Forward, Forward - Through War and Peace
(1941 - 1959)

The fabric of American Life received another wrench with Pearl Harbor, which was to have long-term effects on the Rescue Mission and the people it served.

The Mission and the war

As the community geared up for the war effort, even activities like the summer Sunday School reported a drop in attendance, "due largely to the fact that so many mothers are working at this time and the older children have to stay home and take care of the little tots. Many children at the age of 12 and 14 were also working and could not attend."

The summer school's theme recognized the war. The children's work was based on "Troop Schools for Christian Soldiers," and was received enthusiastically by the youngsters.

The picnic for the different classes in July was of a military nature, with each class having its "sealed orders" of where to go and hold their picnic.

The Mission initiated a mail line reaching from Syracuse to camps, bases and battlefronts around the world. The answers came back from former workers and volunteers, from those whose lives were changed by the Mission.

A sailor on the U.S.S. San Diego wrote, "I have started to write many times but couldn't think of anything to say except to thank you for the things you have done. You know I often wonder if you get any thanks— thanks from persons who really mean it. I remember when I was home on leave and went down to Sunday School. When you all sang that song I really had tears in my eyes."

From France a soldier commented, "It's been a long time since I've seen you. I have taken the wrong road a good many times since then but I'm trying to get back on the right track. There are a good many temptations on the road to life, but with the help of God I shall be able to resist them. Say a prayer for us boys over here. A lot of us need someone to pray for us."

A service woman in California said, "You're a great influence in all of our lives. Even though we're not 'regulars,' we think of you and your teaching." She remarked that her brother signed a pledge at the Mission in 1932. "He still carries that little pledge and I have never yet seen him drink or smoke."

In the Philippines a soldier "sitting in a sea of mud" with artillery shells passing overhead was thankful for the "very welcome and cheering epistle."

A State Department of Social Welfare general inspection in 1944 tells something of the Mission and what it was like in those days. Even though the war was taking up the able-bodied and the young, there was no dearth of transients.

During the year 21,943 days of lodging were furnished while 35,824 meals were served. Fourteen thousand men and women attended evangelistic services and a total of 1,850 were present at Summer Bible School Classes.

The hardworking staff conducted 875 meetings with a total attendance of 37,982 and an average daily attendance of 104.

Even though more money was available in the community, a night's lodging still cost only 30 to 40 cents, with one person in four receiving a free bed. Fifteen of the residents were employed at maintenance and watchman duties, receiving from one to five dollars a week plus room and board.

Lodgers were accommodated in the old three-story and basement brick structure connected to the Mission building by an enclosed wooden corridor.

The men lived in dormitories, including a basement room with seven double-decked beds and several single, double and three-bed rooms. Three meals were served daily for employed occupants, while bread and soup or milk was given to transients, those men standing against the shelves along the corridor walls from a kitchen located in the lodging building.

Cleanliness and order

The inspector stressed that "cleanliness and order prevail throughout the building." Laundry was done commercially, with facilities for personal laundry, as well. A large, dry heat fumigator was installed in the shower room. New admissions were required to bathe and their clothing had to be fumigated.

Religious services were conducted each night in the auditorium with open air services held in the summer.

It was also pointed out in the report that the age of the buildings, the danger from fire and the Mission plant's unsuitability for modernization should be considered in planning for a new building.

The entire city and county were undergoing radical changes at the time. New factories had sprung up to produce war materials on a 24-hour-a-day basis. An arsenal was established in the Baldwinsville area. The fairgrounds was a giant supply depot and blackout regulations were in effect. Civil defense personnel patrolled the city. Syracuse University's campus was almost devoid of male students. A massive base for bombers was constructed north of the city. Millions of servicemen passed through on the New York Central, the D L & W. and on Greyhound buses. The stores rationed meats and sugar. Gas was allocated by stamps. And every family had someone at war or in the defense industries.

