By Cindy Ryherd Inside the narthex of our beautiful Congregational Church of Hollis, on either side of the doors leading into the Sanctuary, are two framed drawings done by E.J. Colburn in 1893 (the 150th anniversary of the 1743 ordaining of the church’s first pastor, Rev. Daniel Emerson). E.J. Colburn was a Deacon of the…
By Cindy Ryherd This month, April 2023 marks the 280th anniversary of the ordination of Rev. Daniel Emerson as the first settled pastor of our church! It happened on April 20, 1743, which is the date used by the church as the anniversary date of our church’s beginning. The church has changed dramatically in its…
By Cindy Ryherd Having the joy of watching two baptisms in February, I noticed a plaque on the baptismal font, which raised my curiosity about the history of the font. Feeling the importance of remembering and honoring our church history and the many individuals that helped to create it, here is what I found. The…
By Cindy Ryherd This is the final article of the Congregational Church of Hollis named rooms/spaces series, ending with the Adam Verrecchia Memorial Community Garden (AVMCG), located at the far end of the shared library/church parking lot. This article is both the easiest and hardest one I have written. Easy because I witnessed the “history”…
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series ends with Hardy (Parish) Hall. Hardy Hall Hardy Hall (originally called Hardy Parish Hall) was dedicated in 1925 upon the completion of the construction of our current church building (the previous Meetinghouse having burned down in 1923). It is named in memory and honor of Phineas…
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series continues with the Flagg Room. The Flagg Room The Flagg Room (pictured) was named and dedicated as part of the 1965 west wing addition (the same time the Parkhurst Room was named and dedicated). Named after Etta Proctor Flagg (1868-1962), Miss Flagg bequeathed nearly half of…
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series continues with the Austin Room. The Austin Room The Austin Room (pictured) was named/dedicated as part of the 1999-2000 renovations and accessibility addition. Named after Genevieve Hunt Austin (Jan Squires mother, Jim Squires mother-in-law), she moved to Hollis to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law…
By Cindy Ryherd This month, the “Room Names” series continues with the Parkhurst Room. The Parkhurst Room The Parkhurst Room was named/dedicated as part of the 1965 renovation which added the west wing to the church. At the time, it was named in “honor” of Nelson and Hazel Parkhurst as they were both living and…
By Cindy Ryherd November is the one-year anniversary of the November 14, 2020 dedication of the Squires Community Patio, making it the perfect month to talk about our second newly named space (the Saunders Room already discussed in Part I of this series). The Jim & Jan Squires Community Patio More commonly referred to as…
By Cindy Ryherd Continuing the “Room Names” series, as a reminder last month I kicked off the series with the Saunders Room, one of the two newest named spaces of our church (having been dedicated last month during the Homecoming/Dedication celebration). This month, we explore one of the two oldest named rooms of the church:…