Historic Brighton presented their annual “Leo Dodd Heritage Preservation Award” today to Valerie O’Hara of Pike Stained Glass Studios. My father, Leo, was the first president of Historic Brighton and my sister, Amy, is the current president and she presented the award at the Third Presbyterian Church, a site selected by the recipient as Valerie and her stained glass company did so much work here in the last century.
People all around us were checking the score of the Bills game. I was studying the six windows directly across from where we were sitting, a series that was given to the church in memory of five young parishioners who died in World War I. The six windows featured five saints, Saint George, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Paul, Saint Gabriel and Saint Martin de Tours. One is an angel and one an archangel, very handy in battle. Paul is depicted twice, once as a Christian Warrior wearing the armor of God and next to it he lays his armor down representing peace after battle. He holds a shield with an oak tree, the scales of justice, and the dove of peace along with the shields of the U.S. Army Engineering and Medical Department.
At the foot of each saint is one sixth of a quote from Timothy, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.” Interestingly, each panel also includes insignias of the US allies in the great war, a wacky combination of religion, warfare and politics.
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