Glynda Schroeder
Interviewed by Deborah Cartwright and Jacque Smith
Glynda Schroeder has been a resident of Elgin for over sixty years and continues to be active in civic affairs, volunteering for Cattlemen for Cancer Research and other organizations. She was a writer for the local newspaper and was employed by the Elgin Independent School District. Glynda offers fond recollections of her time as a member and musician at First United Methodist Church, recounting the decision that she and her husband made to join and raise their three sons there. Her account of the sanctuary's stained-glass windows, her musicianship, and the fire that seriously damaged the facility in the 1970s is informative and inspirational.
The interview was conducted by Deborah Cartwright with audio assistance from Jacque Smith, both members of the board of directors of the Elgin Oral History Project. Ms. Cartwright was raised in Elgin and retired from her work as an attorney in 2021. She is an active community volunteer in non-profit and governmental organizations. Ms. Smith is a talented artist who retired to Elgin about ten years ago. She is interested in preserving the community's history and rural heritage.
Interviewer - Today is Wednesday, August 30th, 2023, and we're at the home of Glynda Schroeder in Elgin, Texas, recording an oral history from you as part of the Elgin Oral History Project. It will be used for generations to educate the young and old about life in Elgin, good and bad, through memories and personal recollections. The recording will be preserved in a database for the project and ultimately posted on a website. The Elgin Oral History Project organization is a community based, not-for-profit entity. Do I have your consent to record this interview today?
Glynda - Yes, you do.
Interviewer - Thank you. My name is Debbie Cartwright, and I serve on the board of the Elgin Oral History Project. With me today is Jacque Smith, who is also on the board of directors. The board determined that capturing the history of Elgin First United Methodist Church, especially about its building and origins, would be valuable during its sesquicentennial year. I'm interviewing a group of people who've been part of the church in the past to provide their perspectives about the church and share personal stories about your time there. So, let's begin.
What is your first memory of the First United Methodist Church of Elgin when you arrived? What did you think about the sanctuary, the people, the music, the worship experience, just generally how you felt—your first memory when you came to church?
Glynda - I felt welcome. I was amazed at the beauty of the sanctuary. I came from a rural Baptist church, and JP, my husband, came from the Lutheran Church in Elgin. We chose to be Methodist so we could take our family to church. One church. And it worked out beautifully. We were nurtured. We were welcomed. I remember the first pastor I met had us, J.P. and I, and Heine and Martha Neidig in a class to study Methodism. And that was nice. And we began by being active members. And I remember seeing an upright piano in the sanctuary. And it was not used. And it bothered me because I grew up being a musician in the church from probably age 13 on. And Zoe Webb played the organ beautifully, but I thought she needed a piano with it, and she welcomed me. J.P. mentioned that it bothered me that the piano was there and not used.
Interviewer - It would have bothered me too!
Glynda - I thought so! And so, she cordially invited me to join her with the hymns. And it eventually led to more through the years. I did that for a number of years, and then we would do cantatas, you know, and I would accompany the choir. And then I taught myself what I know, what little I know about the organ, because I'd never played one before I came here in 1960.
Interviewer - Tell me about the pipe organ itself. Was it there as it is now when you started?
Glynda - It was a different organ. But yes, there was a beautiful pipe organ. I had never played one before, never really been around one. And so, I would go up in the dead of winter, and then they didn't keep constant control in the sanctuary. I would just freeze, or I would suffer with the heat in the summer. But I taught myself. And Zoe helped me a lot. But it was a beautiful instrument until the fire. And of course, it didn't last through the fire. The piano was saved, but not the organ, and it was replaced with another pipe organ.
Interviewer - And that was my next question. So, that was in 1972?
Glynda - 1971 or '72
Interviewer - . . . when the new pipe organ was installed?
Glynda - Yes. Yes, it was provided by the Rivers family--both of them.
Interviewer - Were you involved in the decision about what organ to buy since you were playing it?
Glynda - No, I really don't think I was. I'm sure Zoe was, but not me.
Interviewer - So, how many years were you the church musician?
Glynda - Oh, I've counted up, and it's probably 25 to 30 years, and I feel like that was God's gift to me that I could give the church.
Interviewer - I understand. I felt the same way. And you played for—were there two services every Sunday, or how did that evolve?
