Heritage Column for January 26, 2006
By Fred Anderson
January is a time for putting away the festive decorations of Christmastide, sweeping away the remnants of holiday celebrations and facing the realities presented with the beginning of a new year. It also is a time for a columnist to recall an unfinished story.
Last November this column featured the story of the 10 Fieldale Baptist youth of yesteryear who felt called of God to Christian service. Over a half-century has passed since these young people proclaimed their sense of calling. The column primarily told about three members of the Mehaffey family of Henry County, who served in various ways.
This columnist wondered if readers would come forward with information about others in the story. Frances Stuart Bailey stopped me in the lobby of the Virginia Baptist Resource Center, where she was volunteering at the switchboard, to tell me about Carl Flick. When the story of the Fieldale Ten appeared on the cover of the Religious Herald in 1951, Carl Flick already was married to Annette Mehaffey and the two prepared at Southwestern Seminary for Christian service. In the late '50s, Carl was pastor at New Prospect at Hurt, Va., while Frances Bailey's husband, Rolen, was pastor at Straightstone Church. As fellow Pittsylvania County pastors, the two young ministers became friends at the beginning of their careers and have remained in contact. Annette died and Carl's twin, Carlos, who also was part of the Fieldale group, introduced him to Ann, whom he married. Carl, a retired Navy chaplain, and Ann became involved in the Disciples of Christ Church and have been instrumental in starting a new Disciples church in Raleigh.
The Fieldale column found its way to Texas; and Betty Merritt, a former BYW consultant for Virginia WMU, wrote from Austin about another of the Fieldale youth, Henry Martin. She shared that Henry Martin, “along with his wife, Margaret, served in Nigeria as a teacher at the Oyo Baptist High School and distinguished himself in other capacities in the Nigeria Mission.” She added that after returning to the States, Henry Martin became an associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Memphis, Tenn.
Another reader, Turner Hopkins, wrote the Herald from Memphis to share that the column made its way to a hospital room in Memphis which was occupied by Hadley Stancil, brother of Ryburn Stancil who was the pastor so instrumental in the lives of those Fieldale youth of long ago. Hopkins also shared information about Henry Martin, who was with him that day at the hospital, and added: “[These] people, all in their 80s or 90s, have truly followed the call to Christian service on their lives.”
Indeed the young people who came forward at Fieldale Baptist Church some 55 years ago would have to be in their mid-70s. Their lives have reached full maturity. Others in the group may have entered “full-time Christian service” or they may have been content to serve in whatever capacity was available. The important thing was that they had expressed in their youth the pulls upon their heart to give of themselves to God's service.
By the way, there were four other young women among the group of “the called” at Fieldale in 1951. These women and their schools at the time were Margaret Ann Stegall, Bluefield College; Edith Hall, Southwestern Seminary; Audrey Mullins, Westminster Choir College; and Jane Campbell, Meredith College. It would be interesting to know about their lives.
In the intervening half-century, a lot of water has passed over Philpott Dam and into the tamed Smith River of Henry County. A connecting super highway unites the surrounding communities, which across the years changed from agrarian to industrial-based economies. The furniture and textile industries developed and gave income for most of the labor force. In 1919 Marshall Field Company of Chicago had built the textile plant and mill homes for those in their Fielddale. In the same year, the Baptist church was constituted at Fieldale. Giant furniture plants also were built at nearby Bassett and in Martinsville and Baptist churches were growing.
Fieldale Church of 1951 had 500 members and its building was valued at $54,000-that's 1950s dollars. In those same post-war dollars, Ryburn Stancil was earning $3,800 a year as pastor. It cost only $12,000 a year to operate Fieldale Church at the time. In Cooperative Program giving, Fieldale sent over $3,300. Ponder the percentage!
At the time, Henry County churches were a part of the Blue Ridge Association; and in May 1957 they formed the Henry County Association. The area has known boom times, decline and even closing of industrial plants. The numbers today show about 284 resident members-410 total-at Fieldale. The inflated dollars of 2004 show about $160,000 received at Fieldale and $7,300 for the CP. In 1951 Pastor Stancil baptized 32. The 2004 stats report not a single church in the entire association reached that same number of baptisms.
How many young people in Henry County are hearing, discerning and answering the call in our time? Whose Christian service will be reminisced about 50 years hence? Sobering thoughts for a January. Sobering thoughts for facing the realities of the new year.