Friendship Tabernacle in Woodland, Washington USA

I'm not sure where to post this question, so I thought I'd put it in this category. I know this is a long shot, but has anyone ever heard of FRIENDSHIP TABERNACLE in Woodland, Washington? This church no longer exists, however, I recently found my Grandmother's obituary from a 1943 newspaper. My grandmother, Ollie Warren was a Spiritualist medium. According to this obituary her funeral was at Friendship Tabernacle. I can't find any information on this church. My Dad was only 4 when my Grandmother passed on, and he has no recollection of the church. I was just wondering if anyone out there ever heard of it, or how I could go about finding any information on it.

I hope people on here can help you eirefox

Nothing on Google so your next best step could be to contact the archivist at Lily Dale Assembly. They hold back issues of many now defunct Spiritualist papers and your Grandma's obit from 1943 could appear in one of those along with some detail of her work. The Spiritualist Press was ephemeral, publications came and went, with some titles quite regional in focus so you'd need to find out which paper or papers found circulation around Washington in the 40s. The archivist will know that for sure.
Good luck with your search and may Ollie and other helping spirits guide you to success eirefox.
Likely you're mediumistic too. It runs in families, so you could try just asking Ollie direct what to do next. They're all as close to us as our own next heartbeat are our loved ones in Spirit.

Somebody just said......
'He knows more than he's telling'
so maybe if your Dad's around to speak to.....
Mediums' kids can be embarrased by what their parents get up to, even at four years old. For sure your Dad was cooed over by more than one working medium when he was a little whippersnapper.

Hi KatyKing,
I've tried asking Ollie, but I don't seem to get any quidence from her, nor from my Maternal Grandmother who used to attend Ollie's Home Circles. I'm not sure why I never get any guidence from them (I actually doubt that I have a mediumistic bone in my bone). But yes, I will try to contact Lily Dale Assembly and see if they can help me out. I've contacted the National Association of Spiritualists but Oregon and Washington Churches are generally 'Christian' Spiritualists, and generally tend to not join the National Association, so my there is no record of my Grandmother associated with the National Assembly (I don't remember the actual name of the National Association of Spiritualist Churches).

dt L

KatyKing wrote:Nothing on Google so your next best step could be to contact the archivist at Lily Dale Assembly. They hold back issues of many now defunct Spiritualist papers and your Grandma's obit from 1943 could appear in one of those along with some detail of her work. The Spiritualist Press was ephemeral, publications came and went, with some titles quite regional in focus so you'd need to find out which paper or papers found circulation around Washington in the 40s. The archivist will know that for sure.
Good luck with your search and may Ollie and other helping spirits guide you to success eirefox.
Likely you're mediumistic too. It runs in families, so you could try just asking Ollie direct what to do next. They're all as close to us as our own next heartbeat are our loved ones in Spirit.

Katy, It would not surprise me at all if my Dad knows more than he's saying. Oddly, he doesn't share a lot of information with me about his Mom and Dad.

KatyKing wrote:Somebody just said......
'He knows more than he's telling'
so maybe if your Dad's around to speak to.....
Mediums' kids can be embarrased by what their parents get up to, even at four years old. For sure your Dad was cooed over by more than one working medium when he was a little whippersnapper.

Well that's dads for you.
Thing about spiritualist press certainly here is that its not necessarily denominational so you could find reports from all strands if you are lucky and find a paper or journal that covered that region back in the day.
If its meant to be it'll happen and don't for a minute imagine Ollie' not in touch. Where do you imagine this desire to find out came from?
Sit for development, there'll be somewhere you can do that.
Sure to be.

eirefox, have you tried the local newspaper archives around the area. The internet collections are quite extensive, some you have to pay for, some subscribe but many are free. May take some hacking through but Portland library may well have originals in their archives or on microfiche.

