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 1 1 
 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 We bring you this history and pictorial record as a 
 commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the first 
 services held at East Bend. 
 
 Let us look back with pleasant memoms on the old 
 and arise to meet the challenge of the wonderful oppor- 
 tunities of the new. We dedicate this edition to those 
 who through the years and especially the past year have 
 made East Bend what it is today. Let us press forward 
 to seize the opportunities it affords. May we say with 
 the Apostle Paul — "this one thing I do, forgetting those 
 things which are behind and reaching forth unto those 
 things which are before, I press toward the mark for 
 the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 
 
 CHESTER ZEHR, 
 Editor of the Trumpet. 
 
 Printed under auspices of the 
 
 EAST BEND MENNONITE TRUMPET 
 
 Price 25c 
 
Pelt 
 
 ne 
 
 Histo\y oj Oait /?«k} TTleHHOHite CkuKcL 
 
 \\om 1889 to I9J/9 
 
 Written by 
 
 E. WILLIAM HEISER 
 
 Fisher, Illinois 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 This history of the East Bend Mennonite Church 
 could not have been written except for the grateful aid 
 of the following people: Bishop and Mrs. J. A. Heiser, 
 Rev. and Mrs. Harold Zehr, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Heiser, 
 Miss Alma Heiser, Miss Elaine Sommers, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Manuel Oyer, Mrs. Merle Heiser and Mr. and Mrs. E. W. 
 Heiser, and any other people who I may have absent- 
 mindedly forgotten. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/sixtyyearswitheaOOheis 
 
OUTLINE 
 
 Chapter I The Coming of the Mennonites to Illinois 
 
 A. First Mennonites in Illinois. 
 
 B. Date of first settlers and place of settlement. 
 
 C. First Churches. 
 
 D. Brief Traits and Doctrines of Early Illinois Mennonites. 
 
 Chapter II History and Founding of East Bend Mennonite Church 
 
 A. Founder and early leaders. 
 
 B. Date. 
 
 C. Location. 
 
 D. Attitudes of early Mennonites of East Bend. 
 
 E. Founding of Sunday School, Young Peoples' Meeting, Sew- 
 ing Circle, and Christian Workers' Band. 
 
 F. Other practices and activities. 
 
 G. Brief of present ministers. 
 
 1. J. A. Heiser. 
 
 2. Harold Zehr. 
 
 H. Rapid growth of the church. 
 
 Chapter III Mission Outposts and Missionary Support 
 
 A.. Mission Outposts. 
 
 1. Arthur. 
 
 2. Dewey. 
 
 3. Lake City. 
 
 4. Oak Grove. 
 
 5. Gibson City (colored). 
 
 B. Missionary Support. 
 
 1. G. D. Troyers. 
 
 2. Elmer Springers. 
 
 3. General Support. 
 
 C. Activities of Smaller Groups. 
 % 1. Harvey Birkys. 
 
 2. Others. 
 
 Chapter IV Building Program of the Church 
 
 A. Original building. 
 
 B. Second building. 
 
 C. New building and reason for building. 
 
 Chapter V Founding of Literary and Youth Fellowship 
 
 A. Founder and date of literary. 
 
 B. Purpose of original organization. 
 
 C. Organization. 
 
 D. Constitution highlights. 
 
 E. Founder and date of Youth Fellowship. 
 
 F. Purpose. 
 
 G. Organization. 
 
 H. Constitutional highlights. 
 
 Cha P ter VI Conclusion 
 
 Bibliography. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 Before beginning the history of the East Bend Church, I will 
 present a brief history of the settlement of Mennonites in Illinois. 
 
 In the spring of 1833 Benjamin Kindig, a member of the orig- 
 inal Lancaster County Kindig Family, left his home in Augusta County, 
 Virginia, along with his son David and the rest of the family, to 
 seek opportunities in the cheaper lands of Illinois. They settled in 
 Tazewell County near what is now Union Cemetery on October 22. 
 Their only possessions consisted of one four-horse wagon, one three- 
 horse wagon, and a one-horse carryall. They camped in tents or wagons 
 and sometimes on the bare ground itself. They had traveled 800 miles 
 and had been on the road seven weeks. 
 
 Kindig was soon followed by residents from the same locale in 
 Virginia. These people who came after him were not of the same 
 faith, but many were converted to the Mennonite belief. It is be- 
 lieved that these people were of Mennonite descent but one cannct 
 be sure. 
 
 The first minister and bishop of this new church was Jost Bally, 
 who came to Illinois around the year of 1837 from Pennsylvania. These 
 new settlers soon began to hold worship services in homes and the 
 church was probably organized in the early forties. The immigration 
 continued at a rapid rate until the Civil War, when it was slowed 
 considerably. These farmers suffered the same hardships as the 
 rest of the farmers in the United States, and a number of the young 
 men were drafted, however, it is uncertain whether any actually want 
 to camp. 
 
