M. Allen Gibson

Rev’d Dr. Morley Allen Gibson (December 18, 1919 - January 19, 2018) was a Baptist Church minister and Nova Scotian writer whose enthusiasm for railways helped him document that DAR in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. He was born in Sydney Mines in 1919 but grew up in Wolfville in the 1930s and went on to become a writer for the Halifax Chronicle Herald and a United Baptist Church minister in Chester, Nova Scotia. He was an keen train watcher and photographer in his youth, photographing many DAR locomotives, most often from the vantage point of Wolfville Station in the late 1930s. He published his photographs, memories and operational details of 1930s DAR trains in a book entitled Train Time: Nostalgic Glimpses of A Wolfville Boyhood During Which Train Watching was a Happy Pastime, published in 1973.

See Category:Allen Gibson Photo for his photography.

Gibson's collection of negatives has been preserved by Gary W. Ness.

From the Chronicle-Herald on-line dated September 18, 2011 - 3:54am,

Allen Gibson: Spiritual engineer.

THERE CAN’T be many Baptist churches, or temples of any faith for that matter, that have a locomotive weathervane spinning atop their spires.

But the steam engine perched on the steeple at Chester United Baptist Church isn’t half as remarkable as the man it was raised to honour: the congregation’s much-loved minister emeritus, M. Allen Gibson, who celebrates the 70th anniversary of his ordination with his parishioners today.

The weathervane, a gift from the parish on his 80th birthday, unites three of the abiding passions — people, faith and steam trains — of Allen’s long and giving life, now steaming into its 92nd year.

He’s been to 94 countries chasing those trains which first captivated him as a boy, riding them, photographing them, writing books about them, always in awe of what he once described to us as "the life of the steam" that drives them.

But it would be impossible to count all the hearts and homes to which Allen’s faith, kindness and compassionate helpfulness have given him entry over the years.

In four decades as a pastor, he was both minister and ombudsman, tending not only to his flock’s spiritual needs but always cheerily determined, like one of his great trains, to plow through all and any barriers that were keeping people in need from accessing help or services they ought to have.

At the same time, he has had a remarkable parallel career. He’s the author of 15 books and wrote for this newspaper for 46 years before his retirement 10 years ago. That’s not a misprint. He retired at 82, having written some 25,000 editorials, 2,000 short histories of Nova Scotia "Churches by the Sea" and thousands more columns on spiritual topics. His unfailing humour, caring and commitment made working with him a joy and a privilege.

It’s a pleasure today to wish Allen our best as he celebrates seven decades as a minister of his faith. Like the steam, there is a special life within him. And he has harnessed it for so many good works.

References

• http://www.chesterbound.com/chesterb.htm