August 25               Fairhaven, Massachusetts

David was scheduled to arrive before nightfall so I finished my cleaning chores and prepped for dinner.  Hurricane Irene was off the East Coast and was predicted to hit by the weekend.  Several large yachts had come into the marina and the limited available space was rapidly decreasing.  Our boat was moved forward to provide additional dock area for a yacht whose massive white prow seemed almost to be coming into our aft deck area.  It looked as if a large whale was rising from the water.

I rode my bike to the Unitarian Memorial Church and was fortunate again to have an excellent guide for an individual tour.  Designed by Charles Brigham and completed in 1904, the church was wholly a gift from Henry Huddleston Rogers in memory of his mother.  The construction budget was unlimited and Rogers never revealed the total cost; but is estimated to have been considerable even in 1904 dollars.

More than forty stone carvers from Italy and wood carvers from Bavaria worked for three years to execute the multiple details and figures that adorn every wall, pew, pillar, and niche throughout the sanctuary, office areas, and fellowship rooms.  Eight ten feet tall angels of wood, covered in beaten gold, are attached to huge beams supporting the wooden ceiling of the sanctuary.  The nave is 71 feet long with 24 feet tall stained glass windows, executed in the Art Nouveau style of Louis Comfort Tiffany.  They are breathtakingly beautiful.  Above the choir area is “The Nativity” depicting Mary, the Christ Child, a shepherd, and the Magi in glorious shades of blue, turquoise, violet, and mauve.  At the other end of the nave is the “Sermon on the Mount” window depicting the twelve Apostles with a glorious image of Jesus depicted in shades of yellow, green, and brown.  Reid used a layered stained glass technique, usually seven to twelve plates, to produce multiple colorations that seemed to “melt” from one hue to another.  These two windows are, in my opinion, equal or superior to any produced by Tiffany and many others renowned throughout the world.  It was difficult to walk away from them.  Smaller examples of Reid’s work, memorializing family members or honored notables, were installed in the nave and clerestory.  The walls, pews, choir, baptistery canopy, and pulpit were made of intricately carved bog oak, a rare material imported from England.  The master carver, John Kirchmayer, a worthy vocational descendant of Riemenschneider, another woodcarver whose famous work I greatly admire, executed a pulpit and baptistery canopy that magnificently depict multiple figures with individualized faces and poses. 

Henry Huddleston Rogers left a bequest of two million dollars to maintain the Unitarian Memorial Church.  This considerable amount was lost in the stock market debacle of 1929.  Today the church has only about 150 active members and there are limited funds.  This great treasure is threatened but the members are mounting a capital campaign that hopefully will fill their coffers and provide for needed maintenance.

David arrived and was glad to escape again the Texas heat.  The news regarding the hurricane indicated we were definitely in its path.  We decided our present position was secure as a giant hurricane barrier, with massive steel doors that closed when needed, guarded the mouth of the river leading from the bay. This would prevent surges that could inundate the marina.  We would remain in Fairhaven until the storm was over.