The Rev. Benjamin Brunning, who served the Athens Universalist Church from 1882 to 1884, was born in England in 1821 and emigrated to Quebec, Canada, with his parents and many (14?) siblings in 1836. His father died the following year, and the family struggled financially. In 1841, when he was 20 years old, Brunning went to Glover, VT, to apprentice to a shoemaker. He worked at that trade for several years, then farmed for a few more years.
In 1860 he and his wife and children moved to the mid-West. Brunning worked as an insurance agent until about 1872, when he was licensed to preach as a Universalist minister. He was ordained the following year, and served congregations in Ohio, New York, and western Pennsylvania before coming to Athens in March, 1882.
In February, 1883, Brunning wrote a letter to the newspaper in Bradford, PA, where he had served before coming to Athens. After describing the town of Athens, he said
“Of my own work and success here I may not with propriety say much, but I began here with a congregation of about thirty, with no Sunday-school, and no regular services for years before for any great length of time. I now have about 100 in the morning and from 200 to 300 in the evening, with a fine Sunday-school of about seventy scholars. I have nearly closed my first year’s pastorate and re-engaged for another.”
I’m not sure how 200 to 300 people could fit into the Athens sanctuary, even with the balcony that existed at that time, but the congregation did grow under his leadership. The church record book noted on Apr. 1, 1882 – just a month after Brunning’s arrival – that “the congregations have increased very largely and the prospects are brightening very much.” A local newspaper described Brunning as “energetic and earnest.”
If you have done the math, you will have noted that Brunning entered the ministry when he was 51, an age when many ministers are thinking about retirement. But 51 was just the mid-point of his life, and he was still preaching well into his 90s.
Brunning served the congregation in Mansfield, PA, from 1899 to 1904 and remained in Mansfield after he retired from full-time ministry. In 1907 he shared his recipe for longevity in a letter to the editor of the Mansfield Advertiser:
“It is a well-known fact that for health, activity, and general cheerfulness, at my advanced age, I am a wonder. And I have been frequently asked, ‘How do you keep so young?’…
“Now, Mr. Editor, there may be some secret, ‘patent applied for,’ system or method about the matter; if so, I don’t know it; but, to gratify the many inquiries, I have concluded to give my reasons, as they appear to me:
“First: I fortunately inherited a good constitution from a long-lived ancestry, ranging from 84 to 93 years. I also inherited poverty and hard work. But to come to the main question: When I became a young man, I learned that beer and liquor drinking was a curse, so I let that alone; then, being [of] a hopeful mental make-up, I learned not to worry, especially nights. Beds are made to sleep and rest on, not to fret on about the past, which cannot be helped, nor to plan for future on.
“Next, in order to have good health, I never eat too much. Pastry and sweets are no temptation to me when I cease to be hungry. Then, I go to bed early and get up early. Late years I retire about 8 o’clock and rise from 5 to 6 o’clock – mostly 6, except in gardening time in summer. Of course, if I have company, I sit up later. Then, in business, if there is anything to do, do it NOW. Then, for many years I have never run in debt, except for real estate. ‘Pay as you go’ is my motto. It saves lots of money and lots of worry. Another secret is, mind your own business, and that will keep a healthy man active, and let other people’s alone. Treat every man cordially, unless he has injured you. If he has, let him severely alone. Seek respectable, hopeful, cheerful company. If you get vexed, get over it quickly. Keep out of the hands of lawyers and doctors all you can. Pay your printer, and you will live long and happily. Anyway, I have.
“B. BRUNNING, (Nearly 87 years old.)”
Good advice for all of us today!
Benjamin Brunning moved to his son’s farm in Boone, IA, in 1914. He died there on May 10, 1920, ten months shy of his 100th birthday.