Wood Island church celebrates 100 years

Ancestors were acknowledged and present day cousins reintroduced -- or met for the first time -- when the Wood Island Reformed Baptist Church celebrated its 100th anniversary on Saturday, August 6. It took some time to ferry over roughly 150 people who attended the service and enjoyed a visit to the peaceful hideaway off Grand Manan's south end.
It was the most visitors the island has seen in some time. While the year round village is no more, quite a few people maintain summer cottages on the island, and it still has a small community of past residents' descendants. There is a reunion every year with a church service, but the 100th anniversary was a special occasion.
The church was established in 1916, when seven members of the Seal Cove church wrote a letter stating they felt led to start a church on Wood Island. Under the leadership of Pastor F.T. Wright, assisted by H.C. Mullen, they held twice weekly meetings in the schoolhouse. By 1917, they had 69 members, five teachers and $38.60 in funds. Construction of the church building began in 1918. Over the years, even after the year round residents left and other buildings fell into ruin, the church has been kept up by a dedicated crew.
For the anniversary the church had a major renovation spearheaded by Dwayne Green and helped by the cottage owners. Repairs included foundation repairs, maintenance and painting on the exterior and steeple and interior cleaning and painting -- the latter requiring using long handled rollers from ladders perched on plywood laid over the pews to reach the high ceiling.
"The whole community centred around the church," explains Elliot Shepherd, who helped transport visitors and is part of the team that looks after the island, clearing deadfall, maintaining three cemeteries and mowing. He says even if people weren't church goers, they still had respect for it. "It's the focal point of the community." Today, Wood Island connections extend far and wide; one example is illustrated by the stained glass window that was made by someone in Australia and shipped to the church.
The anniversary service was led by Leonard Bell, whose wife is a Wood Island descendant. He sang, and other musical selections were provided by Peter Wilcox and Susan Richard, with Brenda Tate, Laura Leighton and Marissa Wilcox on the organ. In acknowledgement of ancestors, representatives of island families were asked to stand. These included Wilcox, Shepherd, Guptill, Green, Griffin, Ingalls, Mullen and Harvey, and most of the 90-100 people who filled the church were standing. A candle was lit preceding a moment of silence remembering those who have passed.
Richard spoke about the church's establishment, her experience in one of the last classes at the school -- which closed in 1956 for want of a teacher -- and the importance of leaving records for generations to come, with "a little of our wisdom and heritage." A small sampling of this was available in a memory booklet, including the transcript of the church establishment letter, church minutes, a diary of weather and events from the 1950s and notes from temperance meetings.
Bell invited guests to share stories about Wood Island, and quite a few did. These ranged from the logistics of getting to the island for a 10 year old girl travelling alone in a very different era, to memories of forebears, thoughts on revisiting one's roots and testimonials of faith. "These weren't people who took their faith lightly," said one descendant.
Following the service, hot dogs and cake were served, and there was time to socialize or explore. Anniversary mugs with art by Katie Cronk were sold. Not having known what to expect, Richard and the Bells were very pleased with the turnout.
With an atmosphere of peace and stillness that is distinctly different from Grand Manan, the allure of Wood Island is hard to define; it seems to have a mystic attraction for islanders and visitors alike. Some will suggest it's one of the earth's magical places with its own special magnetism. Shepherd, who maintains a house there, thinks it over a while, but in the end his answer is a simple one: "When we set foot here, we feel we're home."