* OUR HISTORY: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 *
Our History - Chapter 2
"The Early Days: East Wilmington" (1936-1946)
The Carls, along with their two daughters, Norma Jean, then 11 years old, and Charlotte, 9 1/2, moved from Long Beach to Wilmington and rented a house on E. Denni Street.
Much work remained to be done on the church. The Great Depression along with a prolonged Longshoremen's strike made these difficult times for many. Yet God turned even this into a blessing. Because so many men were out of work, they were able to put their time and skills to use working on the building, making it look like a church. Drapes were hung at the windows, a lawn planted at the side of the building, and over the front door was hung a freshly painted sign proclaiming "Ye Old Time Gospel Mission 1520 E. State Street."
A large bread advertisement on the end of the building that faced the street was a constant reminder that their church not long before had been a grocery store. This bothered Sister Carl until she remembered Deuteronomy 8:3, "man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord." A scripture which she painted on their eye-catching bread sign!
A young couple from Arkansas, Charles and Amy Dobbins, held a Revival at "Ye Old Time Gospel Mission" during these busy days at the church. Once again, God's blessing on this little church was evident in that He sent them exactly the right people at the right time. Because of the Great Depression, a large number of people from Arkansas had migrated to the Wilmington and Los Angeles areas in search of employment. What they found was a young couple with a burning desire to do God's will and work. For seven weeks, nightly services were held at the church. The Arkansas preacher knew how to reach the crowds that came. They responded to his "southern" style of preaching. They felt at home with guitar, harmonica and accordion accompaniment to their worship songs.
Among those who started attending at this time was a thirteen year old girl by the name of Lola Winters and her family. Lola's brother, Wallace Winters, and his wife Aline were already members of the church. In time, Lola would marry and have a daughter, Linda, who would become a daughter-in-law to Pastor H. W. Ezell and the wife of Pastor Don Ezell.
The crowds continued to grow until there was standing room only in the church. Partitions, which had divided the interior of the building, had to be removed to accommodate the large number of people who came night after night. Children sat on the floor. The presence of God was so strong that the unsaved and backsliders came under immediate conviction. They came up to the altar even before the sermon was preached. By the time the Revival ended after seven weeks, many had been saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.
One Sunday morning during the service, a telegram arrived informing the Carls and their congregation that the building in which they were meeting was scheduled to be torn down. A new four-lane highway was being built through Wilmington, and the church was right in its path. The Lord had blessed them so abundantly. There were so many new families, so many children! Where could they go? What could they do?
The Carls began driving up and down the streets of Wilmington, praying for a meeting place that would be large enough for their growing congregation's needs. There was nothing to be found that was nearly large enough. As Sister Carl continued in prayer, the Lord spoke to her heart, impressing upon her that she should speak to the woman who owned the building. The building was to be torn down. Why not ask for the lumber and use it to rebuild at the side of the new highway? The Carls asked and received, and soon were hard at work tearing down the old building. It would provide lumber, doors, windows, and plumbing, everything they needed except the land to build it on. They called the owner who agreed to render them the land they needed along Pacific Coast Highway at a cost of $10 per month. God had truly given them favor in the sight of those who were able to help them.
Everyone pitched in to help. Men tore the old building apart. Women pulled nails out of the used lumber and children helped stack boards according to size. Before this project began, Sister Carl hardly knew how to pull a nail out, but before it ended, she could saw boards as well as any man.
The women of the church provided food each day for the workers. Because many men were unemployed at this time, they were able to give their time to the rebuilding of the church. Every Sunday, Sister Carl would announce the jobs, which needed to be done during the coming week. One week she feared her request for help might not be filled, for it involved digging a ditch to connect the plumbing with the city meters out by the street. As always, God proved himself faithful. The husbands of two women who attended were Longshoremen who were out on strike. Bright and early on Monday morning they showed up at the church and dug the ditch. Soon afterward, they, too, began attending services regularly.
Another man, Mark Bradley, showed up with his paintbrush and skill. He went to work on the weather-beaten old doors and window frames and did a beautiful job of refinishing them. Mr. & Mrs. W. J. Winters, Mr. & Mrs. Charlie Burrow, Mr. & Mrs. Mull and many others donated there time and labor.
Help came from many, and often unexpected, sources. One day as work was being done on the building; a man in a Cadillac drove up. He came over to the workers and asked, "Where's the boss on this job?" He then made cash donation toward the work climbed back into his car and drove away. No one knew who he was or where he'd come from. Perhaps he was one of God's angels!
