The Story of Omagh Bible School
by Wilma (Johnstone) Moore Nov. 1980
It began in the 30's.
In 1937 Mr. and Mrs. William B. Johnstone, members of the
Church of Christ meeting at
Omagh since 1851, a small village near Milton, Ontario, conceived the idea of
inviting young people from the
city to spend a short vacation on their farm, so as to provide Christian
companionship for their own children; to
help youth come to know God as Creator of all things and Father of all men; to
help develop a faith in the Bible
as the word of God; and to develop standards of right and wrong, based on
Christian values.
They arranged for
Mr. and Mrs. Alex Stewart to assist, and Mr. Stewart, minister for the Church of
Christ then meeting on Bathurst
St. near College St. in Toronto, Ontario, taught the Bible classes. Miss Grace Johnstone taught a class in
singing. The students numbered 25 that year. They ranged in age from early teens
to late 20's. Girls were
housed in the large farm home; boys in a nearby building. Young people from
Omagh came each day by car,
bringing with them their visiting city cousins. This brought the total student
body up to 38. There were seven
baptisms. Meals were cooked in the "summer kitchen" and served at one large
table in the spacious kitchen.
Classes were taught in a large building near the house. School began at 9:00
a.m. with chapel, followed by
classes running to 11:30 a.m. and resuming again at 1:30 p.m. through to 3:30
p.m. Memory work was a daily
class, and of the utmost importance. Chapters of the Bible were memorized.
Sunday services at the church
building at Omagh were a highlight. Afternoon services were held at the school.
Visitors and students ate their
noon meal, provided by the Omagh ladies, on the lawn in the shade of the house.
Dessert most often, and
considered a real treat, was home-made ice cream. Mr. Harold Walker from the
Sanford Avenue congregation
in Hamilton made the ice cream and it came packed in dry ice.
Evening services were held three nights a week at the Omagh church building
-
which was a very unique
building. Each row of seats was
 one step higher than the previous one. The
congregation "looked down" on
the speaker. Of course, the favourite seat in the building was the highest one -
and so coming early had its
advantages. Visitors were many.
Tuesday evening was sports night, when many rousing baseball games were played.
Thursday evening
was concert night. This brought many happy scenes to view; a hilarious group on
the lawn watching some skit,
or listening to a song.
Saturday afternoon was a good time for hiking down the
“Sixteen Mile Creek". Supper
was cooked outside.
The croquet lawn was never idle a moment after classes. Oh
yes, and swimming; many
good splashes were enjoyed in the creek.
The school lasted three weeks.
By the time the summer of 1938 had rolled around, the attendance had risen to
58. A large double
garage was built. Boys slept in the second storey and classes were held on the
ground floor, in addition to the
original classrooms. Mr. Lloyd Snure from the Church of Christ meeting on
Sanford Avenue, Hamilton was
added to the teaching staff. He
 taught singing and Old Testament History.
Interest in the school remained high
in the years to follow. Attendance grew. Ministers from other congregations came
to assist with the teaching
and the preaching on Sunday and week-night services, and many fine ladies came
to help Mrs. Johnstone with
the cooking.
1942 was the year of the tents. Attendance had climbed to 86, plus
the staff.
The following poem was written July 23,1942 by Mr. Raymond H. Crumbliss, who was
school principal after the
death of Mr. Alex Stewart in 1941. Mr. Johnstone died in December of that same
year.
THE SAGA OF OMAGH BIBLE SCHOOL
The cattle take to the timbers, the geese begin to hiss.
The little pigs say: "Mother, dear, our home was never like this."
The turkeys scram, the chickens squawk
The horses start to run
And everyone for miles around
Knows the Omagh School's begun.
The tents go up like mushrooms;
The grass goes down like hay.
The boys and girls are everywhere;
The groceries fade away.
Bright and early Monday morning scholars come with smiling faces
Into classes with their books to take their chosen places.
They sleep awhile; recite awhile; and whisper when they will.
They listen some, and study some, but never are they still.
The days pass by so swiftly that they truly seem to fly,
And no one seems to realize that time is fleeting by.
We have our little musicales, and entertainments too,
To keep the time from dragging and the kids from feeling blue.
The Rangers sing a lot of songs, and do a blackface act
They make the rafters ring and shake with laughter, for a fact.
A "squawktet" sings, their faces red,
Each note is in its place.
They have a voice none other has -
A girl who's singing bass.
