Rev. Earl Griffith Became Hopkins Methodist Minister in 1954

The January 7th, 1954 Hopkins Journal reported on the installment of the Rev. Earl Griffith as the new Wray Memorial Methodist minister. He came to Hopkins from Southern Methodist University, where he was to complete his graduate degree in theology on January 28th of that year. He began his duties in Hopkins December 20th.

He was the son of Mr. & Mrs. Earl Griffith of Trenton, from where he graduated. He entered the service in 1943 and fought the Germans in World War II. He became a department manager for Montgomery Ward, but in 1949, he was called to the ministry and enrolled at Westminister College in Fulton (MO). He then went to Southern Methodist in Dallas. 

Before coming to Hopkins, he served churches in Missouri and Texas.

He was married to Evelyn Fair in 1940. As of January 7th, 1954, they had two sons, David (5½) and Stephen (2½). 

Rev. Paul Barton, The Porch Preacher for Hopkins

At the Hopkins Historical Society, there is a display featuring Rev. Paul Barton, who was a preacher for the United Methodist Church in Hopkins. His father and both his grandfathers were Methodist preachers, and he was 25 years into preaching when he accepted the calling to preach at the church in 1938. Figuring out that church attendance needed to rise, he decided to try preaching his sermons from the front of his porch for a change. His first such sermon was delivered on July 3rd, 1938.

At the time, church competed against amusements such as horseshoe pitching and croquet in Hopkins. But word got out pretty quickly, and Rev. Barton was featured in the Omaha World-Herald on July 24th, 1938. Water and iced tea were served. “I’ll talk until the iced tea gets cold,” he told parishioners.

The World-Herald featured a lot of the congregants in the article. Among those pictured were Mrs. Eunice Otis, whose son, Merrill Otis, was a Federal Judge down in Kansas City. Everett Ulmer, a neighbor to Barton, listened to the sermon lying down on his couch. Eldon Bridgewater, a neighborhood boy, was pictured, along with Mrs. Ida New, Cina Johnston, Leola Williams, Mayor R.W. Sirles, Mrs. William Jeffers, and W.S. Nicholson.