 During the first period of immigration, six churches were formed 
 in Illinois. Only one of the original churches is now extinct, two are 
 called Old Mennonites, and the last joined the Central Conference of 
 Mennonites, which has now merged with the General Conference. An- 
 other joined the General Conference, and one was called Amish. Un- 
 like the Amish, the Mennonites did not form new churches aside from 
 the settlements that were originally formed. Some families settled 
 irregularly over the state and soon lost their identity as Mennonites. 
 
 Although dangers prevalent on the frontier had passed, the Men- 
 nonites had many hardships to face. Some of the state's holdings 
 were sold for $2.64 an acre, therefore, most of the settlers purchased 
 their own farms. However, bringing it under cultivation was an 
 exceedingly hard and boring job. These early settlers occupied log 
 cabins, but after a few years they built frame houses. Much of the 
 furniture was home-made. The only available light was home-made 
 tallow candles, and cloth was purchased and maae into clothing for 
 men and women. The men, when dressed for Sunday, wore clean 
 "overall" trousers with coat to match and leather boots, and the 
 women wore large bonnets, capes, and long dresses. In some cases 
 the prayer covering was worn constantly, since this garment was 
 thought to be a religious necessity brought from their former homes. 
 Mennonite young people, regardless of whether baptized or not, dress- 
 ed similarly to their elders. 
 
 There were many handicaps to making a living in this day and 
 age. Farming was very crude and machinery had not yet made its 
 appearance. All cultivating was done by hand; corn was the main 
 
crop. Prairie fires were prevalent. They sometimes broke out 
 completely destroying houses, property, and sometimes the family it- 
 self. 
 
 Markets were scattered, there were no railroads, and the closest 
 mill was in Chicago, 120 miles away. Grain was hauled in wagons, 
 and hogs and cattle were driven on the road. This journey required 
 approximately two weeks. The Amish and Mennonites introduced the 
 first wagons, which were made completely of wood. 
 
 Diseases were prevalent due to the many sloughs and marshy 
 prairies and the mortality rate was high. 
 
 After settlers had their bare living from the soil, there was 
 little time left for social or religious activities and the religious or- 
 ganizations were unstable. There were no meeting houses and no 
 cemeteries. The deceased were placed in crude coffins made by 
 neighbors and buried on their own farms. Church services consisted 
 of a Sunday meditation once or twice a month in some home or barn. 
 German or "Pennsylvania Dutch" was the only spoken language. 
 Although the settlers were conscientious and honest, religious affairs 
 were secondary in their lives and served mostly as a social affair. 
 Aside from the bishop, there were no connections between the con- 
 gregations. 
 
 There was no association between the Amish and the Mennonites 
 due to geographic separation; however, in Tazewell County, where 
 both were settled, no cooperation was formed between the groups. 
 They were to each other separate denominations, and inter-mar- 
 riage was forbidden. Unstable as church life was during this 
 period, procedents and church habits were formed, some of which were 
 of lasting benefit and others which did considerable harm. 
 
 The generation of today could not appreciate the advantag&s 
 we have if it were not for the sacrifices made by these pioneers. 
 Tt has been only a century since the Mennonites entered the state, yet 
 the prairies have been broken and made into beautiful garden spots, 
 and stretches of open prairie have become happy Christian commun- 
 ities with well organized churches and religious activities. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The East Bend Mennonite Church was developed by neople who 
 had immigrated from Tazewell County into Champaign County. It 
 was named East Bend because it was located on the East Bend of 
 the Sangamon River near Fisher. 
 
 The first Amish settler in Champaiern County was Charles Storm- 
 er who came from Dillon Creek in 1882. The land was cheap, and 
 Stormer purchased a farm, paying twenty-seven and one-half dollars 
 per acre. He was followed in the next year by August Ingold and in 
 1887 by Jacob Heiser from Morton. In the years of 1888 and 1889 
 Andrew Birky and Peter Zehr came to Fisher. Peter Zehr was the 
 first minister and soon organized a church in the Dixon School house 
 in East Bend Township. 
 
 Due to the increase in numl)2r of the congregation, a committee 
 of trustees was suggested and Jacob Heiser, Charles Stormer and An- 
 drew Birky were appointed to serve. On March 18, 189G, a one- 
 
 6 
 
acre cemetery was donated by Andrew Birky, Sr. This was registered 
 with the state and is still in use today. 
 
