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B12 The Acton Free P Wednesday Aug 3 Churchill The church that refused to die bjItooitH Bur A brief history condensed from information received with thanks from Frank Freeman longtime official of Churchill Church and caretaker of historical records of Churchill now In the Canadian Archives and from Chuck Beaton minister of Acton Trinity Church compiler of a printed Churchill history The white church sits serenely on the hill wrapping her trees around her concerned by the internal up heavals that have thrice threatened her very existence During the past one hundred and forty years Churchill Chtirch has suffered three con splits but still keeps coming up smiling Built in by Jacob Swackhamer its first deacon Churchill Church situated on Third Line and the Erin Esquesmg Town Line was often called the Church Most of its early membership was made up of the family who are still very active in the congregation Originally a Congregational church Churchill weathered its first storm In the when the Methodist portion of the membership built their own church less than a mile away on the corner of the second line now highway 25 and the town line The Methodist church did not survive and a new one was eventually built in Acton village some 14 years later At time many of Churchill Acton members left to join the newly formed Acton Methodist congregation A fine building was built complete with stained glass windows carpeting and a brand new bell A debt of 000 was incurred by this new church a fantastic sum and the members had fficulty ng the debt Meanwhile Churchill Church much depleted con tinuedtosurvive At the of the century many rural churches passed into extinction due mainly to a shortage of ministers Congre- gatanaists in general saw their church 1 because of lack of loyally to any national body Many Congregations lists came to Churchill from other closed community churches Worshippers travelled by horse and buggy from as far away as Erin Baptist membership encouraged Because of a dearth of ministers Baptist ministers were borrowed from Acton But in Churchill Church became one of the In 1938 a huge gala cele bration marked the hundredth anniversary of Churchill Newly decorated with electric lights the church overflowed with members and friends attending the two day festi vities and services Rev A Moore from Toronto was the guest speaker Dr Moore was the brother of P Moore then publisher of the Acton Free Press The church stood tall until 1953 when her post foundation often rooted by visiting pigs startedtocrumble necessity of expensive repair the subject of closing Chur chill was once more in theair Again the congregation rallied and undertook the job of building a solid foundation with extra meeting room and kitchen facilities downstairs The old drive shed was used as part of the new vestry but still the estimated 5 job grew until the members faced a staggering debt of twice that much With the pioneer faith always present In this little church members worked hard and repaid the debt In less than nine years By 1968 the church had dwindled to a mere meeting place for the one Sunday service by a borrowed minister and closure seemed imminent The United Church sought to close the church once and for all and entire congregation to Acton A fiery damaging feud started marking the most heated dispute of Churchill history Brothers refused to talk to one another neigh bours no longer visited friends turned away from each other as the battle raged whether or not to keep the church going The entire membership was transferred to the Acton church and Churchill became a nameless empty church until those members who wanted tostay managed toget themselves transferred back to to the little church on the ill A new phase- in Churchill s history started as It became a denominational com unity church and members who previously found time for church activities became a hard working congregation It was the best thing that could have hap pened to the church old members agree Now the church was humming and alive Faced with the worst and making their choice the new membership threw them selves into making the church a centre of community Today Churchill is one of the most active country churches around thanks to a nucleus of enthusiastic families Social events Sunday School concerts and picnics augment the services families who support the church It no wonder Churchill has been called the church which refused to die Steef strike in Milton Picket lines went up round Jackson refused comment on Steel Ltd plant at the strike Milton last week Last June Forty three people manned workers were laid off picket lines there while 130 struck the Scarborough plant The main stumbling block far as workers are con is said to be the offer of a three year contract According to union officials the original offer Included no raise In the first year and minimal Increase thereafter Company president Jeff DOIT YOURSELF GARAGES wwing HOMES DISPLAY COURT Obituary Fred West dies in Halton Mapor On August David Frederick West passed peacefully away at Halton Centennial Manor after some years of intermittent illnesses and latterly m steadily failing health Mr West was born in Guelph Township In 1B91 the son of Lemuel and Adeline Ryder West He was pre deceased by one sister the late Mrs Gertrude Calvert and one brother the late William West In June he married Margaret Near and went to live on the farm on the First Line of Erin where they lived for over years Their family consists of three children Mrs John Chapman R No 2 Rock wood Mrs Lyal Helen of Preston and Judge Ernest West of Water loo There are nine grand children and one great grand son Mrs West also in failing health is still a resident of Centennial Manor The funeral service was conducted at the Shoemaker Funeral Home by the Reverend Das Sydney of Baptist Church assisted by a former friend and pastor Reverend Stanley Gammon of Thorn bury Pall bearers were two grandsons David Chapman and Howard McCutcheon two church friends Bill and Fryer and two former farm neighbours Calvin and Don M lton Interment was In Cemetery Acton Friends attending the service were invited back to Acton Baptist Church where a Obituary Carmen Carmen H Roberts of East Hastings St Vancouver died in the Vancouver General Hospital Thursday Aug In his year He had been in the hospital for the past six months He was known by his many friends in Vancouver as Wheel Chair Charlie as he had both legs amputated many years ago He was the son of the late James and Agnes Roberts who lived In Eramosa Town ship near Eden Mills before moving to Guelph Mr went to Western Manitoba at the age of 17 He was married In IBM to Grace Morris who died In 1919 Inl975hefIewhomeand spent two happy weeks with dainty lunch was served by the church It was Indeed unfortunate that Mr Wesl s only son vacation with his family touring England and Scotland and it has been Impossible to reach him Mr Wests keen sense of humour made him a great favourite with children young people and older friends alike While on the farm he was known to always lend a help hand when needed and was interested in helping with Acton Fall Fair He loved visiting people and having people visit his home where he and his wife dis pensed loving hospitality His church activities meant much to him and there he made many happy assocla Throughout the years he sang in the choir was a member of the Deacons Board and was a Trustee of Acton Baptist Church A highlight of his family life was the occasion of his only son Ernest becoming a Judge while Mr West was still able to join the family at this auspicious ceremony Before leaving the farm to reside on Bower Avenue Acton Mr and Mrs West celebrated their wedding anniversary and five years ago celebrated their wedding anniversary ing their guests In their happy gracious manner at Acton Baptist Church During the past year due to failing health both Mr and Mrs West have been cared for and frequently visited by faithful friends at Halton Centennial Manor Milton Roberts his sisters and families and also met several relatives and old friends He also visited his parents graves at Eden Mills Cemetery where his ashes will be taken for burial after the Memorial service In Vancouver on Monday afternoon August Many of his old friends met to pay their last respects to his nephew William Milne and wife Anne of Campbell River BC who were frequent visitors with his uncle Mr Roberts leaves to mourn his loss three sisters Mary Mrs Max Milne and William Craig of and Jean Mrs John Chapman of Columbia B C also several nieces and nephews