Then, in July of 1944 when the wars in the Pacific and Europe were in their decisive phases, a major change was to take place at the Mission.

Amos Phipps, who had served the Mission day and night for 16 years, the last seven as superintendent, submitted his resignation in order to devote his full attention to bringing the word of Christ to the community.

He had already held a Radio Revival over station WOLF as part of his regular morning broadcast. It was a new concept for Syracuse. The revival had no tabemacle, no church building, no special preacher or evangelist, no choir, no budget, nor any financial appeal of any kind.

It was based on what Mr. Phipps described as the letter "R"—Radio Revival, Receive Christ, Retum to Christ, and finally, Remote yet Real.

One morning he asked if one hundred people would write in and join such a revival. Amazingly, when the letters were counted, there were exactly one hundred!

The Revival was on its way.

Every morning brought mail telling of those joining this new prayer fellowship; of special meetings in homes; of business places taking time out to join in the 15-minute program; and of high school students who took time in school to remember the Revival in prayer. More than 1,100 letters were received in the Revival's four-week span.

One woman confessed she had found forgiveness and release from an awful life of sin. Many indicated a return to Christ, deeper prayer life, new hope, or better understanding of God's Word.

In submitting his reasons for leaving, Mr. Phipps wrote, "The Lord has laid on my heart the necessity of evangelism in our city. To do this, will require much of my time and I do not feel I can do justice to the Mission. I step out entirely by faith."

Clinton Tasker becomes superintendent

He was succeeded several months later by Clinton H. Tasker, with Gretchen Ramsdell serving as acting superintendent during the four-month interlude before Mr. Tasker could assume the position on January 1, 1945.

A native of Syracuse, Mr. Tasker had served almost three decades with the New York Telephone Company before taking on the Mission assignment.

As the war drew to its close, the number of homeless and hungry seemed to grow. In 1945, 8,000 more overnight lodgings and 8,000 more meals were provided than in the previous 12 months. The number of meetings and those attending evangelistic services grew. The increase in those seeking shelter resulted in an average of 25 persons having to sleep on mattresses placed on the Missions floor each night.

In 1945, $14,000, or 50 percent of the Missions funding, was provided by the Community Chest, then known as the United War Fund. Another 20 percent came from receipts from lodgers. The remaining 30 percent, that for the religious work of the Mission, was from gifts of friends.

The Chest made allotments of $625,085 to its member agencies that year.

The following year the resignation of Edward C. Britcher, who had served as president of the Mission's Board of Trustees for 23 years, was reluctantly accepted by the Board and he was unanimously elected the President Emeritus.

Meanwhile the pressure on the facilities at 511 and 515 East Washington Street continued, with 51,593 persons receiving meals in 1946 and evangelistic meeting attendance up to 2,547 for the same period.

Mr. Tasker, in his report for 1946, stated that "it seems we are facing an issue which is obviously increasing day by day, that is, inadequate quarters. . our present plant met the needs back then, fifteen and twenty years ago, but with the increase in population, there follows the normal percentage of increase in transients. By the same token, we know that sin is on the increase. . .and we lack the equipment to assist all."

60th Anniversary

The following year, its 60th anniversary, the Mission Board appeared before the Community Chest's executive committee seeking a time in 1949 when they could conduct a capital fund drive. The report of November 11, 1947 commented, "It is sometimes necessary to send 15 to 20 men away at night due to lack of space."

Meanwhile, cost of meals increased. The 1942 meal at 5.5 cents became 8.7 cents by 1947.

It was a time of transition for the Syracuse community. Tens of thousands of men and women returned from the wars with changed outlooks, seeking new jobs. Syracuse University burgeoned from its peacetime population of 6,000 to close to 20,000 students and faculty. New hospital facilities developed the area's stature as a medical center. Air transportation outgrew the tiny municipal airport. The atomic age, television, and the communist threat were on the horizon.

