Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:37-40

Economic troubles in 1907 on the U.S. east coast rippled across the nation to Texas and Bell County.

To compound the problems, the year included 12 months of freakish weather: record-breaking 90-plus  degrees in March and heavy rains inundating fields just as fall’s harvest began.

Bridges washed out, forcing rail traffic to a halt – further crippling  Central Texas’ economy. Bank failures, crop failures, rail failures and mosquito-borne sickness all deepened, creating another crisis in Bell County – the overwhelming number of poor people without food, fuel or shelter as weather worsened as the yuletide holidays began.

As if things couldn’t get worse, temperatures dipped as the year’s first freeze was recorded on Nov. 13 and continued throughout the following week.

The city and county had no organized system of help; in fact, city officials couldn’t identify who needed help. The only viable safety net in troubled times was the  Temple Pastors’ Association, a loose confederation of local clerics who focused their attention on outlawing alcohol and saloons

However, a group of civic-minded citizens along with local church pastors saw more urgent problems – starving, freezing people.  Christ Church rector,  the Rev. Eugene Cecil Seaman (1881-1950), formed a committee  along with the pastors of Grace Presbyterian and St. Mary’s Catholic and two businessmen/lay leaders to help the city’s poor.

Opponents to their effort argued that the poor deserved their plight because of their life choices; others maintained that brisk shopping was proof Temple had no poor people.

Moved by their faith, the newly formed committee of concerned clergy and laity saw the community differently. They hammered their belief that “One half of the world knows nothing of how the other half lives.”

Canvassing the city, the committee discovered families “without a pound of food or a stick of fuel on the premises” and immediately ordered 30-day supplies of food and loads of wood for each family. The members assessed what they called “the Christmas poor fund” to pinpoint who needs help, how much and where.

The committee appealed to labor unions and all church denominations. Protestants and Catholics generously contributed as the stories continued to pour out on the newspaper pages. Hotels and restaurants donated surplus food.

By Dec. 25, the committee had helped 68 families, including 250 children, with food and firewood.

Patty Benoit

Credit: Texas History Portal: While some Central Texans in 1907 enjoyed a bountiful  holiday season with plenty to eat, others struggled with disease, crop failures and bad weather. That year, a group of Temple clergy and lay leaders joined forces to help distribute food, fuel and gifts to the area’s poor.

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