100th Anniversary Celebration

Fairview Baptist Church

By Bonnie Baker

Fairview Baptist Church will be celebrating our 100th anniversary of brining The Word to our area on July 16, 2023.

Celebration begins at 10 am with videos of personal comments from church members about our church.

A luncheon will follow at 12:30 pm in Fellowship Hall.

We are looking forward to seeing a lot of faces we haven't seen for awhile, and meeting new people.

My longtime friend Keith Littlefield who is always researching information about Fredericksburg, asked me if I remember the German submarine that was displayed in Fredericksburg in 1948? I advised Keith that I was only 4 at the that date and did not recall such an event.

On March 24, 1948, the local Free-Lance-Star published a story (NAZI SUB EXHIBIT SET HERE APRIL 5) about an upcoming event that would occur on April 5 sponsored by the Navy Club A German midget submarine would be on exhibit at William and Caroline Street. When we speak of midget submarines our minds immediately think Japanese as they had them at Pearl Harbor and other places during WWII.

The story in the FLS stated that the submarine was a secret weapon developed to paralyze allied shipping It further stated that the submarine was 39 feet long and weighs twenty one tons and carries two torpedoes and a crew of two. The article said that the submarine is one of only two known. The exhibit was to be free to the public.

I decided to do research into the German mini-submarine in WWII. I found that the Germans did develop a mini sub called Biber which means "beaver" in German. The Submarine was designed to carry two torpedoes and It could also carry mines Unlike the story in the FreeLance-Star the description is much different in that it is 29 feet in length instead of 39 and there were 324 of them built with many still in existence. One interesting fact about the submarine was that it had two sources of power For being on the surface it had a 32 horsepower engine that use diesel While being submerged the Germans had developed and electric motor using batteries for power There are 22 of the submarines known to still be in in museums and private collections with several on display in France, England, Norway and Germany. There was only one allied ship known to be sunk by the mini submarine, the Alan A Dale a cargo ship Many of the submarines sank due to design flaws such as carbon monoxide poisoning from engine exhaust.

The project was started late in the war in February 1944, to meet the threat of Allied invasion of Europe. This resulted in many technical flaws along with inadequate training of the German sailors. The midget submarine never posed a threat to Allied shipping.

In the Free-Lance-Star on Saturday April 3, 1948, the story was titled Midget Sub To Be In City Monday. The story is very brief and much like the story of March 24, 1948, gives a general description of the submarine. I have not been able to find any follow up stories about the event. We would think that there would be pictures of the submarine and comments by the public.

If anyone can give any further information I would like to hear from you. ….Happy July 4th

Dedicated To: Dan Torrice, Phyllis Patton, Rick Hallberg, Nancy Perry Newton, and Betty Saunders

Tuffy is Front Porch’s Resident Historian

At 10:30am we will welcome everyone, and the Baptist General Association of Virginia will present a plaque to the church. Following the presentation, Mark Andrist, our Music Minister, will begin the musical part of our program. which includes Alpha Ensemble, Handbell Choir , and the Sanctuary Reunion Choir

We will have our church ensemble and a reunion choir of current and past choir members. Jim Ailor, a retired Baptist Minister and Missionary will bring the message at 11 am.

Then there will be closing remarks, and a blessing for the meal. Our closing music will be "Sweet Sweet Spirit".

Come join us and celebrate 100 years of bringing the Word to our area.

100th Anniversay Celebration

Fairview Baptist Church

July 16th

Beginning at 10am 900 Charlotte Street

This is a story about a remarkable invention: the flying camera. Yes Virginia, flying cameras do exist!

It all started on May 6, 1896, when inventor Samuel Pierpont Langley (namesake of today's Langley AFB) made