At the east end of the property ran the tracks, which carried the "Red Cars" between San Pedro and Los Angeles. The church was so close to the tracks that the east end of it was constructed at an angle to accommodate the rail lines right of way. The men who operated the Red Cars had to stop when they came to Pacific Coast Highway. As the work on the church progressed, these men developed a great interest in the work, offering their advice and encouragement every time they came by. They were so interested you would have thought it was their church!
Preston and Louise Haag and Hattie Carrigan, all of whom began attending between 1936 and 1938, remember the way the Red Cars would roll by just a few feet behind the church every 20 or 30 minutes. The rumble and vibration of the Cars could be clearly heard and felt by everyone in the church, but they soon learned to simply wait until they'd passed, and then continue with the service.
After the old church had been torn down and during the time the new one was under construction, the congregation met for services in the church of a local African-American minister, Rev. Thomas. He graciously allowed them to use his church on Sunday morning for worship services and Sunday School classes, and his congregation had their service in the afternoon.
Lola (Winters) Bates remembers a wonderful Christmas program the church put on during this time. Unlike other Christmas programs, which featured school children in the roles, adults acted out this one. Gaylord and Josephine Chirrick played the parts of Joseph and Mary. With an eye to realism, "Mary" was made up to appear pregnant. This was entirely too realistic for Lola's father, who was so offended by it all that he almost swore never to darken the door of the church again. But much to Lola's relief, the family did continue to attend.
The work continued on the new building. Out of their limited resources, for this was still Depression time, enough money was saved to buy carpet to cover the cement floor at the entrance, the aisles and the altar area. Their labor of love completed, everyone rejoiced in their beautiful new building. Only one last detail remained: The inspector from the Department of Building and Safety had to give his approval before the building could be used. All went well until he was about to walk out the front door. He said to Sister Carl, "I'll have to close my eyes as I walk out the front door." She asked, "What's the matter?" all the while hoping they wouldn't have to do the work over again.
He replied that the door wasn't as high as it was supposed to be...but he closed his eyes and kept walking. The church was built and the congregation moved in, debt free.
The Holy Spirit honored the dedication of those who were the early members of "Ye Old Time Gospel Mission" and their numbers grew. Preston Haag remembers that the year he began attending, 1938, an attendance record of 302 in Sunday School was set, a record that would stand for several years. Revivals led by evangelists such as Star Thomas drew in many newcomers.
James Pryor, who later went into the ministry from the Gospel Mission, first met Brother Carl when he and his future wife, Susie, were walking past the church on their way to catch the Red Car to Los Angeles. Brother Carl, who was doing some clean-up work in front of the church, struck up a conversation with them and invited them to attend the Revival. They accepted his invitation and during the Revival saw many saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Those who came as visitors received a warm welcome. At the rear of the sanctuary, four seats were reserved for those who greeted newcomers at each service. Most often, these greeter were Brothers Chirrick and Brian (greeting the men) and Sisters Herron and DuBois (greeting the women). It was their warm welcome, which drew in and held the Pryors and many others who came and stayed to become part of the church.
Lola Bates remembers that they had two weeknight services, Tuesday and Friday. Lucille Martin-Robertson and Susie Mullins Pryor headed children's Church on Saturday afternoon. On Sundays there were both morning and evening worship services.
The Carls ministered as a team, with Norman Carl leading the singing. One of his favorite songs was "Power in the Blood" with piano accompaniment provided by Mrs. Edith Ludolph, who played while her little daughter Carol stood by the piano. Helen Carl was the preacher. They both strongly felt the call of God on their lives and gave themselves wholeheartedly to the ministry. When Brother Carl prayed, he prayed loudly, often pounding on the chair at which he was kneeling. Sister Carl was an enthusiastic preacher, frequently pounding the pulpit so hard on Sunday that on the following Monday, she'd discovered that her hands were bruised.
Lucille Martin Robertson would give an inspiring or poetic reading once a month. One of these readings, "The Hellbound Train," describing all the various people on their way to hell, made such an impression on Hattie Carrigan that she remembers it to this day.
The Great Depression still gripped the area's economy in those days, and there were weeks when the love offerings from the worship services came to no more than $1.50. The Lord always provided, and Sister Carl's skill at the sewing machine brought in needed additional income more than once.
The fashions and traditions of that day and age were reflected in the clothing worn to church especially that of the ladies. Any ladies who were active in the ministries of the church were required to wear long-sleeved dresses, which were often white. Skirts were at least mid-calf in length. Alline Grim, who was a Sunday School teacher during the Carls' time of ministry, remembers having to wear such a dress year round when she taught, although men who were involved in church leadership or ministry were not required to wear any special style of clothing. Slacks were not for ladies to wear in those days, and certainly not in church. Sister Carl would dress in white, and over her dress she always wore a "redingote," a collarless, navy blue coat which buttoned at the waist.