 The first singing in the church was in the German language. 
 Songs were usually sung slowly in unison without benefit of notes or 
 chorister. About 1896 notes and part singing were introduced, but 
 the German language was still in use. About 1910 it became neces- 
 sary to use the English language since the children no longer studied 
 German. The church was formally opposed to the use of musical instru- 
 ments, however, the majority of people now have them in their homes. 
 As yet no musical instrument is used in the church service since the con- 
 ference and congregation both think that a more worshipful service 
 can be rendered by acapella singing. The early attitude toward high 
 schools was one of opposition, as they felt it made the young people 
 conceited, but the attitude gradually changed until now the church 
 is in great favor of high school training. 
 
 The church first became interested in mission work in 1905 through 
 visitors of various mission stations. Andrew Birky was chiefly re- 
 sponsible for this missionary interest. 
 
 The Mennonites of East Bend were and still are very fundamen- 
 tal in the basic doctrines of the Bible. The attitudes of these early 
 members were similar to those of all Mennonites, but as time went 
 on they were revised along with the doctrine of the conference. 
 
 The first Sunday School was held in the spring of 1889, and dur- 
 ing 1892 the Sunday School was organized permanently with D. D. 
 Zehr as superintsndent. Services were held every two weeks in the 
 forenoon, and all class work was held in German with no lesson helps 
 of any kind. It was conducted in this way until 1895 when a new 
 church building was built at its present location. The membership 
 was greatly increassd, but the Sunday School sessions were still held 
 every two weeks until new methods and supplies were added. Since 
 that time Sunday School has been held every Sunday. Until 1946 the 
 officers of the Sunday School were elected by the members of the 
 church at the end of each year. 
 
 Young people's meetings or evening meetings were organized 
 in 1906 but were not well attended until 1914. At this time a group 
 of young people met in the home of Bishop Zehr for the purpose of 
 asking the church to arrange a better organization. The suggestion 
 was given that a superintendent and an assistant be appointed. The 
 plan was adopted by the church, and the reorganization was soon ef- 
 fected. J. A. Heiser was appointed the first superintendent of the 
 Young People's Meeting, with Levi Birky as assistant superintendent. 
 The organization continued to expand and today it is a very active 
 division in the church. These meetings are held every Sunday night 
 with the exception of the last Sunday night of each month when an 
 evangelistic sermon is given by one of the home ministers or by a guest 
 speaker who may be invited in. 
 
 There have been mid-week meetings through the years, including 
 prayer meetings and Bible courses. At present a course on personal 
 evangelism is being taken by a large group of the young people. A 
 great deal of interest has been taken by the young people, and in- 
 stead of their taking upon themselves the whole responsibility of 
 their social gatherings as they formerly did, they now have an or- 
 ganization, by means of which their social needs are met, that is 
 under the supervision and authority of the church. A literary so- 
 
<iety was formed, but the ministry discouraged joining the state 
 organization. 
 
 The Sewing Circle was organized in 1917 by Lydia Smith of 
 IFlanagan, Illinois, through the Woman's District Missionary Society 
 for the purpose of exercising charity toward those in need. Meetings 
 ivere held monthly for a number of years in the members' homes, but 
 now they are held in the basement of the church. The organization 
 works through the state board, and it, too, is a prospering organiza- 
 tion. They sew for the needy in Puerto Rico, India, Africa, and the 
 rest of the mission fields. During the war they did extensive can- 
 ning and sewing for M. C. C. and Relief. Every year the women, 
 with help from their husbands, put up canned foods for the missions 
 in Chicago. They acquire their finances from offerings of the con- 
 gregation alone, with the exception of donations that are given them 
 ty numerous people. 
 
 The Christian Worker's Band was started in 1938, by a com- 
 mittee of young people with the help of the ministers. The pur- 
 pose of the organization was to work with the ministry of the 
 church in promoting spiritual welfare and the Christian activities 
 for the young people of the church. At first a constitution was 
 formed, but later the band was reorganized, and the constitution 
 was discarded. It became part of the church with any member of the 
 church being eligible to hold office. The organization consists of 
 -executive, extension, library, advertising and industrial commit- 
 tees. The duties of the executive committee are to look after the 
 overall activities of the band. The extension committee sponsors and 
 surveys for Sunday School and mission outposts. The library and ad- 
 vertising committee takes care of tract distribution, roadside signs, 
 publishing the church paper and numerous other activities. The in- 
 dustrial committee takes care of the needs of the members and non- 
 members of th* community and helps sponsor relief canning and oth- 
 er relief activities of the church. 
 
 On the Fourth of July, it is the practice of the church to hold an 
 all day mesting. These meetings were started by Bishop Peter Zehr 
 in 1914. There is a session until noon and a basket lunch is then 
 ■served. At 2:00 p. m. the afternoon session begins, and in the 
 evening the final session is held. The speaker is always a guest 
 speaker from another church. Occasionally a series of meetings pre- 
 cedes the Fourth of July meeting. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, 
 morning meetings are conducted. Communion is held twice a year, 
 •once on Easter and once in either October or November. Baptismal 
 services are usually held twice or three times a year or whenever 
 the need arises. 
 
