A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer noted how people in the Philadelphia region hang on to the old names of things long changed. I was reminded of this when I heard a recent church announcement for an event at “the old Anchor House lot.” Since that building was razed 10 years ago, and the Anchor House began over 50 years ago, let’s look back at the long history of that building in the story of St. John’s.

After the original church building was dedicated in June 1878, the next project was to build a parsonage, a home owned by the church where the pastor and family would live for the length of their pastorate. Given a pastor’s low salary, and because many pastors moved around, this was a benefit and common practice then. The parsonage was usually next to the church to make the pastor accessible day and night. St. John’s chose to directly attach ours to the church. The Reporter of January 1, 1891, noted, “Prior to the occupancy of the new parsonage by Rev. J. J. Rothtrock and family, the lady members of the church had a house-cleaning party…through their untiring efforts the parlor, sitting room, hall, and stairway were carpeted.” The Rothtrock, Sayres, Baer, and Ditzler families lived there during their pastorates. At our 2001 anniversary dinner, Mrs. Mae Baer remembered that she would put a roast in the parsonage kitchen oven for Sunday dinner and you could smell it cooking from the sanctuary during worship!

In 1956, the church voted to build a new, larger parsonage at 230 Valley Forge Road. The Ditzlers moved there in 1957; the old parsonage became the home of the Associate Pastor. The family of Associate Pastor Marty Bupp still lived there in 1965 when the old church building (still attached to the house) was razed. At our recent 150th anniversary dinner, his son Karl Bupp recalled, “We were sitting at the kitchen table when suddenly a metal rod came through the wall! My dad grabbed it and held on to it.” He held on to it until the workers came to check why it wouldn’t move. As the conditions of that house deteriorated, a new parsonage was purchased for the family of the Associate Pastor on Oakland Avenue, and the Bupp family moved there. The practice of churches owning parsonages became outdated as pastors purchased their own homes. The original parsonage was used for Sunday School classes until 1974, when the old parsonage became the new Anchor House, a “group home for troubled teen-agers.” The story of the Anchor House and “the old Anchor House lot” next time. Enjoy your summer!