As now, the life of the church in those days included weddings, funerals, Christmas and Easter programs and a variety of fellowships in addition to the worship services and Bible classes. One of the joyful events, which occurred just as the remodeling was being finished, was the wedding of Melvin and Willa Dean Burrow on August 23, 1940. The Burrows were charter members of the church and were active in it for many years. Both their sons, Bruce and Deral, were born during these years and both were later saved and baptized under the ministry of Pastor H. W. Ezell.
Christmas and Easter were always special times at the church. Sister Carl always directed the Christmas program herself. Hattie Carrigan and her daughter, Bernice Leenders, remember the choir being in the one corner of the room, the platform in the center, and the piano in the other corner. All ages were included in the Christmas programs, which included dramatic entrances by the "angels" from a small Sunday School room, which was next to the sanctuary.
When Easter came around, Sister Carl, Susie Pryor and Lucille Robertson would take the girls' Sunday School class up to the Palos Verdes hills to pick wildflowers to decorate the church for Easter Sunday. At that time, the hills were covered with little Japanese vegetable gardens and hay fields. Lola Bates recalls not only picking flowers, but also chasing rabbits up and down the hills!
The life and strength of the church then as now was the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. This became so evident one Thanksgiving Day as the Carls were on their way to Hollywood to visit relatives. At that time there was a woman in the congregation whose unsaved husband was very ill. Even through they were on their way out for Thanksgiving dinner, Sister Carl felt led to stop at the home of this couple and pray for the man. The fact that she cared enough to do so made a deep impression on this unsaved husband. She prayed for him, he accepted the Lord and died the next morning. Another soul was born into the kingdom of God because one of His servants knew how to hear and obey the Holy Spirit's leading.
As 1941 drew to a close, the attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the nation into World War II. Because of Wilmington's close proximity to the naval base and the harbor, the area came under the "blackout" rules: When sirens sounded, car lights had to be dimmed. In order to hold church services, the windows had to be covered with shades made of black tar paper and only one candle was allowed when the blackout sirens sounded.
One of the church members, Lucille Martin Robertson, was chief clerk at the Draft Board in those days. When men shipped out to go to war, as she handed them their orders, she would tell them that the church would be praying for them. The church did more than pray. A picture of every young man from the church who went to war was put on the bulletin board. The girls from the church wrote to them faithfully. No doubt as a result of these many letters, when the war was over, there were a number of weddings in the church.
The war years brought personal tragedies to many. Among these were two Japanese-American girls who attended Sunday School classes at the Gospel Mission. It saddened the hearts of the congregation when these young ladies were put into an internment camp, simply because of their Japanese ancestry.
While the war years were difficult in many ways and financial resources were limited; the Lord never failed to provide what was needed. He sent an elderly man named Mr. Rich to be a blessing to the church. He was a single man who lived in the same building as one of the church members. Because he lived alone, Mr. Rich had the time to plant a garden in the back yard of the church. The vegetables he raised there he gave free of charge to the needy. When he wasn't working in the garden, he worked to keep the church building clean and neat so it was ready for services. Pastor James Pryor, who was a young man in the church at this time, remembers Mr. Rich as a man of prayer who could be found in the church prayer room very early every morning.
When the church needed a piano player, the Lord sent in a couple whom had moved to Wilmington from Catalina Island. They visited several churches before they came to the Gospel Mission. But the moment they walked in the door, the wife's face lit up with amazement. Some time before, when she was praying to know God's will in her life, she had seen a vision of the inside of the church in detail, even down to the color of the piano. They knew beyond any doubt that they had found their new church! It turned out to be a double blessing, for in addition to the wife's talent on the piano, the husband also played a musical instrument. God truly gave a double portion of blessing and provision.
Harbor Christian Center (formerly the Gospel Mission) has always been on the leading edge in ministry, demonstrating invasiveness not found in many churches. One example of this was the installation of a loudspeaker outside the church, which allowed people to listen to the worship and sermon while seated in their cars.
Our thanks and sincere appreciation go to all that helped make this history possible. Sister Helen Carl, Lola Bates, Hattie Carrigan, Bernice Leenders, Rev. Leonard Nipper, Rev. James Pryor, Tom Irwin, Ed von Delden, Alline Grim, Deborah Coloma, Raul Cardona, Mack & Lucille Alford, Warren & Clara Hodges, Jerry & Cheri Steinker, Dennis Burke, Vava Duran, Preston & Louise Haag, Willa Dean Burrow, Edna Ezell. Special thanks to John Roberts for the use of his VCR and the video of the Ezell's 50th Anniversary / 70th Birthday celebration as well as several videos of interviews done after the home going of Pastor H. W. Ezell.
