Weekly Article

With the 1929 stock market crash and the resulting depression, Derry Church faced many challenges including a delay of the planned expansion of the Chapel due to limited funds.

The worldwide economic crisis did not hinder Derry members from continuing the church’s operations and commitment to supporting Christian education and mission work.

Reverend Taylor resigned as Derry’s pastor on June 27, 1932, after serving for 16 years. His reason for resigning was that he felt that Derry Church desired a younger man to lead the church. He was 72 years old.

The next pastor to serve Derry was Reverend John C. Corbin, who was installed as pastor in August 1932. Reverend Corbin was 27 years old and Derry Church was his first call. He brought much energy to his tenure. During his pastorate, his commitment and strong leadership had a dramatic impact on the growth of the church.

Derry Church was fortunate to weather the Great Depression fairly well. Thanks to employment opportunities created by Milton Hershey, Derry was able to meet its financial obligations. Studying the church’s financial records of those years, Derry struggled in 1932, having to reduce the sexton’s salary and other expenses, and make a special plea to the congregation that members satisfy their pledges before the end of the fiscal year. With a new pastor, Derry Church turned the corner in 1933.

Reverend Corbin attracted many new families and began to broaden the church’s charitable contributions. Derry Church began its support of the Newville Home, (established 1928), a Presbyterian home for the elderly and infirm located just west of Carlisle.

Derry began to invest in its music program. Purchasing an organ had been part of the pre-Depression plans to expand the Chapel. In 1933 Derry purchased a three-manual Midmer-Losh organ that had originally been built in 1926 for Thomas A. Edison’s Orange, New Jersey recording studio. Interestingly, it was the organ that Charles Seibert Losh, the organ’s builder, had offered to Derry back in 1928. The purchase was completed in 1933 and installed that summer. A formal recital was given on August 24 by Paul Allwardt, a young, up and coming organist at Union Theological Seminary.

As Sunday school attendance continued to grow and the economy improved, ground was broken for the John Elder Memorial Chapel on January 1, 1935. The addition included four classrooms, a kitchen, and an assembly room. With a $20,000 gift from Milton Hershey, a vestibule was added to the Chapel entrance along with new chancel furniture and architectural elements. The church also installed new carpet and purchased furniture and equipment for the new classrooms. The Chapel was dedicated on December 8, 1935.

With the addition of the new transept, Derry was able to create a choir loft. The choir quickly expanded, growing from a few women to 18 members. Rehearsals began in early 1936 with the hiring of Mrs.Robert Young as director. Choir gowns, donated by the Derry Church Ladies Bible Class, were worn starting the following year. The choir quickly became an integral part of worship, providing special music at both Sunday services (10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.), as well as at several community worship services held at the Community Center’s Little Theater in downtown Hershey.

Prior to the 1935 expansion of the Chapel, the church had limited space for other Sunday activities. Derry Church introduced its first nursery for infants to school age children in November 1937. An article in the November 1937 monthly newsletter read:

Little children are always welcome in Church. They never “bother’ the Minister. Nevertheless, it has come to our notice that many parents are hesitant to bring their children who are under school age into the Church services. Therefore, to free parents of young children for Church attendance, we have established a Church Nursery.

For many years prior to the Depression, Derry Church offered a Sunday evening “Lawn Service” in the summer. In 1936, Lawn Services were reinstituted and featured pastors and speakers from the surrounding region. The Lawn Services became very popular and served as an outreach to the broader Hershey community.

As Derry Church expanded, more lay leadership was needed. Prior the 1938, Derry’s Session consisted of six Elders and six Trustees who also served as Deacons. In 1938 Derry Church voted to establish a separate Board of Deacons, who were charged with the pastoral care of the congregation.

Reverend Corbin also encouraged Derry Church’s interest and support of missions. Through the missionary program of Derry Church and the Presbyterian Foreign Missions Board, the congregation contributed to a Chinese relief mission that ministered to 60 million homeless Chinese. A financial report for July and August 1937 indicated total gifts to missionary endeavors to be $119.92. At that time $25.00 would feed, clothe and educate a Chinese youth for one year. Later, Derry Church supported a missionary, Ashbel Green Simonton of West Hanover Township, who served in Brazil.

After eight years of serving Derry, Reverend Corbin resigned in 1940 to accept another call to First Presbyterian Church in Jeannette, near Pittsburgh.

As war clouds spread in Europe and Asia, Derry installed another young and dynamic pastor, William V. Longbrake, on April 25, 1941.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Derry Township Defense Council requested to use Derry’s basement as a wartime emergency first aid station, which was never used. Reverend Longbrake’s pastorate included the turbulent World War II years when 65 Derry members (including three women) joined the armed forces. To help connect with Derry members living away from home, Reverend Longbrake wrote a monthly newsletter, “Today,” mailed to servicemen and students studying away from home. The Deacons also worked to strengthen ties to those away from home. providing a daily devotions book, “Strength for Service to God and Country” to all Derry members serving in the military. At home, a special flag, emblazoned with a star for each member enlisted in the service, was displayed in the Chapel. In November 1946, this flag was replaced with a bronze memorial plaque bearing their names.

While Derry Church had celebrated the Christmas season with a special evening service, gathering as a congregation on Christmas Eve was not introduced until 1944. That year, Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday. This tradition has continued every year since then.

Reverend Longbrake had a keen interest in the history of Derry Church. In 1949, Derry Church celebrated its 225th anniversary with a weekend-long series of events. On October 30, 1949, during a special afternoon service, he spoke about the history of Derry Church and its cemetery. The service included music provided by Hershey Industrial School (Milton Hershey School) Band. Special guests included members of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the American Revolution. Following the service, new grave markers were dedicated honoring Revolutionary War soldiers and patriots buried in our churchyard.

Derry Church Sunday School continued to grow during these years. Operating somewhat independently of the larger church, the Sunday School program grew from 351 to 533 members during the 1940s. Programs for teenagers and young adults grew as an important part of Derry Church’s ministry.

Derry Church membership continued to expand under Reverend Longbrake. While the John Elder Memorial Chapel had been expanded in 1935, that addition did not provide adequate space for the growing congregation. By 1950, membership had risen to 506 people and the effectiveness of church programs was limited by the crowded facilities. As Hershey returned to peacetime, Derry Church began discussing plans to expand. Before Reverend Longbrake resigned in 1950, plans to enlarge the church building had already been approved.

Throughout the Great Depression and World War II, Derry continued to serve God and the surrounding community. While people in Derry Township and beyond benefited from Derry’s time, service, and money, new church programs, staff, and expanded facilities helped the congregation to proclaim God’s word, share God’s love, and practice God’s justice.