The Stained Glass Windows of Asbury

You really need to walk inside the church to appreciate the color and detail of Asbury’s historic stained-glass windows. But if you can’t make it, here’s a taste of their beauty.

The beautiful stained glass windows found in the south and west walls of the sanctuary of Asbury United Methodist Church are original to the structure as built in 1912.  Although the names and other information about the craftspeople who designed and installed the windows have been lost through the years, much more is known about those to whom the windows are dedicated. (For more information, see the History of Asbury UMC)

Jesus the Shepherd

Mr. & Mrs. Humphrey Peugh. Melinda McDonald Peugh was born in 1833 in Indiana and married Humphrey Peugh in 1855.  Most of her life was spent in Missouri where her husband engaged in farming and where they raised a large family.  Around 1893, she and her husband came to Hood River where she resided until her death on June 12, 1903.  Mrs. Peugh was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and her funeral service was held at Asbury.  She is buried at Idlewild Cemetery in Hood River.

Humphrey Peugh was born in that part of Virginia now known as West Virginia on April 27, 1826.  While a young man he moved to Indiana where he met and Married Melinda McDonald in 1855 and subsequently moved to Missouri and later Hood River. After Melinda passed away in 1903, Humphrey married his second wife, Mrs. Susie Morgan.  He died on November 24, 1912 at the age of 86 years and 6 months and at the time of his death was the oldest man in Hood River with the exception of E.W. Winans.  His funeral services were conducted at Bartmess Chapel by the Methodist Episcopal Church minister.

The Woman Clinging to the Rock, with Faith on the Left and Hope on the Right.

In Memory of Abbie J. Mills: Miss Abbie J. Mills was a native Oregonian, born to a prominent pioneer family at Brownsville in Linn County on February 25, 1869.  She graduated from the Old Portland Hospital and for a number of years was matron of a hospital in Salem, Oregon.  Miss Mills came to Hood River in 1904 and was superintendent of the Cottage Hospital here for some time.  She was a well beloved nurse whose life was devoted to the relief of suffering humanity.  In 1917, as a result of overwork, she suffered a nervous breakdown from which she never recovered and on May 11, 1918, Abbie Mills died in Hood River.  Her funeral service was conducted at the Asbury Methodist Church and she was buried at Idlewild Cemetery.

The Ascension of Jesus

In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. William Boorman: William Boorman was born in Lincolnshire, England, on January 28, 1829 and at the age of 12 came to Chicago with his parents.  The family later moved to Wisconsin where Mr. Boorman grew to manhood and married Lucy Rand of that state in 1855.  For the next 31 years they lived in Wisconsin where most of their children grew to maturity.  When the Boorman family arrived in Hood River in 1886, only their children Minnie and Etta were of school age.

Lucy (Rand) Boorman was born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), on September 17, 1837 and when she was a small child, her parents left Virginia for Wisconsin.  Lucy Rand married William Boorman there at the age of eighteen. William Boorman was a life long member of the Methodist Church and Mrs. Boorman joined soon after her arrival in Hood River.  Mr. Boorman died on May 3, 1918.  His funeral was conducted at Asbury Methodist Church and he is buried at Idlewild Cemetery in Hood River.

Jesus Comforts Mary at the Tomb

Oscar L. Stranahan: This window is dedicated to Oscar L. Stranahan who was born in St. Lawrence County, New York, on March 6, 1834.  He remained in New York until the age of sixteen and during that time learned the carpenter’s trade from his father.  When he was a young man, Stranahan moved to Goodhue County, Minnesota, and in December 1859 he married Adelia Berdan. After returning from service in the Civil War, he moved his family to Northfield, Minnesota, where he bought into an iron foundry.  In 1877, the Stranahan family came to Hood River where Mr. Stranahan obtained a tract of land adjacent to the Nathaniel Coe Donation Land Claim.  This tract of land became known as “Stranahan’s Addition.”  In 1877, Mr. & Mrs. Stranahan built the first house on the “Heights.”  In 1896, Stranahan formed a partnership with H.C. Coe and operated a sash and door factory, which they sold after operating for five years.

Adelia (Berdan) Stranahan, the daughter of Albert and Statira (Conley) Berdan, was born in Lake County, Ohio and spent her childhood along the shores of Lake Erie.  With her parents she moved to Minnesota when she was sixteen years of age.  She lived with her parents on their homestead near Cannon Falls until she met and married Oscar Stranahan.  Mrs. Stranahan was an active member of the Methodist Church and a life-long Sunday School worker.  They both became members of the Belmont Methodist Church in 1892.  After their move to Hood River, Mrs. Stranahan served as postmistress for seven years.  Mr. and Mrs. Stranahan were both active workers in the temperance cause and Mrs. Stranahan was for many years the president of the Hood River W.C.T.U.

On January 10, 1910, Oscar passed away as peacefully as he had lived.  On Christmas morning 1914, his wife Adelia was buried beside him in Idlewild Cemetery.