The year 1947 was also a bountiful one for Christmas giving. Sears, Roebuck & Company gave two truckloads of broken toys, most of which were repairable, and an additional $500 worth of new toys just off the shelf to the Mission for its Christmas distribution. WT. Grant, Chappell's and other stores were equally generous in giving toys, while the Hubbard Drug Company provided $250 worth of "sweet smelling products" which were dropped into the women's bags and given to Sunday School teachers and workers. Special giving for Christmas and Thanksgiving meals totaled $1,000.

The Council of Social Agencies' Transient and Homeless Committee recognized in the spring of 1949 the growing problem of transients. This was described by Mr. Tasker following a meeting with Mission directors from throughout the East. He emphasized that a plan of referral for relief would establish a dependency pattern for many who would feel they need not seek work.

A need to expand

A strong case was being made for the Rescue Mission's expansion. As many as 35 men had to be turned away during winter evenings because of lack of space. Their only alternatives were to find accommodations in the dirty jail or in places of disrepute. At the same time, the Mission was receiving referrals from other agencies including the Veterans Administration, the Red Cross, Veterans Assistance, County Welfare, and other facilities unable to provide even a place to sleep.

In addition it was emphasized that the Mission, "is not merely a lodging house and shelter. Its purpose is to direct the lives of its guests and to rehabilitate them to a useful place in society. No discrimination is shown. When possible, meals and used clothes are provided to those in need."

The need to protect the guests from diseases such as tuberculosis was recognized. Tuberculosis itself was at the time a serious local threat. Dr. A. A. Sargent, the city's health commissioner, said there were 712 active cases in the community and probably a similar number of unreported cases.

Adequate, uncrowded and healthful facilities for transients located in the near-eastern section of the city were seen as essential.

The stage was being set for ultimate approval of a new Mission building. Tentative plans called for a dormitory-type building to accommodate 156 men with ample facilities to meet the safety and health codes. Tentative cost estimates were in the neighborhood of $275,000.

Meanwhile, other aspects of Mission life were not neglected. On the South Side, a new property at 1010 South State Street was acquired and renovated for religious services, classes, boys' club rooms, and meals.

To love the unlovely

As the twentieth century approached its midpoint, Gretchen Ramsdell reiterated the role of the Mission as an arm of the church in the 64th anniversary edition of the Reporter:

"In the public ministry of Jesus when on earth, He concerned Himself much of the time with those people who are typically Rescue Mission Folk .... He found a place in His program for the poor, the helpless, the sick, the outcasts. . . in those lives He chose to manifest His power. Do we sometimes think we ought not to concern ourselves and spend good money on those who have wasted their lives and are now dependent upon society for help and care? Do we censure them and feel it is their own fault because they are in the condition they are in today? That we would not have allowed ourselves to be beaten like that? Does the church have a responsibility for such as these. . . the unloved, the unlovely, and sometimes almost unlovable?"

"The Mission is an arm of the Church, reaching out to those unfortunate ones outside the pale of the Church, a helping hand that they may be lifted to Christ. Do not think of Rescue Missions as organizations apart from the Church, but rather a part of the Church, definitely fulfilling part of the Church's program."

As the Mission entered the 1950's, the charge of the annual Rescue Mission rally was carried in its theme:

"Forward, forward through the coming year,
Forward, forward, falter not nor fear,
Forward, forward, faithful we would be
While we forward march in '50"

The second half

The second half of the century was to hold numerous surprises and opportunities for service for the Mission and its friends.

In 1949 the Mission lodging house provided a place to bed down for 23,011, and served 34,076 meals. Attendance at 997 meetings was 47,029. And 300 women of various churches within the city served as a working auxiliary.

The numbers and the needs continued as the nation entered into the period of the Korean War. A breakdown of the ages, home towns and work histories of 475 men needing Mission services for a one week period just before Christmas of 1951 revealed that 52 were under 25 years of age; 133 from 45 to 54;107 from 35 to 44; and 61 over the age of 65.

