History of Waterloo Assembly

The picture out there in the lobby was passed on to me from my parents, who were in fellowship at Western Avenue. The photocopy was given to me by Christine Finley, who's in fellowship at Waterloo. The numbers and the names were put on that photocopy by Lavelle Smith, with the help of her daughter, Nancy Smith-Orr.

I believe that there are four people that I'm aware of that are still alive that were taken, whose picture is on that 1924 conference. That conference was one of the first in the Western Avenue Hall. The hall was built in 1922.

As Eric alluded, from 1898 until 1922, they met in homes and various rented buildings. But in 1922, a new hall was built, and that conference was in 1924, so that was either the first or the second conference in the new hall. And those that are still alive that I'm aware of are Robert Harbaugh, Alice Reekers, Vernon Hassman, and Elma Jefferson.

And on that picture, there are little kids that are in the front row. I guess there is a somber note in relation, just from a personal note. The Nesbitt farm, my ancestors were just down the road a half a mile from the Orr farm, where John Blair came.

And it is correct that John Blair's sister, Mrs. William Orr, professed salvation. But as far as Richard and Robert know, William, their grandpa, never did. My grandfather, William Nesbitt, was exposed to the gospel, both from the neighborhood, from John Blair being in the area, and from gospel meetings being held in my great-uncle's home at Nesbitt.

And that would have been in 1891, he was 20 years old. My grandpa was saved in 1913, which was 22 years later. And during that period of 22 years, he married a young lady from Dunkerton named Mary Ireland.

He fathered two children, Nellie, which is Grace Stickford's mother, and my father, Russell Nesbitt, and he buried his wife, my grandma, Mary. She died with tuberculosis in 1912. My dad told me he never remembered them talking about salvation.

But a year after my grandma died, my grandpa was saved in the year 1913, the same year as Oliver Smith was saved. Also, I'm quite sure that in 1913, there was a man from Dunkerton that was saved by the name of Oscar McGee, O.E. McGee, Pat McGee, who was a full-time servant for the Lord in this area for a number of years. And if I remember correctly, I've heard that he attended one gospel meeting in Dunkerton and was convicted and converted.

As far as personal remembrances of Waterloo, my first Sunday school teacher was Grace Nesbitt. The big thing for Sunday school was the annual program at the end of the year. We learned our pieces.

We dressed up. We stood straight. We got our awards.

The hall was filled with children and parents for that occasion. And we got an apple and orange and some peanuts and hard candy. We had a Sunday school picnic in the summertime at the lower end of Burns Park.

And those are the things that I remember from Sunday school. From the gospel meeting, I remember there was a man that didn't do a lot of speaking, but he often was the song leader. His name was Jim Geddes.

And many times in the gospel meeting, I can still visualize it in my mind. We would sing, Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. The man, the E.G. Matthews that Eric referred to, I remember him as a child.

He was an old man, but I remember him as well as Fred Lakin, Earl Compton, Henry Andresen, Clifford Smith, Clare Simcox, Glenn Holopeter. Glenn Holopeter often prayed at the end of the remembrance meeting. And his prayer would be something like this.

May the fragrance that is upon us be with us in the week that's ahead. I've thought of that prayer many times. I prayed that prayer many times.

The fragrance of being in His presence at the remembrance meeting, may it be with us in the week ahead. I remember the conferences at West High and getting to sit in the balcony if I was a good boy. And I remember then when they moved to the Masonic Temple and seeing Dennis Andresen here, I don't know if he remembers this, but one Sunday afternoon after a conference while we were hauling chairs back to the Gospel Hall, and I was really pushing him.

You know, really, really wanting to see him saved. And I remember that night, I don't know if you remember this Dennis, but I'm pretty sure David Kirk was the name of the preacher. He spoke at the Gospel meeting and I thought he was awesome.

He was from Ireland. But anyway. I'll just summarize my thoughts by saying this.

I wondered what I could say in conclusion to encourage Waterloo and Cedar Falls. And the best way I can encourage you is to tell you that one Saturday at a Waterloo conference, when it was between that time that it was in West High to the time that it was in the Masonic Temple, it was in the Gospel Hall. And a Saturday morning I looked out the front doors of the Gospel Hall and I saw a taxicab pull up.

And a man got out of the taxicab with a Bible bag in his hand. The man's name was Sam Hamilton. I think he had come from La Crosse on a bus to Waterloo to the bus station, had brought a taxi to the Gospel Hall and was there to be a help at the conference.

And I remember what he said in his message. And I'll conclude my little summary with this. Brothers and sisters, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.