DISASTER
On September 9, 1964,
with the rising winds of Hurricane Dora and the forecast of its arrival on the Northeast
coast early September 10, men of the parish nailed sheets of plywood over the church
windows. Everyone imagined their being blown out by the wind or damaged by flying
debris; no one imagined what really happened - that a tree would break off and fall across
the roof of the church itself.
The Stowe Memorial
window was totally destroyed when the entire gable fell away from the body of the
building. It would have been possible to reconstruct the window like a jigsaw
puzzle of palm-sized fragments; however, it would have required such a network of leading
that the window's beauty would have been lost anyway. The window was a famous
tourist attraction in this area of Florida. Donations by visitors' paid the
insurance during some of the parish's bleak periods. The window space was chosen by
Mrs. Stowe for a memorial to her husband and herself (probably in 1884, the year of her
last visit to Mandarin.) However, it was 1916 before the window was finally
installed. A sketch design by Margaret Huntington Hooker, a niece of one of the
founding families, was executed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Representing the two oak
trees of the Stowe river front against the river and sunset sky, the window offended some
by its lack of religious significance but was admired and beloved by most.
RECOVERY
The pretty little church
on the riverbank was beloved not only by its congregation but also by Mandarin's other
residents. Its destruction by the assault of Hurricane Dora grieved the whole
community. Rebuilding and restoring the 1883 landmark was everyone's concern.
In the end, it proved impractical to salvage the severely damaged structure. No
one, however, wanted to give up its special charm.
The original building
covered perhaps half the area of the church which replaced it. In designing the
chapel, Lamar Drake of Drake, Pattillo, Architects, preserved the look and
"feel" of the old church without attempting an exact replica. The chapel
contains everything from the old church which would either fulfill its original purpose or
be adapted for another use. Everything in the chapel is a survivor of Hurricane Dora
except the organ and two pews which were built to match those constructed from the damaged
originals. The communion rail and window frames are of new design. Originally,
the upper corners of the window frames were cut out in the so-called cloverleaf (trefoil)
representing the Trinity. Glass in the colors of the individual windows filled these
decorative spaces. For the new building the design was cut of wood and applied at
the corresponding corners.
WINDOWS
In designing the chapel,
the architect placed the entrance at the back, the position of the Stowe window. The
change allowed space for three sets of memorial windows along that wall instead of the
original two. To provide the third pair, two single panels which originally flanked
the altar were placed together. They are memorials to the Reverend Mr. Davis and his
wife, who lived in Mandarin around 1900, when Reverend Davis served as priest in charge.
These handsome windows present four religious symbols, the Alpha and Omega, the
open Bible, the star and the cross.
The next windows are a
memorial to two Huntington family members, listed among the founders, and are dated 1883.
They represent the elements of Holy Communion. The daisies, smudged at the
time of Hurricane Dora, signify purity. These windows and those of the Maynard,
Denman and Mead memorials are not strictly "stained glass." The designs
were painted or stamped onto the back of the glass, a rarer and more fragile technique.
Next is a memorial to a
member of the Maynard family. Caleb Crane was the first senior warden of the new
congregation. His son, Maynard Crane, was active in the church for many years... The
relationship of the Maynard of the window and Maynard Crane is presumed to have been
grandparent and grandson. The passion flower and lily, representing the Crucifixion
and Resurrection, were chosen for this memorial.
The reduced scale of the
new chapel required small windows flanking the altar. These were originally in the
small choir loft as memorials to Mr. Hoge and his wife, organist and choir master.
The windows represent several biblical musical instruments, notably trumpets and cymbals.
The altar window
represents the Bible verse "Suffer the little children to come unto me" with a
young girl presenting her little brother to Jesus. The dates of these children's
deaths were the same summer (1883) and illustrate the terrible loss of young children to
epidemics before the discovery of modern medicine.