The baseball games are really rich, we all have loads of fun.
It's hard to get them started, then it's hard to get them done.
The croquet mallets swing and pop
The players argue long
And everyone is in the fun
'Til the preacher rings the gong.
And then the noise is quieted down, and peace rules all serene.
The girls are all in dreamland and the boys are off the scene.
But wait! A giggle comes to break the whisper of the breeze,
It trickles down the stairway from the room that's called “4-E's".
And then a shoe bangs on the floor, creating an awful din,
And anyone who's in the know, says: "That was Dew-Drop Inn".
A light springs up to break the dark -
And Shangri-La is on a lark.
The boys in tents have good intents, but oh! how bad they stray!
They go to bed to go to sleep, and then awake they stay.
The girls in tents have shown themselves to be some "camper-outers"
Altho' we find, their methods prove, they are convention flouters.
And when day breaks and the sun shines down,
The school once more goes round and round.
The Rangers start the day off right, with eyes by sleep made blurry.
Their motto seems to be, for all: "Hurry, scurry, worry, Murray."
And Murray squawks, and Pole-cat yells,
And Joe calls "Quiet please."
One night we swelter in our beds;
The next we nearly freeze.
We take our pictures as we can; many snapshots do we click,
Getting all the things we like to snap, including those who're sick.
The pretty girls and manly boys, are all so photo-genic;
We all prefer their pictures to the landscape tho' it's scenic.
And when it rains, oh me! Oh my!
It falls in a solid sheet.
The thunder rolls, The lightning breaks,
And water soaks our feet.
Our beds get wet, our clothes no less;
We sleep upon the floor --
You'd think we wouldn't like it --but
We wake and CRY FOR MORE!
Because ---
We've learned whatever comes
The storms seem most unkind;
Come rain, come wind, come good or bad,
The sun is close behind.
And so,
With hearts filled up with happiness;
With minds both calm and cool;
We'll come next year, two hundred strong
To the Omagh Bible School.
-Raymond H. Crumbliss
July 23,1942
In 1943 the brethren at Omagh expressed the feeling that the responsibility for
the work should be
shared by others. The problem of how best to share the responsibilities was
solved by making use of the
 provisions of the Companies Act of the Province of Ontario. The school was
constituted as a corporation
without share capital and the membership fee set at one dollar per year for all
who were interested in becoming
members of it. Obviously all these members could not meet often enough to decide
the detailed business of
the corporation; therefore, a board of directors was appointed annually to
attend to the business and operation
of the school, and to be accountable to the members at the annual meeting.
The school was incorporated on July 25, 1943. The first board of directors were:
Mr. Jardine McKerlie, Toronto
Mr. A.L. Whitelaw, Toronto
Mr. M. McFadden, Omagh
Mr. C.H. Gay, St. Catharines
Mr. C.G. McPhee, Beamsville
In September 1943, in response to a request by the Meaford congregation, Messrs.
A.L. Whitelaw,
Jardine McKerlie and Raymond Crumbliss visited that congregation for the purpose
of giving information about
the Omagh Bible School. Similar action was taken to visit other Ontario
congregations.
The first Annual Meeting of members was held October 23, 1943 in the Church of
Christ meeting house
on Sanford Avenue, Hamilton, Ontario. The chairman in his introductory remarks
stated the purpose of the
meeting was to forward the organization and the work of the Omagh Bible School,
and concluded by stating that
there were 189 members in the corporation.
Mr. Jardine McKerlie was elected
first President of the school.
Four committees were appointed to act in an advisory capacity to the directors
as follows:
-
Vacation school program committee
-
Teachers Committee
-
Property and Accommodation Committee
-
Catering Committee.