Jim

This is very interesting. A cousin of mine emailed me today, and sent me a page from an online book about Woodland, WA. Here's what it says, "FELLOWSHIP TABERNACLE -The Fellowship Tabernacle started the Spring of 1933 by Pastors Herbert and Rose Fidler. Charter members were Mrs. Charles Ekman, Mrs. Charles Manke, Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Breedlove, Mrs. Olive Stennerson, and Mr. and Mrs. Walter Warren." Now, what's very intresting about this is: Mrs. Charles Manke was my Maternal Grandmother; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Warren were my Dad's parents. I knew that my Mom's Mom knew the Warrens, but I had no idea they knew each other so well! My conclusion is that Fellowship Tabernacle must have been a Spiritualist Church, because I know for a fact that my Grandmother Warren (Ollie) was a medium, and that my Mom's Mom (Mrs Charles Manke) and other Mankes used to go to Ollie's home for meetings.

Admin wrote:eirefox, have you tried the local newspaper archives around the area. The internet collections are quite extensive, some you have to pay for, some subscribe but many are free. May take some hacking through but Portland library may well have originals in their archives or on microfiche.

Jim

Sounds Spiritualist too. Overtly Christian tabernacles tend to have Full Gospel or Zion or some similar explicitly Christian label before the word Tabernacle.
Long shot this.
Does anyone in the family have any of Ollie's books or papers? Could be notes or similar in amongst pages. Maybe a family Bible.
Stennerson's a Lutheran name if ever I heard one. Ekman could be anabaptist, lots of Hutterite Ekman's north of you. Anabaptists are very prone to Spiritualism. Amish old orders have 'pow wow' doctors who are mediums and healers especially in Schwartzentruber sub sect.
Nice mix of backgrounds, must have made for interesting meetings and fruitfully evidential sittings.

Rose and Albert Fidler were evangelists of the Foursquare Gospel Church they came to Woodland to plant a church there. Rose was musical. Neighbours complained of noisy meetings. They were holiness folk like pentecostals but no speaking in tongues.
Ollie joined ew church. They held home prayer metings. Ollie's home group became Spiritualistic. Church split then folded and Rose n Albert departed for pastures new. Ollie continued holding home meetings that prospered and grew but no formal spiritualist church was planted. There' a small but faithful spiritualist remnant around that area still.
Hope that helps.

He was definitely anAlbert I am informed.
All that just in.
Hope its checkable.

Katy, How do you know this about the Fidlers and Ollie? Was this a spirit message you received, or do you have some sort of documentation? Wherever you got this info from, it sounds accurate. Since I was a boy I was told that Ollie held home meetings. That's why I was a little confused when I found out that she and my Grandmother Manke helped found a church. But, I've heard stories of my Grandmother Manke and uncles and aunts going to Ollie's home for meetings. She was a physical medium (trumpet and all). A particular uncle of mine would get trumpet messages from Chief Red Blanket. Ollie was a large woman, and always opened her meetings by singing "I Come to the Garden Alone."
Unfortunately, I only have one photo of my grandmother. I'm going to go to my Dad's in the next couple of weeks and rummage through his boxes and see if I can find anything more personal of hers, but I doubt he has anything. But, we'll see.
I feel that I'm beginning to make progress on this!
I haven't heard back from Lily Dale yet. The NSAC emailed and say they have no record of Ollie.
But, please let me know the source of your information. It sounds very likely, and was what was already going through my head.

Lady called Joanna told me and she sends her regards to you.
Nothing beyond what I typed here at all I'm in England. If it's valid it'll be checkable.
Joanna passed to Spirit in London back in 1814 but she likes to keep busy.
She's a bit of a 'busybody' actually but, what the heck; who doesn't love a good mystery?
Let me know how you get on and be assured that you have friends and those who love you on spirit side guiding each step.
Do write this up if you get anwhere eirefox. Such stories are made for the telling.
And you really should sit for development, as you have been told in the past; there is work for you to do.... Claiming that you do not have a mediumistic bone in you body does not,as you well know; make that claim come true.
That dream you had was a signpost along this journey..

