Aftermath and Rebuilding the Congregational Church

Adversity often brings people and communities together. We as a nation witnessed this phenomena after terrorist attacks on 9-11 and hurricane Katrina. After the devastating Congregational Church fire in 1941, one would naturally expect church members to join together in an effort to rebuild their house of worship, but the outpouring from greater East Hampton attests to the nobility and oneness which did and should prevail in a close knit community such as ours. At that point in East Hampton's 200 year history, it was reported to be the Town's Most Disastrous Fire inflicting $70,000 of loss as the Church was totally razed and the adjoining Parish House receiving extensive damage. In today's terms, the loss would be well over a million dollars. At the time, the building carried only $12,500 of insurance. I suspect that was an example of Yankee frugality.

The partition where the flames worked themselves to the attic were only a short distance from where the organist, Sidney McAlpine, sat. He was rehearsing selections for the Sunday service, but unaware of the situation until he heard a commotion outside where the smoke was first seen. The fact that he noticed nothing amiss bore out the painters' early belief that the fire was not of serious nature. The pastor, Rev. Mr. Lair reported and gratefully accepted immediate offers of assistance from members of St. John's Episcopal Chapel, St. Patrick's Church and the Bethlehem Lutheran Church including acceptance of the Lutheran Church as a place for worship for the congregation. The church was build in 1854, succeeding a similar structure constructed in 1748 that burned to the ground in 1852 and considered an outstanding example of fine colonial New England architecture. Described as "a picturesque setting among tall trees on a green overlooking the Belltown's trading center, it was the subject of many canvasses and photographs."

Within days of the 1941 church fire, Fred Gates, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Church leaders had begun the painstaking and laborious process to build once again. Architect, Arland A. Dirlam of Maiden, MA was engaged by the Building Committee. On November 30th, Dirlam presented preliminary building plans and advised the group that the parish house, constructed in 1905, could be reconstructed within two or three months and the present foundation for the sanctuary could be used for reconstructing the church.

When the Congregational Church was being razed by fired on Nov. 4th, one spectator who was not a member of the church approached the pastor, Rev. J. Edward Lair, and said "Well, there is only one thing to do. We've all got to help put it back." The community did rally in support! Members of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, St. John's Episcopal Church and the Swedish Lutheran Church asked for the privilege of contributing and organizations such as the local Odd Fellows lodge held a dance, donating the proceeds. Mrs. George Leewitz (Alice C. Bevin) East Hampton artist held a tea in her home on Barton Hill donating 2 of her paintings as door prizes.

Had the situation been normal, work would have begun immediately. Although the fund raising campaign jumped into high gear, actual construction and rebuilding would wait until 1948 before seeing completion and re-dedication with its lofty steeple the focal point of the Village Center. You see, Pearl Harbor was attacked just a month later. As every community across this county rallied, people, resources and efforts were dedicated to supplying the war effort. Building materials would not become available until after the end of WW II. In that interim, worship services were held at the Lutheran Church. Originally it was the Union Congregational Church erected in 1855.

Mom's Birthday Present

The other evening, I was watching a movie on TV, Summer Vacation staring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold. Included in the cast was comedienne and actress Imogene Coco as Aunt Edna – the crotchety old lady who expires while being returned to her home in Phoenix. So as not to ruin the already disastrous vacation, Aunt Edna is carted seated on a chair on the roof of the family station wagon to her home and left on the door step as the Griswold’s make tracks for Wally World.
Seeing Imogene Coco reminded me of the summer days of my youth and our neighbor Alice Bevin. Mrs. Bevin, as I have previously noted, was an accomplished artist who owned the 3 story Second Empire style house on the crest of Barton Hill. She also owned an apartment in the upbeat Gramercy Park section of New York City. From her wide social network, Alice met many Broadway and nightclub entertainers who were often summer weekend guests at her home in East Hampton – one being Imogene Coco!
I also remember there being a nightclub entertainer / owner Hugh Shannon, who stayed frequently during those summers. On one of those lazy Saturday summer afternoons, Betty Benson, Alice’s daughter called my mother, Pauline and a couple of her friends and neighbors, Beth Hitchcock and Muriel Bailey, to come over to the house to meet a guest. When they arrived, this swarthy gentleman, Hugh Shannon, asked them to join him by the piano where he began crooning a number of popular tunes – you know – the ones a Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett or Johnny Mathis would sing.
I still chuckle today at the vision of these ladies hovered around this singer, cigarette smoke curling about his head, and the captivated small town girls who couldn’t have bought a ticket for a better show. Happy Birthday Mom!