 In 1946 the need arose for reorganization of the business of 
 the church. The officers were formally elected the first of the year, 
 and the finances were handled by the trustees, but under the new sys- 
 tem officers take office the first Sunday in October, and a treasurer, 
 who is responsible for the distribution of finances, is elected by the 
 ■church. The first treasurer was Russell Massanari who formerly served 
 at Camp Dennison in C. P. S. Business meetings are held not reg- 
 ularly, but whenever the need arises. 
 
 The church also has a mixed chorus which was started in 1923 
 by Alma Heiser. The first cantata was given at Easter. This met 
 with some opposition by the lay members, but they continued in spite 
 
 8 
 
of the opposition. Alma Heiser was director for one year when she- 
 resigned, and Walter Zehr was made director of the chorus. 
 
 As mentioned previously, "Peter Zehr was the first minister and 
 bishop of East Bend. He was born in Woodford County, Illinois, ia 
 1851, and moved to Tazewell County at the age of five. He was or- 
 dained to the ministry in the Goodfield congregation in 1883 at the 
 age of thirty-two. He moved from Goodfield to East Bend in the 
 spring of 1889, and in 1893 was ordained to the office of bishop and 
 served th3 congregation faithfully until a few weeks before his death 
 in 1922. 
 
 Joseph Beacher was born in France on March 31, 1833. He immi- 
 grated to the United States when he was fifteen years old. He set- 
 tled in Eureka, Illinois, where he lived until 1890, when he moved to 
 Fisher. He was ordained by the voice of the church on April 30, 
 1893. He served the congregation until his death on June 30, 1931. 
 
 Samuel S. Zehr was ordained to the office of deacon in 1906. 
 He was the only dea?on to the congregation and he served in this po- 
 sition until his death in 1942. 
 
 Other co-laborers were Daniel Grieser and Bishop George Ging- 
 erich. 
 
 The present ministry is composed of Bishop J. A. Heiser and Har- 
 old Zshr. 
 
 Joseph A. Heiser was born in Tazewell County near Morton, Illi- 
 nois, on August 22, 1888. He was baptized June 11, 1905, by Peter 
 Zehr at Fisher, Illinois, and was ordained as minister on August 5, 
 1917, by voice of the church at Fisher. By voice of the same church. 
 he was ordained bishop on May 1, 1921. He is active in Bible Con- 
 ference and evangelistic work in many of the states and Canada, 
 and at the present time he is moderator of Illinois Conference and a 
 member of General Mission Board. 
 
 On December 15, 1909 he married Fannie Schrock. To this 
 union were born three girls and two boys. 
 
 Harold A. Zehr was born on October 15, 1903. On June 30, 1926 
 he married Alma Unzicker, and to this union were born four boys 
 and four girls. He was ordained to the ministry on June 21,- 1931, by 
 the voice of the church at Fisher. He has been active in the work 
 of the church, being colporteur of the Mission Board, Assistant Moder- 
 ator of the Illinois Conference, editor of the Missionary Guide, Illi- 
 nois member of he Publication Board, and from 1931 to 1947 secre- 
 tary of the Church Education Cabinet and Sunday School Committee 
 of Illinois. 
 
 The church has grown rapidly since its founding. It has outgrown 
 two church buildings. At the present time a new building is being 
 constructed. The church has now over 500 members in full fellow- 
 ship some of whom are doing mission work at different outposts 
 and the remainder are in attendance at the home congregation. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The East Bend congregation has a very extensive mission pro- 
 gram under the supervision of the extension committee of the Chris- 
 
tian Worker's Band. Arthur was formerly an outpost, but since 1940, 
 it was organized into a congregation. 
 
 The work was started by J. A. Heiser, who had visited the com- 
 munity in 1926. The community was composed of Amish. He investi- 
 gated conditions of the Amish church and the young people, but 
 everything seemed satisfactory, so the matter was dismissed tem- 
 porarily. In the summer of 1929 Mose Troyer and family began at- 
 tending the East Bend congregation. He spoke of being dissatisfied 
 with the Amish Church. It wasn't long before other families and 
 young people began attending these services. In 1935 another group 
 came to Fisher to inquire about bringing their church letters to 
 Fisher. They also inquired about the possibilities of supplying services 
 at Arthur for them. There was at this time much opposition from the 
 Amish leaders. 
 
