Ninety-year-old remembers every Easter Sunrise service at Centre Meeting House

Published 7:31 pm Saturday, March 22, 2008

By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – If it has to do with Morris Farms, Evelyn Fisher could probably recall just about anything.
Evelyn, who celebrated her 90th Birthday on March 16, came to the Niles area in 1937 to work on Morris Farms and has been here ever since.
"I just like it here. I came from Indiana, but enjoyed the community and everyone here at the farm," Fisher said Thursday afternoon.
Fisher started the Centre Meeting House Neighbors several years ago along with two other women involved with the group. Though most of the original members have since passed on, Fisher likes to keep many of the events the group started doing, including the Easter Sunrise Service.
This year marks the 61st anniversary for the Sunrise Service, which was started in 1947. Evelyn has never missed a service.
"It's something I tell myself I never want to miss and I haven't," Fisher said.
Of course, things have changed a bit from the very first Sunrise Service to present, including the overall surroundings of the chapel and some of the individuals who used to attend the event.
"Most of the original members have passed away and I do miss them. But a few of the biggest changes are that things are so modernized now. When this first started, we had one little boy who would come down early in the morning to start a fire to warm the whole chapel up and you had to go outdoors to use the restroom," Fisher explained.
Fisher recalled the days when the chapel would fill with people who attended the Sunrise Services.
"At least 35 to 50 people would show. That was a lot for that little chapel," she said.
Fisher even has spiral notebooks with signatures of every person who has attended the service from day one.
"It's nice to sometimes go back through the lists and see who would come. A lot of them I remember," she said.
Stephanie Wuthnow, who has been involved with Life Action Ministries for 31 years, explained that the Sunrise Service actually started from the chapel's Sunday School Services, which were also started by Fisher.
"We had about 28 kids in Sunday school at that time," Fisher added.
Which was a large amount, considering there were "only about five houses in the area. I can remember just five from Morris Drive to Niles-Buchanan Road," Fisher recalled.
She also remembers when the chapel stood at its original location in the woods.
The chapel was built by E.M. Morris in 1938 and sat at its original location, tucked back in the woods, for a few years. However, vandals used the chapel as a target and after several break-ins and broken windows, the Morris' decided to move it closer to the road.
Fisher married her late husband Harvey, who worked on the farm, at the chapel in 1938.
"He helped plant all of the pine trees that are in a straight line on Morris Drive," she said.
Fisher's son, Henry, grew up in the area and knows how special the farm has always been to his parents. Not only has he done several different drawings for his mother and members of the Morris family, but he also comes to Niles every year for the annual Corn Roast.
"He has a way of making that corn taste so good," Wuthnow said.
The Sunrise Service begins at 7 a.m., as it has every year. It's open to the public and will feature Ted Kadow of Life Action Ministries who will speak. Lonni Simonson will provide vocal music.
After the service, coffee, juice, boiled eggs and doughnuts will be offered.