Rev. William Allen Wiant, father of Dwight Wiant of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, had no formal education beyond grade school but had much natural ability. He must have had plenty of the latter as he served as District Superintendent as well as pastor at various places.

The Rev. Canaro D. Munsey was born in Sullivan County, Tennessee, on August 12, 1843, and passed to his reward at his home in Springfield, Ohio, April 21, 1928. His parents were devout Christians and their home one of His temples. Being converted at the age of twelve, he became conscious of the call to preach very early in life and attended Athens College, Tennessee. In 1879, he joined the Holston Conference and was transferred to the Cincinnati Conference and spent most of his ministry in the Springfield District. In 1903, he was retired to the superannuate relation. He served the Catawba charge from 1893 to 1896. At the close of the Civil War, he came to Urbana, Ohio, where he was united in marriage on December 22, 1870, to Miss Mary Colman, who for fifty-seven years, was his inspiring and loyal companion. She and their daughter, Mrs. Leon M. Ervin of Springfield, Ohio, were his survivors at the time of his death.

Rev. Charles Wesley Briggs was born in Ross County near Greenfield, Ohio, in 1854, one of eleven children. His mother dedicated his life to the service of God. Could he have been a modern day Samuel? His mother must have had great faith in her God and her son and like Susanna Wesley must have spent much time in guiding and directing his early life and training. After his early education in grade and high school, he attended Ohio Wesleyan they brought with them their two beautiful and talented daughters, Mary and Grace. Unbeknown to them, Dan Cupid also came as a stowaway in the moving College at Delaware, Ohio. When the Rev. and Mrs. Briggs came to Catawba van. He lost no time in making his presence known. Before the Briggs family left Catawba, Grace had become Mrs. Paul J. Neer and Mary was Mrs. Ralph Tavenner.

Dr. Milton R. Hunter, grandson of Jonathan, a pioneer resident of Pleasant Township and native of England, was born March 27, 1817, on the farm where his grandfather settled and operated at the time by his father, Jonathan, Jr. After being educated in the local school, he taught school for a time and read medical books in his spare time, studying under Dr. J. S. Howell of Springfield, Ohio. He began practice in medicine in 1840 in Catawba, taking over the practice of Dr. Skinner. After attending lectures at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, he graduated in 1852.

The "corner drug stores" being few at that time, he derived his medicine from various herbs and roots. These are said to have been gathered for him in the Bailey woods by John Harmison who lived at that time on the Arbogast Road. Dr. Bloyer of Catawba considered Dr. Hunter one of the best botanists he had known.

Dr. Hunter was married December 27, 1842, to Nancy J. Goodlove. She died April 3, 1852, leaving two children, Mary C. and Franklin C. He again was married November 6, 1860, to Mrs. Sarah Skillman McConkey, who had three children, Augustus E., Laura and Charles. Three more children, Mary, Frederick M. and Sallie C. came to this home. He died in the latter part of the century and was buried in the Vernon Cemetery.

Names of two of his granddaughters, Mildred and Helen Stephens. appear on the windows. Mildred, a victim of pneumonia. did not live to maturity. Longfellow's poem, "The Reaper and the Flowers," seems most appropriate.

There is a Reaper, whose name is Death,
And with his sickle keen
He reaps the bearded grain at a breath
And the flowers that grow between.

Helen is now Mrs. William Deutemeier, living in Middletown, Ohio. For some years, she was employed by the Butler County Court in Hamilton, Ohio. Now retired, she is on the Executive Board of the County Children's Home and belongs to a Guided Study Club.

Dr. Bert Coffey was born in Pleasant Township, the son of George W. and Margaret Coffey, and was a descendant of Joseph Coffey, the first settler of Pleasant Township. He practiced medicine in Andersonville and Connersville, Indiana. He attended college at Ohio Wesleyan at Delaware, Ohio; Ohio Northern at Ada, Ohio, and graduated from Cincinnati University (the Eketic Medical College). He married Nellie Allison, who died of uremic poisoning after one year of married life. He later married Etta Ensminger, also of Indiana. Their adopted daughter, Helen, married Allan Thompson. They had two sons, Robert and Jack. Dr. Coffey is buried at Laurel, Indiana.

On the building committee are the names of Minor W. Hardman, Albert S. Tavenner and Edwin A. Rupert.

Minor Hardman, the son of William and Margaret Birely Hardman, was born and raised in Pleasant Township. He was married to Hattie, daughter of Thomas W. and Phoebe Demory Runyan. Charles Omer, Anna and Ralph Odessa were their children, Albert S. Tavenner was the son of Benjamin and Emma Cooke Tavenner. He was married to Addie,, daughter of Isaiah and Malinda Endsley Wood. They had one son, Ralph.