Glynda - No, for most of my years there was only one service. There was choir practice on Wednesday, every Wednesday night, then one service on Sunday. That started after I retired. Yes.
Interviewer - And was Zoe Webb the choir director the entire time you were there?
Glynda - Yes. Yes, she was. She was quite, quite busy in the church.
Interviewer - Yes. And tell me about the choir a little more. How many were there generally and what kind of work did they do?
Glynda - Oh, we met every Wednesday night to go over several pieces of music, mainly the one for that Sunday. But we had a backup. Everything was done for, I’ll say, three weeks at least, and then we performed it. And then Zoe would always choose a cantata for the Christmas holidays. And it was amazing how she worked so hard and tried to select what would fit our choir, which was at times very small and at times larger. We were heavy on women and short on men. We sounded pretty good, and I sang in the choir until I was accompanist.
Interviewer - Were there are as many as 50 members of the choir? Or was it smaller than that?
Glynda - It was smaller. It was, I would say from 8 to 12 to maybe 15. But then the community choir would get together, as you know, and we would grow. It was wonderful.
Interviewer- You said there was an upright piano when you were first there. When did the baby grand come on to the stage?
Glynda - It was—it was shortly after, I guess maybe, well, shortly in years. It was probably eight years, I'll say. And what a gift. Yes, what a gift. Both instruments are amazing to me. We're so fortunate. I felt like I was so fortunate to get to play a pipe organ and such a beautiful piano.
Interviewer - Yeah. And the piano and organ are both in good condition today—25—30 years later.
Glynda - It's amazing that that piano was saved with all the smoke and the water during the fire.
Interviewer - That was one of my questions down the list a little bit. I will ask it now. Tell us more about the fire, because that was a very traumatic event. If you could tell us about how it started, how you all got involved in cleaning up the fire.
Glynda - One night--and I don't remember what the date--but it was in '71 or '72, we got word that the church was on fire, and it turned out that we had an annex that went from the sanctuary into the annex that was hooked on. And the fire started. We had four furnaces, and there was something left on top of the furnace and that started the fire. And it was quite a quite a tragic thing and emotional. Members and neighbors went to pull out the pews. The pews were all pulled out and saved and put on one of the Kay Hicks trucks and hauled somewhere to be refurbished. The piano was gotten out. The rendering of Christ at the door that's on the wall by the pipes of the organ was saved because members came and were able to remove it from the wall. So that was saved, and it is still on the wall now. It was reattached.
Interviewer - I've heard stories before that Shirley Lundgren was involved in that.
Glynda - Shirley Lundgren and I think Joanna Hicks had something to do with saving it. But everybody had a task and went to it. And we worked on the piano, got all the water out, removed and course got it dried out, and it was taken care of, but the organ couldn't be saved. All the pews, as well as I can remember, were saved. And it was quite—we had I think that was on a Saturday maybe—we had church the next morning in the church yard.
Interviewer - Wow.
Glynda - And it was April Fools. April Fools Day. I remember that now.
Interviewer- How about the flooring in the church? Did it damage it?
Glynda - I know it did. I know it must have. Somehow that escapes me, I guess to me was minor when you think of all the furniture and everything.
Interviewer - The stained glass was saved?
Glynda - The stained glass was not harmed at all. I'm sure I say that, but I'm sure with a heat and fire, it was harmed in some way, but no stained-glass windows were destroyed, which is amazing.
Interviewer - Yes, it is.
Glynda - And in 2013, we had a project to re-cover and protect those stained-glass windows. The outside covering was plastic and it turned yellow. And you couldn't see the beautiful color in the windows. So, we raised almost $100,000 and were able to have people come in who work with churches, and they re-leaded the stained glass and repaired anything wood-wise that needed to be. And we felt so fortunate to be able to do that. And we had a re-dedication of our windows.
Interviewer- Is there any one window that is especially important to you?
Glynda - I love the one in the east where the sun comes up.
Interviewer - It’s my favorite also. I am glad that you that you mentioned that. Could you describe it for the record?
Glynda - Well, it's very colorful and it's Jesus with his open arms. And I don't remember details. I just love it. And sunrise service on Easter is so special when the sun would rise and come through, and the colors would fill the sanctuary. And then in the west, you have the sunset. And those are special too. But they're all so special.