Lots of mediums are on the plump side, we need the padding. There's a tale told of a prankster at Lily Dale who went round one night and repainted the wording on signs outside some of the more rotund mediums' cottages..
from
Medium
to
Extra Lage

I found info on Rose Fidler. She was associated with the Pentecostals, and she seems to have travelled some to establish churches in Washington and Oregon. Her husband was a Ticker Taker on the bridge in Longview, Washington that crosses the Columbia River and connects Washington State and Oregon State (this was in a Census I found online). I'm slightly puzzled as to why my Grandmother Ollie would help found a Pentecostal Church if she was a medium. So, JoAnn is probably right on about this. Perhaps Ollie and my relatives founded a Home Circle AFTER they became Pentecostal, and this would obviously start a rift in a Pentecostal Church. However, Rose Fidler did perform the funeral service in the Fellowship Tablernacle in 1943 when my Grandmother passed on.
I talked with my Dad some more about this. He was only about 7 when his Mom died, and swears he has no recollection of Spiritualism as a boy. I'm wondering if Ollie's husband didn't get involeved in Spiritualism. My Dad says that his father didn't go to Church (as far as he recalls) but always sent him (my dad) to Sunday School. My grandfather died in 1950. My Dad went into the military, and didn't stay in touch with any family members until about a decade or two ago, so most of that generation is gone.
I will continue looking into this. Once I get some time off of work I'm going to go to the Cowlitz County Historical Society and spend a day looking into old records.
I'm also going to search my Dad's attic for any information he may have.
I emailed a cousin, and he hasn't replied. I think he doesn't like the idea of Spiritualism lurking in the family history.
I agree with you, Katy. I should probably pursure spirituality more. I rarely go to any Spiritualist Church meetings, but tend to go to the local Church of England. I step into a Spiritualist Church once or twice a year. But, I believe in Spiritualism, and read material on the subject every day.
The 'problem' with Spiritualism in my family is this: there is a divide in thought among my relations. Those who go to mediums keep it Hush-Hush, and refuse to speak to too many about it for fear of criticism. Me and my immediate family are the 'black sheep' of the family, and there are cousins who we associate with who are also 'black sheep.' We can't discuss these things or be too overt about them with other family members. It's hard to explain without going into great detail, but often Spiritualism is an 'underground' activity here because of Closed Minds.
I send my greetings and thanks to JoAnn. I think she is right on about her information!
King"] Lady called Joanna told me and she sends her regards to you.
Nothing beyond what I typed here at all I'm in England. If it's valid it'll be checkable.
Joanna passed to Spirit in London back in 1814 but she likes to keep busy.
She's a bit of a 'busybody' actually but, what the heck; who doesn't love a good mystery?
Let me know how you get on and be assured that you have friends and those who love you on spirit side guiding each step.
Do write this up if you get anwhere eirefox. Such stories are made for the telling.
And you really should sit for development, as you have been told in the past; there is work for you to do.... Claiming that you do not have a mediumistic bone in you body does not,as you well know; make that claim come true.
That dream you had was a signpost along this journey..[/quote]

Looks good eirefox you are on the trail hope you find more evidence. Some Episcopalians were Spiritualists too. Check out Bishop James Pike.

Very heartwarming how this unfolded so far for you eriefox. Good work to everyone that brought info to you.

Lynn

I've finished my research on my Grandmother and on the Fellowship Tabernacle of Woodland, WA.
The following may be long (and possibly boring) to anyone reading it. But, since it was this story that first brought me to this board, I thought I'd share it:

