Dr. Milton Loyer, Conference Archivist
March – 100 years ago
The 1925 annual session of the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the Evangelical Church was held March 5-9 at First Church in Milton, Northumberland County. Among the resolutions passed was the following: “Whereas, Governor Pinchot has taken such a fearless stand in favor of law enforcement and proposed legislation to make the 18th Amendment effective; Resolved, That we instruct the Secretary of Conference to write to Governor Pinchot commending him for his fearless attitude.” The 18th Amendment prohibited the production, sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States. It was passed in 1919 and repealed in 1933.
The 1897 building in which the 1925 annual session was held was sold in 1929 when the congregation erected its present sanctuary on Lower Market Street and Garfield Avenue. The gymnasium and social hall were added in 1991.
April – 50 years ago
Friday evening April 4, 1975, was a special day for the men and boys of the Central Pennsylvania Conference. In Lewistown, at First UMC, at the annual rally of the Conference United Methodist Men, guest speaker Jimmy Carter – the young, reform-minded Governor of Georgia who pledged that no Georgian should “ever again be deprived of the opportunity for a job, an education, or simple justice because he is poor, rural, black, or not influential” – challenged those in attendance to Christian statesmanship.
On that same evening in Altoona, at Otterbein UMC, the Sixth Annual Pennsylvania United Methodist Church Basketball Tournament began its 22-team, two-weekend event. These highly competitive games, hosted this year by the Central Pennsylvania Conference, began as the State EUB Tournament and continued as such for 17 years before becoming an annual UMC event following the denominational merger.