Edwin A. Rupert was born in 1872 neat Champaign, Illinois. He came to Ohio in his boyhood and lived near Clifton and Mutual before coming to this community. He was married to Anna, daughter of Charles and Frances Lowe Loveless. They had one adopted son, Donald.

Each of these three men owned and operated farms in the community.

George W. Coffey was a son of William and grandson of Joseph Coffey, the first Pleasant Township. settler. He was born July 26, 1837. On reaching maturity he taught school several terms. During the Civil War, he enlisted in Company D, 3rd O. V. I., on June 11, 1861. After being engaged in battle at Murfreesborough, Missionary Ridge and Stone River, he was taken prisoner and spent some time at Belle Isle prison. After being mustered out June 21, 1864, he was married October 24, 1865, to Margaret, daughter of Joseph and Jane Ferguson. Their three children were Bert, Mary and Kemp.

Isaiah Wood entered the service August 6, 1862, at the age of twenty years. He was in Company G, 94th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On March 14, 1864, he was appointed corporal. He was discharged December 12, 1864, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, for wounds received in battle at Resaca, Georgia.

In a letter from Helen S. Deutemeier, she tells of her recollection of Mr. Wood as follows: "Mr. Wood, who was sometimes known as `Cooney' Wood, enlisted together with some of the McConkey men and they were all in the battle of Chattanooga. It was in this battle he lost his leg that was struck by a spent cannon shell, He was lying at the bottom of a steep slope under heavy fire that fortunately went over him. After dark, one of the McConkey boys carried a canteen in his teeth and crawled to Cooney Wood and gave him water and bandaged his leg and saved his life. During my memory, Mr. Wood went back to Chattanooga to celebrate. It was quite a day for Catawba, and Mr. Wood was looking mighty fine all spruced up and stepping along on his brand new wooden leg purchased for the occasion. I was very young but can recall how he looked and the excitement of seeing him off.

"Every member of the community and particularly the Methodist Church revered and respected Mr. Wood. His prayers were pounded home by his strong hands on the benches and when he was gone from the congregation to his Rest, the pastor, Rev. George Kain, lost control and said, `I wonder how we will get along without him'."

Isaiah and Malinda Endsley Wood were the parents of Addie, Albert R,, Leroy and Blanch Wood.

Joseph M. Waltman joined Company G, 94th Regiment, August 6, 1862, at the age of eighteen years and served until June 13, 1865. He was taken prisoner February 23, 1865, in action at Black Stock, South Carolina. He was mustered out at Camp Chase, Ohio, by order of the War Department. Joseph M. and Sarah Runyan Waltman were the parents of Ella, Hayes, Clarence and Lucretia Waltman.

Harlan West, son of Samuel and Margaret Neer West, was born and raised near Nation Chapel Church. Educated in the local school, he attended Nelson Business School in Springfield, Ohio. He was later connected with the Merchants and Mechanics Bank of Springfield and was assistant cashier at the time of his death. His wife, Nellie, was a daughter of Charles and Frances Lowe Loveless. Their one child died in infancy.

Leroy Wood, son of Isaiah and Malinda Wood, and Nora Runyan Wood, daughter of Charles and Malissa Melvin Runyan, were born in Pleasant Township. They lived for many years in Muncie, Indiana. where they owned and operated a grocery store.

John W. Bumgardner, born in November, 1850, was a son of Abram, an itinerant minister who preached for some time at the Pleasant Chapel Church that formerly stood on a hill on the road of the same name north of the Broadgauge Road. His wife, Sarah Arabella Stipes, was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Stipes, who lived in the property owned by the late Maude Runyan. Mr. and Mrs. Bumgardner were grandparents of Carlton Runyan.

George W. Davisson, son of Lemuel, was born November 23, 1843, in Pleasant Township. On October 24, 1865, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Jones. Their children were Ida May, Lawrence E., Minnie, Myrta, Lunettie, Hayes E., Homer and Wilbur. More than one dozen of our church members are their descendants.

Jacob Van Meter Bumgardner, son of Jacob and Eleanor Martin Bumgardner, was a farmer and carpenter. He was born November 1, 1854. He related many stories of his schoolmates and the pranks they played while attending school at the old school house situated at the east edge of Catawba. He was united in marriage on July 31, 1879, to Sarah Ella Yeazell, who was born August 24, 1860, the daughter of George and Nancy Ann Wilkinson Yeazell. Two children, Alice and Nathan E., were born to them. Mr. and Mrs. Bumgardner had celebrated sixty-two years of married life before his death in 1941. Mrs. Bumgardner taught the infant class of the Sunday School and was a charter member of the Ladies Aid Society.

