|
|
Palmer Home for Children
Our History
(The following is a
brief overview of the rich history of Palmer Home. For a more complete
history, please see our special Centennial magazine, "A Century of Hope -
A Passion to Care")
Palmer Home is named
for Dr. Benjamin Morgan Palmer, a native of South Carolina and perhaps the
leading Southern Presbyterian preacher of the nineteenth century. During
his more than 50 years as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in New
Orleans, Dr. Palmer touched the lives of both small and great, winning
wide popular support and public acclaim.
Among Dr. Palmer’s
many admirers was William States Jacobs, pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church in Columbus. The son of the founder of South Carolina's Thornwell
Orphanage (named for the great Southern Presbyterian theologian James
Henley Thornwell), Jacobs arrived in Columbus fresh out of seminary and
soon challenged his congregation to start it's own orphanage and to name
it after Palmer. The women of First Presbyterian Church became the
driving force behind the new orphanage, which was officially chartered by
the State of Mississippi on March 13, 1895 and located on the south side
of Columbus, MS at 912 11th Ave South.
By 1898, Palmer opened
the doors of it's Lindamood Building, a three-story structure that today
serves as Palmer’s main administration building, and began admitting
children that same year. Interestingly, early Palmer records confirm that
Palmer Home, like Dr. Palmer himself, quickly won more than Presbyterian
hearts. Every church in town, including the local synagogue, helped
contribute funds to construct the Lindamood Building.
By 1902, with some 40
children in residence, Palmer’s support base grew to include Presbyterian
churches throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as interested
friends and other organizations in Columbus an beyond.
In 1905, when the Rev.
William Frierson became Palmer’s third superintendent, the orphanage
consisted of about 18 acres, two brick buildings, and a small farm.
Following William Frierson’s death in 1919, his son, John Frierson, a
bachelor lawyer who had moved to Columbus in 1910 to assist his ailing
parents, was named superintendent. John Frierson served as Palmer's
leader without pay for 31 years. He led Palmer through the depression and
two world wars until his retirement in 1950 at age 74, winning hearts and
changing lives throughout his entire distinguished career.
John Frierson’s
successor, Rev William C. Sistar, brought new prosperity to Palmer, but
also found himself enmeshed in a period of turmoil. With Palmer’s
original buildings long beyond their original projected life and in need
of major repairs, there was an offer to move Palmer Home to Vicksburg, a
proposal that sparked division among Palmer’s trustees. In 1955, to end
the dispute, the Presbyterian synods involved in Palmer’s governance,
renounced all legal right and title to Palmer, but never built a competing
institution. Sistar resigned the same year, but in his five years as
superintendent annual contributions to Palmer nearly doubled from $49,000
in 1950 to $84,000 in 1955.
Sistar’s successor,
Palmer Business Manager Mr. J.O. Davis, faced the daunting challenges of
rebuilding church relationships as well as the Palmer campus. His
efforts proved to be highly successful. During Davis’ years as
superintendent from 1956-1977, all of Palmer’s present residential
cottages, with the exception of Buchanan and Brotherhood Cottages, were
completed through private contributions and volunteer help. Palmer
was again re-embraced by Presbyterians as an approved cause, even as its
support from other denominations, corporations, foundations, and
interested individuals continued to grow.
Succeeding "Papa Joe",
as Davis was affectionately known, was Mr. Joe Mitchell, Palmer's seventh
leader in a period of nearly 80 years. Like
 Davis, Mitchell continued to
expand the Palmer physical plant, completing a new dining hall facility
funded by the Telephone Pioneers. He also championed a change in Palmer’s
governance structure, which led to Palmer becoming independent of direct
church control. Today, Palmer is governed by an independent,
self-perpetuating Board of Directors, each of whom must personally affirm
his or her loyalty to the basic tenets of the Christian faith as further
expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith.
In 1984, Rev. Taylor
McGown was named as executive director, bringing with him a fresh sense of
professionalism from his prior years as a businessman. McGown's footwork
paved the way for Palmer's current leader, Dr. Ed Waldron, who has led
Palmer Home since January, 1990. During Dr. Waldron's tenure,
Palmer celebrated it's Centennial in 1995, constructed Brotherhood
Cottage and Veitch Villa in Columbus, established a second campus in
DeSoto County, MS, and added expanded thrift store, orchard and greenhouse
programs.
Palmer has also
significantly enhanced it's child care outreach through the addition of it's
counseling and educational programs. Palmer's annual budget exceeds $3.5
million, with some 80 children in year-round residential care in Columbus,
and a growing number of youngsters at it's newly opened campus in DeSoto
County near Memphis. When fully completed, the DeSoto Campus will serve
as many as 120 children in residence and numerous others through Palmer’s
foster care and counseling programs.
Palmer’s alumni, more
than 1,000 strong, have gone on to lead productive family lives, providing
leadership and service in their varied professional, church, and community
activities. And Palmer’s founding vision—to provide a privately
supported, loving Christian home for children who have no place else to
turn—remains flourishing and intact.
|
