Ridgewood Baptist Church

About January 15, 1888, Baptist Sunday school classes were held in the Ridgewood neighborhood under the direction of Rev. J. W. Conley, D.D. and Mr. Wm. Rix. Mr. Harwell, the son of a Baptist missionary to the Chinese, was its first leader, and subsequently, Mr. Ballard guided this Sunday school class work, which was being conducted in the homes of the community.

Then Mr. Geo. A. Vance was chosen as superintendent, and one bright Sunday afternoon in April 1891, as the result of an announcement made several weeks in advance, a group of children and adults met in the old pest house, an unsightly building located on the old Ridgewood school grounds at the foot of the hill facing Jackson Street. (A pest house was a special building used to house and care for people suffering from the rampant communicable diseases of the day, such as cholera and typhoid.) This building was later moved to a new location on Walnut Street. Still later the school outgrew these quarters, and they moved into two rooms in the Ridgewood school building proper. This plan had its drawbacks, so Mr. George A. Vance and his father Mr. Geo. L. Vance undertook to organize a fund-raising campaign with which to build a chapel. The funds were raised, and through a conference with Mr. George Munroe, a lot was purchased for $400.00 and a chapel built at a cost of $2,000.00 The building was nearly free of debt in November of 1896, at which time it was dedicated.

Mr. Geo. A. Vance still retained the position until 1903. Some of the teachers of this early Sunday school were Miss Hattie Spencer, Miss Beulah Vance, Mr. and Mrs. George L. Vance, Mrs. Geo. A. Vance and Miss Lottie M. Taxis. After the resignation of Mr. Vance in 1903, Mr. Geo. Spears became the superintendent until 1905. On January 11, 1906, Mr. William Ashman was elected Sunday school superintendent and held that position until 1917. On July 1, 1914, the Sunday school made an outstanding change by voting to start Sunday school at 10 A.M. before church services instead of at 12 noon as they had been doing. Mr. Ashman again became superintendent from 1921-1923 and 1925-1926 making a total of 15 years as superintendent.

Mr. Glen Obenchain served as superintendent from 1917-1921. The Sunday school was growing constantly and during the year 1918 the enrollment was 155 with an average attendance of 92. Harry Beabout, father of Florence Beabout (missionary to Japan), was superintendent 1923-1925.
 
On December 20, 1925, Mr. John Henderson was elected Sunday school superintendent and served until 1941 (with the exception of 1936, when Everett Sterling served). It was during this time that new Sunday school rooms were added (dedicated on Oct.27, 1940). In realizing the need for additional classrooms the church board recommended the Joash Plan (still used at present time) where small chests were given out to members who requested them. These boxes were filled, and then once each month the contents were put into the larger chest at church until a sufficient amount was collected to be used for remodeling and repairs. Mr. Henderson and Mrs. Ashman served longer terms of Sunday school superintendent (15 years each) than any others in the years of our Sunday school.

Through the years the Lord has provided us with good dedicated Christian men and women to lead the Sunday school. Space will not permit us to give details of the years each served but we will try to give a few interesting statistics.

During Mr. A.E. Russell's term as superintendent (1942-1945) our first nursery was opened, and Mr. Louis Briones was responsible for it's equipping. The junior dept. was also organized at this time, as was Sunday school visitation (done on Sunday afternoons once a month).

Mr. E.C. Walton became superintendent in 1946-1953, during which time there were many changes. The Sunday school was departmentalized very similarly to how it still is today. Teacher training classes were held, and we entered three Christian Life International Attendance Increase contests in which we were not winners but profited with increased attendance such as from 145 in 1945 to 328 plus in 1952. Due to the large increase in attendance, a second addition to the Sunday school building was made and dedicated in January 1949. As the Sunday school grew, the need for a full time Sunday school worker was evident. Therefore, with financial aid from the church, Miss Eloise Storch was called to fit this need.

After Mr. Walton, Superintendents and assistants were: Bill Ferrell, George Vance, Lloyd Crist, Francis Whitlock, George Woelfim, Don Woodman, Ed Kahrl, Jack Lepper, Ed Reeves, Jack Trittipoe, James Haywood, Ray Jones, Lyle Wiggins. Dan Landrey, Ray Pearce, James Haywood, Ron Downen, Gene Fouts, David Barker, Doug Cherry, Ron Nelson, and the current superintendent, Joe Pena, assisted by Jim Pine.

Through these years, classes have been added and changed according to need. The nursery equipment has been enlarged with additional cribs installed by Ed Kahrl and Jack Lepper when they were superintendent and assistant. In 1968 our Sunday school underwent a great change when we moved
into the new church building, which gave each department more room to grow. Since the time of moving into the new building, the Sunday school attendance steadily grew for some time with peak attendances being March, 1973 - 546 when the Murk family was here for a joint service; May, 1973 - 514 and April 1975 - 536.

It is worth mentioning here the biography of Miss Eloise Storch, our first full time Sunday school worker. Eloise was saved during the spring of 1927 and the following year entered Illinois State Normal from which she graduated. After teaching for eight years, Eloise felt she could better serve the Lord with some Bible training, so she entered Moody Bible Institute and graduated in 1942. She then went into evangelistic work, using her talented voice singing and working with young people, and traveling throughout the Middle West. Six years were spent in Christian work in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and shortly thereafter, Eloise came to Ridgewood Baptist Church on June 4, 1951, as our first full-time Sunday school worker. Her charming Christian personality won for her and her Savior a place into the hearts of young and old alike. Her work in Sunday school, L.Y.P.S. and Pioneer Girls was outstanding, and the formation of a grade school age Bible Club grew quickly. This club resulted in souls won for the Lord and many young people were guided into real Christian living.

After leaving Ridgewood in 1961, Eloise served for two years as assistant director of Girlhaven, a Christian home for delinquent girls in Hollidaysburg, Pa. Then she went to Midwestern Christian Academy in Chicago where she taught 7th grade for 12'/2 years. Last year, Eloise taught music at Medinah Baptist Christian School in Medinah, IL.
 
We praise the Lord for the many Sunday school workers who have served Him so faithfully through the years and at the present time. Ridgewood has a strong emphasis on Sunday school attendance and will continue to strive for excellence in all of its aspects. Classes are offered for all age groups and will soon include electives for Adults.