Thomas W. Runyan, son of George and Catherine Runyan, was born May 26, 1837, in Pleasant Township. He was married February 25, 1858, to Miss Phoebe A. Demory, daughter of Jacob Demory of Virginia. Their children were Charles E. and Hattie Runyan Hardman. After his marriage, he became a blacksmith. He hired men to work with him and learned the trade from them. After working at the trade three years in Catawba, he purchased a farm in the southwest part of the township where he continued working at the trade several years. Later he sold this farm and purchased another where Robert Bumgardner, his great-grandson, now lives.

George H. Anderson, son of William and Mary Houke Anderson, was born in 1870 in the Pretty Prairie locality of Champaign County. His wife, May Redmond, daughter of Jacob and Nancy Pence Redmond, was born in 1871 in Champaign County on a farm on the Turkey Ridge Road. The house in which she was born stood on the Champaign-Clark County line, the kitchen being the only portion in Clark County. They raised their children, Jane, Mary, Ruth, Alice, George and Margaret, on their farm on the Ridge Road. They were faithful church members, Mrs. Anderson being especially interested in Ladies Aid and Missionary Societies.

Eli Hunter, son of Lemuel, was born in Pleasant Township in 1847. His wife, Lucinda J., was born in 1853, the daughter of A. S. McClintock and Hunter and Edna Hunter Genheimer. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter owned a farm in the valley below their home at the edge of Catawba on the McConkey Road. Eliza Curl McClintock, daughter of Henry Curl. Their children were Cecil

William and Blanche Hendricks Hunter, grandparents of Eli Hunter, were natives of Virginia. He was born in Loudon County September 9, 1777, and died October 4, 1862. She was born in Jefferson County, Virginia, February February 1, 1807. William's parents, Jonathan and Nancy Hunter, were born in Maryland, where they were married. From there, they moved to Virginia and then to Ohio, settling in Pleasant Township in 1805. Blanche was the 28, 1787, and died March 26, 1860. They were married in Pleasant Township daughter of William and Susan (Taylor) Hendricks, natives of Virginia, who came to Pleasant Township in 1804.

Jonathan Hunter, Sr., and Nancy (Chance) Hunter, parents of William, were born in Maryland, where they ware married. Their children besides William were John, Jeremiah, Jonathan, George, James, Elizabeth, Nancy, Mary and Rachael.

Miranda Hunter Yeazell, a daughter of Lemuel and a sister of Eli, was also a granddaughter of William and Blanche Hendricks Hunter. She was married to James Yeazell. Their daughter, Laura. married Dr. D. D. Krout, who practiced medicine for a time in the vicinity of South Vienna and Plansburg, Ohio. They were parents of Miss Helen Krout of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, Route 2.

Church organizations, namely, Ladies Aid Society, Open Circle Bible Class, Women's Foreign Missionary Society, Friendship Circle Class, Tri Mus Class, Sunshine Class and Epworth League are inscribed on various windows.

The information for the foregoing sketches has been obtained from the following sources: History of Clark County by Alden P. Steele, various Civil War records, Methodist Episcopal Conference minutes from the Methodist Library at Dalaware. Ohio, family histories, tombstones and memories of friends and relatives of the subjects. The Rev. Glen DesJardins has been most encouraging and helpful when information on two persons seemed to be nonexistent.

Accuracy of facts and detail has been the aim, but since we are all human no one can expect perfection.

- Mahlon Neer

As we look at the stained glass window in the front of our church, Christ is the central figure in the scene. This is very symbolic, as He should be in our lives, our Lord and Master.

Observing the picture carefully, we may see other Christian virtues that the artist has blended in. There is love, trust, peace and beauty. As Christ carries the lamb, this symbolizes His eternal love for all mankind; as the sheep follow Christ, they show absolute trust in Him. Christ's words, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you," have been blended into the picture. The many bright colors express the beauty to be seen in the lives of Christ's faithful followers.

The scene pictured here is a copy of the painting entitled "The Good Shepherd," by Bernard Plockhorst, a German painter who lived from 1825 to 1907. No doubt, he was inspired by the tenth chapter of the gospel of St. John. In the eleventh verse, Christ tells the people, "I am the good shepherd, a good shepherd lays down his own life for the sheep."

