The Rest of the Story

The “rest of the story” refers to the rest of the story of the A.C. Hall, Sr., family of Hayes Barton Baptist Church.  As I’ve shared in at least one other post, the journey of this blog is one filled with blessings, and one of the blessings I received came in an envelope with my name typed…not word processed; not handwritten…typed on it.  The envelope came from Helen Hall Bosse, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Hall, Sr., and it offered a story entitled “My Years at Hayes Barton Baptist Church” by Helen Hall Bosse, MD.

The envelope was given to me on a Sunday morning just when I was wondering where my next story was going to come from.  The story was intriguing given it offered the same tale about the Halls not being charter members that I had heard from Julian Bunn.  It also was intriguing because it offered that Helen had gone to medical school in the 1940s.  That certainly was not a common occurrence in those days; for a woman to study to be a doctor. 

I called Helen the next day, and we set up a conversation around her still very busy schedule.  When I arrived at her home at Springmoor, I was instantly surrounded by the many collectables she has from her many travels and interests.  Then she pulled out a photo album entitled “This is Your Life:  1923-1973” which contained mostly black and white photos from Helen’s life.  Helen’s mother had put it together for her and given it to her on her fiftieth birthday.

Helen’s story is so interesting that a blog entry can’t do it justice.  We paged through the years, seeing photos of a house that still stands on Sunset Drive behind the church (I drove past it this week to see it now.), photos of Hayes Barton Baptist Church’s sanctuary before the fire, a photo of the burned church that I hadn’t seen among the other fire photos, photos from her studies at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, and photos from travels all around the United States and the world.

Helen was a practicing anesthesiologist for half of her career, the only one in Raleigh for a time.  The other half she spent as a medical consultant for Social Security Disability, taking her medical knowledge and teaching others how to understand medical terminology. Helen married late in life, learned and taught ballroom and line dancing, and even won a tango competition along the way.  Although we didn’t discuss it, I’ve been told that Helen also performed as a clown a time or two. 

Helen has traveled all her life and particularly enjoyed the trips she took with Tom and Betty Bodkin.  To this day, she enjoys Hayes Barton Baptist Church as her church home. “It has been my home all my life,” shares Helen.  “Wherever I have been, I always come back.  And when I am here, I get there.  When I can’t, I watch the TV ministry and often have neighbors come and watch and say how wonderful Dr. Hailey is.”

Helen says in the story below that “God has blessed me with a church home for many years.”  In like manner, God blesses Hayes Barton Baptist Church with Helen Hall Bosse.

My Years at Hayes Barton Baptist Church

Helen Hall Bosse

In the early 1920’s, my parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Hall, Sr., met when she was a teacher at Meredith College and he was attending Wake Forest College.  Meredith informed her that because she was getting married, she could no longer teach at Meredith.  They married.  They were attending Tabernacle Baptist Church when Hayes Barton was conceived.  They became charter members of the choir at the new church.  I was two and one half years old and mother was pregnant with my brother and would not join the church until after my brother was born in January.  She always regretted that they were not charter members of the church.

When I was ten years old, we moved to Sunset Drive, one-half block from the church.  All four of us where there when the doors opened.  Both my mother and father sang in the choir for years.  Early on they were in the Forum, and my brother and I attended B.Y.P.U.  We grew up with our church family.  My parents helped with youth groups.  He was a deacon, and she taught the Modern Lydias for many years, into her eighties.

At age nine Louis Gaines baptized me.  Carl Townsend was my mentor and friend through my teenage years.  T.L. and Helen Cashwell were great friends and were encouraging  as my mother aged.  [My father had died in 1963].  Helen remains my friend here at Springmoor.  Dr. Balentine’s teachings were enlightening.  Dr. Tolbert was a great help when mother died in 1995.  No one can preach better than Dr. Hailey.  All have been wonderful ministers.

When I was in medical school in the 1940s, I joined the First Baptist Church in Richmond.  Within a year, I returned my membership to Hayes Barton.

My brother, A.C. Hall, Jr., and his wife Dorothy Bray and their four children continued as members until he left his career as a Raleigh City Planner to reside at his motel at Atlantic Beach.

Now at 87 years old, I will continue living at Springmoor Retirement Community and reserve every Sunday morning for Hayes Barton Baptist Church and participate in whatever I can.

God has blessed me with a church home for many years.