 In 1936 Obie Bontrager moved to Arthur from Indiana, and he 
 began to attend services at East Bend. This opened the way, and in 
 October, 1936, the first services were held in the Bontrager home. The 
 services were held on Sunday afternoon by members of the East Bend 
 congregation. The first series of meetings were held in December, 
 1936 by Bishop J. A. Heiser. There were about eight converts. 
 
 In the spring of 1938 they began to have services in an abandoned 
 country church. In the fall of 1938 H. J. King and family from Harper, 
 Kansas, moved to Arthur and took charge of the work. In the fall 
 of 1939 a church was bought from the Pentecostal people. The church 
 is located in the town of Arthur. The church has now over two hun- 
 dred members and has been enlarged several times. They are now in 
 the process of erecting a new building. 
 
 In 1940 the extension committee of the Christian Worker's Band 
 "began an extension Sunday School at Dewey, Illinois. In and around 
 Dewey there were many who were in need of the gospel. 
 
 The first Sunday School was held in April 1940, in an upstairs 
 lodge hall which was not being used any more. The first few months 
 the Sunday School was held on Sunday afternoon. Later the time was 
 changed to Sunday morning, and they had preaching sen ices every oth- 
 er Sunday conducted by the ministers of East Bend. The Sunday 
 School superintendent was in charge of the services the Sunday the 
 ministers were not present. The Sunday School was held in the up- 
 stairs hall for four years with an average attendance of twenty-five. 
 In January, 1944, it was moved into a small Lutheran Church building 
 that had been closed because of lack of interest. This was a much 
 more suitable building and was a great help to the work. The Sun- 
 dy School has been held in this place ever since with an average at- 
 tendance of forty-five. 
 
 During the eight years in which the Sunday School has been 
 conducted, four evangelistic campaigns have been carried on. The 
 first was held in 1941 with A. H. Lehman as evangelist. In 1946 
 C. F. Derstine, and in 1947 and 1948, E. M. Yost were the evangelistic 
 speakers. 
 
 Most of the work has been done with the children and shut-ins 
 of Dewey. One of the problems has been the shifting population 
 of Dewey. Although the work has not been growing rapidly, it has 
 been a means of getting the gospel out to the unsaved. Nine members 
 frave been baptized that were not of Mennonite ancestry. 
 
 Another outpost started by members of the East Bend congrega- 
 
 10 
 
tion is at Lake City, Illinois. This work was started in September 
 of 1945 by the Roy Cender family. They worked this field single 
 handed for two years. In December of 1947 the church felt that some 
 support should be given to this work. As a result Raymond Som- 
 mer, Robert Springer, and Roy Cender were named as a committee 
 to investigate the situation there. The results showed that the people 
 were unaminously in favor of continuing the work. The services had 
 been carried on in a Methodist church that had been abandoned. This 
 was graatly in need of repairs and the East Bend congregation took it 
 upon themselves to repair the building. The congregation contacted 
 Reverend Harold Oyer in December of 1947 and he assumed the re- 
 sponsibility of carrying on the work with the help of East Bend as 
 well as some of the m.mbers of the Arthur congregation. 
 
 One family of East Bend was also instrumental in opening the 
 Oak Grove Church south of Fisher, which had been closed for approxi- 
 mately five years. This church had been under the supervision of the 
 United Brethren Conference. The congregation could not support a 
 minister. Since the building was standing useless, the United Breth- 
 ren Conference decided to tear it down. This aroused the interest 
 of the community as there were many families that had previously 
 attended services there and were not attending elsewhere now. Broth- 
 er Harvey Stacey was burdened about his community and began to 
 pray and contact the members. In a short time the church doors were 
 opened and services are being held every Sunday. The average at- 
 tendance is about forty and is gradually on the increase. 
 
 Another part of the extension work is with the colored people in 
 Gibson City. This work was started as a result of contacts by the 
 Raymond Sommer family with a colored lady at a public meeting. 
 During the conversation she mentioned the spiritual condition of her 
 race in town. They soon felt the need of her race socially and spirit- 
 ually. Other churches in the city gave the colored people no welcome. 
 
 The group was small, only about one dozen colored homes in the 
 city. The little church which they claimed as their very own place of 
 worship was a neglected little building, doors locked and in a very 
 run down condition. Near the church lived an old colored pastor 
 who no longer carried on because the group was too small to sup- 
 port him. He lived in the church property under false pretense with 
 his conference. 
 
 The colored lady was very sociable which made it easy for them 
 to look further into conditions and find out if the church could be 
 of any help to them in our extension work. They asked her if she 
 would accompany them at some other date to all the colored homes 
 of trie city to find out the attitude of the group. 
 
