Bro. A.P. Bazer Retires After a Ministry Spanning More Than 50 Years

June 30, 2001 - - Many Carthage residents are familiar with the friendly smiles of Brother A. P. Bazer and his lovely wife Eugenia.  And his "gripper" handshake is near legendary.  Last Sunday Bazer preached his last sermon at Fairplay Baptist Church, retiring after more than 50 years in the ministry, 20 of which were at Fairplay.

Although the congregation would gladly welcome him to stay, Bazer said problems with his feet have forced him into early retirement.  Early indeed - - he will be 85 years old in November! he deserves to get to sit down for church.  Bazer, known as "Brother" or A. P. by most, was born Aravin Printon into family of nine children near Joaquin.  Eugenia, whose family boasted 8 children, was raised in Sarepta, Louisiana.

A.P. played basketball on the 1935 state-championship team from Harris High School.   When his parents moved to Sarepta his junior year, he asked to stay with friends until the end of the school year.  When he did finally join his family in Sarepta, he was soon pleased to meet sweet young Eugenia, who attended the church that A.P.'s dad pastored.  The two went steady their senior year and both graduated from SHS in 1937, with only 14 in their graduating class.

That August, nearly 64 years ago, the two ran off and were secretly married.  They kept their marriage a secret as they both left for college in Natchitoches at Louisiana state Normal College.  They kept their secret for three months.  But when some of their family came to visit them, they decided it was time to 'fess up.  "But I think they had already figured it out," Eugenia said. Shortly after that, they both decided that college was not the place for them, and he went to work for International Paper Company in Springhill, and she became a housewife.  He only made 44 cents an hour, and they still managed to save some money.  They paid $12 a month for their furnished apartment.

Later, he went to work for United Gas, a company he wo8uld work for for 38 years.   That job was interrupted when he got drafted into the Navy in 1945.  At that time, a man could get out  of the military if he had three children.  by then, the Bazers had two little boys, with their third one on the way.  When he received word that Eugenia had given birth, he went straight to his yeoman and persuaded him to let him go home from his station in Guam.

The couple's three boys are Jerry, Gary Truett, and David, with three years between each of them.  They have given the couple four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. One of Bazer's duties in the Navy was that of barber.  He said he gave really good haircuts - - the kind they wanted - - and made pretty good pay with the tips he received.  He even p8icked up some cash giving his fellow sailors haircuts on the boat ride home.

After one year in the Navy, he returned to Sarepta and to United Gas.  He transferred to Duncanville with them, and then when the opportunity arose, he jumped at the chance to transfer to Carthage with the company in 1948, the year David started school.  They have been here ever since.

Besides working for United Gas, Bazer operated his own barber shop in Gary after work and on Saturdays.  At the same time, he started driving to Patroon, which was a 100-mile round trip, where he served as a deacon-layman.  Many people suggested that he get ordained, but he said he and the Lord weren't ready for that yet.  Later, he substitute pastored at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, and when they voted unanimously for him to be their pastor, he knew that was where the Lord wanted him.  He was eventually ordained in 1961, but he continued to work at United Gas, also.

He served for two years at Pleasant Ridge and then at Cedar Grove Baptist Church and a couple of more years at Pleasant Ridge, before Fairplay Baptist called him back again.   He has been their pastor now for 13 years this last Mother's Day.  When he told the deacons that he wanted to retire because of his feet problems, they offered to let him preach from a chair, but he thought it best to go ahead and retire.

"When I told the church later, there was not a dry eye in the house.  They told me that not one person out there wants me to leave," he said with a wistful smile.  Bazer has had to have surgery to have on of his knees replaced and part of one of his lungs removed.  He tells of ministering for the Lord even while he was a patient in intensive care.  Bazer's long-term diabetes has caused him to lose all feeling in his feet.  He even had to sell his brand new truck that he had bought, when he just couldn't get the hang of the hand controls that had been installed.

"The Lord has blessed us," Bazer confesses.  "Both with our church families and within our own family."  If the abundance o family pictures all over the couple's wall is good indication, yes the Lord has indeed blessed them.  And if the abundance of friends is a good indication, they gave in turn blessed many others.

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03/21/05