1960's Dickson's Gifts "Church In The Wildwood" Plaque-USA

BEAUTIFUL CRAFTSMANSHIP!!!! RARE FIND!!!!
Made in the 1960's by Dickson's Gifts in Seymour, IN (still in business today)
Weighs 1 lb 6 oz and Measures 11" Wide 9" Tall 1.25" Deep
Ornate Hanging Loop 1.25" X 1.25"
Themed from William S. Pitts song "Church In The Wildwood" (also called The Little Brown Church) William S. Pitts (1830 – 1918) was an American physician and composer.
"The Church in the Wildwood" is a song that was written by Dr. William S. Pitts in 1857 following a coach ride that stopped in Bradford, Iowa. It is a song about a church in a valley near the town, though the church was not actually built until several years later. In the years since, the church has become known simply as "the Little Brown Church".
During a stagecoach ride to visit his fiancée in Fredericksburg, Iowa, the stage stopped at Bradford and allowed Pitts to wander in the area and enjoy the woodlands. Pitts found particular beauty in a wooded valley formed by the Cedar River. While viewing the spot, Pitts envisioned a church building there and could not seem to ease the vision from his mind. Returning to his home in Wisconsin, he wrote "The Church in the Wildwood" for his own sake, eventually saying of its completion, "only then was I at peace with myself."
By 1862 Pitts was married, and he and his wife moved to Fredericksburg to be near her elderly parents. He was surprised upon his return to the area to find a church being erected where he had imagined it five years before. The building was even being painted brown, because that was the least expensive color of paint to be found. During the winter of 1863-64, Pitts taught a singing class at Bradford Academy. He had his class sing the song at the dedication of the new church in 1864. This was the first time the song was sung by anyone apart from Pitts himself.
About Dickson Gifts (manufacturer of plaque):
In 1944 Edmund and Lura Dickson began a tiny operation called Better Sunday School and Church Supplies in the basement of their Ferndale, Michigan Christian bookstore. At first the only products were Sunday School ribbon pins and buttons. Seeing that these satisfied a real need, the Dicksons added more products. In 1948, with business growing, the company moved to a house in Royal Oak, Michigan. Not long after, the name was changed to Gospel Souvenir House.
In and between 1953-1957, even with a recent expansion, the house in Royal Oak could no longer hold the business, and in 1953 the Dicksons relocated it more centrally to Seymour, Indiana, inside two empty Army warehouses from World War II. Renamed Dickson’s, Inc., the company began operations with 12 employees. The main products were novelty items. In 1957 an addition was built that joined the two warehouses. Today this structure, with several updates, serves as the Dicksons administration building.
In 1968, plaques and framed prints had become the prominent product lines, with novelties and Sunday School supplies still offered. Dicksons published the print “Gratitude” which is still sold today.
Between 1970-1973, the Dicksons retired to Florida in 1970. Two years later, the business was purchased by Paul Curry. The following year, David Vandivier joined him as a partner and Vice President of Manufacturing. The company was named Curry Industries, while continuing to use Dickson’s as a trade name. Dickson's Gifts is still in operation today joining the online sales market and offering amazing crafted merchandise.

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