My Grandmother, Ollie Christian Warren, was born in July of 1892 in Kansas. She was born to Levin and Leatha Mills. She had two younger siblings named Minnie and Lizzie. Not a lot is known about Ollie’s early life.
Ollie married a man named Amos David Troxel in 1911. They had no children. Amos passed away on May 23, 1925. He was buried in Iowa.
Now, there is a mystery involved with Amos and Ollie. He passed away in May of 1925, and is buried in Iowa. However, Ollie was married to my Grandfather, Walter L. Warren on November 18, 1925 in Vancouver, Washington. This is only 6 months after Amos’ passing away. It always seemed odd to me that Ollie would leave Iowa, travel to the Pacific Northwest and have a whirl-wind marriage to Walter L. Warren. Then I read the book Thank You God by Evangelist Rose M. Fidler. My Grandparents knew Rose Fidler. I believe that Ollie and her first husband, Amos are mentioned in this book. Ollie and Amos were possibly living in Longview, Washington in the early ‘20s. Longview, Washington was a planned city which was in July, 1923. In February of 1924, it was incorporated and a municipal government was established. Rose Fidler’s husband, Herbert was Captain of the Ferryboat that crossed between Rainier, Oregon and Longview, Washington. The Ferryboat was going to tie up on the Longview side of the river instead of the Rainier side, since Longview was growing so rapidly in only a couple of years time. This meant that the Fidlers had to move to Longview. I believe it was in Longview that Ollie and Amos Troxel first met Rose Fidler. It’s very possible that Ollie and Amos Troxel had moved out here from Iowa, and that he passed away in Washington State, and that his body was shipped home to Iowa for burial. It all ties in: the timing, the reason for Ollie’s whirl-wind marriage to Walter L. Warren, and the fact that Rose Fidler mentions a Mrs. Troxel in her book. Now, the book is poorly written, but I found it interesting because of the connection to my Grandparents. Here is what she wrote on page 59 of Thank You God: I went to see some new arrivals and met Mrs. Troxel. She was receptive to the Scripture and seemed happy to know about God. It was not long before she gave her heart to God and was born again. Her whole life style changed. She had become a new creature in Christ Jesus. She read her Bible and started going to Church. Her husband was distressed over the change in her for she wouldn’t do the things she had done before. He got so depressed and sad that he tried to commit suicide. He drank some battery acid. At three o’clock in the morning the telephone rang…… we quickly dressed and hurried over (to Mrs Troxel’s home). We laid hands on him and cried out to God. “Please God spare this life.” He immediately vomited, but his throat was badly burned. Mrs. Troxel had gone to the neighbor’s house to telephone.
The neighbor thought it was strange that she had not called the doctor, so they called both the doctor and the police. The doctor arrived first. He was very angry. “What’s going on here?” “We prayed for him and he vomited,” I answered. “Is that the vomitus on the floor?” he asked as he started his examination. “He’s badly burned.”
The policeman arrived next and said, “What is this all about?” Then he spotted the doctor. “Oh, Doctor, you are here; I guess everything is under control.” They left together.
We stayed and quietly prayed. I laid my hand on his throat; it was burning hot.
“Don’t take your hand away. I can’t feel the pain when you hold your hand there.” I stayed with him all the rest of that day and part of the night. He finally went to sleep. My hand was still burning hot but I was now able to go home completely exhausted. God healed him and the next day he gave his heart to God. Joy and pace then filled that home.”
Can I be sure that the above story relates to Ollie and Amos Troxel? No, I can’t. It doesn’t mention Ollie by her first name, and it actually calls her husband John in one part (his name was Amos). However, the book was written in 1979, which is 55 years after this event probably happened, and Rose was a very old woman by then. So, she was going by memory. However, it does fit into the time-line of Ollie showing up in historical records of Washington State, and also there is a proven connection between Ollie and Rose Fidler. I believe that the above story does relate to Ollie and Amos Troxel, and I also believe that Amos did not truly recover from drinking battery acid, but that he died from the suicide attempt… or perhaps from another suicide attempt in 1925.
So, for me, the mystery as to WHY Ollie would marry Walter L. Warren six months after Amos’ passing is solved. They had moved to Longview, Washington around 1924 and Amos passed away in 1925. His body was shipped home for burial, and Ollie remained here. She apparently was acquainted with Walter L. Warren, and so they married in November of 1925.
Ollie kept a relationship with Rose Fidler. She also knew my maternal Grandparents, Mr and Mrs Charles Manke. In 1933 Rose Fidler broke away from a small Church she was preaching at in Rainier, Oregon. The Church wanted to join the Foursquare denomination, and Rose was not interested in doing this. She also had a desire to start a ministry in Woodland, Washington. In the book Fields of Flowers and Forests of Firs...A HISTORY OF THE WOODLAND COMMUNITY…1850 ~ 1958 as revised by Judy Card, we read a short piece about the founding of this Church. It reads: The Fellowship Tabernacle started the Spring of 1933 by Pastors Herbert and Rose Fidler. Charter members were Mrs. Charles Ekman, Mrs. Charles Manke, Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Breedlove, Mrs. Olive Stennerson, and Mr. and Mrs. Walter Warren.
