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CLOUDY Temp: 61 °F Wind: WNW at 5 mph Monday, September 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 1, 2003 Former congressman Bob Smith couldn�t forget the little white church he went to in Burns as a child, so he had a replica built. The late Wes Parton started the project, which was completed by John Bruce. Smith plans to take the replica to Burns. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Church reincarnated By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Bob Smith just couldn’t get the childhood memory of the little white church in Burns out of his mind. The Medford resident and former congressman fondly remembered tolling the bell at the church just a few blocks from his home. "I used to ring it, and the rope would take me right up and away," remembers 72-year-old Smith. "It was a ride." Then, in 1953, the church was sold off and torn down for its lumber, replaced by the new Pioneer Presbyterian Church. Two years ago, he decided this was one memory that just couldn’t die and he planned to build a 10th-scale replica of the original. "Nobody will ever know about the little white church unless we replicate it," he said. Two years ago, he hired White City resident Wes Parton to take on the project. Unfortunately Parton died when it was about half complete. Medford resident John Bruce finished the replica, which will be taken to Burns this week. Smith said the new Pioneer Presbyterian Church welcomed the idea of a replica when he introduced Bruce to the its members. "You know about the first carpenter," Smith told the church. "But I’m going to introduce you to the second carpenter." Advertisement Smith was inspired to rebuild it, in part, by a 1936 poem written by his mother, Louise Freeman Smith, entitled "The Children’s Prayer." The history behind the church is a little fuzzy, said Smith. It was originally a Methodist church, but was bought out by Presbyterians in 1896 for $542. Smith recalls that the only heat for the wooden church came from two potbellied stoves. "Boy, was it cold in there sometimes," he said. It would have been a lot colder, because medical experts at the time prescribed cold temperatures and open windows to fend off a flu epidemic. But Smith’s dad, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Smith, bucked the advice of his colleagues and insisted the church and other buildings be well heated. "He kept everybody warm," said Smith. "And nobody died of the flu." It also helped church attendance. "Nobody likes being cold," said Smith. The replica will be placed either in the new church or at the town’s museum. Smith doesn’t like to talk about the cost to build the replica, which is made entirely out of redwood. "It was substantially more than the cost of the original church," he said. Reach reporter Damian Mannat 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times