Snapshots of History – November 30, 2023
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Former Delphos Baptist Church.
By Mike Avitt
Norman Reginald Noble came to the Delphos Baptist Church in October 1958, which contradicts the information (by one year) in Noble’s obituary.
I use the Church Directory in the Mount Ayr Record-News quite often and that’s where I got my information.
Noble replaced Rev. Bardsley and was ordained in 1964. He was called to serve the Immanuel Baptist Church in Bethany, Missouri in 1970.
Eldon Boese appears as the pastor of the Delphos Baptist Church in the Record-News Church Directory in January 1971.
The Reverend and Mrs. Boese first came to Ringgold County in 1956, serving the Community Bible Church at Redding.
They returned to Omaha in 1962, then came back to Ringgold County in 1966. Rev. Boese seems to have stayed at Delphos one year and then Rev. J. P. Merritt shows up in the church directory on February 3, 1972.
Merritt’s last appearance in the directory was in Dec.1973. Then we see Rev. Noble return in January 1974. After three years at Bethany, Rev. Noble would finish his career at the Delphos Baptist Church.
Reverend Norman Noble passed away in 1996 after making many friends, leading his flock, and serving our Lord. He is held in high esteem by all who knew him and is remembered fondly..
The Delphos Baptist Church never had another full time minister.
In 2006, I had been involved at the church for history-related reasons only to learn Marilyn Johnson, June Steinman, Virginia Stephenson, Mari Humbert, and others were attempting to revive the old church.
Work had been done on the interior and exterior in preparation of conducting services again. Rev. Bob Pinkerton agreed to preach on Sunday evenings and the first service was in June 2006.
I don’t know how many services were held but I attended 3 or 4 and I’ll tell you what I remember.
Mari Humbert played the piano and it was a little warm there as there was no air-conditioning. There was dust and wasp’s nests in places that couldn’t be reached. Attendance was ten to twelve, I’d say.
But keep this in mind; I was likely the only one there, besides Pinkerton, for which the Delphos Baptist Church was not my “home church.” For those who did have this as their “home church,” I’m sure the perspective was much different.
I moved to Carroll, Iowa in 2007 and I don’t know if services were there after 2006, but I am grateful to have been a small part of a final effort to keep a church going that brought joy to so many people for so many years.
I was baptized in a small church in Gentry, Missouri in 1968. My mother played the piano there and my grandfather was an usher.
I attended Vacation Bible School and listened to my aunt Rose sing off-key.
The first time I ever sang in a choir was in that church.
I probably sang off-key, too.
