The Record Herald
1919
New Church Is Under Way in This City " House of Prayer" Being Erected on Washington Avenue.
Pastor Has Done Large Part of the Work
For some weeks work has been moving slowly forward but surely on a new church in Washington Court House on Washington Avenue, near the intersection of Ely Street. At the present time the framework of complete, the sheeting applied and the structure is ready for the roof and weatherboarding.
The church will simply be known as the "House of Prayer" and will be the property of a religious society representing the "all things in common" theory or using the golden rule as a guide of life.
An interesting and somewhat unusual feature of the new church building is the fact that the pastor, Rev. Henry Leeth, who resides near the church, has done a large portion of the labor necessary to erect the building, which is 36 by 50 feet, proving highly efficient with plane, hammer and saw. He as been ably assisted by members of his society, and the material used in the structure to date was obtained from Camp Sherman. Within a short time the building will be under roof and ready for use, and the society is looking forward with interest to this event.
The society owns approximately two more acres adjoining the church, and has held camp meetings in the little grove the last few years.
1932
Known as a minister who built his own houses in which to lead his congregation in worship, whether church, Tabernacle or tent for camp meeting, Rev. Henry Leeth is shown above with saw in hand, leading members of his flock in the building of a Tabernacle 80 feet long by 60 feet wide.
He is the pastor of the "House of Prayer," located on Washington Avenue, in Washington C.H., Ohio.
Camp meeting being a feature of the activities of the "House of Prayer," the pastor-builder conceived the idea of a tabernacle in which to carry on such work, but funds were short.
However, with friends in Sunfish Valley in Pike County, furnishing hardwood timber, and others gifted in the use of carpenter tools assisting him, he set to work on the tabernacle, which was being erected in a grove in the rear of his church, and which was almost ready for the sheet metal to cover it. Timber for the main portion of the framework of the tabernacle was sawed and trucked to the city.
Working early and late, halting only to conduct funerals and perform marriages, the pastor now sees the tabernacle nearing completion with little cost to the "House of Prayer" congregation or himself. Although the sun drove the mercury up as high as 115 degrees, the minister stayed with his work, with the result that he soon will be able to start his camp meeting.
In the early 1920s, with the help of men from his congregation, he built the church shown in the upper picture.
November 27th, 1965
Remember Those "House of Prayer" Feasts?
For almost 50 years, members of the "House of Prayer" on Washington Avenue made Thanksgiving a time of sharing in the Biblical image of being their "brothers' keepers" by cooking and serving a bountiful turkey dinner with all the trimmings to the needy of the community.
The tradition as instituted by the late Rev. Henry Leeth, who, with a few volunteers from his then small congregation solicited food wherever they could, preparing some of it in their own homes, some of it on a small, oil cook stove in the corner of their first meeting house and then serving it on improvised table to families who would otherwise have had meager fare in their own homes.
Everyone was made welcome and treated as guests of the church.
The success of this first effort was so heartening that the next Thanksgiving found more volunteers coming forth to serve and many donations of food being generously offered.
When the present tabernacle was erected 33 years ago and included a basement, the annual meal was served there, and as many as 500 persons gathered together in the pioneer tradition.
MRS. AMELIA SEYMORE REMEMBERS
Now of Hillsboro, the daughter of Ed Anderson of Jamison Rd. Amelia grew up here in the years her church first observed this holiday feast and she reminisced, "Crowds came from all over town. The church was filled for the services and a long line of people formed outside. It was thrilling to plan ahead for this celebration. No one minded being away from home on Thanksgiving--so great was the joy in helping others."
Seymore continued, "After the last person had been served, all food that remained was packed into baskets and distributed all over town to those in unfortunate circumstances who were unable to get to the church."
This Thanksgiving observance by the church was especially popular during the Depression years and was talked about for weeks beforehand and for a long time afterward.
The dinners were continued up to 1959, says a member of the congregation. The prosperity of today apparently removed the need for such an undertaking. But the House of Prayer continues its charitable acts all through the year--a fitting tribute to the Rev. Mr. Leeth who died a few years shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by the Rev. Glenn Williams.
Few of the original group who spearheaded the dinners are still living. But many of the youngsters, now grown, remember those delicious meals served in a warm, loving Christian atmosphere.
