"Cities, Towns & Countryside"

4th Annual Preservation Week 2002 Photo-Essay Competition

Third Place: Megan Royster
6th Grade, South Marshall Middle School
Benton, Kentucky

Title: Olive United Methodist Church, Olive

Preserving America's history is vital to this nation's sense of pride in it's heritage. Likewise, many places and many buildings, though sometimes neglected, lend meaning to the rich heritage this country possesses. American was founded upon the principle of freedom. One of the freedoms diligently sought by the first settlers of our country was the freedom from religious persecution. It was in this spirit that America established its own places to worship, churches that began as little more than one room cabins and that today flourish as cathedrals and large worship centers. The small country churches do still exist, rich with their own history extending back generations in membership and attendance. One such church is located in the small community of Olive, Kentucky. The Olive United Methodist Church there is a historic site well worth preservation and, as many other small community churches, has its own legacy being fulfilled continually, based on a solid foundation built by its founding members.

Aline Lovett, my great-grandmother, explained to me the history of Olive United Methodist Church to me. She is quite knowledgeable about the church since she has been a member there since 1930 and has taught Sunday school there for a total of 43 years. She explained that things were very different then. No one worked on Sunday. Everyone set aside that day of the week for worship. At first the church met in a lodge which split services in the morning and afternoon with the Baptist Church. In 1924, the original church building was complete and a church bell served as both an invitation to Sunday or revival services and as a call to the men of the community that someone had died and a grave needed to be dug. The men would show up with picks and shovels to dig the grave when they heard the church bell. Revivals lasted for two weeks, with morning and night services. School was not in session when revival was taking place.

According to my great-grandmother, the first church was very cold in the winter. Whoever arrived first was responsible for putting coal in the stove to heat the church. She said that everyone wore their coats on through the service because it never really got warm before services were over.

The current Olive United Methodist Church building was built in 1941. Made of sand colored rock, this stone and mortar building was a sturdy, formidable building compared to the white wooden one room building that preceded it as the church building. To build the new church the church bell had to be sold in order to sufficient funds for construction. One member, Charlie Lovett never gave up his search and pursuit of the church bell's purchase for use once again of the church. In 1990 Charlie Lovett received a call from the family of a man who had recently died. They wanted to donate the bell to the church. It was with great joy that the church bell was united with the Olive United Methodist Church after its restoration to its original condition.

Over the years, Olive United Methodist Church has been the church of multiple generations of the same families. My own family has attended the church for five generations. When I hear the stories about our church and my family's contributions to its beginning and the years since then I feel a link to the past and am proud of my family's heritage there. The church has been the site of numerous conversions, dedications, and weddings, occasions of great celebration. It has also been the site of many funerals, those of Christian soldiers whose dedication and love for the church leaving this world with their last stop they so cherished in life. For all of the reasons previously mentioned, and for many others unknown but present, the Olive United Methodist Church is indeed a site deserving of preservation.

This essay and photograph(s) are the property of Preservation Kentucky, Inc. and Kentucky Heritage Council and that any use of the photo or essay must be approved by PK and KHC.