Rabbit Box Blog

Mom recently told me that when her family moved to the old Nantz farm, they could walk a path through the woods to Alexis Baptist Church. Family lore is that her great-grandfather, Robert Nantz, had built the brush arbor that the new congregation used for worship when the church was founded in 1903. The family had been members at Mount Zion Baptist Church (in fact, Robert is buried there), but they banded with a group of people from Alexis to start a church that was closer to home.

If you follow the roads, the way from the farm to Alexis Baptist is about a mile. But looking at the map, it appears that the old path must have been much shorter. It had disappeared by the time I can remember.

By the time the Sheltons took possession of the farm, the brush arbor had been replaced with a wooden church building. If I remember correctly Mom said she was in fifth grade. Her brother Harold was just a year or so older. Mom said the church paid Harold 25 cents a week to go to church early and start a fire in the stove when needed, then ring the church bell to signal the congregation to service.

He didn’t have a watch, so he borrowed the family’s wind-up alarm clock to let him know when it was time to ring the bell. She said he saved up his money until he had enough to buy a wrist watch, which was easier than carrying an alarm clock through the woods.