They came from Ohio, Michigan and California as well as New York State. There were machine operators, truck drivers, salesmen, iron workers, firemen, a blacksmith, cabinet makers, decorators, a shoe repairman, an accountant, portrait artist, spring maker and chauffeur.

As he pondered his "guest list," Clinton Tasker reiterated that, "My main work is God's work. . . that the most common reason for the downfall of those the Mission serves is sin, in which drinking plays a major part. Drinking is the ruination of most of the men I've met here. When they can't get hold of a bottle, some of them will make the worst concoctions imaginable."

He continued, "However, drinking isn't the only cause for the plight of these men. Some others are: unfaithful wives, prison records and despondency over loss of jobs and other matters."

Tasker recalled a man who rang the doorbell one afternoon and asked if there "was any hope for him." He had been behind bars for 34 of his 60 years.

Then there was the lawyer who was sent to federal prison for smuggling. Upon his release he showed up at the Mission asking for help and guidance. He was welcomed.

Once in a while kindness backfired. Tasker remembered when "a fellow came here and asked me if I had a Bible I would give him. I had a new one with my name in it, but gave it to him. A little later a downtown bookstore called me and asked if that was my Bible. They gave it back to me. The fellow had hocked it for 75 cents."

The heartache of serving the lost is counterbalanced in many ways by the Missions' service to the young.

Hot dogs get the vote

One Thanksgiving, some 500 children and young people were allowed to choose between turkey and frankfurters for the main dish. The vote was almost unanimous in favor of the hot dogs.

One hundred youngsters sat down each hour for a meal which included, in addition to the 1,300 hot dogs, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots and peas, hot baking powder biscuits, chocolate milk, ice cream, cookies and favors. It was not reported whether any of the turkey dressing came their way.

Christmas was also an exciting time at the Mission. Mr. Tasker remarked at the thousands of gifts, big and little, which were dropped into over 700 25-pound grocery bags. Each was suitably decorated for Christmas.

Then the bags were lined up, row upon row, each having its tag and number for the boys, girls and women of the three Mission branches.

In them were dolls, toys, books, mittens, socks, aprons, toothbrushes, candy, oranges, food, canned goods and "what have we," the superintendent remembered.

Then the packages were given out at several parties, the three largest being held each year just before Christmas.

The decade of the '50s featured another unique idea, this developed in the 1920s by Gretchen Ramsdell.

Let's chase dirt

It was the annual "Chase Dirt" campaign when many mothers of the Mission and its branches signed up for a "clean-up, spruce-up, fix-up" of their own homes.

Held in the spring, it was launched by a "mother's party" where the women met socially and then were issued cleaning supplies. Members of a Mission committee then toured these homes, scoring each on cleanliness, imagination in decorating, and the degree of "fix-up" accomplished. Homekeepers who had completed their clean-up pledge were paid play money in proportion to their effort. This money was used for bidding at the "Chase Dirt Auction."

All sorts of contributed furnishings went on the block at this all-day affair, with luncheon served at noon.

By early 1954, the need for a new Mission facility to handle the more than 50,000 persons served each year in the cramped, 100-year-old quarters at 511 East Washington Street was obvious to the community.

New Quarters sought

A $425,000 capital fund campaign was launched to replace the unsafe, overcrowded structure which was still in use despite concerns expressed in 1946 by State officials. Nothing had gotten better in the interim.

Earland M. Farmer, president of the Gould-Farmer Company, was named general campaign chairman with William L. Hinds, board chairman of the Crouse-Hinds Company, the honorary chairman; E. A. O'Hara, then publisher of the Herald Journal, Herald-American, became public relations chairman. Appointments were made by B. Abbott Meech, the Missions president.