Now, Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Warren were my father’s parents. Mrs. Charles Manke was my mother’s mother. They were friends. Together they helped start the Fellowship with the Fidlers.
There seems to be a mystery involved with both of my Grandmother’s. Although they clearly were involved in the Christian ministry of Fellowship Tabernacle, they were also involved in Spiritualism. But, is this a mystery, or is it the natural outcome of the type of ministry that Rose Fidler ran? Rose Fidler clearly did not want to be associated with any denomination. Fellowship Tabernacle did eventually join the Open Bible Church denomination. No one seems to know when the Church this denomination, but it seems that it was decades after its founding in 1933. I believe that Rose Fidler herself was a medium, although she would not have called herself one. She would have used the word ‘prophetess’ or ‘inspired.’ Throughout her book Rose records divine healings, visions, visits from the departed, the raising of the dead, divine premonitions, spirit voices, and more. To me, some of these events could have been from her imagination; or perhaps some of it was exaggeration; some of it was clearly from hysteria caused by emotional agitation during highly-emotional meetings. Some of it, I’m sure, really happened. One interesting story Rose tells is when she recalls that before her ministry began, she would tell fortunes, and that she was often consulted for fortune telling, and that the fortunes would often come to pass. So, it should not come as a surprise that my Grandmother Ollie was a practicing medium.
When I was about eighteen, I was staying at the Oregon Coast with an aunt and uncle. This was my mom’s brother, Uncle Eldon. Eldon is now gone. But, we were sitting at his kitchen table, discussing family history. He informed me that my grandparents from both sides knew each other. I’d never been told this before. He said that the Mankes would go to the Warren’s home for séances. He said that Ollie would sit everyone around a large table. She would open the séance by singing I Come to the Garden Alone. She would go into a trance, and then ‘things would happen.’ He claimed that Ollie was a physical medium. She used a trumpet, which would be sitting in the middle of the table. During the séance, the trumpet would begin to vibrate and would rise up off of the table. It would pass through the air and would ‘visit’ with guests at the table. He says that my uncle Sam would get a spirit voice from the trumpet from his spirit guide, Chief Red Blanket.
I believed my Uncle. However, I wanted to be sure. So, one day my Uncle Sam had come to visit, and was sitting at the table. I turned to him and said, “Have you heard from Chief Red Blanket lately?” He turned as white as a ghost and looked away from me. He clearly was frightened by the memory.
My Grandmother passed away in Portland, Oregon on March 2, 1943. She had been an invalid for several years before her death, due to a heart attack caused from complications of diabetes. My Grandfather, Walter had to attend to her 24 hours a day during her last years. A cousin of mine recently emailed me about Ollie’s death. He recalled, “We had no phone where we lived out Green Mountain road and my mother (Walter and Ollie’s daughter) had asked how she would know if Ollie passed on. Ollie told her that not to worry she would let mom know. The day Ollie passed away my mother was too ill to get out of bed. She told Donna and I that Grandma Ollie had passed on. Later that morning the man down the road came to our house and said that Grand father Walt had called him to have him inform mother Ollie had died.”
Ollie was only 50 years old when she passed on. I received a copy of her obituary from THE DAILY NEWS of Kelso, Washington dated March 9, 1943. The obituary read: "Warren, Mrs Walter, 50 of Woodland, died March 2nd in Portland; survived by widower and one son, Walter; funeral services in Friendship Tabernacle, Woodland, Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. with Sister Fidler officiating. Reardon Funeral Home in charge."
Ollie was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Woodland, Washington. Because our family was so poor, they could not afford to buy a head stone. Years later some family members went to the funeral home to locate her grave, but were informed that the cemetery offices had burned down at some point and that all of the records were lost. So, if there was no marker on the grave, they could not locate where she was buried.
I go to the cemetery every once in a while to visit the graves of other family members (such as my Grandmother Manke’s), and I go to the general area where Ollie is buried, and wish that I could place a marker on her grave… simply out of respect for her. But, it’s probably not to be. And, does it really matter? I know that Ollie is Summer Land, and that she is happy. I also believe that she is the one who compelled me to research her history, if for no other reason than for me to get to know who she was in her earthly trek.

