​Written by Stephen Thompson
Canada West Mission Centre Historian
steve@communityofchrist.ca

​In recognition of June being “Hills of Peace Month,” I am going to share how the grounds came into the possession of the church in Alberta. I am drawing on written accounts from two people “who were there:” Ethel Hayden, from Calgary; and Jean Walrath, from Edmonton.

Ethel: The Hills of Peace grounds holds a special place in the hearts of young and old who ever attended a camp there and (have) been surrounded by God’s spirit and the feeling of peace. Renting grounds at Sylvan Lake was not to our liking.
Jean: (At the 1956) District Conference and Reunion held at Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Will McLeod told of a quarter section of land on a lake that could be suitable to build a campground.
Ethel: (It) had a spring-fed lake, lots of trees for shade, and very sandy soil which meant no mud when it rained.
Jean: Six people went immediately to investigate. They were Alvin Walrath, Dave Larmour, Will McLeod, Norman Olson, Vida Diaper and Cecil Diaper. A most favourable report was brought back. The same week on Saturday, a district meeting was held at Sylvan Lake. A vote to buy the land was taken…and passed unanimously. At the same meeting the people voted in favour of Alvin Walrath being put in charge of developing and building the camp. On Sunday a collection was taken and approximately $600.00 was raised.
Ethel: The land was bought in 1956 and work parties soon began. Many weekends and some holidays were spent travelling on muddy roads and later gravel to start developing the grounds.
Steve: And on the story goes up to the present day. Purchase documents from the time indicate the price paid for the land was $856.00. This is an story of rapid decision making. As Ethel suggests, there had been a feeling, probably for some time, that the people wanted a reunion grounds of their own. But still – in a matter of one week, Will McLeod told the District Conference (probably on Sunday) about the land; a party of six people immediately (probably on Monday) set out to go look at; they came back and reported favourably – despite what must have been very difficult road conditions and a much longer trip than it would be today. They had another business meeting on Saturday and approved the purchase! Amazing!

​Now – while you’re thinking about it, go to that notice about “June is Hills of Peace Month” elsewhere in the Weekly Wire and make a donation to support the continuing operation and maintenance of this wonderful campground.

Welcome to the “late” second edition of “Historians Corner.” I was travelling home from the Community of Christ World Conference in Independence, MO, last week. My apologies for the delay.

I have asked current congregation Historians to consider sending me anecdotes from the histories of their congregations for publication in this space. The Ribstone Congregation is celebrating their 115th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion they are publishing historical information about the congregation in their monthly newsletter. How convenient for me and you! The page that follows has been copied directly from the January issue of their newsletter to ensure the photos are also included. My thanks to Leila Goheen, Historian, and Darleene Skinner, Pastor, for their permission to use this material.

Do you have a documented historical anecdote about your congregation to share? Please send it to me at: steve@communityofchrist.ca  Thank you!

Written by Stephen Thompson
Canada West Mission Centre Historian
steve@communityofchrist.ca

​Historians Corner
Vol. 1 | No. 1
​
Welcome to the first edition of “Historians Corner.” The intention of this once-a-month column (maybe twice-a-month once we get started) is to highlight brief nuggets from the history of Community of Christ and especially from the church in Western Canada. These “brief nuggets” will be just that - brief. Perhaps frustratingly brief from both a writer’s and a reader’s perspective. There is simply not enough space here in the Weekly Wire for a lot of detail. But there are many places to find details about church history and we will try to refer you to those resources when possible if you wish to know “the rest of the story” (as broadcaster Paul Harvey used to say).

For this first instalment, we are going to go back to the very early days of the church. The organizational meeting for the church was held on April 6, 1830, - one hundred and ninety-three years ago this month. (Yes - our bi-centennial is fast approaching!) The formal organization of the church was the culmination of a series of events over the previous five to ten years; we will not attempt to summarize those events here.

The meeting was held “in the Smith log cabin in Manchester Township, Ontario County”1 in western New York state. No minutes of the meeting were made. Accounts of the actions taken at the meeting were written some time later. We know the six people who attended were: Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith, Joseph Smith, Sr., and Joseph Knight, Sr.1 The Prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., addressed the other five men in the spirit of revelation as recorded in section 21 of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. As originally organized, the church was known as the “Church of Christ.” It did not become the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” until 1838.1 Subsequent name changes were to “Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” in 1860 and to “Community of Christ” in 2001.