The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Life!

November 14, 2009

Charity dinner Monday celebrates White Sulphur Springs’ 100 years

By Debbie Schwarz Simpson

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — With “Celebrating 100 Years” as the theme, a charter night dinner is slated Monday at First Presbyterian Church on West Main Street in the resort village.

“We thought it would be nice to acknowledge the actual charter date for the town of White Sulphur Springs,” said Jacqueline “Tinker” Loving, a member of the historic church and one of the coordinators of the dinner.

“We plan to have a guest register and we will add it to the town’s memorabilia to be opened at the bicentennial in 2109. The sanctuary will be open for anyone who wishes to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for those citizens who have resided here over the past 100 years and contributed to the village’s growth.”

“It’s a great idea. There needs to be some event on the day the town was chartered,” said Eric Crane, a longtime member of the church.

Crane, who retired following 43 years as a pastry chef at The Greenbrier, will prepare the dinner, featuring a menu of sirloin beef and all the trimmings. He will be assisted by Jim Ambrosh, former catering director at the resort, and members of the church’s Creative Friendship Guild, coordinators of the fundraiser.

First Presbyterian also is marking a historic milestone, according to Loving.

“The first Presbyterian service in White Sulphur was conducted in 1909 in a three-room school on West Main Street with Rev. F.P. Sydenstricker as the minister,” Loving noted.

The Amusu Theater, one of the first silent movie houses in the area, was the next location for the Presbyterians while in 1915 construction began on First Presbyterian Church. There were 69 members in the new church dedicated on April 23, 1916, by Dr. E.C. Caldwell of UTS, Richmond, Va.

The Rev. Ben Gurley has been minister of First Presbyterian since 1987.

All funds from the dinner will be used for the Creative Friendship Guild’s local missions, including preparing lunches to be delivered through the Shepherd’s Center in Lewisburg.

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