What a marvellous story Mike and well done you for tracking down all those strands. Like all the best stories there's still an element of mystery. Was Sister Fidler a medium rooted in a holiness tradition? Or maybe she started out as a medium then converted to Xtianity but the mediumship still came through. Maybe the pre Open Bible denomination era Fellowship Tabernacle meeting was a Christian Spiritualist set up in all but name. I wonder if that's why you were drawn to Camp New Era. Maybe similarities between them NOW and Ollie's church THEN.
I wonder did Rose or Ollie or any of that crowd ever visit the camp grounds or attend Spiritualist get togethers with other similar local groups. It's all very intriguing.

There still are some questions. Perhaps they will come through. My feeling is that Rose was a Spiritualist medium who converted to Christianity, but the mediumship still came through. I don't know if my grandmother was a medium who converted to Christianity, or if she converted to Christian and then became a medium. Anyone who is left from that generation wont talk about it. But, I've gotten enough to satisfy my curiosity for now!

KatyKing wrote:What a marvellous story Mike and well done you for tracking down all those strands. Like all the best stories there's still an element of mystery. Was Sister Fidler a medium rooted in a holiness tradition? Or maybe she started out as a medium then converted to Xtianity but the mediumship still came through. Maybe the pre Open Bible denomination era Fellowship Tabernacle meeting was a Christian Spiritualist set up in all but name. I wonder if that's why you were drawn to Camp New Era. Maybe similarities between them NOW and Ollie's church THEN.
I wonder did Rose or Ollie or any of that crowd ever visit the camp grounds or attend Spiritualist get togethers with other similar local groups. It's all very intriguing.

I really think you have come across a very early and original form of Spiritualism Mike with Ollie and at Camp New Era something from our beginnings untainted by accretions f institutionalized Spiritualism via NASC or GW type organizations. Real people doing real Spiritualism where and when they found themselves. There's an article at least in all this maybe more. We'll chat via PM maybe.
Marvellous link. Thank you.

Great work Eirefox what a wonderful story to be able to tell.

Katy,
I'm pretty sure that Fellowship Tabernacle was a primitive form of Spiritualism. My Grandmother seems to have stayed involved... at least at the very beginning and then at the end (her funeral). My cousins and Donna (who are in their 70s) remember going to the church when they were young. They say it was a small, clap-board church building and that Sister Rose was very charismatic. The meetings were quite wild.
If you want to pick my brain about anything, feel free. I don't know of how much help I could be to you. All I can really relate is what I've found out from my research and let you know about local Spiritualist activity as it is now. But, feel free to inquire on anything you think I could help you with.

KatyKing wrote:I really think you have come across a very early and original form of Spiritualism Mike with Ollie and at Camp New Era something from our beginnings untainted by accretions f institutionalized Spiritualism via NASC or GW type organizations. Real people doing real Spiritualism where and when they found themselves. There's an article at least in all this maybe more. We'll chat via PM maybe.
Marvellous link. Thank you.