The historic Call Memorial Hall on Morganville road has been sold to Thomas Englerth for $30,000. He will be creating three apartments in the structure, which needed quite a bit of repair.
(Submitted photo/Call Memorial Hall)
In a December 2016 meeting of the Trustees of the Call Memorial Hall Association, the group decided that they have satisfactorily carried out the wishes of Robert Call for more than 100 years and that the current condition of the building will require repair and renovation that will exceed the reserve fund assets.
The building was currently being used by Alcoholic Anonymous, since 1992, for meetings and the downstairs contained an apartment.
“I think my great grandfather would have wanted it this way because the building was becoming more and more in disrepair and we really couldn’t afford to keep it up,” says Murray Call, Trustee.
The Morganville United Church of Christ was asked if they would like to purchase the building, since it is next door, they declined since they have many repairs to make at the church.
(Submitted photo)
So the Call Hall Memorial Association decided to give the proceeds of the sale and any reserve fund assets to the church for roof repairs and a new furnace.
The Call Memorial Hall Association presented a check for $52,000 to the Morganville United Church of Christ at the beginning of May.
(Pictured in check presentation, Murray Call, Carl Stevens, Herb and Charleen Call, Marianne and Barry Carrigan and Dan Dimatteo/submitted photo)
“I guess more or less he kind of wanted us to give the money back to the church,” says Murray Call, Trustee.
“I worked as the janitor to that building for about 40 years, I worked there for nothing and I kept thinking old Robert Call (Murray’s Great Grandfather) was a controlling type guy and two generations later he is still controlling me to take care of this building.”
Murray has been retired since 2010.
“I go to Florida now in the winter and I just said it’s about time we got rid of the building, the rest of the Association would only come back here once a year.”
A lot has changed since 1908.
That was the year the Call Memorial Hall of Morganville was created.
Robert Call and his wife Charlotte emigrated from Devonshire, England in 1853, married in 1854 and arrived in Stafford in 1858.
(Submitted photo/Robert and Charlotte Call)
Both were members of the Morganville Christian Church on Morganville road in Stafford.
Robert was a total abstainer from alcoholic beverages and a prohibitionist. His wife Charlotte was active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
So in 1908 when the Morganville Hotel closed, located right next door to the Morganville Christian Church, Robert, in his late 70’s, decided to purchase the hotel and prevent the future sale of alcohol at the location.
As stated in the deed, the building at no time in the future will be used or occupied for the sale of intoxicating liquors and that no intoxicating liquors of any kind shall be kept used or stored in the building.
Unfortunately, Charlotte died in September of 1908 and was never able to help out in the development of the Call Memorial Hall.
The hall was used for Sunday School, dinners and was a manse for the church.
Robert dedicated the Call Memorial Hall to his late wife and in the closing on the property said, “This is in memory of her who shared life’s joys and sorrows, in sunshine and shade for 54 years and who is gone on before to the unseen world. This Hall is to have a new name to be handed down to future generations in memory of her who did what she could, and may the principles for which she labored, spread in this community.”
I was happy to see this article and to see that the old house is going to be taken care of into the future. I lived in the house with my little brother and my mother and father from 1963 to 1967 as it was being used as the parsonage for the church at that time. We had many lovely memories and some spooky ones, of that place and the hamlet of Morganville. We were there during the huge blizzard of 1966. We swam in Calls pond in the summer, played in the gully and under the waterfall, ran in the fields and looked at the old headstones in the ancient cemetery. In the winter we skated and used the hill beneath Wendall Calls red barn for sledding. I worked for one summer in his sisters house at the other end of town, clearing brush. My father, Jack Coates, was the minister of the little church while he got his degree at Colgate Rochester Divinity school. I check in on the old house atleast once a year to see if there is anything new about it, so it was lovely to see this article. My name has changed now but I used to be called Susan and the boys in town used to call me SusieQhubcapterdblossom the first. In true New York fashion.
I recall your father preaching at Morganville and in looking through past church minutes, etc. have frequently come across his name. I was pleased to see your response to this news article. I have similar memories of Morganville — Call’s Pond, the gully, Black Creek, etc. It was sad that the church was unable to accept ownership of the former parsonage/Sunday School building but with limited able-bodied church members and 2 buildings already to maintain we could not justify taking on any more than we have already. (Plus, we had just finished with 2 major projects — a new handicap ramp in the church and major renovation at our community building (school house) due to a water line breakage that went undetected for a number of days. ) The church is celebrating its 200th anniversary this October with a spaghetti dinner on the 14th and a special church service with free community luncheon and hymn sing on the 22nd — if you are in the area. Is there an address to invite your father/mother? If yes, I can give you my phone #.
Laurie Branton Itjen
Hi Laurie,
I only just saw this message. It was awfully nice to read the message. Are you related to the dairy that was up on the highway? I think we missed the anniversary but it would have been quite a drive as we all live in Seattle. My mother (Ruth) passed away from cancer about 11 years ago but my father is retired and living a happy life in his home in West Seattle a block or two from the beach. He was miniter of the Alki Community church for many years before he retired. I think he was there about 30 some years. My little brother, Stephen, also lives here in the Pacific Northwest and was a minister himself but now runs a kids program and teacher martial arts. We all have good memories from out time there.
just wondering how the renovations have gone with the old house and if it has retained some of its original character.