Local history: Soap, soup and salvation! The origin of Haven of Rest
Never before had a labor stoppage been such a blessing to Akron.
If Goodyear workers hadn’t gone on strike in 1936, C.C. Thomas might never have gone to church. And if he hadn’t become a preacher, he certainly wouldn’t have founded the Haven of Rest, providing hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless.
It was boredom, really, that prompted Thomas and his wife, Marjorie, to attend an evening service at First Brethren Church in Ellet.
A door-to-door evangelist had left a pamphlet at their home on Ogden Avenue in Goodyear Heights, and Thomas thought the service might be a nice way to pass the time since a union strike had idled his job at the truck tire division of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
The Ellet pastor, most likely the Rev. Raymond E. Gingrich, delivered a sermon that caught Thomas’ attention. As he later recalled, “it was as if that minister was talking right to me, talking about my past life.”
Charles Curtis Thomas, 28, a U.S. Marine veteran, admitted having done a lot of things that he regretted. He didn’t provide specifics, but it was enough for Marjorie, his former high school sweetheart from Springfield, to consider leaving him and taking their two young children, Barry and Curtis.
When the pastor spoke, Thomas saw the light.
“I was ashamed of what I had been and I was filled with conviction that I was to be a Christian,” Thomas told the Beacon Journal in 1954. “I was converted. My life changed completely that night. If it hadn’t been for the strike, it wouldn’t have happened.”
‘The salvation of the lost’
Thomas attended Grace Theological Seminary for two years while working at Goodyear. He and Marjorie volunteered at the City Mission at 615 S. Main St. in Akron, assisting transient people during the Great Depression. Observing the desperation of people on the streets, Thomas found his calling. The 6-foot, 200-pound, soft-spoken preacher dedicated himself full time to “the salvation of the lost.”
“I knew that I was the type of man, because of what I had been, who could do this work,” he explained.
The Rev. C.C. Thomas opened a rescue mission Sept. 7, 1941, in a rented storeroom at 41 N. Howard St., which he described as “the arm of Christianity reaching downtown.”
Homeless, destitute and down-on-their-luck people came to the 24-hour mission to clean up, enjoy a meal, get fresh clothes, attend a service and catch some shuteye.
The need for larger quarters was obvious. Thomas persuaded 20 friends to donate $50 each as a down payment on a building at North Howard and Beech streets. He gained the support of over 100 Protestant churches in the area.
The Haven of Rest Rescue Mission, a two-story, 40-room shelter, opened on Easter morning, April 18, 1943, at 78 N. Howard St. Alcoholic visitors were admitted into a special ward.
The shelter’s motto became “Soap, Soup and Salvation.” C.C. spread the Gospel and tended to the spiritual needs of guests while Marjorie served as stenographer, bookkeeper and pianist for nightly services.
The glowing neon sign was a beacon for those in need.
“You meet hundreds of them every day: people hurrying nowhere, busy doing nothing, greedily storing up emptiness, looking from a fruitless past into a barren future,” a Haven of Rest pamphlet noted. “They have names — doctor, housewife, businessman — but all are the victims of a common power which, like a disease, is no respecter of persons. Each is a part of the mass of humanity; each harbors a hunger that cannot be satisfied, a thirst that cannot be quenched, a loneliness that cannot be escaped, an emptiness that cannot be filled.”
Thomas spread the message through radio, preaching Saturday nights on WADC and Sunday mornings on WAKR. He was thankful that many visitors had opened their hearts to God and returned to society as “useful citizens.”
“Just one soul saved would be a good record,” he said.
“We try to win them to the Lord, but we can’t force it — not even God himself does that,” his wife said.
Prayers answered at Haven of Rest
One night in 1950, Thomas couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, worried about not having cash to pay $200 in bills. He woke his wife up at 3 a.m.
“Marjorie.”
“What is it, Charles?”
“How are we going to pay those bills?”
The couple knelt in prayer. That day, Thomas opened the mail and found a $200 check from a donor.
“Now I never worry,” he said. “Why should I? I’ve had my prayers answered too many times.”
The Haven of Rest outgrew its home and needed to expand. In 1952, the Thomases broke ground on a four-story brick building at 200 E. Buchtel Ave.
It was a leap of faith because the mission didn’t have enough money for construction. Thomas sold the North Howard Street building to defray costs. With donations of labor, materials and money, the $500,000 project cost $345,000. The Haven of Rest borrowed $80,000 to complete the work.
The new mission, including a chapel, auditorium, dining hall, kitchen, offices, dormitories and alcoholic wards, opened in October 1955. The Rev. Bob Jones Sr., founder of Bob Jones University, spoke at the dedication.
The Rev. Barry Thomas and the Rev. Curtis Thomas, sons of the founders, joined their parents in the Akron mission.
The Thomases paid off their $80,000 debt in two years.
New home for Akron shelter
In retrospect, the new site, located next to the University of Akron, wasn’t the best location. UA soon wanted the property, and the mission began looking for a new home in 1967. UA trustees bought the building for $815,000 and converted it into the Institute of Polymer Science.
The Haven of Rest embarked on a $150,000 capital campaign and broke ground April 29, 1973, on a $1 million home at 175 E. Market St.
“We simply ask you to give us your prayerful consideration,” Thomas said.
With no small amount of praise to God, the brick building, modern in every respect, was dedicated on Father’s Day in 1974.
People in need lost a friend when the Rev. C.C. Thomas died Sept. 1, 1976, at age 68. For someone who hadn’t intended to become a minister, he touched a lot of lives. His wife, Marjorie, died in 1996 at age 88.
Their son, the Rev. Curtis Thomas, and his wife, Eileen, faithfully guided the mission for 27 years, changing the name to Haven of Rest Ministries.
There were several expansions over the decades, including the $300,000 Marjorie Ruth Thomas Harvest House for mothers and children of estranged and transient families, which opened in 1979, and the $2.8 million Client Services Center, which opened in 1995.
The Rev. Jeffrey A. Kaiser has been director since 2011. The Haven of Rest continues to provide meals, shelter, clothing, vital services and spiritual nourishment to men, women and children in crisis because of poverty, addiction, homelessness and discouragement.
Haven of Rest Ministries will celebrate 80 years of serving Akron with a banquet April 28 at Quaker Station. The Rev. Knute Larson, former pastor of The Chapel in Akron, will speak. More than 700 people are expected to attend. For more information about the ministry, visit https://www.havenofrest.org/ or call 330-535-1563.
As the Rev. C.C. Thomas noted in 1947: “The rescue mission strives to set men on their feet, but, what is more important, strives to start them walking with God.”
That’s one soul at a time.
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: The origin of Haven of Rest: Soap, soup and salvation!
