OUUC History - A Glimpse Into the Past Articles

	Site Map (Text Menu)

A Glimpse Into The Past

In commemoration of our upcoming 50th anniversary, Emily Ray has been writing a series of articles in the Unitariana recounting some interesting tidbits of OUUC history. We thought it would be nice to compile them in one place, so here they are (we'll keep adding these throughout the year).

February 2002

Today we occupy a rose-brick building with nearly 5000 square feet. It was not always thus.

The first public meeting of the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia was in 1952 at the former Olympia Community Center. Through the years, the fledging group met in other places: the Olympia YMCA, the Girl Scout Little House at 11th and Washington (also demolished), the basement of the Governor Hotel, and the Olympia Women's Clubhouse.

In 1968 we moved into the little white church at 2nd and B streets in Tumwater. It was built as a community church in 1872. We purchased it from the Methodists for $10,000, paid in full before our occupancy. Through the years we made a number of improvements while retaining the appearance of this building of statewide historical significance.

In 1993 we moved to our present location at 2200 East End Street.

And there's more to the story….

March 2002

The past 50 years have seen our church go "from UFO to OUUC."

In 1951, an Olympia attorney, Jerome Kuykendall, read a definition of the Unitarian religion in a "Time" magazine article. It so impressed him that he contacted the American Unitarian Association (AUA). In the absence of any Unitarian church in the Olympia area he became a member of The Church of the Larger Fellowship. Through this "church by mail" he began receiving sermons and other materials.

A year later, AUA staff identified a handful of others in the Olympia who were also on the same mailing list. They were Bartlett and Gladys Burns, Frederick Hamley, and Herb Legg. Kuykendall decided to pull the group together. He also advertised his intentions in "The Daily Olympian."

The meeting attracted additional people who had been Unitarians elsewhere. More meetings followed. The group decided to form a fellowship-that is, a church without a minister. This decision was welcomed by the AUA, which in the late 1940's began encouraging the formation of fellowships across the nation.

UFO was officially recognized as a member of the AUA on October 6, 1952. There were 13 charter members. And there's more to the story….

April 2002

Today on many Sundays we enjoy the spine-tingling sound of a large choir directed by a professional musician. We sing hymns during services. Back in the 1950's our music scene was very different.

The people who formed the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia were interested more in discussion that in music. But a persistent few longed to sing during Sunday service. In 1953, almost a year after the fellowship organized, the members tried group singing for the first time with hymnals borrowed from Tacoma. A newsletter of the time said, "Those with attitudes for or against such a feature in the future are asked to make their feelings known to the program committee." In October the music group organized.

November 1955, the Fellowship voted on whether to continue hymn singing and favored it. In 1958 Worship Committee surveyed folks and found a variety of opinions regarding hymns. For some people, hymns contained archaic concepts and were reminiscent of the traditional chruches they sought to leave behind.

The first chair of the Music Committee was Helen Christopher, who still lives in the area and sometimes comes to church events.

In 1993 the Unitarian Universalist Association published Singing the Living Tradition, the book we still use today. This compilation recast many old hymnds and introduced new ones, giving us hymns suitable for the Unitarian Universalist sensibility of today.

May 2002

On April 28, 2002, we installed the Rev. Art Vaeni in a splendid celebration. Art is the first minister we have called for full time service since our ancestral fellowship began in 1952.

After almost 30 years without a minister, in 1978 the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia called the Rev. Roger Otis Kuhrt. He served us one-quarter time, at the same time serving the Tacoma church, until June 1985. Among his sermon titles: “The Yin and the Yang: Moral Decision Making.”

After a year of lay leadership, in 1986 we called the Rev. Donna DiSciullo to serve us on a part-time basis. A native of the Boston area, Donna’s accent remains as unforgettable as her thought-provoking sermons and her attention to church governance. At the close of three years, Donna moved to Princeton with her husband, a Congregational minister.

The Rev. Sandra Lee became our minister in 1989 and evolved to full time status after several years. A microbiologist by profession, Sandra was inspired to become a UU minister through her involvement in the Kitsap UU Fellowship. Sandra hired Darlene Sarkela as our first paid office staff. With Sandra in the pulpit, our numbers outgrew our space. Her husband Don Bell found creative ways to finance our new land and building.

In 1999, the Rev. Shirley Ranck joined us for a two-year interim period. Shirley was already well known as the author of “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven,” an investigation into the feminine roots of religion. A clinical psychologist in her former life and an “interim minister” by choice, Shirley was able to help us come together as a community and articulate the qualities we wanted in our next minister. Which brings us back to Art!

June 2002

In June we hold our annual Strawberry Festival. You might think it’s just another excuse to consume a favorite treat while being jostled by friends. You’re partly right. It’s also a way to remember the earliest Unitarian presence in Olympia 130 years ago.

In 1871, the American Unitarian Association sent a minister-at-large to the Pacific Northwest. The Rev. John Kimball established his headquarters in Olympia, Washington Territory. “The Washington Standard,” local newspaper of the day, regularly announced his topics. An early sermon explored the Unitarian idea of salvation, taking up the question, “What is it we are saved from?”

In April, 1872, the First Unitarian Society of Olympia became a member of the national association. That summer, the church hosted a social event. Strawberries, shortcake and lemonade were served “by the hands of beautiful ladies,” reported the newspaper.

The church grew and prospered until an economic panic in 1893. Within a few years it was forced to sell its imposing building at 9th and Franklin streets. And the strawberry festival might have been lost to memory except for the diligent research of Gladys Burns, a founder of the fellowship.

In 1972, 30 years after the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia formed, the group revived the strawberry festival. And it’s been a tradition ever since. Some years we’ve gone to the fields to pick the berries. Some years we’ve purchased flats. When the season has been late, we’ve even bought frozen berries and thawed them. Whatever our means, we recreate an event with meaning, fusing the past with the present.

July 2002

In “Fellowship” days, summer was a quiet time. The doors were shut and services and religious education classes were suspended. Committees and the board of trustees generally took a long vacation.

In 1953, a year after its formation, the Unitarian Society of Olympia began a tradition of holding a summer picnic as the summer activity. The early picnics were clam bakes at Barnacle Beach, the home of Alison and Frank Mathews. In 1957, 89 people attended according to the astonished “Unitariana” editor.
In 1958 the fellowship started another picnic to signal the end of the church school. Those picnics were hosted by the LaBells first, and later by the Bucoves, the Jacksons and the Rosses. This picnic eventually became an all-church event rather than being focused on the RE program.

In 1961 the mid-summer picnic relocated to land on Springer Lake owned by five Unitarian families including that of current OUUC member Phil Vandeman. This tradition continued into the 1970’s when that land was sold. Then Virginia Saibel hosted the picnics at her home on Hewitt Lake through 1989, shortly before her final illness.

Through the years, the Unitarians have picnicked in many public parks. Members of the Tacoma church joined us at Tolmie State Park on three occasions. Our own members have also continued to host us—Mary Jane (Dexter) Allison on Eld Inlet, Bill Arensmeyer at his former farm near Oakville, Peg Wortman at her farm off Steamboat Island Road, and Trish and Don Hardin at their former home on Tempo Lake. Sometimes we had three picnics, one for each summer month. Sadly, during a few summers we missed any opportunity for bee stings and sunburns.

In 2002, our 50th anniversary year, we have been invited to the farm of Lois Chowen and David Hare on July 28.
Lois and David hosted us several times in the 1990’s. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity for a return engagement. The farm, in the Independence Valley near Rochester, has a number of intriguing out-buildings, a lovely home, flourishing gardens, and a variety of animals. What better way to honor “TRADITION!” than to participate in the annual summer picnic?

August 2002

Financially speaking, life was simple in the early days of our parent organization, the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia (UFO). With no property or staff - or hymnals - the main expense was renting a meeting room. Even Unitariana was a minor expense. The first issues were typed with carbon paper on onion skin. Later, the newsletter was run on a mimeograph machine given to the YMCA by founding members Bart and Gladys Burns; the donation was made with the understanding UFO could use it for the cost of paper.

From the first, though, the organization gave some thought to raising money. The founding bylaws of 1952 established $1.00 as the membership fee. (In 1956 the bylaws were revised to require $1.00 “from active members.”) In addition to pledges for the Fellowship, people were asked to contribute to the United Unitarian Appeal and the Unitarian Service Committee. In 1953, the fellowship’s budget was $539, with $103 earmarked for the United Unitarian Appeal.

By 1955 the budget had more than doubled to $1300. That amount included a Board allocation of $100 toward the expenses of a member to attend the Pacific Coast Unitarian Council in Alameda, CA. That year also saw the formation of fellowship finance committee chaired by Herb Legg.

