Rev. Daniel and Mrs. Eleanor Hirschy were involved with Baptist Mid-Missions, serving in the Republic of Chad in Africa for 27 years and as church planters in Waterville, Maine for another 10 years before they retired. Eleanor went to be with her Lord on July 17, 2005, and Dan followed at the age of 104 on May 29, 2022. They are both buried in the Evans City Cemetery with the words “Christ for Africa” on their tombstone.
Dan Hirschy was the son of our former pastor, Rev. Norman Hirschy, who arrived in Evans City in 1927. Dan was saved at an evangelistic service led by Rev. O.R. Covault, a missionary to Venezuela. Dan graduated from Evans City High School in 1936 and while listening to Rev. Paul Metzler, a missionary to Chad, speak of his work there he felt called to serve the Lord in that country. He started at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1937, and was involved in the Foreign MIssions Fellowship there.
Eleanor was born in Celia, Pennsylvania, (a stop on the B&O Railroad near Fombell) on August 23, 1918 and grew up in Ellwood City; she was saved at the age of twelve at First Baptist Church Ellwood City. Pastor Hirschy and Pastor Fred Rader led tent meetings in various communities in Western Pennsylvania in the 1930's, and it was likely through these meetings that Dan and Eleanor met; in his words, "the exact time I don't remember, but it was the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship." Much of their courting was by correspondence while he was at Bryan College (she was working as a secretary and taking Bible courses by correspondence from Fort Wayne Bible Institute). They were engaged for one year and were married on September 8, 1941, as Dan tells it "My father tied the knot and it was not a slip knot."
While they knew God had called them to serve in Africa, He didn't lead them there directly. In February 1945 they were accepted for service in French Equatorial Africa. They were commissioned by our church in 1946, and following a year of deputation they left New York City in May 1946 with stops along the way in Newfoundland, Ireland, Portugal, Senegal, Liberia, and Belgian Congo (Zaire) before arriving in the French Congo! After 3 months of language study at Ft. Sibut they travelled to Balimba (a large village near Ft. Archambault) to begin their work.
The Balimba station was near the river and there were many mosquitoes. As a result, their first term was, physically speaking, the most difficult. Malaria, dengue fever, and the continuous heat so sapped their strength that they were ready for furlough after three years. After furlough they returned to Africa on the Belgian freighter Stavelot. They would then spend most of the next 4.5-year term in the town of Koumra. It was a time of great political activity in which Communistic propaganda was being spread. Some of the out-station pastors were guilty of permitting this propaganda in their meetings, so it was necessary to remove those pastors. Despite the resulting animosity and drop in attendance, the faithful ones were strengthened by the persecution and the Lord blessed.
In the spring of 1973, leaving all four of their girls in the U.S., they headed back to Chad. Their term was cut short due to the unrest in Chad {their eye-opening newsletter from Jan. 1974 is at the bottom of the page}. The government endeavored to go back to the old ways, to wipe out all traces of years of foreign domination. "It was a time of great stress because the government was trying to make the Africans go back to their heathen religion. Our last term only lasted 4 months." Government spies were in the church services to see if the pastors were complying with their orders. "I believe the Lord took us back to Chad to encourage the Christians to stand true to God. In the face of persecution, they did just that. I remember messages being preached from Daniel about the three men who were cast into the furnace and Daniel cast to the lions. Rather than destroying the church, the persecution cleansed and strengthened it."
Dan and Eleanor, and two other couples, were put under house arrest and given 24 hours to pack their bags for evacuation. They were taken 75 miles to Ft. Archambault where they were detained at the Bureau of Police. Along with other BMM missionaries, they were loaded with their baggage on a truck at midnight and transported 400 miles to the capital to be flown out of the country. The only ones allowed to stay were the medical personnel.
We found out later that at the same time we were evacuated, 14 of the African pastors were taken captive and given an ultimatum. Go back to the old customs or die. They all chose to die. They were shot and buried in a common grave.
Dan’s brother, Phillip, and Pastor Hadley (pastor of GLC at the time) picked them up from the Pittsburgh airport, and after nine months here in Evans City, he and Eleanor went to Waterville, Maine, as church planning and development missionaries. Their goal of establishing a Baptist church was not met, but some believers were helped to grow, and some souls were saved. They ministered there for 10 years before retiring in 1984. As with most missionaries, they never truly retired, but continued a nursing home ministry, served in church leadership, and encouraged their local church to be more involved in missions.
Dan's sister, Joyce de Rosset, was another of one of our missionaries (read their story here). Dan and Eleanor were also Uncle and Aunt to Beth Britton O'Hara (our retired missionary who served with Pioneers).
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