Penn Valley Meeting of Friends: The Beginnings

What is now Penn Valley Meeting of Friends grew out of a newly formed unit of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in the late 1930's. These pacifists joined with "Negro friends and acquaintances" to form a committee for the Practice of Democracy "with the purpose of building bridges of understanding and fellowship between the two groups.

One couple, Albert and Lorene Jewel, corresponded with Emma Cadbury, chairperson of the wider Quaker fellowship. She came from Philadelphia in January of 1942 to speak on peace and assist in the formation of a Quaker meeting. The first was held at the Jewel's home on a cold and snowy night. About 15 attended. Lorene later remarked, "I'll never forget that first meeting. I felt as though my heart had come home."

Until June, the attenders gathered either at the home of the Jewels or the Wrights; later on pleasant days, they met in a "quiet spot" in Loose Park. "That winter we found a meeting place that was centrally located in the Hard of Hearing club rooms at Linwood and Main. By the third winter we had made arrangements to use the Sunday School rooms of All Souls Unitarian Church. Because most of us were new to silent worship, we spent the first half of worship period taking turns at reading aloud from such Quaker books as Thomas Kelly's Testament of Devotion or the Book of Discipline of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. A half hour of silence would follow, which was frequently not broken by any speaking. . . .One of the first attenders, Francis A. Wright, suggested that since our meeting place was close of Penn Valley Park, that the name Penn Valley Meeting would be appropriate and have a pleasant Quakerish sound."

From an addendum by Reva Griffith after talking to Millie Clapp about the pre-Penn Valley Meeting Days. . . .A meeting was established in Kansas City in the 1870's by Millie's grandparents and other Friends from England. In 1908 (thereabouts), this meeting became a pastoral meeting and was affiliated with Kansas Yearly Meeting. The Friends church building was located at 30 and Bales. Some of the Friends who helped found Penn Valley Meeting were members or descendants of members of that church.