Suzanne Nolan WislerThe Monroe News
ERIE — In 1887, construction began on Paris’ Eiffel Tower, Anne Sullivan met 6-year-old Helen Keller and members of Erie First Presbyterian Church packed a time capsule.
On Sunday, current church members opened the 137-year-old time capsule during one of the church's final services. With its membership down to about 10, the nearly 175-year-old church plans to permanently close soon.
About 25 turned out for Sunday’s hour-long service, which included the opening of the cornerstone time capsule. It was set and dedicated in July, 1887.
“The time capsule has not been opened. It will be first opened for all of you,” said the Rev. Pamela Short of Camden, one of three area pastors who have filled in at the church in recent years. A newspaper sticking out of the tin box offered the only clue to what was inside.
David VanBelle, church clerk, and Ed Killian led the opening. Using tin snips, VanBelle cut the top off the thin metal box as those in attendance gathered around.
First out was a newspaper, The New-York Evangelist, dated July 7, 1887.
“That’s in pretty good shape,” said one of the attendees.
Next, VanBelle pulled out the June, 1887, general assembly of the church.
“That is so cool,” an attendee said.
A Monroe Democrat dated July 21, 1887, and the Monroe Commercial from July 22, 1887, followed. Another newspaper inside, the Detroit Free Press, was priced at 3 cents.
Next came a April 25, 1849, handwritten list of the subscribers of the church’s first building. Erie First Presbyterian began in 1849 and originally met in a log structure. The current brick building was constructed in 1887.
Previous Coverage: Nearly 175-year-old Erie church closing
“This is pretty tattered,” someone said about the subscriber list. The record showed the subscribers' contributions. Most donated $3 and $5, but one gave $100. Among the donors was the Keeney family, which still operates Keeney & Miller Orchards in Erie.
“I wonder what $5 would be in 1849?” one the attendees asked.
Inside a sealed yellowed envelope were the names of 1887's church officers. The Rev. William S. Taylor was the pastor. The names of elders were listed, but were difficult to read.
White dust covered a small blue Bible. Writing inside the book said Soffia was married Tuesday, Nov. 30, 1886. Another small book turned out to be the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.; the document was ratified in 1821 and amended in 1833.
A June 4, 1887, receipt from the Toledo Moving Co. listed four items. The bill came to $3.86.
The writing was difficult to read, so Diane Adams tried to decipher it. One of the lines appeared to read "clutch pinion." Adams of Monroe is a minister and a teacher at Jefferson Schools. She, Short and Deb Davies have served the church since it lost its permanent minister.
April Killian, church member and historian, said the contents of the time capsule will be donated to the Erie Historical Society. The metal capsule itself was reburied with modern articles about the church.
A few weeks ago, April's husband, Ed, and Rudy Laderach and his nephew Tom Laderach spent about 40 hours retrieving the cornerstone's time capsule. Ed said they expected the task would take just four hours. The work involved jackhammers, saws and drills.
Initially, the men cut the exterior cornerstone located in front of the church, but the stone wouldn't budge. So they went down into the crawlspace to do some cutting. That also proved unsuccessful. But, in the crawlspace, their drill hit something metal and sparked. That pointed them to the location of the time capsule.
Knowing the box's location, the men removed the wainscoting and trim from inside the church. They pried the tin box out of the wall, which had three courses of brick. That project took all day July 1.
“(The time capsule) had two inches of sandstone on top, then mortar. It was built to stay there,” Ed said.
After Sunday's time capsule unveiling, the wall was repaired. The cornerstone was repaired earlier.
“Rudy went down to the beach and picked up a bucket of sand, which he used to mix with the mortar to tuck bricks back in place,” according to a poster on the church's wall. Tom did the tuck pointing work. Members of the Laderach family have been masonries for generations.
“My dad was in masonry after the Army, around 1940. I helped him as a kid. After I got married, I worked as a pipefitter. I have brothers still in the masonry industry," Rudy said Sunday. "Tom is a bricklayer. He was a tremendous help. He knew a lot of what we had to do."
Also during Sunday's service, several in attendance shared their stories about Erie First Presbyterian Church. The date for the final service will be announced soon.
Pastor Short said for nine weeks in 1975 the church shared its space with preschoolers from Mason Consolidated Schools.
“170 4-year-olds in this building with sacred giggles,” she said. The pastor also learned the church had previously hosted community gatherings, debates and sewing circles.
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Sharon Grodi said she first visited Erie First Presbyterian around 1974 with her two young boys. No one knew her, yet later that week, members tracked her down to invite the boys to the upcoming Easter egg hunt. Grodi was impressed and has been a member ever since. Today, she’s also the church's treasurer.
Dave Fleck recalled that members of Toledo’s Collingswood Presbyterian Church worked on the church in the mid-1970s. They painted the bell tower and the barn.
“They put a red, white and blue stripe on the barn. It was like that for years,” Fleck recalled. “This church is where we grew our roots. I hope something good will come from it.”
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
