Up from the Ashes
by Arlene Wege

2011 marks the 200th anniversary of St. James Episcopal Church in Hyde Park, an occasion that has already and will continue to be celebrated by a wide variety of events for every interest and age group.

St. James Church was established in 1811 by a small group of Hyde Park residents, including Samuel Bard, who was George Washington’s physician and the son of the town’s founder, John Bard. The original land parcel set aside for a family burial site and referred to as “a knoll of ground” was, over time, expanded by additional parcels and is now actually ten acres comprised of the Church, the Rectory, and the historic graveyard known as God’s Acre.

This fall the Church conducted a number of graveyard tours that provided just enough factual and anecdotal background to make one want more. The first grave following “history’s path,” as it is known, belongs to John Bard, born 1716, a distinguished physician, the first president of the New York Medical Society, and the man who named Hyde Park in honor of Edward Hyde, the Governor of the Colony of New York. Bard College was named after John Bard’s grandson, John, son of Samuel. The college was started as St. Stephen’s College by James McVicker, St. James’s first Vicar, who is also buried here. In one of the site’s mausoleums (nicknamed The Bathtub because it houses the remains of several important people) lies Nathan F. Pendleton, Alexander Hamilton’s second in the famous, fatal duel with Aaron Burr.

One lesser known of the individuals buried in God’s Acre is Henrietta Nesbitt, who met Eleanor Roosevelt through a chapter of the local League of Women Voters, and was then invited to work in Washington as the White House housekeeper and cook. Ms. Nesbitt’s penny-pinching, plain cooking was not appreciated by FDR or his guests, many of whom made sure to dine at home beforehand. Eleanor defended Henrietta’s “food conservancy.” Her name, if not her food, is memorialized today by Mrs. Nesbitt’s Café, the snack bar in the Wallace Visitor Center on the grounds of the FDR Library and Home.

The Roosevelt connection to St. James Church is, of course, wellknown. Franklin’s father, John, taught Sunday School, and he and his wife, Sara Delano, are buried there. Franklin was baptized at the Chapel at St. James, and he also served as a Vestryman from 1906 to 1945. His pew is the third from the front on the north side of the church. In 1962, Eleanor’s funeral was held here, and among the many who attended were Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, and John and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the 2011 Bicentennial Celebration of St. James Church is that the church sanctuary is standing at all. In June of 1984, a fire reduced the building to ashes. It is a tribute to the St. James parishioners that through their devoted efforts, they could rebuild and return just one year later to an edifice scarcely different from the one that had been destroyed.

The Reverend Charles Kramer (“Father Chuck”), who currently presides over St. James parish, obviously loves history. He describes the work of his parish as making the Gospel present in loving actions. In addition to the church’s ongoing outreach, some of the many bicentennial activities scheduled for 2011 include a boat cruise on the Hudson, a miniature golf tournament, craft fairs, a series of history lectures dubbed Fireside Chats, an organ recital, and the Ditty Bag Service Project, which will fill 200 bags with essential items for women and children in three local shelters. A book compiled by Rev. Kramer and the parishioners, Historical Notes of St. James Church, is also scheduled to be released later in the year.

On Sunday, October 30, the Festive Bicentennial Eucharist and Reception will take place at 4 p.m. Reservations for this very special event will be required, as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the U.S., Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be in attendance. Jefferts Schori is the first woman primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The graveyard tours will also resume in summer and fall, this time guided by lantern light, and may include historical re-enactments by costumed actors. Whether tracing “history’s path” in God’s Acre, contemplating the beauty of the miraculously reborn church structure, or participating in any of the events dedicated to the first 200 years in the history of a remarkable parish, Father Chuck, the Bicentennial Committee, and the members of the St. James Episcopal Church parish are ready to welcome all who appreciate its rich history.

For further information, contact Bicentennial Committee Co-Chair Joanne Lown at 845-229-0908 (lownjo@juno.com) or the Reverend Chuck Kramer at 845-229-2820 (stjamesoffice@stjameshydepark.org).