 Different groups and also .our ministers called on these homes 
 on the average of one Sunday a month. This eventually became too 
 large a project for one Sunday afternoon. After the ministers felt 
 that they had the confidence of the people won over, the psople then 
 saw that they were interested in nothing but their spiritual welfare, 
 they consulted the old pastor. They asked him about repairing the 
 church and calling together the little flock for worship in their own 
 building. Physically the old colored pastor was unable to be respon- 
 sible for this charge. So our ministers felt like this was their own 
 opportunity to minister to these colored folks, and the colored pas- 
 tor consented for them to go ahead with this project. 
 
 The little church was then repaired, painted and cleaned with the 
 
 11 
 
help of the industrial committee of our church. On March 24, 1946, 
 they had the first meeting in the church with a good attendance of 
 not only colored people but also from white people. Reverend Harold 
 Zehr had charge of a short rededication service and Reverend J. A. 
 Heiser preached a sermon. Sunday School and church is held every 
 Sunday in charge of workers from the East Bend congregation. The 
 attendance averages around thirty-five. The services are held at 
 2:30 in the afternoon making it possible for one of the ministers to 
 <be present. A group of colored ladies bring a special message in 
 song every Sunday. 
 
 Recently a children's Bible class was organized and it meets 
 every Friday evening for teaching and singing. The church also has 
 an active sewing circle that meets once a month. 
 
 The East Bend congregation also helps support the work of the 
 General Mission Board. The G. D. Troyers were the first ones to enter 
 into the Puerto Rican field of labor and at the present time the East 
 Bend congregation has nine members in the field of service in Puerto 
 Rico. The congregation also has one family in the Indian field. A 
 collection is taken once a month for general mission work and then 
 is sent to the General Board. 
 
 Small groups in the congregation give full support to other mis- 
 sionaries earnestly engaged in mission work but not under the mission 
 board. I will only mention Brother Harvey Birkys who have been do- 
 ing child evangelism in Alabama for several years. They are at the 
 present time contacting 5,000 children weekly in the schools of Ala- 
 bama. He is a graduate of Goshen College and also attended Moody 
 Bible Institute for a short time. 
 
 For the last five years several families have been going to Sara- 
 sota, Florida, in the winter to hold Bible School among the colored 
 children and have been doing a very commendable work. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 As had been mentioned in Chapter II the first church building was 
 the Dixon School House. This was used from 1890 to 1892 when it 
 'became unfit for use as a church building. Also the increase in mem- 
 bership made it necessary for a new church building. The committee 
 rented the Methodist Church at Houstonville in 1892, but this also 
 soon became unfit for use. The church members then voted to pur- 
 chase one and one-half acres for a consideration of fifty dollars on 
 which they erected a frame building 36 by 40 which contained one large 
 room and two smaller rooms and held approximately one hundred and 
 eighty people. It was dedicated by John Smith in 1895. 
 
 In 1907 the church building was demolished by a tornado. It was 
 then replaced by another frame building which was 40 by 60 and had 
 a seating capacity of 300. In 1919 the need again arose for enlarging. 
 A committee was chosen and they enlarged the building and dug a 
 basement which provided a place for a furnace and Sunday School 
 rooms. This arrangement lasted until 1935 when the congregation again 
 outgrew the seating space and remodeling had to be planned once more. 
 This time the trustees took on the task of planning the remodeling. 
 They removed the cloak rooms to the basement and made room for 
 sixty-five people. This lasted until 1947 when it was a necessity to do 
 
 12 
 
something about space. After much prayer and deliberation by the 
 congregation, a committee was formed with Nelson Sommer a3 chair- 
 man. They secured an architect and began planning for expansion. They 
 decided that they should use part of the old building with a large ex- 
 tension to the east. The committee then proceeded to raise the money 
 for the building. There had been a building fund in the church for 
 several years but in the last few years it had not grown very much. 
 The new building is a brick structure with a vaulted auditorium and 
 a balcony. This has a seating capacity of 750. The new building is 
 equipped with a dozen classrooms, kitchen, and dining room facilities, 
 a nursery, study, cloak rooms and rest rooms. The building has a 60 
 by 120 foot basement and is equipped with two furnaces. Much of the 
 labor and part of the materials were donated and the building was 
 estimated at $110,000. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 As has been mentioned before in chapter II a literary society was 
 formed. It's job was to provide a wholesome social life for the young 
 people. The first meeting was held in 1917 at the home of Peter Good. 
 The young people presented their plan for a literary to the ministry 
 of the church and it was accepted. A cabinet then chose the various 
 committees who were in charge of recreation, refreshments, programs 
 and various other details. They decided that meetings should be held 
 every three weeks in the homes of the members of the congregation. 
 The programs consist of readings, musical numbers, or other special 
 events. After the program refreshments and recreation were enjoyed 
 by all. 
 
