After the Fire
Article # 11.
At the time of the fire that caused the destruction of the church on Broad Street, Reverend H.L. Sneed was the pastor. He had come to the church during the Depression year of 1934, at a very bleak time in the history of our country. The destruction of the church building was also a very bleak time in the history of Statesboro Presbyterian Church. Rev Sneed saw the congregation through that busy time when the new sanctuary was being constructed on Savannah Avenue.
Then, just a few months after the congregation had moved into the new building, World War II started with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Statesboro was a small pleasant southern College town, but it did not take long for the War to reach in and change life radically for the members of Statesboro Presbyterian Church and their community.
After seeing the congregation through the Depression, the construction of the new facility and the start of the War, Reverend Sneed retired in March of 1942 and moved to Sylvania where he spent his retirement years.
After Mr. Sneed retired, Reverend Edgar Woods came as Stated Supply in May of 1942. Mr. Woods had been born in China, the son of missionaries. He had gone back to China as a missionary himself, but was forced to leave that country not long after the Japanese invasion. It was remarkable that during Mr. Woods' short time in Statesboro (one year), he led the church to pay off the remaining debt on the building and to set the membership on a course which saw the church become financially independent of Savannah Presbytery. The fact that this was accomplished during war time, made it even more remarkable.
Reverend Woods was followed by Reverend Basil Hicks. Statesboro was his first church after he was ordained, and he served during those war years until 1945. Reverend Hicks proved to be a strong pastor, serving his people who were being called upon to be strong, and who needed a strong pastor to help them through some very dark days.
Martha Benson has the distinction of being the second eldest member of our congregation. (Virginia Russell holds the honor of being the eldest member.) Martha Benson had attended Statesboro Presbyterian Church since her marriage to Robert in 1938, and moved her membership from the Baptist Church in 1942. In our church records, Robert is listed as the Treasurer of the Church (1942-1956) but like many husbands, he let Martha do the work. This proved to be very fortunate because when he was soon called to serve in the Army and was away for about three years, Martha served as Treasurer. She also published the church Bulletin each Sunday, and continued to serve the Church in these two jobs for 13 years.
Martha tells about how so many men were being called to serve their country, that very few men were left to be active in the church. She recalls Don Thompson having to step in and see that things were kept running during those war years. Martha gives Don credit for making necessary decisions concerning the Church and keeping things in good repair and running properly during that time of shortages of every kind.
When so many men left Statesboro, the women stepped in and did what had to be done. Martha herself was called back to work in the office at the High School, working there, taking care of baby Noel, serving as Treasurer of the Church and getting the bulletin out every week, coping with food, clothing, gasoline, and tire rationing, and worrying all the time about the safety of her beloved Robert. Martha Benson was typical of all of the women on the Home Front, each one uncomplainingly; doing their part. When Robert finally returned at the end of the war in 1945, Noel was three years old. The day he came home, she was so happy to see her Daddy that she gathered all of her treasured toys and piled them on his lap. The was was over, and Robert was back!
Transition to the Postwar years saw many of the women who had been pressed into serving the community and churches, keeping these responsibilities. Martha kept the job as Treasurer and Bulletin publisher until long after the war ended.
WWII left an indelible mark on Statesboro and the Statesboro Presbyterian Church. Both the town and Church were stronger than ever, and the young men returning from the horrors of War were determined to erase those memories, make up for lost time and "get on with things". They did, too! The Statesboro that we see today was shaped by those war veterans.
During these days when our Country if paying honor to D-day veterans, we pay honor to those veterans of the war who fought the battles and the veterans of the home front who kept things together until they returned.
Dot Odom, FPC Historian