History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

359

due much of the credit for the erection of the brick church which is in
use today in place of the old frame building of former years. The
church has never been entirely self-supporting, due to the small membership, and some of its pastors have earned their bread at labors outside
the pulpit.
Since the organization of the church in I86I the following have been
pastors: Rev. J. Warren, John Franklin, J. H. Alexander, George W.
Freeland, J. Bass, J. McSmith, A. Johnson, G. Benson, H. H. Wilson,
C. Johnson, C. Ward, B. Gordon, John Ferguson, B. Roberts. James
Crowm, P. J. Tuttle, S. Hill, J. E. Stewart, D. H. Graham, I. F. Williams, M. P. Cole, C. J. Dean, W. Collins, J. H. Alexander, W. Baker, and
Jos. W. Jarvis. Not all of them have been ordained ministers, while on
the other hand some have been men of high education, graduates of
colleges and theological seminaries.
Auxiliary organizations of the church are the Sunday-school, the
Crescent Literary Society and the Women's Missionary Society. The
membership of the church is approximately seventy-five persons.
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
The Young. Men's Christian Association of Pontiac was organized
on February I, 1899, with the following officers: J. S. Stockwell, president; H. H. Snowdon, vice-president; J. B. Draper, secretary, and B. J.
Greer, treasurer. The first general secretary was elected in the person
of Frank Arthur, now a prominent evangelist.
The original quarters of the association were in the Jackson block
on east Lawrence street and the rooms opened on May 15, I899. At
the close of the fiscal year so well had the new project been received
that the enrollment numbered 292 members. The association was incorporated under the laws of the state on March 27, 1900.
In 1904, at a meeting of the board of directors in February, it was
decided to adopt plans for the erection of a home for the association,
but the movement was not carried to a successful culmination. In
September of that year Secretary Arthur resigned and he was succeeded
by E. C. Van Ness. In January of I905, a meeting was called to consider the building of a gymnasium, the work previous to that time having been conducted solely along lines of religion and education. A suitable location was secured and that phase of the work was prosecuted
with much vigor during I906.
This period of activity was followed by a depression induced by the
low financial ebb of the affairs of the association, but the concerted efforts
of the board of directors were sufficient to overcome the situation and
the work continued as before. In February, I907, the first physical
director was engaged, to give a part of his time to the work of the association. In September, I909, the present general secretary, R. J. Ritz,
was called to assume charge of the association. About this time the
financial status of the organization again became involved, and the difficulty was met and overcome by the generous responses of the citizens
of Pontiac, when they subscribed $3,000, which amount covered all outstanding indebtedness and carried the association for one year. In