Whidbey Presbyterian Church joins city’s historic register

From a mysterious time capsule to ethereal stained glass windows and a bell made of sand and horse manure, one of Oak Harbor’s oldest places of worship boasts its own charming quirks.

In November, the Whidbey Presbyterian Church was officially recognized for its historical significance when the city’s Register of Historic Places voted unanimously to induct the building into the Historic Register.

According to the city’s code, this list includes sites and objects that are historically and culturally relevant to the community, have integrity and are at least 50 years old — or, if less, have “exceptional importance.”

In a report submitted to the city, Ray Lindenburg, senior planner for the development services department, wrote that the church is one of the few remaining examples of early 1900s architecture in Oak Harbor.

The 96-year-old wooden structure, located at 1148 Southeast 8th Ave. in Oak Harbor, was designed in a carpenter gothic revival style, also known as carpenter’s gothic or rural gothic, which is seen in many old churches built around the country, Lindenburg wrote.

Laura Vanderbeek, a member of the Whidbey Presbyterian Church until her passing in 2009, compiled a brief history of the church, which can be found in the book “Island of Faith Sea of Grace” by Lois Edstrom and Janis Lussmyer.

According to Vanderbeek, the Christian Reformed and Presbyterian congregations in town formed a small church in the early 1900s. The church later became the Presbyterian Church, with no further mention of the Christian Reformed denomination.

As the Dutch community kept growing, the church needed a Dutch-speaking pastor. In 1905, Reverend John Vanderbeek — who would later become Laura Vanderbeek’s father-in-law — became the church’s first pastor and preached in both English and Dutch.

At the time, she wrote, the church was known as the First Reformed Church and was located at the corner of Pioneer Way and Highway 20.

The current building was completed in 1929, and the project cost $14,000, which according to various online converters equals to a little over $251,000 today. The Whidbey Presbyterian Church, which organized formally in 1963, bought the church and the property in 1971 for $50,000, she wrote. Back then, the church counted less than 100 members.

The church came to life with the help of many community members who offered their time and skills for free.

The son of Berend T. Vander Woude — who was the pastor of the Reformed Church from 1926 to 1945 — recalled seeing horses pulling slip scrapers to excavate the basement, with dynamite used to break up the clay hardpan, according to the book. Bud Zylstra, whose father was a contractor for the church, remembered coming from school with his friends and seeing the newly excavated basement filled with water, then building a raft to float on it.

The woodwork and pulpit furniture were built with mahogany boards salvaged from West Beach, where they washed up after being dumped by passing boats, the book states.

Cornie Reintjes recalled getting the oak lumber for the pews in Anacortes and the challenge of adapting the pews to the church’s slanted floor.

According to the book, the pews were designed by Vander Woude, who also created the pulpit and the cornerstone that can be found on the church’s facade, hidden behind a bush. This cornerstone is believed to mark the location of a time capsule containing documents and items.

Bill Waite, the church’s buildings and grounds team chairman and a long-time devotee, told the Whidbey News-Times he had no idea of the existence of the time capsule until he read books about the church and inquired with some older members.

The capsule, he said, may contain coins, photos and newspapers, though he suspects there is a chance any paper relics have deteriorated over time. The plan is to reveal its contents on the building’s 100th anniversary, in 2029.

Perhaps, he cautioned, there won’t be anything at all.

Regardless of whether there is a treasure or not, Waite is fascinated with the church’s history and beauty.

Here, he attended weddings where the bride and the groom met in the middle of the aisle, rang the bell at the beginning and end of the Sunday service and continues to serve as a volunteer.

Since he joined the church in 1989, Waite has become very familiar with the church. Walking around the sanctuary, he pointed at the 13 stained glass windows in the sanctuary, which are made up of over 3,000 pieces of colored glass and feature a unique design.

Each window was donated by a family when the church was first built. One of the benefactors was the family of Henry Hilberdink, who dedicated it in the memory of Adrian Hilberdink, according to the book.

His favorite is the round window located above the balcony.

“When the sun is right, it’s just spectacular,” he said. Even during a non-particularly sunny Thursday morning, the window emitted a soft, golden light.

The sanctuary’s tall ceiling conceals another space, which can be accessed through drop-down ladders. In its tallest spot, the hidden ceiling reaches about 12 feet of height, Waite said.

The balcony, which overlooks the altar and pews on the first floor, features two drop-down ladders that give access to the bell tower. The original entrance, Waite pointed out, is so small that he could not pass through it if he were to eat a generous breakfast. Because of the small size, a second entrance was added.

Once inside, there is more climbing to do before reaching the bell room, where a 275-pound bell cast in 1889 and installed in 1929 is located.

According to the book, the bell was cast in Maryland by McShane Bell Foundry, a business that casts bells with a mixture of sand and horse manure — which is believed to improve the sound of the bell.

Waite believes the church is one of the few in the city that still has a manually rung bell, which some said they could hear from as far away as Wendy’s. All it takes is pulling the rope located in the balcony, which he said children have done too.

Currently, the church is going through some construction work, which Waite said is expected to wrap up this spring. The project consists of connecting the sanctuary to the Fellowship Hall, which was built in 1983 and features a dining room and a commercial kitchen that is used to prepare food for children in need of a meal on the weekends and to support SPiN Cafe, Waite said.

The project also includes the addition of wheelchair-accessible ramps and the expansion of the bathrooms, and will follow the same style of the sanctuary. Furthermore, Waite said, it will provide cover from the strong winds that sometimes are strong enough to almost knock people over as they walk from one building to the other.

For more information about the Whidbey Presbyterian Church, visit whidbeypres.org or call 360-679-3579.

(Photo by Luisa Loi) Bill Waite reads the cornerstone that would mark the location of a time capsule from 1929.

(Photo by Luisa Loi) Bill Waite admires one of 13 stained glass windows in the church. The art depicts a hand holding a torch and the words “The Lord is My Light.”

Photo by Luisa Loi

(Photo by Luisa Loi) Bill Waite shows a rendering of the church’s new look, which will be completed sometime this spring.

(Photo by Luisa Loi) Bill Waite checks for coins inside an old well on the church’s property. The well, built around 1879, is surrounded by large Garry Oak trees and, until a few years ago, it neighbored the home of the first mayor of Oak Harbor. The home was sold for $1 and barged to Coupeville, where it currently stands. While exploring the property with his metal detector, Waite found old coins from 1916 and a medallion from the 1893 Chicago World Fair.