just a few. Furthest left is Gary Boyd and Kenneth

Smithline. The lady in the center with the cane is probably Ethyl

Kelty Brown, granddaughter of pioneer Amos Harvey of Bethel,

Oregon. Ethyl lived very close to Hazel Jones. On the far right

my guess is that it is Jess Wills who quietly and faithfully attended for many years.

In the back row is Harold and Sylvia Alldridge whom we can see better in the next

slide.

Harold and Sylvia Alldridge had been working in a church plant in

Bellingham, then settled at Minnehaha for a while. They live in

Redding, California with their children Tom and Caroline Graham,

who supplied this photo. The sign was later changed to include

“The Church that is like a Home.”

Linda Stevens reminisces: When Harold Alldridge was a student

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preacher, he preached on Sunday morning once, and since he didn't have a watch,

and at the time there was no clock on the wall, his sermon went on and on and on.

When Edna and Perry came back for evening services, Perry walked in and

announced to those of us around him, that they had “a burnt offering for the Lord”

for dinner. Edna did what my mom and others did, and that was to put a roast in the

oven so there would be a meal ready when we arrived home.

This is a rare photo of Harold Boyd, among the earliest members

of the congregation. I’m sure that friends from that era will

remember him saying that we should give to the Lord because

there aren’t any pockets in a shroud.

The girl in the center is Bonnie Dailey, now Sturgeon, of Seattle. The girl on the

right is Anne Miles. The gentleman reading the instructions is almost certainly Ken

Miles reading the manual to a piece of electrical equipment.

Ken and Jan Miles. Ken was an electrical engineer and Jan had

hopes of elevating our spelling and punctuation on item that we

printed here at the church. She had some success.

Here is Ken Miles with the children. We suppose the photo was

taken by Jan. They lived on 78 Street in Hazel Dell when theth

photo was taken in the 1950s.

One of their daughters is Linda who married Rich Stevens. One

of the Sevens’ children is Stephanie Kennedy, Mike’s wife and a

member of our praise team.

Here we have Ken Smithline’s mother, Vivian Smithline, Evelyn

Boyd, LaVerne Smithline, Ruth Sisseck, Duane Lessley, Keith

Lessley of Seattle, Alec Bowman, Lynette Higgs Kennedy

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(married to Mike’s uncle Jim), Dennis Sisseck and Joyce Sisseck. Joyce later

married Larry Jonas.

In the foreground, Ron Sisseck on the left, three foster children of Harold and

Evelyn Boyd and Debbie Sisseck.

Joyce Sisseck is on the left and Lynette Higgs (Mrs. Jim Kennedy)

is on the right. Lynette became a Christian after viewing the Jule

Miller film strips. The other members of her family rejected the

message of Christ at that time.

Joyce again with Helen Snelson Stonecypher and Bev Hanning

Henley.

Dennis and Sandy Sisseck were very active during their years here.

Sandy was active with our youth and Dennis engineered and

installed the baptistery and a host of other building refinements.

Dennis rewired the original building to bring it up to commercial

code.

Mary Hecker was a bookkeeper for Montgomery Ward store in

Vancouver. Her son Donnie shows up in one or two of the group

scenes. At one time she lived between the Daileys and the

Sissecks on NE 59 Avenue. Her brother was the well-known Bobth

Beldon of Loveland, Colorado.

Laura Gorton was a friend of many. She lived out her days in

Vancouver. Her good friends Jim and Marlo Chapman are here

today.

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Norm Kittleson was baptized in the Jordan River while on a tour

of Palestine. Norm led a quiet and thoughtful life, often helping

the needy as quietly as possible.

Lois Dailey and Joyce Stoner, now Mrs. Jim Barnett. Joyce, Mert

and Sally Stoner’s daughter, raised her family in the church here.

She was always quick to volunteer for tasks. Her husband Jim

had a serious stroke recently and she is providing full-time care at

their home in Portland. They attend the Crossroads Church in

Portland.

A true Arkansas preacher, Ken preached in several congregations

before settling in Vancouver including Longview and Castle Rock.

Ken and Marie devoted themselves to raising foster children as

well as their own.

Dean and Frankie Grammon were an important part of the

church, Dean serving as a deacon at one time. Their outstanding

children are serving the Lord in many places in the west.

Frankie Grammon lives at Carson, Washington with her daughter

Joanna. We did not locate a photo of them together, but one

cannot imagine a more devoted mate than Frankie.

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Margaret Collins lived in Orchards adjacent to her mother, Myrtle

McLinn. Near the time of her passing, she willed her home to

the church thereby becoming a major contributor to the property

development.

Dorothy Snelson became a Christian in the south and eventually

moved to Vancouver where she attended the Minnehaha Church.

She lived to be 102. She wanted to go to be with the Lord, but He

gave her many years here. She said near the end of life that she

had searched her heart to see if thee was any sin that kept her

from being taken to heaven. She thought that staying here was a

mild form of punishment.

Roy Stewart stopped in while the front entrance was being

revised and has been coming every since. His parents, Archie and

Myrtle, joined him in attending and were baptized in to Christ,

remaining faithful to that commitment until the Lord called them

home.

Stacy Marriott was a graduate of Boise Bible College. He

preached in Colorado following school, then settled in Vancouver

where he worked for the Washington State Highway Department.

He and Fern specialized in girls among whom is Rose Larimer,

who presented our 1990 history earlier. He was first a deacon

and then became an elder, continuing in that work until near the

end of his life. Stacy defined what a gentleman should be.

John and Marilyn Stoner were all around helpful people, raising

their family in Vancouver and the Minnehaha Church. John was a

deacon. They are both retired and living in Meridian, Idaho.

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Ruth Sisseck is our very senior member. She has a long life of

good works and being helpful to those needing it.

Dorothye Fich has been here from the very early days. She was

present when I preached my first sermon here in 1955. Dorothye

is Mrs. Reliable.

Many others could have been added, but we picked a sampling that did not lead to

viewer fatigue. We hope to expand our collection pics from the past so they can be

shown in the future. Get them to us and we will have them available for a showing

in the future.