Haley Baptist Church
The Haley
Baptist Church was organized in 1907, with 13 Swedish Baptists that had come
from the East. Another report states that the church was organized
on August 19, 1909, in a mission tent but that meetings were held in the
home of Edwin Stone. Another account by
missionary August Olson, states, "The church at Powell Valley (Haley) was
organized August 9, 1909, with 13 members." In 1912, the church
building was dedicated. It is the same that is used today with additions
build later. In October 1944, the church became a member of the Willamette
Baptist Association, which at that time cooperated with the Oregon Baptist
Convention, thereby severing the ties with the Columbia Conference. There
were few Conference members left in the church at that time. In 1950, the
church became a member of the Conservative Baptist Association of Oregon.
John Johnson was the first pastor serving from 1910 to 1920.
Andrew Johnson then took up the work and was with the church until 1925 or 1926.
At one time we find: A. N. Lindholm, vice chairman; Mrs. J.H. Lindgren, SS
Superintendent; Mrs. A. Johnson, president of women's work, and Abe Satterstrom,
Young Peoples' president.
Pastors of the church were: John Johnson, 1970-20; Andrew
Johnson, 1920-26; John Nordell, 1926-29; Merrill Skaug, 1932; Walter Mugford,
1835-38; Ivan Tozer, 1938; Russell Warren, 1941; David Morton, 1942; Horace
Moore, 1944-48; Harold Backlund; Henry C. Quiring, 1953-59; David J. Wiens,
1959-60; Ray Trope, 1960; Waldo Petter, 1962-63; David Witting, 1964-.
This account and photo above was taken from Rev. Gordon Carlson's book, "Seventy-Five Years." Pages 15-17-19
Panoramic View of Congregation and Friends at Haley Baptist
Church Early 1920's
Mr. A.T. Stenberg house in background
The following is an account written by Miles Aubin, and provided by Mr. Dave Meier.
My most memorable Fourth of
July was in 1923, when the Haley Swedish Baptist Church hosted a joint picnic
with Temple Baptist Church of Portland. The picnic was well attended by
both churches.
The picnic was held in Tim Larson's woods on Haley Road just
west of what was later the "Marx Gardens." On several days
before the Fourth, Reverend Andrew Johnson and male members of his flock cleared
a space for tables and benches, and deeper in the woods established primitive
comfort stations which were not comfortable.
One of the features of the picnic was a baseball game between
Portland and Haley. For several days prior to the picnic, the three
available teen-aged boys, Harry Bjur, Kenny Horberg, and Willard Eaton, a
perennial summer visitor, worked with great zeal on their game plan. Their
strategy was that they would wear short pants -- knickerbockers -- which had
more leg room allowing them to run faster.
Following the sumptuous potluck dinner which of course
included strawberry shortcake and loads of Swedish pastry, there were supposed
to be races, but there was no suitable place to run. However, some one had
brought a rope, and there were several tugs of war. Much to everyone's
surprise, the adult farmers lost to the men from the city.
When the picnicking was over, the group moved up the road to
A. T. Stenberg's farm just west of the church were Stenberg's barn was the
backstop for the featured event of the day, hardball baseball.
The captain of the Haley team was Herbert Olson who had
brought bats, balls, the catching gear, and tools of ignorance. Once he
convinced an innocent bystander he was a catcher, the rest of the lineup was
easy to pick. The three aforementioned boys were the best of the local
lot.
The game was played in a stubble field with a short left and
right field. Centerfield was over the fence on the adjacent Chris Nodin
farm, and the center fielder handled all balls over the fence.
One look at the Portland team by any nine year old boy was
enough to determine that the outcome of the game was not in doubt. The
boys from the city scored so many runs in the first inning that it was finally
ruled that a ball hit over the fence was out. Haley was then able to
retire the side in order. This also gave relief to an exhausted
centerfielder and some tired base-runners.
There was another feature of the day. Some one from
Portland had an automobile with a radio and a loud speaker, and the folks had
the pleasure of listening to President Harding's speech and to hear a blow by
blow description of the Dempsey - Gibbons heavyweight championship fight.
The Dempsey - Gibbons fight took place in Shelby, Montana. It's the
greatest heavyweight boxing story of all time.
There were no more fourth of July picnics in Larson's
woods. In later years we met at the church in the evening for "bring
your own fireworks." Arthur Carlson, the "Swede Printer"
from Portland, would arrive in a limo with his family and friends, and we played
indoor baseball in the churchyard, which was not considered sinful unless it
were Sunday. Soon after dark there were fireworks most of which were
furnished by the Carlson's.
Later, Tom Larson sold his place and moved to Gresham where
he lived and died. His daughter Doris married Arnold Hinkley, a prominent
young citizen of Gresham. Larson sold his place to the Elmer Ecklund
family which produced an entrepreneur who parlayed the name "Heidi"
into the one of the prominent names of the area.
What is called softball today originated around the turn of
the century as an indoor sport played in the largest available buildings.
Hot until he 1930's, was the term softball generally applied.
Miles Aubin
The church building today has been remodeled and is very pristine in appearance. The building looks to be the original compared to the picture above with the exception of newly designed front entrance. The windows, if not the original, are the same shape and appearance. It is located on SE Haley Rd. between Sandy and Gresham off of Highway 26. The church is approximately 600 feet west on Haley Road from the intersection of 282nd and Haley Rd. It is presently occupied by another denomination.
Return to List of Churches | Return to Church History 1909 |