Continued from The Times Sept. 21
But, despite its limited membership, fellowship of members and support of the church community never seemed to waiver.
There were frequent potluck dinners after services; I especially remember those around Easter when we children would have Easter eggs hidden in the grassy yard just north of the church building, or, if it was raining, in the sanctuary itself. The Christmas program was a major part of the year for a child in the church. We would turn the letters of “Christmas” around and announce to the congregation that “C is for the Christ child born on this day!” And in our bathrobe-clad production of the nativity, we all had starring roles, mainly because there weren’t enough children to haveany extras, though I never got to be Joseph because that always went to the older children, often one of my brothers. And after we finished singing Christmas songs, performing our pageant and the pastor telling the Christmas story, we would all go to the large room above the kitchen and enjoy snacks and games. There were even occasional Halloween parties in the church, mainly because the local parents could have a controlled environment for their children to enjoy a secular holiday.
And with even all of those wonderful memories, I think I remember the Vacation Bible School the best. For a little church with only a couple dozen regular members, Vacation Bible School brought the church to what seemed like an overflowing capacity. I am sure that nearly everyone who grew up inthe Jacket area in the 1970s and early 1980s attended at least one Vacation Bible School held at Sugar Creek Baptist Church. And for me, it was often the highlight of the summer. That week meant lots of other children to play with, stories, projects and games.
I still think that it is many of the Bible stories that are told to children that are the most inspiring, the ones that teach the strongest morals and convey Jesus’ message the best.
Like the messages about treating others as you would be treated, to love one another and to provide for those who need help.
Then, with 88 years of history behind it, Sugar Creek Baptist Church began to slip away. Dedicated members like Tony Fletcher and Vi Smith passed away, and within a congregation with an aged membership that had seen little growth in the past several years a suggestion was made, a vote was held and its fate was sealed. I do not remember how the different members of the church voted, but I know that I, who at 9 had no vote in the matter, was not happy about it. It was a place I felt comfortable and loved, as close to a second home as I have probably ever had, and not for the building that encompassed it, but for the members of thechurch themselves. But that was a decision for the adults, who far better understood the realities of an old, yet beloved fellowship that had ultimately fallen out of style to the largerchurches in town.
In the last few months, Al Fowler, the current pastor of First Baptist Church in Pea Ridge and the sonin-law of Marvin Stephens, filled in on some Sundays and on others members of the congregation would lead Bible studies. Then there was an auction and all the furniture and supplies were carted off and the building was sold. The bell was removed and given to Tony Fletcher’s heirs and eventually another congregation purchased the building and it became Jacket Assembly of God for a few years, but after about a decade and a half, it too closed. Today the building is a private home, sitting on the right side of Missouri Highway KK about a quarter-mile north of the Jacket Bridge.
Even though Sugar Creek Baptist Church has receded back into history and memories, there are still some beloved mementos around.
I personally still have an aqua-blue hymnal with a copyright date of 1955 and stamp on the title page that says Sugar Creek Baptist Church. And when they held an auction in the summer of 2008 for Pearl Patterson’s estate, my brother Mike bid on and won an antique piano bench. After he had been successful in his bid, my great-uncle Jack Patterson came over to him and told Mike he was glad he got the piano bench and told him a story about it. A few years earlier, they had soldmy great-grandmother’s piano, because she could no longer see to play it.
So, after they took out the piano, Jack asked her if the bench was going, too. She said no, and told him he could get rid of that when she was gone. That wasthe piano bench that she had sat on for more than four decades while playing the piano at Sugar Creek Baptist Church.
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Editor’s note: Jeff Billington grew up on the family farm in the Jacket, Mo., community north of Pea Ridge. He currently lives in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Rockville, Md., and works for the National Parks Conservation Association. He is the son of David Billington of Jacket and Vickie Christman of Seneca, Mo. His late greatgrandparents were lifetime Jacket and Pea Ridge area residents Cecil and Pearl Patterson.
Community, Pages 6 on 09/28/2011