Rev. Frederic L. Stevens (1885-1888)

This Church’s ninth pastor was the Rev. Frederic L. Stevens, a native of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, born in 1859.  His parents moved to Winona, Minn., when he was a young boy. He prepared for college at Winona and graduated from Olivet College in Michigan at 22.  He studied theology at Yale and graduated there in 1885.  At graduation he was awarded the Hooker Fellowship, which carried the privilege of two additional years of study either in this country or abroad.

The Rev. Mr. Stevens began preaching in February and was ordained in this Church on December 30, 1885.  In addition to his work here, he carried on his studies at the Yale Divinity School.  On September 7, 1887, he married Miss Mary E. Gridley, a member of our church.  Of this union came a daughter, Doris I. Stevens, a member of our church.  For many years, Doris served as church clerk and as a Sunday School teacher.

Mr. Stevens was the last minister to occupy the high pulpit.  This was the original pulpit and to reach it, one had to climb five or six steps on either side.  The choir and organist were in the west galley.  They entered the front door and used the stairs, which we see in the vestibule.  The choir faced the minister and sang to the back of the congregation.  At that time there were about 20 men and women in the choir, and the organist was Miss Elizabeth Hatch, later Mrs. Curtiss.

Mr. Stevens inspired his people to replace the old organ with a new one, and in 1887 two gifts of $500 each were received.  The ladies of the church, as always, helped to raise the money, and they published a "Cook Book in Aid of the Organ Fund."

When the organ was to be installed, they decided to place it in the east end of the church, and to make sufficient room for it, the remodelers found it necessary to remove the high pulpit, a move thought best by the church people.

In 1888 Mr. Stevens expressed a wish to study abroad and asked to be relieved of his duties.  He spent two years abroad and returned later to New Haven, where he engaged in literary work, and he then returned to the home of his parents in Minnesota where he remained until his death.