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My name is Bob Wildman. I attended Canterbury Club at Hodgson House during the 1964 to 1968 years while I was a student at the University of Georgia. I lived in the upstairs room of Hodgson House (the one on the north-east corner, I believe) from the fall of 1966 through the fall of 1967. I met my wife there, as a matter of fact, and we now have a 36 year-old daughter! I know a lot about what went on there, particularly during those quarters when I actually lived in HH. For example, I recall Hendee Harrison as a fellow student. . . . Looking back, I can see that HH was truly a place in which a great deal was happening and during a very tumultuous time!                   Bob

Bob, you can look forward to my inquiries soon. frDann

This composite is of the fourteen original 2'x2' acrylic, oil and charcoal on canvas paintings created by Thayer Bragg in the winter of 2004 as a portion of her work for her semester studies in art. The originals hung in St. Mary's chapel in time for our lenten service of Stations of the Cross on Good Friday of that year. They stayed in the chapel until Thayer returned them to the art department to be graded. They remained in storage until the end of the semester. At the end of the semester emails went to all the art majors reminding them to remove their work from storage to make room for the next semester's productions. The email address for Thayer was incorrect and before she could retrieve the pieces they were thrown away. It's a sad sad story. Thanks be to God we have these digital photos of the stations.

Here are some pictures of the original St. Mary's Episcopal Church on Oconee St. All that remains is the steeple. This is the place where REM first played for the public and recorded some their first songs.






and some interesting links to articles about the band, the church and Stipe's religion.

http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/archives/arc_news/072704.htm
http://orangefox.svs.com/rem/newsgroup-pt2.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/events/alternative-rock/rem-form-in-athens-georgia/
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/187/story_18748_1.html

Kim Rudolph Bowers writes "I lived in the Episcopal Center in 1989-1990."
Thanks Kim for touching base. Tell us about life at the Hodgson House back then. frDann+

2007 saw the passing of the Rev. Hendree Harrison. Hendree studied at UGA and during that time lived in the Hodgson House. The Diocese of Atlanta will sorely miss this servant of God and remember him as a cheerful and gentle leader. One of the stories heard at the several memorial gatherings was of how students were charged a small amount for meals. Never more than a dollar, more often than not, less than fifty cents. The volunteer cook, a member of Emmanuel, remembers that things were so bad for Hendree that, "He must have owed ten dollars!"
Recalling Rev. Harrison brings to mind the need to find all those other Hodgson House residents. If you know of someone who lived in the Hodgson House during their student years please pass as much information as you can along to us. Click here to send us an email with your info or a story about Episcopal Life at UGA.

I called Eileen Sisley yesterday. She was at Emmanuel as secretary from the late 30's or early 40's and knows all. She even worked with Mr. Ned and Miss Mary Hodgson and cooked the Canterbury Club suppers with them until 1959 when Nat and I were married. (Eileen and the Hodgsons only cooked suppers at Hodgson House for one year -- from 1958 when the building was acquired until fall quarter began in 1959. Lovat Wilkins, Lyn Thornton, Sylvia Mathis (later Gibson), and I took over then. In fact, I took over altar linens and Nat's vestments (surplices) -- as well as the suppers -- then.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN GEORGIA states that Hodgson House and its lot were purchased by the sale of St. Mary's Mission and a loan from the Bishop's Advance Fund -- not a donation by the owners. I noticed a few more things, like the opening paragraph that I would like to fix -- and little things like making one large room for the living room: in 1959 the wall between the 2 rooms had already been removed. Nat had the dais built in Hodgson House for the altar of "St. Mary's Chapel" there, and that whole room was the chapel. Ralph must have added your office, for only that little front room was Nat's (and probably Dawson's) and his secretary's office together. Eileen said that a ramshackle house in back (which I took for the little house that Hendree lived in in the upper righthand corner of the lot -- not behind the coed) was torn down after a year. If there were another bldg. behind the coed, it was gone by the time I moved in in 1959. Remember, the property was only purchased in 1958. There was a Canterbury Club for college students and led by whoever the rector was with help from parishioners -- at least as far back as the 40's, for my parents were once chaperones for a Mikell retreat weekend. (Buddy and I went, too.) Canterbury Club met at Emmanuel (with supper), and when Nat arrived in 1956, he took over from Mr. Gilbreath. I have UGA yearbooks with pix of us meeting at Emmanuel. I was there at the very beginning of "The Student Center." As a student and then as Nat's wife. We lived upstairs in HH from August 1959 until June 1961. Dawson was in place by the fall of 1961, he and Betsy Teague (Turner) did not live in HH. There were always at least 2 students living downstairs in HH while we were there. Ralph had even more students living there, probably up and down, and he rented parking places in the parking lot -- quite coveted because of its proximity to the stadium!
However, a really big thing in my young life was the riot one night across the street in the dorm that Charlayne Hunter (Gault) was living in. Tear gas came into our upstairs apartment, and there were many police and reporters -- as well as students and outside rioters (KKK?). The University was being integrated, and Hamilton Holmes was an Episcopalian. The first time he came to Canterbury Club (always Wed. p.m.), Nat and I were awakened in the middle of the night by an Atlanta Constitution reporter who just wanted to know if Hamilton had attended the meeting that night. He asked what we did. Nat said: Evening Prayer and/or Communion, supper, and a meeting. No one had paid any special attention to Hamilton. He came with white friends (There were no black ones, then ;o)  . But, in the next a.m.'s paper, a headline (not on the front page, I'm sure) said, "Black (or Negro) Sups and Prays With White Coeds at UGA" -- or something very much like that. This is 'way more than you need to know. You know all the Ralph stuff from him. You may not even need this now.

