OUR LEGACY FROM THE PAST - NCCUMC

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Reverend H. M. Eure came the next year and stayed for three
years. He came here from Nash County where he was born in 1861.
While he was in Williamston, a second story was added to the parsonage
and a new pipe organ was purchased for the church. During
his first year in Williamston, his salary was raised to $1200.
According to the records he kept, the winter of 1918 was particularly
severe, and several Sunday services were missed
because of the cold weather and the shortage of fuel. There was
also a bad influenza epidemic that year that kept many of the
church members at home. In February, some of the Methodist
churches in the county had to close completely, and as the
Reverend Eure wrote, "I am sorry they saw fit to go into winter
quarters!" Reverend Eure's capacity for love of his fellowman
was one of the outstanding traits of his life, which made him loved
by people of all denominations wherever he served. While he was
in Williamston, he was the first minister to begin union services
with the other churches in town. It was said that he had a way of
making religion attractive and that he was very successful in
drawing young people to him. His wife, Lillian, was very active in
the work of the local church, and she also taught school while living
in Williamston. Reverend Eure left Williamston in 1918 and
died in 1926in Norlina.
In 1919, L. C. Larkin was sent to Williamston and served a
three-year term. During his ministry, a new room was added to
the parsonage. New book racks were purchased for the pews, the
envelope system for collections was begun, and the last payment
on the organ was made. It was in this year that the Wesleyan Sunday
School class was organized. In his report of the second
quarter in 1922,he said that during his entire stay in Williamston,
he had not come to a quarterly conference without a report on
some addition to the church! During his ministry, thirty-seven
new members joined the church.
M. R. Chambers came to Williamston in 1922.In his first conference
report, he stated that it was evident that a splendid spirit
of cooperation existed in the church, but that it lacked the depth of
spirituality he would like to see. He said that only a small percent
of the people could be counted on as consistent churchgoers, and