The First 50 Years - Rev. Blocher

THE REVEREND HARRY H. BLOCHER

The pastorate of the Reverend Harry H. Blocher with The First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak began with his installation on November 19, 1914, and terminated exactly two years later.

Mr. Blocher had attended Wooster College, from which he was graduated in 1907. He received his Master of Arts degree from Princeton University in 1910 and the following year, the degree of Bachelor of Divinity from the Princeton Theological Seminary. His first pastorate was at nearby Freehold, New Jersey.

Probably the most important accomplishment of the Blocher pastorate from a temporal standpoint was the construction and dedication of the first church edifice of The First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak. It would appear that the first church site selected, at Fifth and Lafayette, was not entirely satisfactory. At a joint meeting of the Session and the Trustees, held on Sunday, April 11, 1915, at the First Commercial State Bank, of which Elder Edwards was an officer, it was decided that at the annual meeting, to be held later that same week, a recommendation would be made to purchase Lots 70, 71 and 72 of Hendrie Subdivision, with a total area of about two acres, for the sum of $3,650 with 10-percent down payment. A pledge from Mr. Hendrie of $600 may have had something to do with this decision.

In any event, this recommendation was made and approved at the annual meeting held on April 14, 1915, "subject to the approval of Presbytery."

In 1915 this new location was almost "out in the country". There were but few houses in the entire Hendrie Subdivision, and the new site for the church was accessible only from Fourth Street, by a foot path. Hendrie Boulevard was not open past the church site, nor was Sixth Street usable west of Pleasant Street, except on foot. Some rather heated debates later arose within the congregation as to this out-of-the-way location, as we shall see later in this narrative.

With the purchase of the site, plans for building an edifice moved on apace. The architectural firm of Stahl, Kinsey and Chapman was employed in May, plans for the chapel were accepted, and construction permitted the laying of the cornerstone with appropriate ceremonies on October 31, 1915. The building was 42 by 59 feet, "on the simple lines of beautiful Tudor Gothic style of architecture," and built of Ohio blue limestone, trimmed with Bedford limestone. The seating capacity was indicated to be 500 persons. Accompanying illustrations show pictures taken at the dedicatory ceremonies: The congregation (Fig. 4), the laying of the cornerstone (Fig. 5) , and (Fig. 6) the choir--(from left to right) John Mead, Issac Jenkins, Mr. Spicer, C. W. Rodger , F. F. Hughes, and Mr. Nippa.

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

In the meantime , church services were held in the Masonic Temple on Williams Street south of Fourth. Shortly after the laying of the cornerstone, however, the church moved its program to the Royal Theatre on Main Street, between Third and Fourth Streets. We illustrate this second location of our church home (Fig. 7). Other quarters had been considered, including a room over undertaker William Sullivan's barn. But at this point Mr. Bowles, who operated the theatre, offered the church the free use of his building for its morning services. This offer was accepted and services were continued there until the dedication of the church building about a year later.

As an indication of the scarcity of available quarters in Royal Oak for gatherings of this kind, it might be noted that the theatre could not accommodate the entire Sunday School, and a Bible Class which had been organized held its meeting in the poolroom next door to the theatre. The operator, Jack Johnston, had offered the use of his "pool parlor" for such purpose and he is reputed to have attended the class himself on at least one occasion.

The church grew steadily in membership. Of the original seventy-nine charter members only two had transferred their membership during the first year, while eight new members had been added, so at the end of the first year there were eighty-five members of the new church. Royal Oak was still a little village, and although the area was feeling the effect of the new Ford plant in Highland Park, the development of the village into a thriving city was just about to start.

Vestments for the choir were provided, and although the choir director received a stipend of only three dollars per week, the music was adequate and in keeping with the size of the growing congregation.

One incident during the pastorate of the Reverend Mr. Blocher left strained feelings. Mr. Blocher and Mr. Mead, who was a member of the music committee and director of the choir, offered the church a pipe organ. The Session had decided to "accept the splendid gift with pleasure and appreciation". At a meeting of the Session held three weeks later, however, "owing to objections made, Mr. Blocher and Mr. Mead withdrew their offer of a church pipe organ". Mead, who was also Superintendent of the Sunday School, resigned both that office and as Choir Director, and it was at this point that the Rev. Mr. Blocher first tendered his resignation as pastor.

The record does not disclose what objections were made to the gift of a pipe organ.

With the aid of a bank loan of $12, 000, the construction of the church edifice proceeded, and the formal dedication of the building was set for Sunday, September 16, 1916. There were the inevitable building delays, however, and in August it was decided to postpone the dedication services "in view of the delay in building materials and furnishings for the church". A new date for these services was set for October 29. The accompanying illustrations show the church under construction (Fig. 8) , and the completed building (Fig. 9), actually "out in the country".

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

The Reverend Mr. Blocher had carried a large share of the responsibility in respect to the new building. It is said that with his own hands he did much of the landscaping. As a result of the extra work, his health became impaired. Although the resignation of Mr. Blocher was first "not accepted" by unanimous vote, "each member of the congregation rising," it was apparent that the necessity of replacing the ailing pastor was only a matter of time. He had been relieved of his pastoral duties until October 15, 1916, but it was necessary to call a special congregational meeting again to consider his resignation, this "being imperative on account of ill health".

The new church was dedicated on October 29,1916. The following Sunday, the Reverend Mr. Blocher preached his farewell sermon, although his resignation was not formally accepted until a meeting held on November 19, 1916. Even to the detriment of his personal health, Mr. Blocher had carried the church through its first building program. In the meantime the church membership had continued to grow and the annual report at the close of the second year showed a total membership of 109, of whom 75 were charter members.