 The cabinet is reelected every six months and the president cannot 
 hold two consecutive terms in office. The young people voted to con- 
 tinue the literary as a separate organization when the youth fellowship 
 was introduced. The literary at East Bend is a living and active or- 
 ganization with approximately 60 members. 
 
 The Youth Fellowship was brought up before the Literary in June 
 of 1947. It had been discussed by the ministry, Band committee, and 
 executives of the Literary. In January of 1948, it was finally organ- 
 ized and in June of 1948, it joined the national organization. The first 
 sponsor was Willard Heiser. The purpose of the Youth Fellowship was 
 to promote the spiritual sides of life parallel to the social side as de- 
 veloped by the Literary. The organization is composed of a chairman, 
 girl member, boy member, sponsor and assistant sponsor. This forms 
 the executive committee. There are several committees under this who 
 have charge, of prayer meetings and singspirations. The Youth Fellow- 
 ship does shut-in visitation work in Paxton at an Old Peoples' Home. 
 The program consists of music and a short talk by one of the mem- 
 'bers. They also provide music for the colored work at Gibson City 
 and distributed toys for an orphanage. The fellowship has organized a 
 chorus composed of the youth of the church. Meetings are held every 
 three weeks, and they consist of singing, readings, panel discussions. 
 or other appropriate numbers. The eligibility of the Youth Fellowship 
 is limited to the young unmarried people of the Literary ages. The 
 offices are limited to the members of the East Bend Church, but any 
 Christian can be a member of the organization. The officers are elected 
 every six months and the sponsor is elected by the voice of the organi- 
 zation every year. 
 
 13 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 With the conclusion of this history we do not ac- 
 cept the success of our church boastfully, for we know 
 that only through the help and divine guidance of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can we succeed. We hope 
 for continued success and with mercy and guidance, we 
 hope to continue to expound the Word of God and only 
 do we do this in the -name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 King, Bernice, "History of the Mennonites of Arthur", 
 Mennonite Guide, January, 1946. 
 
 Weber, Harry F., Centennial History of the Mennonites 
 of Illinois, Mennonite Historical Society, 1931, Gosh- 
 en College, Goshen, Indiana. 
 
 14 
 
Pait two 
 
 PliotoGlabhic lleco\b 
 
 We wish to thank the following who have furnished 
 photographs from which this collection was taken: 
 
 E. W. Heiser. 
 • Mrs. Vernon Hieser. 
 Walter Oyer. 
 Richard Oyer. 
 Verle Oyer. 
 Elmer Schrock. 
 Albert Zehr. 
 Chester Zehr. 
 Wilmer Zehr. 
 
 15 
 
LOG OF EVENTS 
 
 July 5, 1943— Building Fund started. This was preceded about two 
 v a business meeting at which time the trustees and ministers 
 d the facts of building needs. They felt that although it might 
 
 )me time until we build, a fund should be -tailed. Miss Bertha 
 Miller made the initial contribution. 
 
 July :.;U Uj45— Bu>iness meeting held at which building needs were 
 i 
 
 Dec. 10, 1045 — Business meeting held at which results of recent 
 
 of congregation revealed that most of money could be raised 
 
 neet the then estimated cost of re-modeling. It was decided that 
 
 trustee^ were to call another meeting when they trough building might 
 
 be underiakv 
 
 April. 1940 — Though building seemed impossible it was decided to 
 add a balcony to present structure. This was later abandoned because 
 shortage and priority difficulties. 
 
 Fall of 104'; — .Meeting held to decide whether to plan building or 
 repair heating system. Many suggestions were offered, but nothing 
 nite arrived at. 
 
 November 7, 194o — Constitution adopted outlining duties of all lay 
 izations, and changing fiscal year to October 1st. 
 
 November 21, 1947— Meeting called at which Rev. C. H. Deardorff, 
 architect, presented his suggestions for re-modeling. 
 
 November 30, 1947 — Questionnaire circulated which showed group 
 favored using old building and re-modeling according to Deardorff's 
 suggestion. Decided to form planning committee. 
 
 March 11, 1948 — Planning committee meets with Deardorff. 
 
 March 15, 1948 — Trustees contact Rev. Oran Shoemaker and find 
 him available as a contractor. 
 
 March 30, 1948 — Trustees meet with church council stating they 
 find a contractor available, and make suggestions concerning formation 
 of building committee. 
 
 April 4 — Questionnaire which shows congregation has given final 
 approval to building program, naming Deardorff as architect, and add- 
 ing the names of Albert Heiser, and Dan P. Zehr to trustee committee 
 forming the building committee. (Nelson Sommer, Daniel Teuscher, and 
 Emery Hieser being trustees). 
 
 April 5 — Building committee holds first meeting. 
 
