Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 231, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1913 — Attended the Gillam Home Coming Friday Afternoon. [ARTICLE]

Attended the Gillam Home Coming Friday Afternoon.

Jn company with County Auditor J. P. Hammond and father, Stewart Hammond, and County Recorder G. W. Scott, the writer made an auto trip Friday afternoon to the Independence church in Gillam township and spent about two hours at the “home coming.” The church was well filled,-" largely with people from Gillam township and Medaryville, the number from a distance not being so large as a year ago. But the meeting was a grand success in respect to the interest created by a recital of the occurrences of the years long passed away. Four ministers, Rev. Thomas Mason, of Silome Springs, Ark.; Rev. Frank A. Campbell, of University Place, Neb.; Rev. Thomas M. Guild, of Peru, Ind.; and Rev. Daniel W. Guild, of Ft. Wayne, all of whom are Doctors of Divinity and all of whom were former Gillamites, were present and took part in the program, as did Attorney Elmer Rathfon, of Chicago. John R. Guild, of Medaryville, the president, presided, and there was the very best feeling as each speaker indulged in a recital of some event that occurred in the long ago, often twitting some other person for the part they had in the affray. Rev. Frank Campbell recalled that the good fathers who had provided the means for building the church had made it a condition that “ho organ should ever be allowed to enter it,” and that “men and women were not allowed .to sit together i*n the church.” He said to those in charge now, “You are not fulfilling the demands of your fathers,” and he then told Of the marriage of a couple in the church soon after its dedication, and said that the groom sat on one side of the church and the bride on the other ans when the time for the ceremony was reached they met at the altar and separated again after the wedding. Elmer Rathfon told of some pleasant recollections of his boyhood, how he had been befriended Greencastle one time by Tom Guild. This brought out one of the best thoughts of the gathering, for later in the meeting Rev. Guild said, “I had entirely forgotten the little kindness to Elmer and this makes me want to ,say that I believe the proper thing for all of us is to just go along doing all the good we can to every person we can and then to forget all about it and our reward will come in due time and be sweeter because we had forgotten.” The officers of the home coming association were re-elected, namely, J. R. Guild, president; A. J. Rathfon, vice-president; lizzie Faris, sec-retary-treasurer. A vote of thanks was unanimously tendered Trustee Selmer for having cleaned up the Independence burial ground in such splendid condition. The home coming started last Wednesday and continues over Sunday, Sept. 28th. Many who had wanted to attend were prevented from doing so on account of the conference at Hammond. Judge Hanley, who was on the program, could not get away on account of court being in session.