Page 6 - Demo

Salvation Army cadets hold an open-air service at Monument Terrace in 1969.
Soup, Soap, and Salvation
One Hundred Christmases, Two Million Meals: Lynchburg’s Salvation Army Celebrates Its Centennial
In 1905 The Salvation Army “opened fire” on Lynchburg, and one hundred Christmases and two million meals
later, the Lynchburg Corps celebrated a century of service to the needy in Central Virginia.
The Salvation Army, a world- wide Christian religious body engaged in evangelical and philanthropic work, was founded in 1865 in England by William Booth, a Methodist minister. It eventually assumed a military structure, with uniforms and military rank for its officers. Rev. Booth became the Army’s general in its “war against evil.” In 1880 The Salvation Army “invaded”
the United States, and twenty-five years later, it arrived in Lynchburg. Captain and Mrs. John Pringle were the first Corps commanding officers to serve locally.
The Salvation Army quickly made its presence felt in the Hill City, for the May 27, 1905, issue of its national newspaper, The War Cry, announced:
Lynchburg, Virginia—The standard of The Salvation Army has been planted in this old Virginia city and despite the
fact that there are a good many difficulties to be overcome, we feel sure that under the blessings of God, in a short time we shall be well established. We realize that there is a great need for the
SHIRLEY MOORMAN
Army here. Our open-air work is much appreciated by the people. The ministers and many of the leading men of the city have wished us God-speed.
The Lynchburg Corps initially held meetings both outdoors and in a small building on Ninth Street between Commerce and Main streets. During the next seven years, the Corps moved to a larger facility on Ninth Street between Main and Church streets and finally to the “old Elk’s Hall.” Seven years after The Salvation Army’s founding in Lynchburg, a 1912 issue of The War Cry reported:
Captain Pringle made the Army known to the best men and
12 lynch’s Ferry
JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY