Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/97

Rh present who had helped in the work of organization a quarter of a century before.

At the time of his return in 1873, the church at The Dalles had twenty-three members. They were still without a building, but had two lots which Ezra Fisher and one or two others had purchased about 1868. As actively as. in his younger days, their pastor took up the labors before him. Besides working toward a church building, he preached two well-prepared sermons each Sunday, taught the Bible class in the Sunday school and did much pastoral visiting. He was also elected County School Superintendent.

Upon returning to Oregon, he had earnestly prayed that God might once more bless his efforts in the conversion of souls. During the winter he held revival meetings in which he labored for six weeks. Sixteen of the young people of the town were added to the church. Among the number were his youngest son, Rev. C. M. Hill, present head of the Baptist Theological Seminary at Berkeley, Cal., and Rev. G. W. Hill, a Baptist missionary in China.

The next summer he came to the Valley to visit and to attend the Baptist State Convention and the Willamette Association, in both of which he took an active part. To the latter, which met at Forest Grove, he extended an invitation in behalf of his church to meet at The Dalles the following year, expecting that their $3,000 church would then be ready for dedication. The minutes of that year record: "Elder Fisher preached at the Baptist church to a full house. The venerable servant of God seemed to renew his youth, while he held forth Jesus as the Great High Priest of our profession, and urged all to come to Him and live."

On September 9, 1874, he conducted the exercises at the laying of the corner stone of the First Baptist church of The Dalles, Rev. D. J. Pierce, of Portland, giving the address of the occasion.