In the 40's the building began. The first building erected in 1943 was a boy's
dormitory the following year
the dormitory was moved to a new location - into a beautiful wooded part of the
Johnstone farm, near to the "fifth
line road", and overlooking the "Sixteen Mile Creek". Timbers were cut, the
building raised and made ready
for the long haul. Tractors and bulldozers pulled the building some 300 yards to
its present location. This
existing building named "Johnstone Hall" was then used as a dining hall, and
early in June, under the direction
of
 Messrs L. Wallace, St. Catharines; C. Lumley, Beamsville; and E. Perry,
Tintern, a kitchen was built adjoining
the dining hall, as well as one classroom, "Stewart Study” and veranda. Four
dormitories, each to house 20
students and six small sectional buildings to house teachers, cooks, a hospital
and an office, were also erected
that year. These three carpenters lived with the Johnstone family for the month
of June. Additional volunteer
help came on Saturdays. On one Saturday it was noted that there were
seventy-five workers. Mr. Jardine
McKerlie was able to purchase from Northern Ontario, dressed lumber in carload
lots for about $30.00 per M,
plus $5.00 freight. A "lumber camp" stove was purchased for the kitchen. This
was a very large wood burning
stove that was to serve well for years to come. All of the cooking and baking
was done on this stove. There
were some difficulties re rationed goods, but wartime restrictions were borne
with fortitude. Young people were
needed for work, and so the age of the students became younger.
The curriculum in 1944 was as follows:
- 10-12 yrs. Old Testament Character Study; God's Library and how to use it; and
object lessons.
- 13-15 yrs. Three Ages of Religious History; Parables of Jesus; Christian
Evidences.
- 16 yrs. and up. Studies in the Life of Christ; Lessons on the church;
Christian Evidences.
-
All ages had Bible drill, memory work and singing.
The number of directors was
increased from 5 to 7. Dr. Eleanor Robinson was asked to serve as Medical Director.
On March 6, 1945, according to provincial legislation, the school obtained its
first license for Health
Inspection. Since that summer, there is a yearly inspection. Mr. C.G. McPhee
became principal, and continued
for several years to follow. Labour Day Weekend was initiated in 1945. Forty
attended.
In 1947 plans for the new staff building were decided upon and Mr. Loney Wallace
organized the work
and erection of this building, named in 1949 "McKerlie House".
On July 20 1947 a Grand Rally of all past and present members, friends and
students of the school was held.
At an annual meeting in 1948, the following message was delivered by Mr.
Loney Wallace, President of
the Board:
"A Godless age needs Christian young people to combat their tactics, and the
parents in the church must fortify
themselves and their families against the evil teachings abroad in the world.
Too long have we taken the
attitude that we, being few, can do nothing, but we must plan and work, and
envision still greater work in the
future, to build up a knowledge of good. Giving our time, money, wholehearted
interest, and work, to Omagh
Bible School, is an investment for God that will bring rich Heavenly interest".
In 1948 Hydro was installed. This gave a more modern atmosphere, but, for the
city child, the old coal oil
lanterns had been an experience, and a look into the past that many enjoyed. There
had been no radios, no
telephones, only the quiet country living - but then not so quiet at times.
Voices could be heard in the stillness
of the night from across the grounds. Also in 1948, a sports program was
initiated.
In 1949, an extension telephone from the Johnstone farm was installed.
In 1950,
there was a polio
outbreak, and Omagh was not to escape it. Sunday visitors came, but on that
second to last Sunday afternoon
they came to find they could only line the fence. Omagh was under quarantine.
Dr. Eleanor Robinson handled
the polio outbreak in a very efficient manner.
Up to now, water for the school
was pumped from wells. Early in
the 50's an extra water supply was pumped from the creek. It was also in the
early 50's that students were
allowed to "sleep in" until 7:30 a.m. In earlier years the rising bell was
sounded each morning at 7 a.m. with
breakfast at 8 a.m.
Teacher training classes were introduced in 1956. There were
approximately 22 attending
classes daily, while visitors from various congregations attended nightly. In
1957 this special week was
changed to a "Training For Service Series", to give a wider range program.
Lessons included: Teacher
Training; Training for elders and deacons; evangelism; and personal evangelism -
cottage meetings. The
program continued as a Christian Fellowship Week.
In the 60's the swimming pool
became a reality, after
many years of planning. The pool opened in 1961. During this same year the
wood-burning stove was
replaced with a gas stove. The use of counselors was to replace the monitor in
each dorm, and while crafts
were not completely new, they were now part of the planned program. "Camp Omagh"
lasted 6 weeks. Indian
Folk Lore was introduced and Friday night became a very important climax to each
week. Teen Week became
very popular.
In the 70's a Girls' Week had a small beginning but later was
changed to a week-end retreat and
has become very well attended. A trampoline
 was installed to allow increased
activities for the campers. It has
proven to be a favourite for the young people. Volleyball and football are also
popular sports. But the game of
all games is "Capture the Flag". Swimming instruction was given daily. Bus
outings to Bronte Provincial Park
were enjoyed.
