Turning Wintersburg into Community

JERRY PERSON

It was in January 1965 that a young factory representative of the

Hudson Car Co. from Illinois joined the Wintersburg Methodist Church.

Having come from a very religious family in Illinois, Dix Helland

settled here to become a longtime church member.

One of his grandfathers had been a Lutheran minister in Illinois

and his other grandfather was a circuit-riding Methodist minister,

who rode from one town to another in Illinois, preaching God’s Word.

This week, we’ll continue our look at the 100th anniversary of the

Community United Methodist Church (Wintersburg Methodist Church).

Several more ministers served the congregation since Charles Bacon

(1949-1953). The list includes Paul Travis (1953), Robert G.

Alexander (1956), Lyman B. Ellis (1957) and Harry Leland (1960).

In 1962, Rev. Roger Betsworth would arrive to lead the

congregation through many difficult changes.

The old church building at Warner Avenue and Gothard Street was

becoming too small for the large congregation. Sunday school was

being held in five old army tents behind the church, and the 1954

Moore Hall social hall was becoming too small, Dix said.

The population in Huntington Beach was beginning to boom. At the

Nov. 2, 1964, meeting of the church trustees, the board discussed the

possibility of selling the old location.

Present at this meeting were Rev. Betsworth, Harlin Mahon, John

Murdy Jr., Charles Graham, Elwood Gleason, Oscar Stricklin, Len

Bartimore and Richard Bacon.

Stricklin presented the board with two offers from two parties who

were interested in purchasing the property. One of these came from

the Shell Oil Co., which offered $88,000 without interest in any part

of the buildings, or $90,000 with the church paying the 5% real

estate fee. A second offer of $100,000 cash came from the Southwest

Baptist Church.

After a lengthy discussion, a motion was made by Mahon and

seconded by Gleason to accept the Baptist offer. The board members

voted unanimously to accept Southwest Baptist’s offer.

The previous year, John and Norma Murdy had donated three acres of

land on Heil Avenue -- including their 32-year-old home, tennis

court, orchard and lima bean field -- for a new church campus.

When Dix Helland joined in January 1965, construction was just

beginning on the new campus, under the supervision of Stricklin, the

building committee chairman. The campus included a new sanctuary, a

new Moore Hall social center, kitchen and a classroom building.

By October 1965, the campus was completed at a cost of just under

$400,000. This amount was just a little more than the $5,118 paid for

the original church and property.

Longtime church member Charles Attridge told me there had been

plans to move the old Moore Hall to the Heil Street location. In the

end, the E. Ray Moore family again financed a new Moore Hall.

One of the first projects was to buy a new organ, since the old

Baldwin organ was getting old. During services at the old church,

keys would suddenly stick, giving out a long growl. The congregation

lovingly referred to this organ as the Baldwin Beast.

During this time, it was also decided that a new name was needed.

So in 1965, the Wintersburg Methodist Church became the Community

United Methodist Church.

Throughout this transition, Rev. Betsworth spent many hours

overseeing the changes from one location to another.

A hole was cut in the ceiling of the old church and the church

bell was slowly lowered using a block and tackle. Stricklin

supervised this operation. When the congregation met the next Sunday,

a gaping hole greeted them. During the service, there were many who

couldn’t resist looking up into the old bell tower.

Ruth Slater donated a new bell tower in memory of her husband Will

and today, the old bell can be seen hanging at the top of this tower.

Dix Helland also mentioned to me that he served as an usher for

years under Graham.

Next week, we’ll learn some more interesting history of the church

from the “old oil man,” Charles Attridge, as we bring the history up

to today.

* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach

resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.