 April 14 — Deardorff meets with congregation to prseent final plans 
 and show first draftings for blue-prints. 
 
 May 4 — Ground broken for building. 
 
 May 12 and 13 — Basement dug. 
 
 May 18 — Foundation forms started. 
 
 Old auditorium used while first work being done. 
 
 June 25 — First bricks delivered — brick-laying starts next day. 
 
 June 25 — First services held in basement. New part of basement 
 not used until after new roof completed — middle of October. 
 
 June 27 — First services held in tent, which was used for four weeks. 
 
 September 7 — Steel roof trusses being placed. 
 
 October 23 — Heating system installation started. 
 
 November 1 — Electrical wiring started. 
 
 November 10 — Window glass installation started. 
 
 December 1 — Plastering started — completed January 24, 1949. 
 
 February 7, 1949 — Terazza flour covering started — completed Mar. 7. 
 
 March 31 — Sidewalks completed. 
 
 April 7 — Landscaping done along building. 
 
 April 15 — Carpenters complete their work. 
 
 April 24 — Dedication. 
 
 16 
 
Bishop and 
 
 Mrs. J. A. 
 
 Heiser 
 
 We gratefully acknowledge the service of our Bishop and Fellow- 
 Minister who have so untiringly furnished the leadership, counsel, and 
 encouragement so vital to the congregation. May we ever reflect their 
 •efforts as we strive together in His service. 
 
 Rev. and Mrs. 
 Harold Zehr 
 
 17 
 
Building Committ3€ — 
 left to right: 
 Daniel Teuscher, Dan- 
 isl P. Zehr, Emery 
 Hieser, Albert Heiser, 
 and Nelson Sommer. 
 
 Rev. Oran Shoemaker, 
 
 Champaign, Illinois, 
 
 Building Contractor. 
 
 18 
 
Scenes of yesterday. The East Bend congregation has long enjoyed 
 the fellowship which follows a Sunday morning sevice. 
 
 H 
 
The old structure from the front and rear. 
 
 The ground-breaking service was held during a light rain on the 
 morning of May 4, 1948. Rev. Heiser has taken the first shovel of 
 earth. 
 
 20 
 
Mahlon Cender is seen ai the controls of the 
 ;lldozer. May 12, 1948. 
 
 Above, the old chim- 
 ney comes down. 
 The bees were busv 
 too! 
 
 Left, The basement 
 is dug by local help. 
 Tractor loaders and 
 dump trucks are 
 used to good advan- 
 tage. 
 
Lower left, taken May 18 shows 'Gene' helping figure forms for 
 foundation. Upper left, the forms are coming off, while upper right, 
 reveals the completed auditorium foundation. Low r er right, taken June 
 29, is a mixer scene during the pouring of part of the basement floor. 
 
 The first bricks are layed at 
 the southeast corner, June 25. 
 The tent in which services were 
 held is seen in the background 
 
 22 
 
The. front of the old is being transformed into the entrance i 
 new. Amateur photographers were a common sight. 
 
 Eugene Stirewalt, the foreman, right, points out 
 detail to Nelson Sommer, building committee member, 
 1949, in church basement. 
 
 23 
 
 a blue-print 
 January 12, 
 
■ 
 
 of the structure 
 
 The old 
 
 able to begin to visualize the lines and size 
 •lends into the new. 
 
 Scaffolding- at the north gable reveals an interesting pattern. Tak- 
 en in early August it shows some of the problems of masonry at that 
 height. 
 
 24 
 
In the above photo a work- 
 man attaches braces and dis- 
 connects Lne derrick cables. 
 
 Left, on September 7, the 
 first steel truss leaves the 
 ground, swings in mid-air, and 
 is finally lowered into place. 
 
 25 
 
The general outline becomes more clear as the roof takes shape. 
 The versatile farm jeep proves its convenience many times. 
 
 By early August the new entrance becomes quite prominent, the 
 arch window frames go into place. 
 
 26 
 
The above taken from a plane shows the over-all view. It 
 was taken just as roof sheeting was completed on the afternoon of 
 September 27. Three workmen can be seen on the roof. 
 
 Here is one of the first chances to visualize form the main entrance 
 will take. This was taken several weeks before the picture above. 
 
 27 
 

The final coat of plaster must go on in 
 a day, requiring a large crew for the aud- 
 itorium ceiling. Taken January 12, 1949, 
 this photo denotes the size of crew and 
 scaffolding used. 
 
 'Gene', the foreman, stops work one af- 
 ternoon long enough to pose with his boss, 
 'Shoey", as Mr. Shoemaker is called. 
 
 28 
 
The former and the present homes of the East Bend congregation. 
 These two photographs were taken about seven months apart. 
 
 29