Some changes have been made to adapt it to the requirements of the window. In copies of the original painting, Christ is walking down a rough stony path carrying the lamb on His arm and the shepherd's staff or crook is in the other hand as pictured in the window scene. The lamb's mother is at the right side of the picture close to Christ, followed by several other sheep. To the left and at Christ's right are several more sheep following at a distance. There are less than twelve sheep as compared to three in the window. On each side of the path in the foreground are low thorny bushes. In the background at the left is a tree standing on a knoll. In the right background and to the left of Christ as well, a brook or pool of water is pictured.

At the bottom of the window, we see the names of Andrew B. Runyan and Matilda Runyan. Uncle Andy and Aunt Matilda, as they were known to many people, lived at the south edge of Catawba in a white brick house on the east side of what is now State Route 54. Several cedar trees still stand to mark the location. Later they built and lived in the house now occupied by the Gayle Locke family.

Mr. Runyan was born in 1821 and died in 1898. He was the ninth and youngest child of Abraham and Sophia Lynch Runyan. Abraham, a descendant of French Hugenot parentage, came to Ohio in 1811 from Virginia with his brothers George and Joseph and their mother, Susannah. The Runyans living in this community are distantly related to him as are several families whose surname is not Runyan.

Mrs. Runyan was born in 1824 and died in 1906. She was the seventh child of Amos and Nancy Cunard Neer and her lineage traces back to Conrad and Nancy Neer, who emigated from Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1735 and settled in Loudon County, Virginia. The Neers of the community as well as several families whose surname is not Neer are distantly related to her.

Mr. and Mrs. Runyan were very active in the various departments of the church. She was a charter member of the Ladies Aid Society, a Sunday School teacher and for many years was a communion steward of the church. He was he rode horseback to Pleasant Chapel and Nation Chapel churches where he conducted services. The Sunday Schools of the township held conventions at a class leader, Sunday School teacher and served as lay minister. Many times the various churches on Sunday afternoons. Mr. Runyan was chairman of these meetings for some time. Church members, the minister and Presiding Elder were often Sunday guests in their home.

Mrs. Runyan was of quiet and retiring disposition while he was vociferous and outspoken. Many stories are told of him which show his spirit and bold determination. One Sunday morning as he was on his way to church he heard someone chopping wood. He boldly went to the man and reminded him of the commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."

At the lime of his death he left $500.00 to the church. Some years later when this church was built, this money was used to purchase the window as a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Runyan.

No one seems to know why this picture was used. One former member thinks that several were presented to the building committee and this one was their choice.

The following Iines from an anonymous writer are symbolic of the lives and faith of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Bumgardner Runyan and should he an inspiration to us in our lives.

Hold high the torch!
You did not light its glow---
'Twas given you by other hands, you know.
'Tis yours to keep it burning bright,
Yours to pass on when you no more need light;
For there are other feet that we must guide
And other forms go marching by our side.
Their eyes are watching every tear and smile,
And efforts which we think are not worth while,
Are sometimes just the very help they need,
Actions to which their souls would give most heed;
So that they in turn will hold it high
And say "I watched someone else carry it this way."
If brighter paths should beckon you to choose,
Would your small gain compare with all you'd lose?
Hold high the torch!
You did not light its glow---
'Twas given you by other hands you know.
I think it started down its pathway bright,
The day the Maker said: "Let there be light."
And he once said, who hung on Calvary's tree---
"Ye are the light of the world...Go!...Shine for me."
-Anonymous

Mrs. Olive Neer Tullis and Mrs. Alice Bumgardner Tavenner and many others have helped in acquiring the foregoing information.

Other sources of information are:

Fine Art Reproductions of Old and Modern Masters, Wing Memorial Library of Mechanicsburg, Ohio.

Christ and the Fine Arts, Warder Public Library, Springfield, Ohio.

Northeastern High School Library - World Book, Perry Picture Catalog.

Catawba Elementary School Library - World Book.

- Mahlon Neer, Alice B. Tavenner

In beginning of this project, I copied all the names to have a list to work from. Later, Maude, my wife, and I went to the church and checked on them again. After the manuscript was finished, I read it to Mrs. Alice Tavenner and everything seemed to be in shape. When the booklets came back from the printer, she read it and it was then that she found out one family was not included. On consulting a list she has had since the time the church was built there were five names not listed. On investigation, it was found that the name plates had fallen out of the church windows. We have tried to tell something of their lives from memory and from Civil War records.

Sarah Skillman Hunter was the second wife of Dr. M. R. Hunter, already listed in this book.

Edna Arbogast was the daughter of James and Laura McConkey Arbogast. Matilda Neer Jones, daughter of John and Hannah Tucker Neer, was married to David Jones, who was sheriff of Clark County at one time.