Four generations have attended Knox United

Norma-Jean Johnston
Special to the Record

Editor’s Note: This is the final installment in a series of feature stories written to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Knox United Church.

By Norma-Jean Johnston
Special to the Record
Wilf Locking arrived in Rainy River with his wife, Audrey, and family in 1945, but he was no stranger to the United Church. He grew up in the Emo United Church, where there is a pew dedicated to his dad, George Locking. Wilf credits Myrtle Robinson in getting him into church in Rainy River. “Do you sing?” she asked when first introduced to him, reminisced Wilf’s daughter, Myrna Armstrong. “Mom and Dad were in the choir forever.”
“Myrtle was a part of our family,” Myrna continued. “ Dad was Master of Ceremonies at her 50th Anniversary as organist at Knox. She played at our wedding and her daughter Carolyn Alberti sang. She always played for Sunday School before church. She was the music teacher at school and played for music festivals. I sang in junior choir with Sylvia Hovorka, Christine Hovorka, Betty McQuarrie, and Sandy Shatford, and we all were promoted to senior choir with Joe Rosler, Jessie Shatford, Ruth Michie, Lorraine Bingleman, and Ethel McBain.”
“If Mom didn’t know where Dad was, he was at the church,” laughed Myrna. “ We put aprons on Dad, Vern Norlund and Art Dowson, and called them honorary members of the United Church Women, because they always helped us with the catering.”
“Dad made it a family tradition to go and get a real tree for the Church every Christmas. Once, when Dad was in his 70’s I chose a great, big tree way over in the bush. Dad waded up to his waist in snow, chopped it down with an axe, and Larry (my husband) and Dad pulled it out. It was too much. The next year, Vern and Dot Norlund donated the tree we have now, complete with angel on top.”
Wilf was an active member of AOTS (As One through Service). He installed the copper pipe railing for the choir in the back staircase. With Vern Norlund and Earle Armistead, he installed the wiring for the headphones in the pews.
Myrna recalls that her family often served Communion together. Both Wilf and Audrey served on the Session. Each family of Session would take turns buying bread and juice, preparing and washing up.
“The saddest day at Knox was waiting for Dad’s funeral. It was sad for the whole church family, not just ours. After Dad died, I felt better when I was there (at Knox) because I felt Dad was always there,” Myrna concluded. Myrna was 2 years old when she arrived in Rainy River with Mom and Dad, and siblings, Dixie (Badiuk), Bobby (Locking), and Audrey (Meunier). Myrna was born in Fort Frances and baptized at Knox United Church there. She joined the church in 1956. She remembers taking confirmation classes with Rev. Tindale after school. “It was a big deal”, she emphasized. “Very important.”
“Florence Croxford was my mentor. She taught me in CGIT (Canadian Girls in Training) and Explorers. I learned how to set tables for different events. Everything had to be just perfect. The women took the white linen tablecloths home and pressed them. If the crease wasn’t lined up just perfect in the centre of the table, Mrs. Croxford made us take the dishes off and start again, in a nice way, of course.”
Myrna credits Isabel McInnes for getting her going to United Church Women (UCW) when it was formed in 1962. She remembers going to her first meeting to Elsie Ewald’s home with her sister, Audrey (Meunier). Myrna and Audrey joined the evening group UCW with other young moms, Elsie Douglas, Val Martindale, and Shirley Murdock. Eventually Myrna took over the President’s job from Isabel.
Jim Hammond was instrumental in getting Myrna involved on the Memorial committee in 1989. She took over as Secretary-Treasurer from Clara Marr and has served ever since.
Larry Armstrong married Myrna Locking at Knox on September 3, 1960. Larry himself joined Knox United in 1958, after he met Myrna. His family attended both non-denominational services held in the old school in Sleeman and services at Knox United. He remembers driving in to town with Ted Soderberg to attend Knox. Larry joined the Stewards in the 60’s, after Vic Croxford retired. He joined the Session in 1992, but stepped down to become chair of Stewards in 1993.
Projects accomplished by the Stewards during this time included installing chimes in the bell tower (1960) and purchasing a new pulpit (1961). Between 1980 and 2002, the kitchen was remodeled twice, carpet was installed in the sanctuary and then 20 years later, removed and new flooring installed. There is a new entrance to the basement with fewer stairs to accommodate an aging population. The vestibule was also remodeled with Earle Armistead’s beautiful stained glass windows and a chandelier donated by Bud and Buddy Hannam. In 1990, all windows in the church were replaced with double paned windows highlighting Earle’s stained glass panels.
Larry sees that the Stewards’ job is to get everybody involved to the extent that they can. “Church is community,” he says, “Teamwork takes everybody playing their part. We gain strength from each other. If we each do a little, we can all do a lot.”
Larry and Myrna’s children, Dean, Darren, Dave, Patti, and Jennifer were baptized and confirmed at Knox. Dean, married to Christie Curtis, has joined the Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Their two children are Luke and Carly. Dave Armstrong was married to Tammy Nault in Knox, by Earle Armistead. Their children are Christian and Ashley and were baptized in 1983.
Patti’s favourite memory is always getting the giggles in church with her cousin, Susan Anderson (Wolanicki). She was too nervous to giggle at her own wedding to Joey Bonhomme. Rev. David Galston married them and he went by the book, with hymns and communion. Myrtle Robinson played the organ and Dorothy Quibell sang.
Joey and Patti moved away to Edmonton but returned to have their children baptized, Jeremy in 1990 with Susan’s children, Alison and Alanna Wolanicki, and Brayden in 1992 with cousin, Ashley. Brayden was two years old and was acting pretty badly. Rev. Molly Kitchen baptized him and said, “ Now you are a child of God. Behave like one.”
Patti and Joey returned to live in Rainy River, and in 2000, Rev. Pat White baptized their daughter, Kaitlyn, in the Rainy River. Kaitlyn’s baptism made Knox’s celebration of the United Church of Canada’s 75th Anniversary unforgettable. Gramma Myrna prompted Kaitlyn to remember, “ Whenever you got restless in Church you used to come up and sit in the choir.” Kaitlyn’s own favourite memory is going to meetings with Gramma and helping to set up for events. “I pushed the cart around to put cups on the table with Grampa,” she offers happily. God bless you, Kaitlyn. May you and your family always have great joy in serving God and community.