Oral History Interview with Joe R. Greenhill, October 11, 1984 Page: 2
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Allen. The Sumners, Tom and Charles, were very fine athletes, and both - well,
when I first started to going to boys' Camp Allen, they were leaders. I later became
a leader at Camp Allen, for several years.
Dougherty While you were at the University, you attended All Saints Church, and you were
involved there?
Greenhill Yes, All Saints was thought to be the place for students, and I was very active at All
Saints and served on the vestry. They had a policy of having one or more students
on the vestry to give students representation, and I stayed there until I graduated.
Dougherty Reviewing your service at St. David's Church, you have held many positions, some
of which were lay reader, active on the vestry, being attorney for Bishop Hines, etc.
Could you explain some of these things in further detail?
Greenhill St. David's was relatively small in those days, and after Martha, my wife, and I were
married, I first started practicing in Houston. She was Methodist - her family's
Methodist. My father was Methodist, and my grandparents on that side were
Methodist. Martha was not used to the ritual of the Episcopal Church, and we visited
First Methodist Church in Houston and Trinity Church in Houston and eventually it
was Martha who decided that we would be happier in the Episcopal Church. So she
joined Trinity. I came to Austin to become a briefing attorney in the Texas Supreme
Court, and we started going to St. David's.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, I went to New Orleans to offer my services to the
Navy. I had about a year and a half in Naval Intelligence. We were losing so many
people at sea that it was suggested that any able-bodied person under thirty should
volunteer for sea duty, which I did, and ended up in mine sweepers, mainly executive
officer. A mine sweeper is a very small ship, relatively speaking, 100 men, six
officers, so one of my other duties was to act as chaplain on the ship. Very
interesting experience, including my run-in with the chaplain at Guam, who heard
that I had been conducting services on the ship, which four or five Roman Catholics
attended. I was told in no uncertain terms that that was not to continue, and it didn't.
I came back after the war, again became active at St. David's. There was a new
church starting here, Good Shepherd, which is about five blocks from our house, out
on Bridle Path - our house, on Bridle Path, and Martha and I started going there
from time to time. If Brother Charles Sumners had any motive in mind, I don't
know, but he asked me to serve on the vestry at St. David's; so that terminated our
relationship at Good Shepherd. We had two boys who were then small, and we
wanted them to attend Sunday School, so we went with them. Martha and I both
began teaching classes. Charles Sumners asked me to take over the 9:00 service forAUSO 1:144083. 1
006910.00012
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Dougherty, Mary Ann. Oral History Interview with Joe R. Greenhill, October 11, 1984, text, October 11, 1984; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201193/m1/2/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting St. David’s Episcopal Church.