President Lennox sat down recently with Rev. Arnold Stairs, who has had a front-row seat for the entirety of Kingswood’s history. He was a student in the very first class and also served on the Board of Trustees for nearly 30 years.
Tell us about the beginning of the Holiness Bible Institute:
Well, it was at the end of the Second World War, and I remember feeling that God was calling me into the ministry. I was thinking of going to Eastern Nazarene College in Boston, Massachusetts. I was in Fredericton, New Brunswick, getting my visa to go to Boston and I met Frank Watson and Rev. PJ Trafton, on the main street that very day. They said, “Arnold, what are you going to do this fall?” And I said, “Well, I’m going to go to Eastern Nazarene College and take my course for pastoral training.” They said, “Well, we’re going to start a school this fall. Won’t you consider coming with us?” So right there on the spot, I decided to go to the school that they were starting.
Can you imagine the small denomination of the Reformed Baptists attempting to start a college? But it was on the heart of many of the people and they were willing to try.
I remember very distinctly being there the night of the official opening of the Holiness Bible Institute. It was in the old Woodstock church, the mother church of the denomination. I can remember the extreme excitement that was connected with it and much anticipation, and yet also with fear and trembling.
Tell us about the facilities:
When I look around at the facilities that the campus has now, I’m amazed at what we started with. I remember those old classrooms. Some were musty and cold. Not much had been done to renovate. They just added few old tables and chairs.
They decided to use the parsonage for the dormitory. There were 18 of us who stayed in that one building that winter. One of the professors and his wife and daughter had a room as you came in the front door and when you came in on the right was what used to be the living room and the dining room where we ate. Out back there was an old kitchen with just an old wood stove.
I remember the cook said, “What in the world am I going to feed them?” And one of the men said, “Well, feed them lots of beans.” It was an exciting time and we didn’t feel depressed or discouraged. There was an excitement about it and the students all felt it.
In the middle of March or so, they were able to purchase the old Hammond House down on Chapel Street. We thought we had died and gone to heaven because we had two persons in a room and we had wonderful facilities there.
It wasn’t long after that the school moved to Yarmouth. Tell us, as best you know, the reasons for the move to Yarmouth and what kind of facilities you had there:
The Hammond House was a nice hotel, but it had very little property. So along about the latter part of ‘46 they realized there was no opportunity to grow or expand. There was a property that opened up in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It was an old sea captain’s house with a large garage. And so they purchased that and converted the garage into four classrooms.
We all roomed in that one building. It was a three-story building and the captain’s loft, at the top of the building, was our prayer room.
Who was on staff?
Rev. George Rogers and Rev. Ralph Ingersoll and his wife were teaching in the high school. Rev. H. E. Enty was from Houghton, New York, teaching Greek and some other subjects. So it was a real advancement to have him in the Bible department and he spent many extra hours. I know that because I was the only one in some of his classes, and he was willing to get up before breakfast and have a class with me at about 6:00 in the morning.
The number of students increased at that time, like Scott Ingersoll, Milton Bagley, Bruce Bridgeo, Enos Cann, Otto Palmer, myself, and I’ve forgotten all the girls’ names, but there were a number of them.
Some would say, “Why are you moving way down there to Yarmouth?” Well, I think it was economics— to be able to get the facilities in that area. And then the Reformed Baptists were willing to support the school financially. But it was an unwise move because it was so far from the center of the population.
And so that probably was the motivation 18 years later to move it to Sussex in 1965.
Yes. I remember being on the Bethany board at that time. There was a discussion about moving it to a more central location in New Brunswick. This property became available, and the town was willing to make a concession, so they decided to move to Sussex.
It wasn’t an entirely popular decision. I think some were opposed to it leaving Yarmouth.
Yes, it was extremely difficult for the churches, especially in Nova Scotia, because they had invested a lot in it. It was a very close vote for moving.
Can you tell me anything about the first buildings?
Joe McDowell was the head carpenter. They erected a small building here for the men to stay in and built what is now Stairs Hall and Ingersoll House. And then we purchased what is now Nicholson Hall, an old, nylon factory. It was an old flat top building and we always had problems with the roof leaking.
Do you remember Rev. Nicholson for whom Nicholson Hall is named?
Rev. Nicholson and I go way back because when I was going to high school, he was a layman in the church in southern Meductic. I went to high school there and lived on the other side of the river. Nicholson and I were ordained together in 1949.
Is there something about Kingswood that has remained constant through the years?
Yes, I think the main consistency is the presence of God. I remember that sense even in Woodstock, in some of those difficult days. There was a lot of sacrifice that went into it, a lot of commitment, a lot of dependence on God. And I’ve seen that carried out through the years, maintaining the presence of God and the fundamental principles of the doctrine.
What advice do you have for students?
This is a crucial time in the lives of our students when they’ll be making many decisions. I would admonish that their relationship with God would be a very personal relationship; that it wouldn’t be just something on the surface, but it would be knowing him in a very personal way. And as we think of our commitment to the call of God, by all means, make sure that commitment is clear. Sometimes you think, oh, on the campus of a college of a Christian college it’s easy to be a Christian. Not necessarily. I remember back, it could be easy to get lazy in our own personal relationship and be carried along with the environment. But I would admonish that we love God and commit ourselves to him with all our heart, present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, and become living examples to be a testimony of God’s grace and kingdom.
Thank you so much, Arnold. We appreciate you and this opportunity to hear some of your recollections of the school that we love.
Thank you. It’s been a long journey.
You’ve been faithful.