The Romance of Norwalk

Christ Episcopal parish in East Norwalk was organized November 15, 1905 and meetings were first held in a little shop on Van Zant st., where the Atlantic and Pacific store now stands. Previous to this time a mission, commenced in 1892 and fostered by St. Paul’s Episcopal church, Nor¬ walk, had taken care of the religious needs of the East Norwalk Episcopalians. Christ Episcopal church, corner Gregory Boulevard and East ave., was built in 1908, ded¬ icated the following year and consecrated October 15, 1922. Rev. Robert B. B. Foote is the present pastor. HUNGARIAN CHURCHES The death of a little Hungarian girl on the railroad tracks in Springwood first brought to the attention of local people, the fact that the Hungarians in Norwalk had no church, no minister, no religious center of any kind. Through the ef¬ forts of H. O. Bailey who was interested in the little Hun¬ garian community, isolated, cut off from the rest of the city as it was, and the efforts of Miss Platt of the South Nor¬ walk Congregational church, Rev. Gerald Beard its pastor and Dr. M. Clifford Pardee, — John Petro, a Pennsylvanian Slav, a convert, who spoke Hungarian, was brought to Nor¬ walk. At the time, no Hungarian missionary or Bible reader was available. For a while all went well. But Mr. Petro’s knowledge of Hungarian was limited and there were many he could not please. More, the majority of the Hungarians, who were either Reformed church or Lutheran at heart, objected to being called Congregationalists and so they drew away and formed a second Hungarian society. Meanwhile, Mr. Petro worked hard and converted a number. Among them was Bela Basso who succeeded Mr. Petro in 1894. Mr. Basso was ordained pastor of the “Hungarian Congrega¬ tional church” in 1901. This organization has since dis- BANKS— CH UR CHES 239 banded. Meetings were held in the Union Chapel building on Ely ave., torn down about two years ago. In the meantime, the little group which had broken away from Mr. Petro’s teachings had not been idle. Many of them had come from the village of Fony, Hungary. Search¬ ing around for a leader, they suddenly recalled their good friend, Rev. Gabriel Dokus then teaching in Hungary, and promptly sent for him. Rev. Dokus set sail for America in 1893. In that year, Hungarian Reformed church members in Norwalk organized and held meetings in the old South Norwalk Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. Dokus preached their first sermon. For three years the congregation gathered in the old church and then in the year 1896, under the di¬ rection of Rev. Dokus, they set about erecting their own building. A little white wooden church was constructed. At present it stands across from the present brick Hungarian Reformed church, on Lexington ave. March 29, 1896, Rev. Dokus preached his first sermon in the new wooden build¬ ing, which was continued in service until May 14, 19 11, when the present brick church was dedicated. The old church has since been altered and renovated and is now known as the Springwood Theatre. There are two other Hungarian churches in this city: the Hungarian Baptist of which mention has already been made and the Hungarian Catholic Cong. The Hungarian Ca¬ tholic Cong, church, St. Ladislaus, has an interesting his¬ tory. Rev. Victor Kubinyi was the first priest to hold Hun¬ garian Catholic services here, preaching in St. Joseph’s R. C. church nearly 30 years ago. Later, Father Francis Gros conducted services for the Hungarian Catholics in St. Joseph’s. It was he who went to Hartford to petition the bishop for permission to form a Catholic parish here for the Hungarians. In 1906, under the direction of Father Gros, the Hungarian Catholic Cong, church was organized here. Rev. Stephen Chernitzky, now pastor of St. Stephen’s Hungarian R. C. church, Bridgeport, was priest of the Hun- 240 ROMANCE OF NORWALK garian Catholic church here from 1908 until 1914. The present church, St. Ladislaus on Cliff st., was built under his direction, July 1910. When Rev. Chernitzky left, Father Dougherty was sent here for two weeks. In 1914, Rev. Joseph Nicholas Czabo came to Norwalk remaining here for four years. In 1918, Rev. Joseph Degnan came to St. Ladislaus Hungarian Catholic Church. In 1929 Rev. Aloysius Geist became the priest. OTHER CHURCHES In the little kitchen of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Orson Stannard, corner of Elizabeth and Day sts., on the evening of April 21, 1877, a group of earnest residents met to consider the matter of organizing the Advent Christian church. Orson Stannard was elected deacon and the old “Military Hall” in the Ely block was engaged for meetings. From then until 1887, the people gathered in various places. In that year it was decided that the church organization was worth a real home and accordingly the Advent Christian Society was formed October 30, 1887 to make provisions for that home. A lot on the corner of Van Zant st. and Harvey