The Civil War and Palm Sunday fire presented some of our earliest challenges as a parish. Parishioner Russell Crane tells us about how the leadership of St. James responded to the issues of the day, making St. James a stronger, more resilient parish. Shown above are Oliver Avery Hyatt and Col. Alexander Baxter Crane. Oliver Hyatt joined the Vestry in 1837 when he was 21 and served for 68 years.