Post Script - Hugh Shannon, born 1921 in De Sota, Missouri, died 1982 in New York City. While attending the University of Southern California, he played in a campus club. After military service in the US Navy during World War II, he would up in New York City where he met Billie Holiday, who encouraged him to become a singer. He took her advice and began working in bars, gradually developing his skills until he was able to find work at leading New York nightspots including the 22 Club and Le Perroquet, before travelling to Europe to take a job in Capri. From there he went to the south of France, then Paris, where he worked in a club owned by Ada "Bricktop" Smith. During the late 40s and through the 50s, Shannon became hugely popular with the smart set, numbering millionaires, film stars and royalty among his fans. He became a regular in clubs in the Virgin Islands, alternative with Capri and occasional appearances in New York. For the rest of his life, he continued working in fashionable resorts for audiences of the rich and famous. An engaging and idiosyncratic style and an enclyclopaedic knowledge of songs, helped make Shannon one of the leading cabaret artists of his generation.

Alice Conklin Bevin - East Hampton - Artist of the World

As I was driving over Barton Hill the other day, I was struck by the wonderful restoration of the Philo Bevin 3 story Second Empire style mansion constructed in 1872 situated at the crest of the hill. I grew up across the street in the 1960s, where my parents owned the Dutch colonial gamble roofed home built circa 1770 owned by William Barton, the founder of East Hampton’s Bell Industry. But what I remember fondly was my neighbor and friend - Alice C. Bevin.

Philo Bevin House at 26 Barton Hill owned by Ms Franciene A. Lehmann

Alice Bevin was an East Hampton Born Parisian Artist who painted throughout the world from the Arctic Circle to the boarder of the Sahara Desert. In her own words from a 1940 Hartford Courant article, she stated “The people I have painted throughout the world .... have not only impressed me by the contrast of their various types but they have shown me many sides of life hitherto unknown. What knowledge of life one gains painting people. From all the portraits and studies I have done how much more I have learned beyond mere composition and the bare technique of painting that each new subject teaches us.”

“Much has been written about the artist’s ability to read the souls of his sitters. He does so undoubtedly, whether consciously or not. Invariably, the sitter becomes confidential while posing in much the same way the patient confides in his doctor. The artist, listening with only half an ear as he mixes the flesh tones, gradually gains a knowledge of the character of his subject. Sometimes it has happened that in painting portraits of friends whom I thought I knew intimately, I have to my great surprise, suddenly discovered that I never really knew them at all.”

From 1940 Hartford Courant Article by Alice C. Bevin

Some of Alice’s noted subjects were Yamina, the Arab-dancing girl in Bou-Saada, a Lapp fisherman guide sketched in Finland, Hada, a drummer from the desert regions of Bou-Saada in Algeria, or the Sardine Fishermen of Concarneau.

Her home was this incredible art gallery which housed a number of her paintings not on display in noted museums such as the Louvre in Paris.

Reprint of the 1940 Hartford Courant article written by Alice C. Bevin

I met Mrs. Bevin, as we addressed her, through her grandsons, Granger and Nathaniel Benson who lived in New York City, but spent numerous weekends and summers here with their grandmother. We had wonderful times exploring the massive garage and barn that housed her studio, and a spectacular room that depicted a stadium. The four walls were painted with the spectators of a bull fight as if watching a matador challenge a bull in the center of the barn. I believe Alice's daughter, Betty Benson, painted this scene.

In my later high school years, I would do gardening and odd jobs around the property, replace burnt out electrical box fuses, and on occasion, house sit. One Valentine's Day, she presented me with a gift of one of her paintings - a winter view of our house painted from the 3rd floor of her home. The painting below was accompanied by a note that I still find amusing.

A note accompanying a gift of her painting of our house on Barton Hill.

Alice Bevin passed away 40 years ago, but the paintings that graced her home, still touch my soul. I remember standing in her living room, which was a gallery of her paintings, surrounded by a dozen or more of her subjects. Two things struck me about these many varied portraits. First the lifelike detail and second the eyes. The eyes of each always seemed to sparkle reflecting a certain contentment of the individual. But second, the subjects eyes always seemed to follow me as I moved around the room - almost as if the captured image brought a little of the subjects spirit along for eternity in the portrait she painted.

From her exhibit August 5, 1967 Celebrating East Hampton's Bicentennial.