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Newspaper Page Text
Rev. W. C. Campbell, D. D., Celebrates the Fortieth Anniversary of Pastorate Tho congregation of tho First Presbyterian ?church of Roanoke. Vsi.. very fittingly I'l'lchratcd. July --I. 1U2I. tlio completion of forty years of ?irrvicc l?v its pastor, t ho llov. William Croighton ?Campbell. I>. I>.. as its pastor. On Saturday, July 2. I XXI, l>r. Campbell arrived at Roanoke, and on tin* following ilav. Similay. July i!. 1**1. at I I o'clock, pmichcil liis lirsl ser mon to tin* congregation front sitoikI Corinthians i As an introduction to the* celebra t ion tin* con Cl'CKiilioii hold a reception at tho manse of tho church from t! to to I'. M. on Saturday, to which all the congregation and friends of Ur. Campbell were invited. Delicious ice courses were served l?y a bevy of voting girls. In the receiving line with Dr. Campbell were his daughter. Miss Mary Campbell: his son. Mr. CreiKhton Campbell, and wife. (?!' Hluetield. \V. \'a.: Miss Amelia Mclsown. of Mart inshurg. \V. Va.: a niece, and his other son, Mr. I,. II. Campbell, of Philadelphia. Pa. illis other daughters. Mrs. Creenland, of Fort Wayne. Ind.. and Miss Anna Campbell, of China, being unavoidably absent I . During the hours men tioned the manse was crowded with guests more than four hundred having called, to honor their pastor .and friend. The guests, upon arriving, were given souvenir books, containing events which transpired during the fortv years Dr. Camnbell lias served the church as its pastor, and also a brief history of the former pastors of the church, together with n brief statement of its organization At the morning service on Sunday. July 1 9 'J 1 . Dr. Campbell occupied the puipit and preached to a crowded church. Dr. Campbell prefaced his ser mon with a short statement that in preparing the sermon, which would be suitable to the occasion, he was overwhelmed with material for its fabrica tion, and lie was met with difficulty in eliminating that which should be le.'t out and using that which, should be put into it. Dr. Campbell reviewed briefly the history of the city of Uoanoke. of the First Presbyterian church, and en passant some of the events that have hap pened during these forty years. Dr. Campbell came to a village of less than 900 people in 1881. and has seen that village grow to a city of more than 110.0 00 during the forty years he has been here. The membership of the Presbyterian church of Koanoke, which greeted him on July t5. 1881. of less than 100 members, lias grown until the mother church has a little short of 1,000 members, and there are seven other churches or missions that have been created from its membership. Dr. Campbell also briefly mentioned some things personal to himself, stating that his ancestors had occupied the same lands in Northern Virginia for nearly 200 years, showing that they were not much inclined to change, and that the "tinge in his blood possibly accounts for the protracted stay in this place." lie mentioned some of the repre sentutive men of t lio early clays of his min istry in Roanoke, and pointed out how few of them have not "passed over the river." lie -aid tri bute to the nohle men who had pre ceded him as pastor of this church : Trias Powers. II e n r y M \Vhite, J a in e s P. Smith, Alfred Jones. John S. LeFevre and John f\ Dinwiddle. Of tlie elders and dea cons of the church in 1S81 there were three of the former and four of the latter, all have gone to their re ward. Of the mem bership of the church the speaker could re call only thirteen now living. The church now has twenty elders and twenty-two dea cons. During these forty years Dr. Campbell has been called to other fields and other work, and was also tempted to engage in business and specula tion which presented attractive opportuni ties for accumulation of wealth. Itut all of these he lias steadfast ly turned away from and has remained in the service of his (Sod and this church and its congregation. He rejoiced with its peo ple when they re joiced and wept with them when they wept. At the uight ser vices it was the orig inal intention of the committee in charge to have the only sur viving pred pressor of ItcV. \V. C. Campbell. Dr. Campbell, the Rev. James I*. Smith, 1). I . to preach, hut owing to the great age of Dr. Smith In* could not attend, and failing to get another speaker. Dr. Campbell preached from the same text used <?u July I SSI, to-wit, '1 Cor. 1 subject, "Self-Kxa m illation." Oil Monday, July 4. IH21, at S 1*. M., there was a general reception held at the church, to which all the