A couple of pictures taken during demolition of the house that stood just in front of where St. Mary's Chapel now sits. These are courtesy of Michelle Havens and her fiance Hap who hung with the occupants.

For years since before the turn of the twentieth century Episcopal students attending the University of Georgia gathered under the care of the rectors and lay leaders of Emmanuel parish in Athens. The Episcopal Center @ UGA was established on its present site in 1959 as an outreach arm of the parish when the Rev. J. Earle Gilbreath was rector. Two contributing factors to this historic move were the success of the parish based ministry accomplished for several years by Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Hodgson, Jr. and the arrival to Emmanuel of a new curate The Rev. Nathaniel Parker. It was The Rev. Parker who led in the development of the Lumpkin St. properties by first securing the donation of the house at 980 S. Lumpkin St. The two story house was operated as a boarding house and at one time may have housed some of the University's first female students. Renamed the Hodgson House in honor of E. R. and his wife Mary the house immediately became the new center for Episcopal student activity at UGA. After some important renovations a portion of the house was dedicated as the Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin, a name customary to collegiate chapels and reminiscent of the historic St. Mary's mission (whose steeple still stands near the river bottom on Oconee St. just east of downtown.) The Rev. Gilbreath wished for a more "protestant" presence and forbid the reference to Mary's virginity in the name of the chapel during his years as rector.

The Rev. Parker saw the ministry through a successful start and was followed the The Rev. Dawson Teague in 1963. Through out these early years members of Emmanuel parish provided many volunteer hours cooking and hosting events at the house.

The greatest portion of the center's history was accomplished under the creative and generous leadership of The Rev. Ralph Marsh. Installed in 1965 the new chaplain was quick to begin the necessary fund-raising for much needed development of the property. Following the election of Bennett Sims as Bishop of the diocese the center was deemed a freestanding Diocesan institution and the chaplain's role as curate of Emmanuel was greatly reduced. A cafe -- once named "The Coed" -- and a smaller house adjacent to the Hodgson House were purchased with funds coming from around the diocese and in particular from members of Emmanuel including Mildred V. Rhodes. By 1983 donations were sufficient to afford razing the two structures and ground was broken for the construction of a new St. Mary's Chapel. Included in this work were renovations of the Hodgson House, to replace the kitchen, add rest rooms and enlarge the living room and parlor into a single space. The new chapel was dedicated in 1984 with the stained glass altar window in memory of Mildred Rhodes. Through out his years of service Father Marsh maintained a vibrant ministry not only for the students and faculty of the University but for many members of the community's congregations who needed a periodic rest away from their home churches. Father Marsh remains the person most remembered and still associates with Episcopal Student ministries at UGA.

In 1996 the Rev. Timothy Graham, graduate of General Seminary, was installed as chaplain and also enlisted as curate of Emmanuel with the balance of his time and focus still largely on the student ministry at UGA. During Father Tim's service some tough decisions were made about the use of the heavily worn and aging Hodgson House. The upstairs apartments were closed and immediately plans for upgrading of the property were begun with the support of the Emmanuel's rector, The Rev. Eddie Ard.

After Ms. Sarah Fisher had very ably served the center as its lay director for nearly a year the Rev. Sean Ferrell came to the center and served as curate for Emmanuel in 1999. Sean renewed the plans for development begun under The Rev. Graham and instituted two major fund-raising programs: Game day parking and the construction and leasing of a cell-telephone tower. Sharing responsibilities with an outreach committee of St. Gregory's parish the center's parking lot quickly became the major revenue source for program expenses. Income from the cell-tower was directed into the diocesan general fund and offset much of the funding support provided by the diocese. In January of 2003 Chaplain Ferrell answered the call to become campus minister of Michigan State University and left directing of the center to UGA grad Joseph Green but not until great strides had been made in the program and worship life of the center. Under Fr. Sean the average attendence of University students at the principal worship service of the week grew to over 60 persons. With the help of The Rev. Trip Norris, at the time rector of Church of the Advent in Madison, the center continued to flourish under Mr. Green's direction.

In June of 2003 the Rev. Brown began full-time service to the center and on the Feast of St. Agnes of Rome, January 21, 2004 his part in the ceenter's ministry as the sixth "Chaplain to the Episcopal students of the University, Vicar of St. Mary's Chapel and Director of the Episcopal Center" was celebrated by Bishop J. Neil Alexander. The occasion was highlighted by the visit and preaching of the Right Rev. Henry I. Louttit, Bishop of Georgia. Once again the center is an autonomous ministry of the Diocese of Atlanta and is served by a priest not on staff at either of Athens' parishes.

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