Stained-glass windows reflect Christianity, Whitefish history

The historic stained glass windows at First Presbyterian Church in Whitefish tell the story of Christianity.

But if one studies the panels that showcase to whom the windows are dedicated, a second story emerges about early Whitefish and a community that embraced diversity.

The towering Tiffany-style opalescent glass windows are a colorful centerpiece in downtown Whitefish and beckon passersby on a regular basis.

“We have a tremendous amount of interest,” the Rev. Tim Dalstrom said with pride. “We keep the light on 24 hours a day, so people come in simply to take pictures of the windows. And there’s a history with each window.”

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the First Presbyterian Church at 301 Central Ave., dedicated in 1921, is on the city’s walking tour that features historic buildings.

“We have a lot of people who want to go into the sanctuary,” Dalstrom continued.

“We take them in and as time allows we’ll give guided tours.”

Church member Bob Paulus developed a color brochure about the windows about five years ago, providing photos of each window and descriptions of the pictorial theme of each panel as well as the information about the various town pioneers and others to whom the windows are dedicated.

“There was [an earlier] publication the church had that was many years old, that did feature the windows,” Paulus said. “I thought, I’ll do a new one and make it pretty.”

All of the stained glass was shipped by rail from St. Louis, and all of the windows were installed when they built the church, Paulus said.

Many prominent Whitefish family names are noted in the window dedications.

Two panels on the sanctuary’s west side are dedicated to the memory of Edgar Baker, one of the five Baker brothers who were logging contractors in the early 1900s in Whitefish. The Bakers owned the first sawmill on Whitefish Lake, and Edgar, the youngest of the Baker boys, was killed in a logging accident. Baker Avenue is named after that pioneer family.

Another set of windows is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Geddes, after whom Geddes Avenue in Whitefish is named. E.L. Geddes sold real estate and insurance during Whitefish’s early years, was a director of First National Bank and served on the City Council. He also was a church trustee when the church was being built in the early 1920s.

Perhaps the most interesting story tied to the town’s history is the two sets of window panels presented by Whitefish’s Japanese community.

In the late 1920s special services at the Presbyterian Church were held for the Japanese several times by the Rev. V.G. Murphy of Seattle, a missionary to Japan who spoke Japanese “like a native,” according to the Whitefish history book “Stump Town to Ski Town” by Betty Schafer and Mable Engelter.

The Japanese community in Whitefish was deeply appreciative of the pastor’s efforts. They also were very thankful for the English instruction they received from Mrs. Elizabeth Peck, a Whitefish widow whose husband had died when her two sons were young.

According to church history, Peck’s younger son worked for the railroad and lived at home while studying for a law degree. Since so many of the Japanese immigrants helped build the Great Northern Railroad through Whitefish, the Presbyterian church reached out to the Japanese community.

Peck, a Presbyterian Church member, taught English to more than 400 Japanese residents of Whitefish over a 15-year period, according to “Stump Town to Ski Town.” The Japanese never forgot her kindness and devotion to them, and how the congregation reached out to them.

One set of windows dedicated to Peck’s honor states simply, “With gratitude, from the Japanese.” The other set of windows notes “to Mrs. Elizabeth M. Peck by the Japanese.”

Peck at one point, probably around 1922, wrote a letter to her Aunt Jennie, in which she explained her mission:

“I took for my part of the work in the church, the Japanese. We have 14 families and 50 single men. They work for the railroad. I teach them to talk English, read and write it. And if I do say, I have accomplished it,” she enthusiastically told her aunt in the letter. “I never hoped to do so well when I started it. I have three classes at the house and then I go twice a week to their homes.”

Peck wrote about the new church and how it cost $40,000.

“I asked for a donation of the Japanese men. Said it would be nice if they could give a window,” she said. “Well, they sent in a check for $705. Bought two windows and when the windows came one of them said, ‘For Mrs. Elizabeth Peck from the Japanese.’ I said, ‘Am I dead?’

“What an honor to live up to — so it will stand as long as the church and I will have to teach Japanese all the rest of my natural existence,” she concluded with a touch of humor.

The church’s brochure about the extraordinary windows notes that the congregation is “privileged to be the caretakers of a collection of Tiffany-style windows that have inspired and delighted God’s people.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com