congregation and friends were invited. Short addresses were made by prominent church and business people filled with reminiscence and felicitations to Dr. Campbell. At the conclusion of the services the congregation presented Dr. Campbell with a handsome purse. The press of the city took cognizance of the an niversary of its pastor by the First Presbyterian church in their news column and editorially, and also printed in full his Sunday morning sermon. Dr. Camplx-ll's Sermon. This is a very unique occasion to the most of you as it is to me, as very few of you have attend First Presbyterian Cliurch, Roanoke, Va. ed (lie fortieth anniversary of :i pastor. To-day I alii standing almost to the 111 inn to where I stood forty years since ;md preached my first sermon in this community. July l.sxi, 11 A. M., I reached Itig l. irk a little after midnight of .July 2d. and I stopped for the night at the Xeal llonse. located on the north side of the railroad at its intersec tion with Commerce Street. At that time the freight station, express otlice. telegraph olliee and the post otlice were all under the same roof of a building that stood where the present old freight station is. The volume of business done at that lime may he inferred from tlio fact that one man. Mr. George Rhodes, personally attended to all of the business done. The day was made memorable to me because of a telegram flashed over the wires that Mr. (Sarlield, the President of the United States, had been assassinated that day in Wash ington City. Only Thirteen Remain. 1 can recall the names of some who sat before me that morning of July 3d. All but thirteen are either dead or removed and residence unknown. Of the thirteen only nine are now connected with this church and living within its bounds. The elders of that day and the deacons are all gone. Since I stood before this congregation fortv years ago we have passed through a wonderful period, eventful to me, to you and to our country and to the world. I lorn in Valley of Virginia. Just a word about myself. 1 was born in the Valley of Virginia and in the county of Herkeley, and in a little town called Gerardstown that lies at the foot of the beautiful North Mountain. From that mountain the Valley stretches eastward for twenty-five miles to the foot of the I'due Ridge Mountain. The space between the mountains is a charming rolling section of fertile lands with its attractive homes and towns and cities. My father's family have lived in that section for ISO years. The old home, now owned and oc cupied by a relative of the same name, has been in possession of the family for l.V? years. My mother's family, with tiie prolix "Van" to the name, were from Holland, and have lived within sight of the same mountain for nearly LMMI years. It will bo seen that I have come from stock not much inclined to change. That tinge, in my blood possibly accounts for the protracted stay I have made in ibis place. My ancestors were patriotic, and took part in all the struggles of our country. My great-grand father was a captain in the Revolutionary Army. My grandfather was a major in the War of l.xiu. Mv mother had two brothers in the War with Mexico. My own father joined a company in the Civil War, iiut a delicate constitution made it im possible for him to serve. My own son spent nearly two years in the army in France during the late World War. I was taught in the schools of my native town. I was brought up in a Presbyterian coni in unit y, and t lie church aiul t li ** school house stood side bv side. My teachers were nearly all college men or ministers of the gospel. I graduated from Hainpden-Sidney College in 1ST ?!. Three years later I graduated from Union Theological Seminary, Virginia. I was prin c i p a I o f 1 Mi (fields Academy f o r o n e year. For two years I preached in Harper's Ferry. I was called to pastorate of this church in I SSI. Was Then l!i<j Lick. Koiitioku at that, time was called I'.ig Lick. It was a small place of about 90 0 p e o p 1 e. Commerce SI reel and Sale m Road ;iiid Franklin Road were its streets. Roanoke was then a small place set down in the midst of wheat and corn fields and meadow 1 a n d s and wood lands that came to the edge of the town. To-day a thriv ing city of till. 0011 people like a jewel encircled by its ring of emerald greets the eye. The Itig Lick of forty years since is the Roanoke of to-day with its stately huild i n g s, its thronged streets, bustling with traffic, its trolley cars, its aiitos and its hur rying crowds. The business of tho place was small. It had a few stores and the usual trades of the small town, black