OCR Text |
Show History of Relief Society recounted honorably released on Sept. 26, 1920. On July 28, 1916 the two Cedar City Relief Society Presidencies met with the District School Trustees to discuss the purchase of a discarded school building where the present First Ward Chapel stands. Their bid was acdepted and in November, 1916, their first payment was made. They worked very hard making quilts, carpets and organizing bazaars to help pay the debt. This they were able to do in three short years. Relief Society History continued By Jean II. Hendrickson At the 42 Quarterly Conference held at Parowan, August 10, 1890, there were present of the Central Board: President Jane S. Richards and corresponding secretary Emeline B. Well, this was the first mention of any of the Central Officers. Sister E. W. Lunt was honorably released from the Presidency of the Relief Society of Parowan Stake on February 7, 1892. Sister. Mary Ann Lunt was nominated president of the Stake Relief Society. During the conference which was held in Cedar City Tabernacle, Taber-nacle, February 8, . 1901, President Mary Ann Lunt, in addressing the group, felt sorry for the people in Parowan having the small pox there so none of them could attend the conference. con-ference. No conferences were held between Feb. 8 and August 9 on account of a smallpox epidemic. Sister Mary A. Lunt was honorably released because of sickness and Mary Adams Ollerton was nominated as - president of the stake with Mary L. Orton as secretary and Julia Many of the wards were contemplating the building of new chapels and the sisters exerted every effort possible to help raise funds to help pay for the chapels erected by the wards. Every year, as spring approached, ap-proached, the sidewalks and roads in Cedar City became large mud-holes. The gentlemen of the community were asked to donate two days time to correcting this situation. They would furnish their rigs to bring gravel from the "shale hill" to make the roads and sidewalks usable. Each year the Relief Society would furnish the food and prepare a banquet for those volunteers. Many of the older citizens remember also that each fall the volunteers would again donate their time to bring wood for use of all the church buildings and also for the widows in the community during the winter months. The Relief Society would again furnish food for an evening meal and the largest dance of the year would follow. ' M. Lyman as treasurer. They were unanimously sustained. And so we find that 3 Feb. 1900 the Parowan Relief Society began to investigate the matter of securing a piece of land on which to build a Relief Society meeting house. Their husbands were very loyal and cooperated in every way and after eight years of united work their long hoped for dream came true. It was located on 1st West in Parowan. It had room for meetings, quiltings, a nice little kitchen, plenty of room to serve banquets and room to enjoy the old time dancing. Julia McGregor Lyman was the president and Barbara M. Adams was acting secretary as conference was held in Cedar City November 6, 1913. In 'June 1905 the Stake Presiae.ncy divided the city into ' twb,wards, the Cedar East Ward and th Cedar West Ward. It was three years, however, before they got aYpund to dividing the Relief Society. After fifty years of close sisterhood it was asking a great deal of them to meet separately. The East Ward met in the Old Ward Hall (which stood where the present armory stands and the West Ward in the Tabernacle which stood where the present Cedar City Post Office now stands). The Education program of the Relief . Society was not started until comparatively recent times, 1914. Activities of the society were many and varied. They would hold an encouragement party for a discouraged couple. They established a community cupboard cup-board for use in time of sickness. ' Often they made collections for a destitute family. In 1922 they contributed 125 glasses of jelly to the Red Cross. 1926 was a big year for both the wards in Cedar City and Parowan, church authorities insisted that Cedar City have three wards of Relief Society sisters and that thy 'meet separately, the Cedar East Ward became the 1st Ward, Cedar West Ward became the 2nd and 3rd Wards. (The Cedar 4th Ward was organized in 1940 and the Cedar 5th Ward in 1942.) The Parowan Ward was divided that year into the Parowan East and Westwards. During Julia M. Lyman's term of office World War I was on. She cooperated with and adapted her program to those conditiohs. She and her aids assisted the Red Cross in every way possible and did everything they could to promote food conservation. She spent a great deal of time in visiting the wards of the Stake which was still done by horse and buggy. She was Stake President of the Relief Society for eight years and was among those called to organize the first Genealogical Society in the Parowan Ward. She was elected to the Parowan School Board and held that position for two years, the first woman to serve in that capacity. It was during her years in office that Sister Sarah Mc-Clellan, Mc-Clellan, Sister McCune, Apostles Steven L. Richards and Richard L. Lyman, and sister Amy Brown Lyman attended various conferences con-ferences in Parowan Stake Relief Society Conferences. She was |