The community fully endorsed the program, with more than 100 area leaders lending their names to the campaign's sponsoring committee. They included such notables as Dr. W. R. G. Baker of General Electric; Major General Ray W. Barker, commandant of The Manlius School; F. Ware Clary; Thomas J. Corcoran; Stewart F. Hancock, Sr.; Anthony A. Henninger; the Right Rev. Walter M. Higley; Bishop W. Earl Ledden; Mayor Donald H. Mead; Chancellor William P. Tolley of Syracuse University; and E. R. Vadeboncoeur of WSYR Radio-TV.

An audience of 325 campaign workers at the April 22, 1954 Kickoff Dinner at the Hotel Syracuse heard Bernard M. Suttler, a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, stress the importance of the Rescue Mission in providing a helping hand "every time a home falls."

Ransom G. Mackenzie, chairman of the Advanced Gifts Division, reported that even though the drive was just getting underway, $57,000 was already pledged. By mid-May the Mission had raised $258,500.

Activities at the Mission continued, with the Pioneers, members of the Rescue Mission Summer Bible School, parading in cowboy and cowgirl costumes to commemorate the start of the school. A covered wagon bearing the words, "Pioneering With Christ,' and three students mounted on ponies, followed flag and Bible bearers to City Hall, then to St. Mary's Circle, and back to the Mission. Some 263 youngsters were signed up for the classes.

A lot adjoining the Missions lodging building was designated for outdoor services on Saturday and Sunday evenings in July and August.

And by July 18, the building campaign, with $384,000 or 90 percent of the money raised, could be termed a success by Board President Meech.

Ground was broken for the Mission's new home in June of 1956 at a site at 805-819 East Washington Street, several blocks east of the L. C. Smith Typewriter plant (now Midtown Plaza). Mrs. Herbert W. Osborn, widow of Herbert Osborn, a board member and Mission secretary for many years, turned the first spadeful of earth.

Quicksand

Engineers soon found the property had a built-in handicap. Because of quicksand, extending in places to a depth of 50 feet, it was necessary to drive 156 pilings, each approximately 40 feet in length.

This led Mr. Tasker to remark that "we are reminded of what the Master said in St. Matthew. 'Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. . . "

With the footings firmed, work progressed and on April 28,1957 the cornerstone was mortared into its special foundation niche by Mr. Meech. Donald W. Darrone, vice president of the Mission, and John C. Parsons, assistant treasurer, participated in the ceremonies before several hundred per-sons including Congressman R. Walter Riehlman.

Clergymen who gave the Invocation were the Rev. Dr. William H. McConaghy, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Dr. Albert L. Baner, pastor of the First Methodist Church, respectively. On the stone was the inscription, "1956—Jesus Said Come Unto Me."

While the final phases of construction were going on at the new Mission, the forebodings of many friends and public officials finally came to pass on the night and morning of May 8-9,1957.

Fire! - Fire!

Sometime before midnight a fire began in the basement of the antique brick building. The flames spread upward through the dumbwaiter well and room partitions.

James Armstrong, on duty as desk clerk, called in the first alarm at 11:50 p.m. Three engines, two hook and ladder trucks, and the rescue squad responded. Four engines and two trucks answered the second alarm 13 minutes later. And three more engines and a truck responded at the 12:13 a.m. third alarm—the highest classification for a Syracuse fire.

Armstrong wasn't idle while waiting for the firemen. He and James Neer, a resident at the Mission, were fighting the flames in the dumbwaiter shaft. Neer was hospitalized with head injuries when a fire extinguisher fell on him. Fortunately, the injury was not serious and he was released shortly afterward.

All of the residents, some 55 men, were safely evacuated by Armstrong and the first firefighters on the scene. By then smoke was billowing in dense clouds.

The fire broke through the roof around 1 a.m. and any hope of saving the building ended. More than a building was endangered, however.

The first serious threat to human life occurred when District Fire Chief Robert Clapper and Lieutenant Wilbur Hess, a member of the Rescue Squad, began sounding parts of the false attic and top floor walls with fire axes. At one point, Clapper suggested Hess open the wall with his axe.