By 1963 the budget had crept up to $2000 with the lion’s share going to rental of the Olympia Women’s Clubhouse. Some members professed to be developing “an edifice complex” and the group looked seriously at buying property.

Even after UFO bought the little white church at 2nd and B in Tumwater, costs remained relatively low for a number of years; the building had been purchased outright and the group was lay led. It wasn’t until we called a quarter time minister that the costs increased significantly. Our budget 20 years ago was $16,842.

In 2002, we have two buildings on adjoining land, a minister, church administrator, director of religious education, music director, custodian, and a multiplicity of programs. Our annual budget is $247,000. As people who value Unitarian Universalist principles, we have also had to learn that money helps us actualize our values. In the 1980’s we actually brought in an expert in church fund raising to teach us how to think about money and commitment. For many of us (including yours truly) it was a difficult transition.

September 2002

Religious education for children was a concern right from the start of the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia in 1952, but the primary focus was on adults. An active cadre of committed adults—not just parents—ensured a continuing RE program for children.

The historic “first” RE chair was “Mrs. Bartlett Burns,” a fellowship founder who died in 1994. Gladys traveled out of state to curriculum workshops and was responsible for introducing the materials of Sophia Lyons Fahs to the fellowship. These materials were the backbone of the children’s classes for many years, not just in Olympia but throughout the Unitarian movement.

The expectation of an enrollment fee was established early. In 1958 the cost was $1.00 per family. Today the suggested donation is $35-40 and is intended to cover a portion of the RE cost. Payment of any registration fee remains a matter of periodic discussion, some people preferring to fund the RE program fully from the general revenues of the church.

The children’s Christmas program became an annual affair very early in the life of the fellowship. The 1955 performance was “How the Christ Child Got His Birthday” and was directed by Helen Christopher, who still lives in Olympia. The ambitious nature of these programs is evident from the titles—for example, the 1965 performance, “A Medieval Christmas,” directed by Pat Holm and Dorothy Punderson.

The number and combination of classes have undergone many changes. In 1956, the fellowship offered four classes: nursery and kindergarten; 1 and 2; 3 and 4; and 5 through 7. In the face of fluctuating enrollments and inconsistent adult participation, other configurations have been tried. In the spring of 1965, children third grade and up were divided into interest groups on art, drama and nature. In the 1980’s, we experimented with short field trips one Sunday each month, visiting local parks and nature trails.

In 1993, we moved to our current building. With RE enrollment soaring, we at last recognized the need for paid professional leadership and hired our first RE Director, Penny Sodhi. She and Mary Ann Thompson, who followed in 1994, were both quarter time. In 1996, the position was expanded to half time and filled by Andy Bartels for three years. Peggy Olsen-Missildine took the reins for a year in 1999, and in 2000, Steven Hendricks took up the responsibility. This fall, we embark on a new RE season with our sixth professional RE director, Sierra-Marie Gerfao.

October 2002

To the woods!” hisses the villain. “No, no, no,” whimpers the fair damsel in the old vaudeville skits. The answer of Unitarians has always been, “Yes, yes, yes, to the woods!” For our church community, a favorite way has been through retreats.

In our early days, the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia (UFO) did not sponsor its own retreats but participated in events put on by others. The August 1962 “Unitariana” advertises a family camp out at Black Mountain Boy Scout Camp near Bellingham. It is described as “a new venture for the Unitarians who have enough stamina to combine convocations and conversation with KP.” Cost for five days of campsite and two group meals was $25.00 per family.

More rustic adventures became available in 1966 when the Northwest Wilderness Society, an associate of the Pacific Northwest District, opened a wilderness camp on the shores of Kootenay Lake in British Columbia. UFO founders Bart and Gladys Burns were among those who traveled the many miles to the camp nestled between the Selkirk and Purcell mountain ranges. The camp is accessible only by boat; the last leg of the trip begins when aspirants signal the camp director by waving an orange tarp for pick up.

Eventually the local Unitarian community began planning and holding its own retreats. At first these were billed as “family” retreats but were really all-church events and were held at such sites as Fort Worden, Seabeck, Panhandle Camp, and Camp Solomon Schecter. Despite their popularity, it was difficult to generate the energy for organizing them on an annual basis. By contrast, women’s retreats, initiated by former member Gretchen Meyer at Gwinwood in 1993, became firmly established at once and have happened annually ever since.

