For the last 75 years, LeEldra Morgan has spent almost every Sunday morning at Parkside Presbyterian Church on Madison’s East Side. She was confirmed there in 1939 at age 15, later married her husband in the sanctuary, and watched as her two children took their confirmation vows there.
She recalls decades when the congregation bustled with activity and purpose — “a youth group, a very active couple’s club, three different women’s circles, a men’s association, and an awful lot of mission work.” At one point in the 1940s, the church had 365 adult members, plus scores of children.
Those days are past. The congregation, now down to 15 to 20 attendees on a Sunday morning, recently voted 17-4 to sell the building and disband. Morgan, 90, was among those who reluctantly voted to close.