by Mike Roberts, HUUC Church Historian
Over the past one hundred years, the world around us has accelerated at a breakneck pace that has left us, and our immediate ancestors, with a tsunami of change. Scientific advances, cultural shifts, transportation, work place conditions, and religion, just to name a few areas, would be barely recognizable to those ancestors. A great uncle of mine once said that he migrated with the family as a child from near Richmond, Kentucky in a covered wagon to relocate in Hamilton, Ohio. The trip took a month in 1910. As a retiree, he could fly to Florida in three hours to visit several of his children.
Recently, in doing research on our church during the early 1960s, I examined newsletters, committee reports, and board minutes. They yielded insight into the world of the early sixties. This is not to say that conditions then were better or worse than now, but they were certainly different. Often, our evolution comes not by choice but by forces beyond our control. To some, this offers a significant challenge.
Our church of 1960 had two women’s groups, the Service Committee and the Clara Barton Guild. The Service Committee’s main point of interest was Longview Hospital. Longview was originally opened in 1860 near Paddock Road on the banks of the Miami and Erie Canal. The facility was officially designated as an “insane asylum.” It was administered by the State of Ohio and was built to house 400 patients. Over the years, the capacity grew, new additions were erected to the building, and the city of Cincinnati assumed control of the facility. By 1953, the patients numbered 3,568. It was badly overcrowded and understaffed. Fortunately, during this time, new medical and drug treatments for mental disorders became available and many patients were eventually able to live independently.
Our Service Committee and its 24 members would make monthly visits to one ward in the hospital, deliver hand-made Christmas presents and cards, and regularly donate magazines to the patients. They also would offer parties and social gatherings for the patients. Each major holiday would bring our women to the hospital for celebration and, hopefully, many smiles.
Today, those efforts might be directed towards facilities for aging and mentally challenged individuals but such “insane asylums” such as Longview Hospital are history. Unfortunately, many who are afflicted with untreated or under-treated mental disorders are found on our streets and shelters as a segment of the homeless population.
In the 1960s, the Clara Barton Guild had as its major focus Allen House, an orphanage on the west side of Cincinnati. Financial contributions, toys, and other gifts were offered to the children. Clothing was also collected for Frontier Nursing Services and money was donated to the Theological School Fund.
It should be noted that both women’s groups were ready to help whenever a special need arose within the church itself. Both groups offered their services on numerous occasions.*
In addition to these two women’s service organizations, the church offered a Couples Club. This group met every second Friday of the month. Their meetings provided a social atmosphere of entertainment to promote bonds of friendship. The meetings always included a short devotional service and a covered dish dinner.
To provide a social atmosphere for singles, Reverend Karl Bach suggested the church begin a Singles Club. Seventeen from the church initially accepted invitations to join the group. Meeting were held on the third Friday of every month. The singles would meet at a local restaurant and, after the meal, would come to the church for entertainment and games. By the end of the first year, there were eleven members regularly attending meetings.
To involve all persons within the church further, a family night was held on the first Friday of every month. That usually entailed serving a light meal and offering games and entertainment oriented to the youngsters of the church.
Many of the activities described above were reported in a monthly newsletter called The Lamplighter. It was mailed to homes at a cost of four cents per newsletter.
The church was not only a social center but also one in which to improve the mind. The long-existing Broadwell Fund had provided a series of guest speakers. The events were well-attended. They offered speakers with a range of backgrounds from religion to politics to philosophy to social action. Many of these speakers had national reputations. Additionally, the liberal churches of Cincinnati offered speakers for those associated with nine churches.
There also existed a group from these churches who identified themselves as BOGSAT. That acronym stood for Bunch of Guys Sitting Around a Table. They discussed issues of the day and often reported back to home churches what they considered important and relevant.
In the 1960s, many (if not most) of the members and associates of our church viewed it as the social, intellectual, and spiritual center of their lives. Nearly all these persons were actively involved in many of the groups and activities listed above.
The world has changed since then. Opportunities for entertainment and intellectual stimulation abound. Women are far more likely to hold jobs or to volunteer during the day. In a survey done of the church membership in 1963, the most common profession listed for women was housewife. That has changed over the intervening sixty years. In that same survey, one member complained that the church had become nothing more than a social club.
Today, we largely seek entertainment and social gathering in venues other than church. That may partially explain why church membership and participation has drastically declined during the period in question. (It should be noted, however, that UU (Unitarian Universalist) membership has remained steady during this period.)**
What will the role of our church be in the future? As we become more entwined in technology and artificial intelligence, is there still room for the comforting spirituality of religion in general? The future seems quite blurred on this and many other issues.
*The Clara Barton Guild still operates within HUUC, providing charitable support to many causes; whereas, the Caring Circle has taken over addressing the needs of HUUC congregants.
**UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) statistics found at https://www.uua.org/data/demographics/uua-statistics report that overall UU membership in 1961 was 151,557 and was 130,265 in 2024.
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