Our History
Chapter 3
The roads continued to improve and more people moved into the area between Albany and Schenectady. The Village of Colonie was incorporated in 1921. The chapel became part of both the Village and the Town of Colonie. With the growth, the church grew more rapidly and with it a need for a resident pastor. The best description can be taken from the “Report of the District Superintendent” minutes from the 1928 Troy Annual Conference: “Colonie charge, that for so many years has been supplied from Albany and Schenectady, has so wonderfully developed under the leadership of the Rev. F. C. Zapf for the past 7 years, that the only reasonable action lay in building a parsonage and installing a resident pastor.” About a year before, the church began to raise funds. They totaled about $2500.
The question was: where to build? Fortunately, the Society of Good Templars owned a lot directly across the street from the church. Since the Society was disbanding, and knew the need of the church, they transferred the deed under warranty to the Trustees of the Colonie Methodist Episcopal Church for $1.00 on October 17th, 1927. The lot, valued at $3,000, was located where the Motel now stands. It was 104 feet along Central Avenue and 417 feet deep.
The parsonage was built between 1927 and 1928. At the ground breaking ceremony, Mrs. Charles N. Sabey dug the first spadeful. The building cost $7,000. It served as a home for six pastors and their families. Since the building site was in a hollow, the basement was load on top of the ground and then fill was put in around the house making it level with the street. James Rapp purchased the lumber from the Good Templars old building and used it as an addition to his home.
Praise for the change goes to Reverend and Mrs. F. C. Zapf. He was a full time Electrical Engineer working for General Electric in Schenectady as well as serving as minister to the church.
Ben Coughlin Sr. purchased one of the first vacuum cleaners and would vacuum the chapel each Saturday to prepare for Sunday services.
Membership steadily increased during the 1930s. Changes were made in the chapel. The walls and ceilings of the sanctuary were replaced and asbestos shingles were installed on the outside of the church. The old pump organ was renovated to include a motor. The motor didn’t always work so a piano was placed in the front of the church as well. If the organ failed, even in the middle of a hymn, the organist would change to the piano for the remainder of the service.
The church was focused on raising money. A group of members put on a series of plays. They performed both in our church and “on tour” to other churches. One such play was entitled “Aaron Slick from Pumpkin Creek”.
In a picture of the cast, the boy and the man next to him are not identified. The others are: in the front row L to R : James Rapp, Sadie Brown Mason, George Armstrong, unidentified lady, Benjamin Coughlin, Sr., Grace Armstrong, and Cassie Moore; in the back row l to R: Walter Bennett, and Elizabeth Bedell.
For a while the church was known as the Colonie Methodist Episcopal Church then later it was referred to as the Pine Grove Methodist Episcopal church, but the exact dates of the name changes are unknown
By 1940 the name of the church changed once again to drop the word “Episcopal. The church was now referred to as the Pine Grove Methodist Church.
The mortgage on the parsonage was paid off and improvements were made to the church. Oil furnaces were installed in place of the coal-burning ones. This was a big improvement since the congregation no longer had to smell the coal-gas fumes during services. A small room for storage on the east side of the recreation room, a cellar way, and much needed indoor toilet facilities were added.
The church bought a new Hammond organ. The women of the church worked hard to earn money for the organ and it was referred to as the “vanilla” organ.
At Eastertime, a large wooden cross with holes in it was placed on the altar. It was given to the church by friends of the McIntyres who lived in Bermuda. Every Easter they would send Easter lily blossoms to be inserted in the holes of the cross.