January 2025
Anna Louise Bates, Church Historian
Long-time parishioner Selden J. Spencer, remembered as one of the most active members of our church community and a bit of a character, was born in 1923 and grew up on a small farm in Bradford County, PA. He taught secondary school at several places during his graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University, ultimately earning a Ph.D. and acquiring a position as a biology professor at the State University of New York/ New Paltz. He held that position until he retired in 1988. He married M. Jean Mumford in 1951.
Selden and Jean joined the New Paltz Methodist Church when they moved to the area, and remained devoted and active members until their deaths, Jean in 2018 and Selden in 2020. During their years at the church, Selden earned a reputation as an environmental activist. He also possessed a remarkable tenor voice and participated in the choir and various church music programs. He played violin, ukulele, and harmonica.
Nature was Selden’s passion. He was a birdwatcher and member of the John Burroughs Natural History Society. He often took his students on field trips to the beautiful natural sites around New Paltz. Jean was a member of the Women’s Society of Christian Service, and she persuaded Selden to address that group in June 1970, on the topic of, “Pollution: What can we do?” His presentation included slides that he made during some of his field trips.
The December 16, 1986, Poughkeepsie Journal includes an entertaining story about Dr. Spencer’s support of students protesting the removal of a colony of monkeys, purchased by the school to observe their behavior. The effort failed, despite promises by Selden and the biology students to provide necessities for the monkeys which the school could not afford.
Selden’s appreciation of the natural environment led him on camping excursions to Alaska, Hawaii, Isle Royale on Lake Superior, and multiple locations in Europe and worldwide. His obituary notes that he took his wife and two children, James T. and Paul S. Spencer, on a cross-country road trip to Monterey Bay during the “Summer of Love” in 1969, “in a Pugeot Station Wagon.”
My memories of Selden date from my arrival in New Paltz in 2004. I visited the United Methodist Church several times before becoming a member. On my second visit to the church, Selden met me at the door with a large coffee can full of walnuts from his tree. Our church boasts a historical membership of remarkable individuals, and we remember Selden J. Spencer as one of our brightest lights.