Memorialized

As you may know, over the last month we have discovered (or rediscovered) that several of our items has inscriptions written on them. Here is what we have learned:

OFFERING PLATES

We recently changed out our offering plates to older ones that were used back in the old building on Garden Street. When we were setting them up for service, it was discovered that each one was engraved;

In Loving Memory of Garfield Watson

What we learned was that Mr. Watson was born on Dec. 1, 1897 and died in Bellingham on Nov. 11, 1964.

He was married to May (Wyatt) Watson and had three children: Nancy (Shaw), Alma (Bailey), and Mable (Sornes). We assume that Garfield and his family attended Garden Street UMC at some point and his life was beautifully remembered upon his death.

ALTER CANDLE LIGHTER

After learning of the learning plates, we realized that the Candle Stick used to light the alter candles also had an inscription reading:

In Memory of Anna Poalson by Daughters Ella Howard and Edith Glenn

After some research, here’s what was found:

Anna (Degroat) O’Connell Poalson was born in 1859 in New York and died in Bellingham on August 23, 1948, which leads us to believe the candle lighter is about 75 years old. She is buried in the Sumas Cemetery in Whatcom County.

Her daughters: Edith Adell (O’Connell) Glen was born in Minnesota in 1878 and died in Bellingham on April 2, 1964. She is buried in the Greenacres Memorial Park in Ferndale. Her sister, Ella (O’Connell) Howard was also born in Minnesota in 1882, died in Bellingham on June 16, 1973, and is also buried in the same Ferndale Cemetery.

It really is a beautiful thing to rediscover a peace of GSUMC history and the love of the families involved. As we continue to discover memorialized items, they will be added here.

We also want to take time to thank Richard Drath who took the time to find out about these pieces of history and the people involved.