In 2001 the all-church retreat was held at Camp Seymour and was a resounding success. The momentum has continued; this November we make a return visit to the YMCA camp on the wooded shores of Carr Inlet. The all-church retreat has at last become an integral part of our church community. To the woods!

November 2002

In the early 1950’s, Pat Guerin delivered a talk titled “Loyalty Oaths and Our Security Program” to the Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia (UFO). It was the McCarthy era, and for Pat and other UFO members the concerns were eerily similar to those of today.

Since 9-11 Rev. Art Vaeni has shared his concerns about the erosion of civil liberties in the name of national security. He has expressed himself in the pulpit and in a column in the Olympian. Public expressions of conscience are integral to Unitarian Universalism. From the earliest days of our ancestral Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia (UFO), our members and friends have actively sought to create a better world in a variety of ways.

The dearth of mental health services locally was a major issue for fellowship members. They didn’t just worry, they acted. The “Unitariana” of May 1958 reported that the Thurston County Mental Health Association “has an almost embarrassing number of Unitarians among its leaders, with Harry Parmalee as President, Jeanette Whitcher as Vice-President, and Gladys Burns, Jean Ross, Warren Winslow, Bonnie Hansen, and Buck Harmon as Board Members.”

UFO member Alison Mathews co-chaired the successful candidacy of Pearl Wanamaker for Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1956. Other UFOers on the campaign steering committee were Phil Vandeman and Herb Legg. Herb was elected to the post of Olympia Commissioner of Public Works the same year. Alison later ran unsuccessfully for our state House of Representatives. The public’s loss was Unitarianism’s gain, however, because she put her energy into leadership positions in the Northwest District and national Unitarian organization.

Other early UFO members held significant positions related to their professional fields. Two were Maurice “Buck” Harmon, who in 1961 became president of the National Association of Training Schools and Juvenile Offenders; and Dr. Barney Bucove, who in 1964 was elected president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers.

In the late 1960’s and 1970’s, the fellowship was involved in draft counseling and Native American rights, among many other causes. Within recent years our local church has been involved in issues of hunger, homelessness, racism, economic globalization, homophobia and more. Our denomination takes positions on pressing national and international issues and establishes a moral and ethical presence through our social justice office in Washington, D.C. and our United Nations office in New York City.

December 2002

Every time I enter our Sanctuary, I admire the banners on the west wall. Made of rich colors and shiny fabrics, they represent the major world religions. For most folks that’s only what they mean—nothing more.

For “old timers” who remember Unitarian Fellowship of Olympia (UFO) days, the hangings have an added dimension. We fondly Kay Hoffman, who created them in
1981. Kay was a committed Unitarian active on many levels. She served a term as UFO president, was our first teacher of the “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven” curriculum, and also served on the Pacific Northwest District’s Women in Religion Committee.

Kay now lives in Bozeman, MT and is married to another former UFO member, Tony Rasch. Kay and Tony have developed interests beyond UU-ism. The have
found that the Dances for Universal Peace movement fills their needs for community and spirituality.

As you approach our current church you are greeted by a carved teal and gold sign displaying our name. Again, for old timers, this very simple artifact has another layer
of meaning.

Our building project was well underway back in 1992 when we began talking about an appropriate sign for our new home. But what were we to call ourselves?

At a meeting of the full congregation, we heatedly debated the possibilities. Should the name reflect our geographical location? Proposals with Budd Inlet and Puget Beach went down to defeat; we were too snug in the woods to see water bodies. Other suggestions reflected our heritage. One that gained considerable support was Olympia Brown, after the first woman Universalist minister (1835-1926). If Rev. Brown had ever visited our city the idea might have had stronger appeal—but she hadn’t.

My personal whimsical favorite was Church of the Required Cul de Sac as a poke at the city for making us install the expensive curbed road end.

But the most controversial choice was among Fellowship, Congregation and Church for our official name. Fellowship was seen as gender specific and hit the dust early despite its long identification with our organization. Church was seen as reflecting mainline institutions and was uncomfortable for religious rebels. The vote finally went to Congregation in honor of our focus on people. Today we use the term Church for our building and our denomination, not our local institution.

As time passes, current members and friends will create similar layers of meaning through their experiences in our evolving OUUC community.