A Picnic and Fun Day marked the 40th Anniversary of Omagh. Many
friends gathered to
reminisce. "Goldie" the wonder horse was the special attraction.
In the 70's
more building. In 1978 Mr. Fred
Whittington from the Church of Christ in Bramalea, Ontario, designed and built a
new washroom office complex,
with showers and running hot water. A grand opening, complete with a ribbon
cutting ceremony, fundraising,
picnic and fun day, starring "Goldie" the Wonder Horse was held on July 15,
1978.
We are now entering the
80's. A week of Family Fellowship, just a little different from those in the
50's was introduced. Tents and
campers sprung up everywhere on the grounds. Families enjoyed a week of fun and
fellowship.
The directors
of Omagh now number 11. Many, many fine dedicated Christians have worked so hard
over these 40 odd
years for Omagh. It is impossible to mention names for fear of missing some.
They have served as President
of the Corporation, Directors, Secretaries, Principal of the School, Teachers,
Monitors, Cooks, Medical
Director, Nurse, Camp Director, Sports Director, Counsellors, Lifeguard, Craft
Director, Maintenance Workers
and Auditors.
The students? Without them we would have nothing. Many came to
know God as Creator of all
things. Many developed a deep faith in the Bible as the Word of God. Many heard
the gospel for the first time.
Many were baptized. Many became preachers of the gospel serving here in Canada
and in the mission field. Many lasting friendships were formed, and yes, many Christian marriages. That
dream so many years ago has,
and still is, being fulfilled.
OMAGH IS ON HER WAY!
Wilma Johnstone Moore,
November 1980
P.S. - The following letter was written more than thirty years ago to the
brethren in Ontario. The
writer suggests five ways that we can be of assistance to Omagh. Check these
five ways. Accept them as if
they were written to you today in 1980.
AN OPEN LETTER
1212 Hanover Street,
Tarrant, 7, Ala.
To the saints and faithful brethren which are in Christ in Ontario:
It is often my joy to call to mind the many pleasant associations shared with
you during the time of my sojourn in
your fair land. And no memories are more dear to me than those which arise from
companying with you and
your boys and girls in the school at Omagh. My heart beats faster at the
prospect of being again among you
briefly - if God wills - during July, in this year of our Lord, 1944.
I have
encountered a great deal of confusion and
turmoil among parents, occasioned by their concern over the spiritual and moral
welfare of their children. More
than ever, these things have impressed upon me the inestimable value of the work
being accomplished by the
Omagh Bible School. There at Omagh, a little rural community, humble,
unpretentious, and unsung, (among the
worldly-wise) you have a means of instilling and developing those things of the
spirit, which is unexcelled - save
by the church itself, and your own homes.
Most of you are aware of all this. I
write in the hope that my feeble pen
may offer encouragement to all who are interested in this fine work. I have
written in years past to urge you to
use every available means to assist the progress of the school. Again I urge you
to do so.
First, by your interest in the school. Not the interest of the carping critic
seeking only an excuse to evade any
real responsibility on his part, but the interest of one vitally desirous of
seeing the youth of Ontario strengthened
in the Lord. And willing to sacrifice and work that this may be accomplished.
Second, by your prayers. Not the superficial, perfunctory mention of this
endeavour as a favour to me or to any
other man, but the sincere, heartfelt, and earnest petition of a child of God,
to a Father who has promised to
hear the prayers of the faithful. Pray for the teachers, the scholars and all
concerned with the school.
Third, by your assistance in any capacity where your abilities can be of help.
There is much work necessary to
properly prepare for the school, and in the material needs of it. Do your part:
which means, all that you can!
Fourth, by your financial support. Certainly it takes money to carry on such a
work. As more and more financial
help is received, the school can be expanded and its efficiency increased. So,
be not sparing, but invest in the
welfare of souls! There is no better way to use the prosperity God has given
you.
Fifth, urge and encourage the young of your community and congregation to attend
the school. Not with the sole
idea of having an outing, or a vacation but with a far deeper purpose –
spiritual development.
May God bless us all, brethren, in our mutual efforts to extend the borders of
His Kingdom. Let us work as
co-workers together with God, having in view not only the betterment of our
community, our town, our nation, and
our world, but that which is more important, the eternal salvation of the souls
of men.
Hoping to come to you shortly, I am,
Yours in Him,
RAYMOND H. CRUMBLISS
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