Just Like the Floor Falling Out From Under You

Imagine being at a very solemn funeral for a family member or a dear friend on a hot summer day and the church is packed with mourners.  Suddenly there is a groan and without warning the floor collapses under the front pews three inches.  If you were in Reston in 1935 at the service for Annie Clementine McGregor Guthrie, you would calmly resume the service and carry on.  This incident brought to an end the Reston Baptist Church building. 

  

The Reston Baptist Church was built on Fourth Street in 1905 from embossed cast cement blocks like the ones at the home of T. A. Bulloch featured here. It was a beautiful building and true to its name, water baptism of adults was the norm. The building held a adult-sized font enclosed in a curtain that was pulled during the ceremony.  The church was decorated with arched coloured glass windows and used for community choirs and plays as well as church services for three decades.

Baptist worshipers had practiced their religion in Reston since 1893 and in 1902, twenty-eight charter members established a church community and worshipped at Jackson's Hall on First Avenue.  English immigrants George Corbin and Walter Hansell built the church in 1905 and Mr. Hansell made the pulpit.  Joseph McAdam designed the wood panelled ceiling and R. John Douglas did the carpentry to create it.  Mr. McAdam would unfortunately be one of the first buried from the Baptist Church in 1906. The church was never used again after that summer day in 1935 despite the congregation's attempt to fix it.  It was determined wet soil underneath caused the foundation to weaken. Lack of an excavated basement in typical Reston potholes was not a good combination.  Perhaps the cement blocks were a new technology to the builders and after only 30 years, the church building was abandoned.  

Wilfred Nolan was a the son of homesteaders William and Annie Nolan.  He farmed in the Sinclair/Ewart/Linklater districts and ran a grocery store and bulk oil dealership in the Ewart townsite, northwest of Reston.  His first wife, Sara Ellen Donald died young in 1926 and tragically, their two sons Donald and William died in a house fire in 1929. He must have felt like the floor fell out from under him too.  His fortunes turned and he married Eleanor Maud Lansing in 1933.  They had a family of two - a boy and a girl and new opportunities arose.

  

The Trails Along the Pipestone history books says Wilfred Nolan operated Prairie City Oils from a warehouse on Railroad Avenue for a few years in the 1940's.  This may have been the same place where he established a garage and John Deere agency, between 3rd and 4th street where Lockhart's Garage came later. I have not found any information on the "Jessett" that was his partner in 1947 when the receipt below was printed. Any ideas what kind of Washer the Boultons bought in 1947 worth $202? The more I find out, the more questions I have! 

Now back to the church site - in 1945 Wilfred Nolan acquired this property and by 1948 he had torn it down and reused some of the lumber for opening Nolan Garage. He sold John Deere equipment and Chrysler cars along with Texaco gas and oil and Firestone tires. Nolan retired in 1957 and continued to live in Reston. Mr. Nolan was active in curling and other sports during his time in Reston and was a Masonic member.

The third generation of his family at Reston, Wilfred Ellis spent time overseas in the Armed Forces from 1941 - 45. He was hired as a mechanic in Nolan Garage after he returned from active service in WW2.

Wilf and Veryle Ellis and his kids 1970's

From The Sequel Pipestone history book page 284

 Wilfred married a Reston girl - Constance (Connie) Low - in 1948.  Wilf and Connie had a family of four - two boys Veryle and Gregg along with two girls Carol and Brenda.  In 1957, he bought and continued the successful business, now Ellis Motors.  In 1968, the John Deere part of the business was discontinued.  Wilf retired in 1981 and the shop was used by his son Gregg for his business, GWAE Enterprises and Construction.  Brent Walker makes use of the building today on Main Street, just south of the Theatre and Masonic Lodge Building. 

Wilf's grandson Tyson proudly displays the old John Deere sign in his home today - a link to the past.