Preface
The history
of the Syracuse Rescue Mission is the story of a long
line of dedicated men and women who have successfully
prevailed against hard times, wars and often, an uncaring
social climate for the lost and unloved.
The concept came first from a task force of
local churchmen who saw the need to save souls amongst
the saloons, dance halls and disorderly houses along
Syracuse's Railroad Street.
They were fortunate in turning to Henry
B. Gibbud and his wife, Ellen, to establish a permanent
mission. They were people of exceptional faith,
dedication and talent.
A recent letter to Clarence Jordan from
Art Benson best describes the spiritual strength
exhibited by the Gibbuds, as related to him by Mrs.
Gibbud a number of years ago.
It seems that Henry Gibbud wanted to
attend a convention of mission workers being held in
Rochester, but he had no cash. His wife urged him to get
ready and to go to the depot, "And maybe the Good
Lord will find a way if He wants you to go."
The next morning he was in the waiting
room of the old New York Central station, all dressed up
and perhaps with no place to go.
At that moment, a Syracuse businessman,
who was an acquaintance, passed by, then turned.
"Where are you going, Mr.
Gibbud?"
"I'm hoping to go to the Mission
Convention in Rochester," he answered.
The businessman reached into his
pocket, handed Gibbud a twenty-dollar bill and urged him
to, "Have a good time."
In those days the $20 not only paid for
the round-trip train fare but for all of his room and
meals while away.
As Art Benson stated, "How about
that for faith.?"
There is no shortage of anecdotes nor
of source material about the Rescue Mission from its
earliest days to the present. The Mission has
meticulously maintained its minute books, its historic
correspondence and a wealth of news clippings, magazine
articles and photographs, which miraculously survived
several disastrous fires.
Furthermore, the broad community
involvement over the years and the many lives the Mission
has affected mean that there are a great number of people
today who can vividly remember their relationship with
the Mission and its history. Leora Huttar, for one,
provided us with a moving and valuable memorandum on
Willard Walker, engineer, inventor and long-time
supporter of the Mission and its ideals.
Additional help in preparing this
history was forthcoming from the library of the Syracuse
Newspapers, the files of the Onondaga Historical
Association and the guidance of Richard Wright and the
late Violet Hoesler, the stacks of the Local History
section of the Onondaga Public Library and the resources
of the Erie Canal Museum.
An special vote of thanks must be given
to Dede Snyder of the Mission staff for her role in
bird-dogging the entire project, her editorial help, and
her guidance in all areas of production.
Richard F. Palmer
Henry W. Schramm
January 15, 1987
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