School Superintendent Eugene Barnes died suddenly in the summer and past deacon Sid Burhoe also passed away. Sid Burhoe had an enviable record of service, and is best remembered for his determination to keep the church on course, based on original Biblical principals. He is also remembered for his ability to keep operational the water pressure system of the old Casavant pipe organ. This was When it was still situated in the old church, before the power conversion when it was rebuilt in the current sanctuary. Gordon Babineau took over the leadership of the Sunday School in September.

The long awaited hymn books arrived in the fall, and everyone from choir members to the congregation appreciated the large, clear type they offered. Those who knew hymns by numbers had to adjust, as the new larger books had a different sequence of hymn and psalm numbers. There was some concern for those who had given the old hymn books as memorials. This was solved when the donors were told where the old ones were going, and were given the opportunity to purchase some new ones as a continuing memorial.

Sunday evening summer services at Camp Segunakadeck were attracting a better attendance than would a normal evening service at the church, so it was decided to make outdoor summer services a regular habit. A problem developed with the camp services in 1974, as they began to interfere with weekly camp changeovers on Sunday afternoons. When the city built a band-shell at Victoria Park, an arrangement was made to use it for the services. This was a very successful move, as folks ofall denominations could sit in their cars or on portable lawn chairs each week and comfortably enjoy the services. Summer evening services in the band-shell at Victoria Park lasted for five years.

The ”new” First Baptist Church in Charlottetown was now six years old, and some creative financing over that period of time all but eliminated the debt. When Charlottetown Baptists built their first church in 1845, the debt was paid off in 8 years. When the big octagonal church burned in 1888, its debt carried on into the mortgage for the 1891 church, and the amount owing for the two buildings was not satisfied until 36 years later, in 1926. Now, on January 26, 1975, only six years after the opening, the congregation was watching Trustee Chairman Bob Nicholson hold the mortgage on their new building, while Ross Down lit the match and set it on fire. Looking on at the mortgage burning, along with Down and Nicholson, were a few of those who played major roles in contributing to the church’s existence

Burning the Marriage '1 975 l .ro R.: (opt. Carl Burke, Ross Down, George Lewis, Robert Nicholson, Nelson Good, Charles Hamm, Hilda Lewis Collection

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