Photo by Major

“Photo by Major” is stamped on 8×10 glossy photographs preserved in the archives at Ashley River Baptist Church.
In October of 1949, the Reverend Robert Wesley Major accepted the position of Pastor at the Ashley River Baptist Church. Reverend Major was called to the ministry in 1939 after a brief career as a chemist. In addition to his calling to the ministry, Rev. Major was a photographer. His desire to document the day to day happenings of this growing Baptist community in St. Andrew’s Parish left a photographic legacy that is a real gem to experience.
April 18, 1963 marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of the church. “A History of the Ashley River Baptist Church Charleston, SC 1943-1963” was prepared by the “Historical Committee” and dedicated to Reverend Major. In the Foreword of the “volume” the committee declared: “We who have designed this book have tried to make it as interesting as a family scrapbook, as readable as a school annual. Since two of our three pastors have been “shutterbugs”, and a number of our members have offered their treasures, the collections of available pictures have been enormous.”
True. Without these “shutterbugs” many of these unique early events in the modern 20th century history of
St. Andrew’s Parish would be lost. Fortunately for the Ashley River Baptist Church, this “shutterbug” was in on many of the events. And today, in the church’s archives are several large scrapbooks filled with these moments caught on film.
The first scrapbook is dated 1943-1962. There are 8×10 black and white photographs of Vacation Bible School classes, Choirs, Sunday school classes by age groups, Staff members and meetings, Sweetheart banquets, Church Dedications, Womanless Weddings, Sword Drill Winners, Homecoming Picnics, Annual Baby Parades and Cradle Rolls, Church Basketball and Softball, and Summers at Camp Bonneau with water skiing and Bible studies. In addition to these routine and fun church activities there was photo documentation of the mission work of the church in the neighborhoods of Pinecrest and St. Andrew’s.
Reverend Majors led the church from 1949 until he resigned due to illness in 1978. His leadership was described as “dynamic” and the photographs are visual proof. During his tenure, the educational building was erected in 1955, the administration building was constructed in 1961, the chapel for St. Andrew’s Homes Mission church was built on Sycamore Road in 1967, and in 1972 17.2 acres of land behind the main church compound on Savannah Highway was purchased from the Ravenel family.
Finding these treasures keeps Flashback alive. With the combination of photographs and oral history St. Andrew’s Parish’s modern history can be retold. Contact Donna at westashleybook@gmail.com.