Christine Whelan FEO, May 11, VOL. 4 ISSUE 19

After 150 years of being central to the Ridgeway community, the People’s Memorial United Church at 366 Ridge Road North will be closing its door this June.

As word started to slowly spread about the church’s closing, Sharon Dell, a long-time member of the church, has recently provided a couple of small tours through the building.

She gathered significant, historical points for her tours, mainly from the book, “History of Ridgeway Memorial United Church”, written by R.M Disher, which covers the first 100 years of the church, from 1872 to 1972. A copy can be found in the local history section of the Fort Erie Library, along the back wall.

The Life of the Church in Summary

The very first settlers in the Ridgeway area were religious Quakers or the Society of Friends.  For this reason, Bertie Township was termed Quaker Town.

Quaker, Daniel Pound, received a land grant for 200 acres in 1798. This land’s boundaries were Gorham Road, Dominion Road, Prospect Point Road, and a line that extended west from Thunderbay Road to Gorham Road. There was a Quaker meeting house to the east of the church, as well as a Quaker cemetery, which still exists in place.

Shortly thereafter, Methodism arrived and the Quaker membership began to dwindle. By 1848, Methodism was growing in town. There were two groups of Methodists, the Wesleyan Methodist, and the Methodist Episcopal. By 1873 there were two Methodist churches in Ridgeway.

The People’s Memorial United Church started out as the Wesleyan Methodist church, built in 1872. It was called Volunteer Memorial Church, dedicated to the memory of the volunteer soldiers who were killed in the 1866 Battle of Ridgeway. The church steeple rises to almost 100 feet. Bells have rung out since then. Sometime between the years 1925-1931, the Willing Workers (a young ladies’ group) raised funds for a new bell since the original bell was cracked and a replacement was needed.

In 1925, there was a union of Methodists and Presbyterians to create the United Church of Canada, so the name of the church was changed to Memorial United at that time.

The ornate ceiling was installed in 1893. The wood is chestnut. It was built by local member Joshua Young. The curved pews were installed in 1910.

In 1926, the pipe organ was donated by the Beeshy family. In 1928, the hardwood birch floor was laid in the sanctuary. The stained-glass windows were donated by local families during the 1920s-1930s in memory of loved ones.

In 1932, a new gym, kitchen, and parlour were built. Ridgeway Public School had the use of the gym two days a week. In 1941, member Wm. Mathewson built the pulpit and communion table.

In 1947, the Memorial chimes and plaque were installed in memory of three of our church’s young men, Ken Jansen, Carl Baker, and Keith Teal who died in WWll. Speakers were installed in the belfry and church Sunday services were piped to Maple Brae Lodge, the seniors home next door.

In 1918, People’s Church in Crystal Beach asked to be taken into the Ridgeway circuit as a Methodist congregation, and in 1950 Crystal Beach Church joined the United Church of Canada.

The church today is named People’s Memorial United Church since People’s Church in Crystal Beach joined the Ridgeway church after its closing.

In Recent Days: The Flood

During the December storm that immobilized the Greater Fort Erie area, the church was met with its own unexpected challenge.

Sharon recited the dire story. “Christmas Day we couldn’t have our planned service, obviously, because the storm was terrible. It was Wednesday when we were able to get our cars out and Cathy, my daughter, wanted to just check on the church to see how it was doing.” She and her son, Ylan, had to shovel to get in.

It was then that Cathy and Ylan discovered the flood in the church sanctuary and didn’t know what to do. “They phoned some of the members and managed to get a few wet vacs. They worked to get the water from the main floor and the basement, which was flooded as well.” She added, “Someone brought a pump.”

The pipes had broken upstairs in the sanctuary. “They first froze and then when the power came back on, the furnace started again, breaking the pipes. The hot water from those pipes then made so much steam, it filled the sanctuary. Cathy and Ylan walked into what looked like a sauna. It was such a shock for them to see.

The kitchen pipes were broken, and that flooded the kitchen.

“Burger B Plumbing and Heating came in. He’s always been the church’s plumber. He had installed that furnace but the pipes were older”

Sharon stated, “No one would have been at the church until the weekend if Cathy and Ylan hadn’t gone in to check and the damage would have been much worse.”

And still, just a week later on New Year’s Day, the small congregation held their service upstairs in their beloved sanctuary. “The carpet was soaking wet but we managed. We got to the seats where it wasn’t so wet.

Sharon said the insurance company has now taken over. “The floor has to be totally replaced by the insurance company. That floor has been there since 1928.”

“Someone asked me, if we didn’t have the flood, would the church still be going?” Sharon recalled. “I said, no, because things hadn’t been good, even prior to Covid. We had fewer and fewer people attending. The older ones passed away. We’d been trying to rent out the rooms and that beautiful gym.”

Sharon had looked up the 2016 directory and there were about 80 people in that year. Seven years later, there are about 20 members, all older.

“We started working with the United Church of Canada, who owns the building, in the summer to see how long we could survive on what money we had left, and how to figure out the process of closing the church.”

It’s About Community

Sharon imparted with sadness, “A lot of people have darkened that door over the years with weddings, baptisms, and saying good-bye to loved ones who have passed away. A lot of families have long histories with our church.

“It’s central to the town. People would walk to church. My husband remembers walking. He would meet other people, greeting each other.” She remembers all the kids dressed up in their Sunday outfits.

Sharon herself started going to the church when she got married in 1970. She remembers when her three daughters were young, there were so many younger members going to Sunday School, and so many activities. According to Sharon, the numbers went down gradually and she doesn’t recall when Sunday School stopped running.

The front part of the church, the older part, was designated an Agricultural Heritage Site by the Town of Fort Erie in 2005. The vestibule dons a plaque.

The 150th-anniversary service was held on September 18, 2022. Sharon says it was a festive occasion.

“The Thrift Store is still going every Wednesday morning. They have not given up on that. People are donating stuff all the time. I don’t know when that is going to end.”

Sharon is open to providing more tours if there are people who are interested.

My Tour of the Church

I was invited to join a tour on April 26 with Sharon and Ridgeway resident and historian, Rick Doan.

We started at the bottom, entering the side door and taking the steps down to the basement. There we saw the evidence of a Sunday School that once thrived with what looked like a classroom and a painting of the Tree of Life on the hallway wall, surrounded by little handprints of paint.

There were space heaters and dehumidifiers running high throughout the basement,

We saw the Thrift Shop, across the hall. The volunteers had arrived to prepare for the day as it was a Wednesday. In the same area, we saw beautiful choir gowns, some red, some blue, hanging in a closet, waiting for their next job.

We followed the painted little footprints on the floor, along the basement hallway, and up some stairs to the front door and the vestibule. Before opening the second door to the sanctuary, we turned left and ascended to the balcony. Our first view of the sanctuary was from above.

Before returning to the main floor, Rick rang the church bell. We were silent for the moment.

Back down to the main floor and walking up the aisle in the silent sanctuary, to the front of the pews, I heard the full story of the flood from Sharon for the first time. My eyes scanned the view as she spoke, from the immense organ pipes towering over us to the magnificent windows of colour reaching high to the ceiling to the annex on the side with its cozy-looking fireplace, and to the now warped floor below us.

These days, church services are being held in the gymnasium. The members have been told that hopefully all repairs will be completed and the last service can be held upstairs, in the sanctuary.

“This will not be a festive occasion though. I think it will be more somber, saying goodbye and remembering the past.” Sharon softly told me.

The final service to be held at the Ridgeway People’s Memorial United Church will be on Sunday, June 25, 2023. All are welcome.

Photos

• Methodist Church (old photo)- provided by Sharon Dell