The next window also is
a memorial to a young person, Charles Mead. The Meads were among the founding
members. Their son Charles, already in ill-health, died on a voyage to
England. The broken rope on the anchor possibly suggests his short life. The
weathered wooden cross has twining ivy, symbol of eternity. The lily-of-the-valley
is a symbol of the Virgin Mary.
The
next window - Trimble - is without any history at the present. This
beautiful window is of opalescent glass and shows two types of lilies, symbol of
the Resurrection.
The Schulting window was
the last installed, in the 1920's. It offers a wealth of religious symbolism worth
close scrutiny. The one most inquired about is the cross in the upper left quarter.
The figures come from religious art and literature rather than the Bible.
They represent the authors of the four gospels: Matthew - man; Mark - lion; Luke - ox; and
John - eagle. It is a memorial to the mother of Victor Bird. Mr. Bird was a
Mandarin resident in the first quarter of this century.
PEWS
The original pews were
anchored at one end on the side walls. They were badly damaged by the falling
timbers of the church roof. Only eight seats were salvaged using 16 end pieces.
The original pews were made of two single boards and these can be recognized by
their satiny surfaces. They were made with wooden pegs but most of these are
undetectable at this time.
FURNISHINGS
The chancel furniture
survived the hurricane intact. Each piece has its own interesting history. The altar was carved in St. Augustine, taken to Jacksonville by train, brought to Mandarin by
boat and probably, to the church site by horse and wagon. It is a memorial to the
wife of the first Senior Warden.
The lectern and one of
the prayer desks were designed and built by two gentlemen in Fernandina, (Robert S.
Schuler, Design, and Robert M. Henderson, Woodwork). Their work is also in use at
St. Peters Episcopal Church, Fernandina, and in several other Episcopal Churches.
They also made the cross which is pine inlaid with "curly pine", an oddity
available in second growth of felled pines. A second
prayer desk was built to match
the first, by a local cabinetmaker and builder, William F. Monson, who also built old St.
Joseph's church and many of Mandarin's residences (now mostly destroyed).
The bishop's chair was
an extremely ugly and uncomfortable piece, black with age and with a tall, awkward back.
Stanley Webb, a hobbyist with wood, cut it down to its present pleasing lines and
removed the dark finish.
FONT
The font dates from the
original church, a gift of the Winton family, another of the founding families.
Brought from England in the early 1880's, it is of unusual hexagonal shape with a flat
cover. Originally, wooden trusses sprang from three sides of the lid and joined at
the top to form a cross. The decorative handle was never found in the wreckage of
the church. One of the finials from the rafters of the old church was used to
construct a new handle for the old font cover. (A finial from the lacy wooden
decoration around the old choir loft was used in building the font for the new church).
LAMPS
The hanging lights all
survived the hurricane with some damage. Those in the nave are a memorial to the
mother of Parker Capps. The lights in the chancel were designed and made by Bruno
Alberts, who was a stained glass expert before moving to Mandarin and becoming famous in orchid growing circles.
The lamps along the
sides of the chapel were used in the original church, but had been replaced by
electricity. In 1964, at the time of the storm, the original kerosene lamps had just
been refurbished and placed along the sides of the church between the windows. The
valve-turn at the bottom of the fuel cylinder is non-functional. It was like a
gas switch, and, as gas was considered more elegant than kerosene, was simply a snobbish
little addition on these lamps. The lamps originally hung in groups of four down the
center aisle of the old church. A pulley permitted lowering to be lighted.
THE NEW CHURCH
The exterior of the
present church echoes the original in board-and-batten siding, the "fern" motif
of the doors and the dominance of the bell tower. For the interior, adaptations of
the fern design can be found on the altar, lectern, pulpit, and font as well as in the
hanging lamps, window frames, air conditioning and sound screens.
The Family
Life Center is located across from the main church. It was purchased as an
added facility and used primarily for youth activities. It was recently
renovated with the help of one of our parishioners, Lester Huffingham.
In these ways the Church
of Our Saviour honored its past while stepping into the future.
Jean
Morrow
October, 1992
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