A long-standing tradition in Omena is the arrival of Santa Claus at the Omena Community Room in the Fire Hall. We are always on his schedule for Christmas Eve. Eric Hallett was a teenager when he first brought Santa into Omena on the fire truck. For a few years, a family with sled dogs lived in Omena and Santa came down Tatch Road in the sled. Before the Community Room was built, everyone gathered in the firehouse — no heat and a cement floor, but still always fun!
The festivities begin at 2:30 p.m. this year with cookies and caroling leading up to Santa’s arrival at the Community Room. It’s a fun community event for young and old alike!
At the other end of town from the Fire Hall stands the Omena Presbyterian Church (OPC). The OPC, originally the Presbyterian Mission Church, was built in 1858, six years after Reverend Peter Dougherty founded it as part of his Mission Boarding School on Omena Heights in 1852. When the building was dedicated, it was named the Grove Hill New Mission Church. The Mission Church served both the Indians and the white settlers. The Presbyterian Church closed the Mission school and farm in 1867, shortly after the Civil War. Dougherty continued to preach at the church until 1871, when he retired and left the area. The Craker and Aghosa families kept the church open and taught Sunday school, but there were no regular services. The Reverend George N. Smith, the Congregational minister who founded Northport, held occasional services in the Mission Church, as did other Northport Congregational ministers.
In 1886, the Omena Congregational Church was officially organized at the Presbyterian Mission Church by Reverend C. D. Bannister of Northport. The charter members included names such as Craker, Williams, LaBare, Joynt, Williamson, Rose, Tatch, Graves, Kiersey, Keyes, Uber, and Barth, some of whose families are still part of Omena today. They were soon joined by the Putnam, Freeland, Bartlett, Wheeler, Doe, Orrell, Von Holt, Scott, and Davis families.
For a number of years, the Presbyterians and the Congregationalists shared the Mission Church. The church served the spiritual needs of the community as home to both denominations, but it also was the center of the area’s social life. However, in the 1890s, the Presbyterian Church again sent a minister to the area, the first one since Peter Dougherty had left 20 years earlier. The Congregational members decided to erect their own building.
The new church was constructed for $1,500 and dedicated in 1898. Initially, the church prospered and expanded. In 1901, the membership numbered 56, and they built an addition for $800. They also added horse sheds, with each man who wanted a shed building his own. In the book “Omena A Place in Time,” Ernestine Freeland Johnson, whose father was a Trustee of the church for many years, remembered arriving in a horse and carriage. She also recalled that, after the horse died, they walked.
The Congregational Church, however, shared its minister with larger Congregational churches in Northport and Suttons Bay. The minister changed often, and it became more difficult to attract new members. As automobiles became more common, some members moved to the larger churches. The church began to struggle.
In 1917, Reverend Joseph Rogers came to the Omena Presbyterian Church as a full time pastor. He attempted to unite the two churches into a Federated church in 1920. They tried it for a year but it failed, although the Congregationalists did join the Presbyterians in the winter to save money.
The last worship service at the Congregational Church was Sunday, March 28, 1931. The final service was the funeral for Josephus Kiersey, a charter member. The building still stands at the corner of Isthmus Road and Lake Street. For a while, it became part of the Omena Inn. It was then purchased by the Lutheran Church and was an assisted living home called Omena House for a number of years. It is now owned by Dale and Elizabeth Manty, and still called the Omena House.
The Omena Presbyterian Church is believed to be the longest continuously operating church in Michigan, although services are now seasonal, since the building is not winterized. It still stands as a testament to the strength of the Omena community spirit. Shining serenely in its holiday lights, it is a beacon of hope and peace.
Christmas Day and the first day of Hanukkah coincide on December 25 this year, with Hanukkah beginning at sundown that day. It is almost the latest that the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights begins. Hanukkah will end at sundown on January 2. I wish everyone a peaceful and joyful holiday this year.
Happy Birthday this week to Alex Edgley, Hayden Dailey, Pat Kimmerly, and Evie Sulau, who turns 10. Happy Christmas Eve Birthday to Fred Putnam and to Ty Simmons. Happy Christmas birthday to Juliana Phillips. Happy Anniversary to Kim and Linda Kemper, and to Kady Fox and D’Vaughn Roseman.
Former Omena Mayor Rosie Disch hopes to see everyone on Christmas Eve at the Fire Hall for the arrival of Santa Claus! And cookies!
