Drayton McClelland

Drayton McClelland Presented at Sunday worship services on September 15, 2002

I was born in Birmingham and raised going to the Methodist church. The Birmingham of my youth was quite different from what it is today. The Wabeek Building on the other side of Maple housed most of the doctors and dentists. Just a few blocks to the west on Maple, where presently stands the parking deck, was Baldwin High School from which I graduated. Four drug stores were located in the area of Pierce, Maple and Woodward. The Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Episcopal churches were all in uptown Birmingham and I don't remember any of them having parking lots. Most everyone walked to church or parked on the street.

A story my family insists I tell about myself pertains to my walking to Sunday school. Ten cents was the amount I was to put in the collection. If my Sunday school money consisted of two nickels, I found that if I put five cents in the collection, the other five cents would buy me a double-dip ice cream cone. After my mother caught me, I got a stern warning and a dime.

The church uptown was an old building. If you were late for services, it was hard to sneak in because of many areas which had squeaky wood floors and stairs. The main Sunday school area was a wood-frame, stucco-clad, one-room annex at the rear of the main church. It was a real challenge for the teachers because the various classes were clumped around the one room. Also, classes for older kids were held in the balcony. Attention was a problem there, too, when some unfocused student would see how far his paper airplane would go down to the main floor. I once made it to the pulpit. This, I must add, did not take place during church services.

I have fond memories of many of my Sunday school teachers, but two stand out as men of faith: Art Claxton and Arbon Dennis. Both earned their living as gardeners. I don't think either of them realized the many lives they impacted. For over 30 years after I was in Arbon Dennis' class, I received a card and a note on my birthday.

The old church was, from many aspects, becoming less and less user-friendly. The membership and area were growing. Not everyone was sure it was the right thing to buy the Holznagel property and build way out on West Maple. There were people who liked the church uptown where they could walk to church. There were people who were concerned about going into debt. Many members had vivid memories of the Depression and all the financial problems they had endured. But people of vision, leadership and faith, led by Dr. Runkel, pushed ahead and sold the building program. It certainly helped that a member, Amos Gregory, was an officer in the Kresge Foundation. He helped arrange for Kresge to buy the old church property for $100,000 and make a matching gift of an additional $100,000 after the membership raised $100,000 in pledges. Dr. Runkel's determination and leadership should not be overlooked or underestimated in getting this building built.

Growing up, Dr. Runkel was the first minister I could relate to. Because he had a young family of his own, he was interested in young people and what they were doing. I was very impressed when he pitched softball at a church picnic at Springdale Park. No minister had ever done anything like that before. He had his finger on the pulse of everything and everyone. During construction, he was on the site every working day and very little escaped his scrutiny.

I would close by telling you what an important place this building and church have been for my family. Our three children were baptized and grew up here. They became members and all three, plus two daughters-in-law, have taught Sunday school at various times. My daughter was married here. We presently have three grandchildren attending Sunday school.

My wife, Carol, is a long-time Chancel and Handbell Choir member. Both Carol's and my parents rest in the Memorial Garden. I say again, for us this is a good place.