As Hess completed the job, a great burst of flame welled up and into the faces of the two firemen. Both staggered back, intending to play streams directly into the flame, but the dense smoke and heat suddenly dropped Lieutenant Hess. He fell among a tangle of hose lines. Realizing that Hess was unconscious, the Chief struggled to free the lieutenant from the tangled hoseline. He pulled so hard that one of Hess' boots came off.

Clapper, a powerful man, swung the unconscious Hess over his shoulder and carried him down to the street and to the waiting Rescue Squad.

The chief himself then collapsed and was given oxygen. A few minutes later he was up and around.

Lieutenant Hess lay motionless for several moments as other firemen pumped oxygen into his lungs. Then he came around, and was shipped off to the hospital, on the road to recovery from smoke and flame inhalation.

Lieutenant James Exner, a member of Engine Company 2, also had a close call. He felt himself near collapse from smoke inhalation while atop an aerial ladder alongside the building. He clambered down past fellow firemen and just reached street level when he fell over.

He was revived with oxygen and returned to the ladder.

By 1:45 a.m. the fire was under control. But it was too late to save any part of the old building. Almost immediately the Salvation Army offered its facilities as a refuge for the residents.

Fortunately, the adjacent offices were not affected by the $45,000 fire, and the Mission's records and other important materials were saved.

A time of dedication

The new Mission building was dedicated on October 13, 1957 with ceremonies drawing an overflow crowd. People jammed the chapel and spilled over into hallways, the reception room and the basement where proceedings were carried through a public address system.

A news reporter emphasized that "The entire program—a rather informal one—reflected the humility for which the institution is known." George Beverly Shea, soloist with Billy Graham, sang the hymn of dedication.

Again, Bernard Shuttler of the FBI, the keynote speaker for the kickoff banquet three years earlier, gave the main address. He compared the work of the Mission with that of "Dad" Land and the Order of DeMolay, Boys Town and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

"You have erected a bridge of life and home for homeless men of today—and homeless men for tomorrow. You have erected a home for men not yet born, who will lose their way in the morass of trying to earn a living," he continued.

The three-story red-brick structure of contemporary architecture included space for food service, recreation and sleeping quarters for 100 persons.

The chapel, which seated 250, was flanked by prayer rooms where speakers could prepare in quiet; where harassed mortals could seek friendly consultation and penitents could find assurance of new life.

The daily services were conducted by the Yokefellows, laymen especially interested in the Mission and representing a variety of churches. Many were converts whom the Mission brought to Christ. Their ministry to others reflected this background.

The interdenominational fellowship of the board was revealed in its makeup. Mr. Meech, a Methodist, was president. On the board were other Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a Wesleyan and a Congregationalist. The Women's Fellowship Council was even more representative.

Live, teach and preach

In a statement of acceptance upon his reselection as president on November 7,1957, Mr. Meech addressed himself to the issue of future ministry emphasis. He declared, al feel that whether we are so-called 'Fundamentalists' or not, our staff has to preach the 'old fashioned gospel,' and it is my earnest hope and prayer that we, as a Board, will always insist on teaching and preaching that which will exalt Christ as the center and main pillar of our institution. The Social Gospel is good as far as it goes, but there is nothing to take the place of the personal acceptance of Christ in the human heart. May I say as Chairman of this Board, that I am proud of our staff and the religion which they live, teach, and preach"

The Mission continued to operate branch locations, although the building on Tully Street fell to urban renewal. The Mission opened a West Side location on Marcellus Street. The work on the South Side continued at the Gaylord Memorial Building.

Then, in late February of 1959, Mr. Tasker decided the time was right to turn the Mission's leadership over to a new director. He continued to care for those in need by accepting the Chairmanship of the Evangelical Child and Family Welfare Service.