LAKEPORT — St. John”s Episcopal Church will dedicate its conference room to the memory of church founder Mary Blackwood Collier, immediately after the regular 10 a.m. service on May 20 at 1190 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
Collier”s great-granddaughter, from Santa Barbara, and other family members plan to attend the dedication of the Collier Room. A potluck lunch follows in Carey Hall.
After the loss of her youngest child, John Pierre, to a fire at their Victorian home in what is now the Robin Hill area north of Lakeport, Collier was determined to erect a lasting memorial to her son by building St. John”s Episcopal Church. She rallied the support of other Episcopalians in the area who, since 1877, were organized as a mission of Holy Trinity Church, Ukiah.
Through the Collier family roots in San Francisco they were able to commission architect Willis Polk who, a decade later, was one of the chief re-builders of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Polk designed what he called an “English country church” in native redwood.
Having secured the lot on the north end of town, Collier and the other women set about fundraising. St. John”s was completed and consecrated in July 1899.
At St. John”s last annual meeting, a resolution was approved to name the new conference room, which had been created out of the former secretary”s office, in honor of Collier and the other builders of St. John”s.
Father Leo Joseph, St. John”s parish priest, has been in touch with Mary Blackwood Collier of Santa Barbara, the granddaughter and namesake of the founder, and she has furnished the church with a formal portrait of her grandmother and also a portrait of the whole Collier family of Lakeport.
In the past three months, the room was emptied of its 50 years of accumulation and the walls and ceiling painted.
Antique wood finish flooring has been donated and an oriental design area rug, given by the late Helen Tolton”s daughter, Sharon, will cover the center of the room. On it will set a solid antique pine conference table, donated by Rob and Teri Millberry in memory of Rob”s father, Bob Millberry and the other family who have been members of St. John”s over the past century.
A matching corner cabinet has been donated as well as a dozen hardwood folding chairs. Besides serving as a small meeting space, the Collier Room will display family portraits of the Colliers as well as other pictures and historic objects connected with St. John”s early years.
