The little church that could

DUCOR — One hundred years and 26 pastors later, First Baptist Church of Ducor is celebrating its centennial celebration in the same original church building that was built in 1908.

That spring, according to church records, a group of residents held a picnic in the old Brey Wright lumber barn and raised $1,864 toward a church building.

And with Pastor Gordon Hill, who received a salary of $600 a year, and nine church members, the church opened its doors on May 12, 1908. By 1910, the membership had more than tripled to 31 members.

A year later, the church elected delegates to attend the San Joaquin Valley Association in Tulare and in 1949 affiliated itself with the state and national association of General Regular Baptist.

A history written by the late Maggie Kocher in 1988 mentioned many of the church’s other unique firsts — such as the ringing of the church bell to signal the start of each service. Other early firsts for the church mentioned by Kocher included the organization of the Young People’s Union, adding deacons and a Sunday school superintendent in 1910, and building a parsonage in 1923. The house cost $6,000 and took 10 years to pay for.

“According to records and my knowledge, it was the only time the church had to borrow money,” Kocher wrote.

The church continued to be blessed, the history read, and various additions were mentioned — from the purchase of a church van and a church bus in 1971.

“I live there now,” current pastor Wayne Pierson said of the parsonage. “I came in November of 2003 to fill in for two weeks and I never left.”

Pierson said he was not familiar with all of the church history details, but was familiar with some of it.

“They added a 20-foot section to the back of the church, added the pastor’s study, the kitchen and two restrooms in back,” he said. “And interestingly, they moved the church building clear to the side, built a basement to make room for Sunday school rooms, and then moved the building back on top of the basement.”

One church member did remember. Mattie Hardaway said she was only 2 or 3 years old when she started attending.

“I was born in Ducor and I was in the children’s Sunday school class,” Hardaway said. “There were no Sunday school classrooms then. We had curtains and we would divide the sanctuary into three or four different areas. I remember that up until World War II.”

Hardaway said she left for college and when she returned, things had changed. In time she married, moved away to Porterville and stopped attending, except for special visits, for a few years.

“But we moved back to Ducor and we’ve been attending for the past 32 years,” Hardaway said. “It is Ducor’s only church. At one time there was a Methodist church too but that’s been gone a long time.”

As time moved forward, a church nursery was added, the church sanctuary remodeled, and the Ducor Women’s Club was purchased in 1986 for $4,000, Pierson said.

“We use it as the church fellowship building and as a community room,” he said. “It is also now our Spanish church, which we’ve had for more than two years now.”

Pierson said a three-day centennial celebration started Friday and continues today.

“We’re having homemade ice cream and special music on Saturday night,” he said. “If there are any people in the area who had ties to the church, they are welcome to stop by. We will have several former members and pastors attending. And on Sunday, a pastor friend of mine [Jack Willsey] of Northwest Baptist Seminary of [Tacoma,] Wash. will present the morning message.”

-- Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1047 or eavila@portervillerecorder.com.