st. was purchased from Mrs. Richard Parmelee and the present chapel was erected and dedicated in August, 1888. Rev. H. H. Tucker was the first pastor. About the year 1895 the Advent Christian Conf. of Con¬ necticut ordained Francis S. Ainsworth of East Norwalk, who had been one of the founders of the local church. He accepted a call to the Advent Christian church in East Nor¬ walk and served for four years. During the time when Rev. Lester F. Reynolds was pastor, the church was en¬ larged, a section being built on the front. Later the whole church was raised up and a vestry built underneath. In the time of the Rev. Frederick L. Piper, present pastor, who has been with the church for seven years, another addition has been built to the church, this time in the rear. Nearly 60 years ago the first German Lutheran services BANKS— CHURCHES 241 were held in this city. At that time members of the little band met in East Norwalk, later in Whistleville, still later in Red Men’s hall, Washington st. First regular services were held October 11, 1874, in the old frame chapel build¬ ing of the Congregational church then located on North Main st., near the railroad, where the Palace theatre now stands. Rev. H. S. Steup was the pastor. The congrega¬ tion called itself St. Peter’s German Lutheran church. In 1892, the Rev. Otto Apitz came to Norwalk to preach and during his time the women of the church were banded to¬ gether in a Ladies’ Society. Pastors came and pastors went. During the vacancies, the little group of church members many times disbanded. In April, 1909, the Rev. Martin Steup of Holyoke, Mass., son of the Rev. H. S. Steup, aforementioned, came to Norwalk. He organized the present St. Peter’s German Lutheran church. January 15, 1912, a building lot was purchased on Cedar st., ground being broken for a building, April 28, 1913. On August 10, the cornerstone of the new German Lutheran church was laid and on December 7, the building was dedicated. Since then a parsonage has been bought on Livingston Place. This was about ten years ago. Under the direction of the Rev. Ewald C. Wenzel, present pastor, the church has grown greatly in numbers and importance. The Swedish Bethlehem Congregational church was or¬ ganized in 1890 by the Rev. J. A. Biddle. It is at 68 Van Zant st. Rev. Otto Edwards is present pastor. Twenty-eight years ago in May, 1901, a Christian Science society was organized in Norwalk at the home of Mrs. Abbie Moody, 100 East ave., since dead. Of the charter members only three remain alive: Mrs. Elizabeth Morrison of 9 Arch st., this city; and Ralph Moody and Mrs. Esther Hathaway who moved away from Norwalk some time ago. In 1913, the present property on the corner of West ave. and Butler street was acquired and the society organized as a church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, the fol¬ lowing year. 242 ROMANCE OF NORWALK Henry K. Selleck, registrar of Norwalk, recorded the con¬ stituent members of the Brookside Chapel non-denomina- tional, July 13, 1872, and in that year, first chapel services were held. The chapel was built on property given by Wil¬ liam R. Lockwood, with the provision that the property be used only for non-denominational religious purposes, for all time. At the present time there is only one chapel ga¬ thering a year, usually in August. Sixty-two years ago, the West Norwalk Union chapel in West Norwalk was built, the families in the community donating $10 or $25 toward its erection, or else providing material and labor. The chapel, which is still in existence, is located on West Norwalk ave., on the east side near the intersection of Fillow st. Services are held about once a month. The Ladies’ Aid society of the chapel and the West Norwalk Improvement association still meet there. At one time both this chapel and the Brookside chapel were well attended but the advent of the automobile brought the outlying districts nearer to the center of the city to the bigger churches and so the chapels suffered in attendance. At one time there was a West Norwalk Methodist Mission in West Norwalk but it disbanded many years ago. Another religious center which has since been closed, was the Spring- wood Union chapel on Ely ave., run by Charles Lawrence for many years. At the present time there is in Springwood on Ely ave., the Neighborhood Center, founded by the Rev. Corrado Riggio of Saugatuck, two years ago. Rev. Riggio who is now in New York, also organized the Neighborhood Center in Saugatuck. In the year 1905, the Jewish people in the community decided that they needed a place of worship of their own and in that year the Beth Israel Synagogue, the substantial build¬ ing on the corner of Concord and South Main sts., was erected. Chiel Fleischer is the present cantor of the syna¬ gogue, he having been here for about six years. He was preceded by Cantor Kessler who was here for 15 years. In November, 1929, Rabbi David Genuth came to the Syna- ROMANCE OF NORWALK 243