Interviewer - Each one of them has the recognition of the person who placed it there with the dates and also gives a history.
Glynda - The person whose honor or memory it is in, the plaque is there; the name is there; and the year, I suppose. I need to pay more attention. But those windows were one of the things that I enjoyed the most when I first came here.
Interviewer- Are there are other unique aspects of the sanctuary that you'd like to mention?
Glynda - Well, the shape. I had never been—well, maybe I had attended a church when I was in college that was shaped a little bit like that. But the semicircle—it's wonderful and it's hard also. It's hard to have a wedding because you have you don't have one long aisle. You have two short ones. But to me, it's just so unusual and unique in that you can see all your fellow Methodists or whomever is there. I think it's quite unusual.
Interviewer - Yes. And the choir loft is in the front of the church.
Glynda - Yes. Yes. It's right there in front. You can't get by with much in that choir. The choir loft. But I like that, too.
Interviewer - Something that interests me too is the old photographs showing that there were two entrances right at the front of the church at one time--where it comes to a corner now with a wall that has a stained-glass window and just one door. You don't have any recollection of that change, do you?
Glynda - I don't. I really don't. That must have been before my time. And I remember the oak doors that were placed in those two entrances. They were beautiful, and the church is just such a treasure to me.
Interviewer - You've mentioned the painting of Jesus in the front, knocking on the door, which is an iconic picture. Do you remember or have you ever heard the history of how it got there? I mean, who put it there? Was it dedicated at any point? Do you know? Because I don’t and I'm curious.
Glynda - Right. As far as I know, it was not dedicated, but in my mind, there was something to do with maybe one of the soldiers at Camp Swift doing that. There is a history about who did it and when.
Interviewer - I’ll try to find out. I thought you might have a recollection. How would you say that the church impacted your faith?
Glynda - Well, we became involved, like I say, when we first got married, and we had three sons, and they all grew up in the church. But I don't think I would have loved Elgin like it do now if it hadn't been for the church and the people in it who welcomed me. And I really feel like the Susanna Wesley Circle got me going because it was with ladies of my age. We had the big UMW, United Methodist organization, and then we had smaller circles, and we were all women who had children about the same age. And it was kind of a therapy for me. And I began to feel like I belonged because I came from a different culture. And a different area of Texas.
Interviewer - You were from the Panhandle—West Texas? What town?
Glynda - Lamesa, Texas. And I still cherish being raised there. But Elgin is my home.
Interviewer- And the circles were very important social groups at the time. That was in the seventies and eighties that you're referring to, I believe.
Glynda - We studied the Bible and then we ate, of course, Methodist always eat! And we had, you know, we had our social time too, but it was so—I needed that because I really didn't know anyone except JP’s family. And it was special to me. It helped me a lot as well, being a part of the choir.
Interviewer - Is there a special story about that time that you could share with us—some event that happened or something that you really appreciated, whether it was a special service at Christmas or an event that happened during vacation Bible school or any number of opportunities? is there something special that stands out for you?
Glynda - I think Christmas and Easter were my special times. First of all, being involved with the music of those holidays and those wonderful times. But I never will forget during one Christmas, we were going to have a children's or young people's Christmas program, and they asked my oldest son to be Joseph and he didn't want to be Joseph. And I tried to encourage him, but I finally let go and he didn't play Joseph. So anyway, I remember that and I don't know why! The boys were all confirmed in the church and I'm thankful for that. And they are Methodist now. They have been Lutheran part of the time, some of them, but they are very oriented in the church and have worked to make it better and taken roles in the church.
Interviewer - How do you want First United Methodist Church to be understood by future generations?
Glynda - I would hope that history [will reflect] those pioneers, all those people I knew who are no longer with us—wonderful people who worked so hard through so much to make a strong church, a strong house of God. And I hope that everyone who comes through there will feel the love that I felt, and that they will be strong in their faith in the Bible and carry on. I hope to see that church here for many years and functioning as it should.
Interviewer- Thank you. And this is a record that I know that the sesquicentennial group will treasure to have as part of the celebration next year. Thank you, Glynda, for your time today.
Glynda - I'm honored to be asked. Thank you.