Dear Friends,
The mid-1900’s was a grand time in Ashland and for Calvary, a time a few of our more seasoned parishioners remember. If I remember correctly, three Sunday services were necessary to accommodate 400 attending members, and many programs flourished, most notably for children. Armco, Ashland Oil, and the C & O Railroad did big business, and the town thrived.
The Rev. Francis Cooper,
Calvary rector 1938-1960
For 22 years, 1938 to 1960, The Rev. Francis Cooper was Calvary’s rector. About 18 months ago, his son, The Rev. Randolph Cooper, and I began a lovely correspondence prompted by a letter from him. Fr. Randolph, a retired Episcopal priest, has many happy memories of growing up in Ashland. Last year, he wrote,
Though I was privileged to serve four different congregations prior to serving on the diocesan staff, the only church home I ever really had was Calvary. For a number of years, I was very active in the church’s ministry of healing. During that time, I worked closely with a number of special people, one of whom was the late Agnes Sanford. Agnes commented that places of worship often took on an aroma of holiness built up over time by the prayers and devotions of the faithful. I am confident that were I to visit Calvary, while there would be no one in the Church that I knew, the moment I stepped through the front doors I would be greeted by that wonderful aroma of love and faith that was already quite evident when I attended there . . . Dad and Mom, as well as my brother, sister, and myself, always looked back to Calvary as our real spiritual home.
A bit later, he wrote,
I was working on something and came across a reference to Jeanne Martin, saying that she passed away in 2014. Jeanne and Dick were very close friends to me and to my family. In 1991, a year after my parents moved to Florida, I visited Ashland for a week during the summer. I flew into Ashland and flew out a week later. I did not have a care. Dick and Jeanne loaned me their 1937 V12 Packard. For a week I had this grand car to use. I had a number of dates with some very lovely and wonderful young women, and they were quite impressed with what I was driving. Jeanne, in addition to being a friend, was also one of my teachers when I attended Putnam. She often sang in the choir, standing next to my mother who was a regular member of the choir. Dick and Jeanne were very special people. I remember their son, Dicky, but he was quite young then.
Wishing you every blessing,
Mtr. TJ