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Dexter Woman Joined Church 70 Years Ago Today

Dexter Woman Joined Church 70 Years Ago Today image
Parent Issue
Day
20
Month
August
Year
1941
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

Dexter Woman Joined Church 70 Years Ago Today

DEXTER ̶ Today Mrs. Mattie Hodgeman, Dexter, achieves a unique record in this vicinity; she has been a member of the the Dexter Methodist church for 70 years.
It was on Aug. 20, 1871, that Mrs. Hodgeman, who was then seven-year-old Mattie Bridgestock, joined the church here. At that time the pastor was Rev. Richard H. Crane who ministered to the Dexter flock until September, 1872.
In the post-Civil war days, when Mrs. Hodgeman was in her first decade of church service, she recalls how the country was trying to recover from the effects of the war, the tales of carpet-baggers in the south and the rifeness of graft, corruption and depression in the north.
Mrs. Hodgeman explains the difference in church customs of the late nineteenth century and those of today. In Mrs. Hodgeman’s youth, she says, the head of a family usually rented a stall in the church stables for his horse and buggy at a $10 per year rate. Pews of the church were rented too (with the understanding that strangers would be allowed to sit anywhere) with front row seats often selling for as much as $100 a year. This system of stall and pew rentals assured the minister of his salary each year, according to Dexter’s long-time church-goer.
Socials and church suppers of various kinds helped to promote notable fellowships among last century’s congregations, Mrs. Hodgeman says admitting that she doesn’t believe the present generation of church-goers are quite up to earlier standards in that respect, She remembers that in September of the year, 1871, the Dexter church held a congregation of 121 members and paid Rev. Crane a salary of $900.
Mrs. Hodgeman, who is still active in church affairs and can usually be found working with the ladies in the kitchen at church sponsored suppers, last year celebrated with Mr. Hodgeman their 60th wedding anniversary. The couple were married in 1880 and have lived in Dexter since that time.

(Caption under Photo) Mrs. Mattie Hodgeman, lifelong Dexter resident, is celebrating the 70th anniversary of her membership with the Dexter Methodist church. She joined the church Aug. 20, 1871, as a seven-year-old girl, was and is still active in all affairs and services.