Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 February 1893 — From Rev. U. M. McGuire. [ARTICLE]

From Rev. U. M. McGuire.

Editor Republican: It is yearly eight months since I left Rensselaer to live in Anderson. I trust I have quite a number of personal friends in Jasper Co., among whom I venture to reckon rpnrself; and, borne e! tfe&m Lavlug Expressed a kindly interest in the welfare of my family, and of myself, I suppose a personal note in the columns of The Republican may not be unwelcome. If I dared undertake to speak of tender memories of Rensselaer, I should find no stopping place. The story of four years of romance, of straggle and achievement, of the weaviug together of hearts, can not be recounted in a brief letter. It is therefore reserved until the time. “When on some green and flowei j nmnt, Onr wearied souls shall sit. And, with celestial joy, recount The labors of our feet.” But, how and where am I? And, what am I doing? Such are the questions that came to me. Anderson is in the oenter of the gas belt; and, notwithstanding the midwinter rumors that ran abroad through the papers, we have plenty of gas. Factories of all kinds, large and numerous, girdle the city. Growth is rapid. The new directory indicates a population of almost 19,000. Water works, electric street cars, brick paved streets, and other conveniences of a modern city, are • extending as fast as money can extend them We are not entirely out of the world, Omar C. Ritchey is- principal partner in the best furniture house in the city, with a flourishing business. 32!der D., J. Huston and Edgar Bruce, the latter accompanied by his" wife, have partaken of my boundless hospitality, since I came here. A few days ago I was staudiug on the platform of the Big Four station, when, lo! the familiar face of the Hon. M. F. Chilcotw popped through a car window, and shook hands with me. Retail th e friends pome. My family are in fair health; and over eighty —per cent, —of my children attend school regularly. I have successfully resisted all temptations to go into the real estate business, and am therefore still engaged in the ministry, with joy. When I came here, last June, I found a disheartened church of 42 members, weakened by recent divisions, with no property, and tgeetiug in a little room, which was a trifle larger than a molasses Success, beyond my most sanguine expectations, has been achieved, A building lot costing $1,500 has been secured on an eligible corner, twenty-two names have been added to the membership roll of the church; the Sunday school has almost twine the attendance of six months ago; a flourishing young people’s union has been organized; and a sub- , scription for a house is uow circulating. When it is understood that nearly all the subscriptions on the lot were taken aud collected by myself personally, and that the subscription for a house is also placed in my hands, my friends will readily believe that I am not suffering from ennui. They will also realize how little time I have for the correspondence of personal friendship. Ah! I remember them,, how tenderly! As I hurry aloug the street, sometimes, their faces throng lyy meptory so that I stop unconsciously! But, duty calls again; and so. saying ‘God bless you all, beloved, God- bless you!’ I hasten on. Very Truly

U. M. McGUIRE