Everal Chapel to celebrate homecoming
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- JW Everal is played by Chris Hart
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- Reverend Oliver, played by Vane Scott III
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- Sister Thelma, played by Thelma Russell
COSHOCTON COUNTY – Everal’s Chapel Preservation Society and Newcomerstown Historical Society present “A 50th Homecoming,” the story of J.W. Everal.
Set in 1918 at the time of the First World War, the small congregation of Everal’s chapel celebrates the 50th anniversary of their small church. Reverend Oliver, played by Vane Scott III, has gathered in the chapel with fellow members of the United Brethren to begin the annual celebration of a homecoming. The long-held tradition of the homecoming dates back to the original founding of the church in the year 1868. Oliver pays respect to our boys lost in the fields of France with a roll call of those no longer with us.
Sister Thelma, played by Thelma Russell, opens the celebration with a number on the piano. Much excitement and whispers are heard among those in the congregation as Oliver introduces the special speaker for the day. John Wesley Everal of Westerville has returned to the place of his birth and the little church where he grew and learned to be a good Christian.
JW, as he was known, had left the small community of Everals and moved to Westerville to make his fortune many years before. Now after many years, he has made his way back to Newcomerstown to speak and visit with his old friends and neighbors. After suffering a stroke and the effects of his advancing age, JW will recall and relate the stories of his youth. JW Everal is played by Chris Hart, who will tell JW’s story as written in JW’s autobiography.
Today, the homestead of JW Everal has been restored by the city of Westerville and is a popular social center and meeting place. The Everal farm, named Rosedale after J.W. Everal’s rose garden, is an excellent example of 19th-century farm architecture. Industrialist John Everal, after having discovered a large clay deposit about one-half mile from the Village of Westerville, established the J.W. Everal Tile Company in 1872. The plant was located a short distance east of the present farm on the bank of Alum Creek. The brick and tile for the farmhouse, carriage house and other outbuildings at Rosedale were fired in the Everal kiln, as were those for many Westerville area structures of the period. The plant operated nine months per year and employed 30 people, making it the largest industry in Westerville. Peak output of the plant reached 25,000 bricks per day.
The historical re-enactment will be 2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 26 at the Everal Chapel, 60417 Everals Church Road, Newcomerstown. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. For more information and group rates to see the historical re-enactment, call 740-498-5636.
Category: Faith
