Salvation Army Leaders Called to New Area

Three years ago, Majs. Eddie and Ann Patterson, the ministers who head up the Ventura County Salvation Army, put the finishing touches on the brand-new Silver Crest apartment complex in Ventura for low-income senior citizens.

On Valentine’s Day this year, they opened the doors of the Salvation Army’s transitional shelter, a housing facility for homeless families in Ventura County.

And just this spring, they wrapped up a $1.5-million campaign to build a new Salvation Army church and community center in Ventura.

Then, Friday night, the phone rang.

“They said we were going to San Pedro in a month,” Eddie Patterson said of the call that came from Salvation Army headquarters, informing them of their impending move.

“They said we would build a new Silver Crest (senior residence) and a new church and community center. We would do it all over again.”

Salvation Army ministers are always on the move, and the Pattersons are no exception. They live in Salvation Army houses, drive Salvation Army cars, sleep in Salvation Army beds, and know that, about every three to five years, they will be told to pick up and move to another Salvation Army ministry, somewhere else in the country.

The Pattersons came to Ventura in 1989 from Hilo, Hawaii. Before that, they lived in Wyoming. Overall, the couple and their two children have spent the last 24 years hopscotching around the United States from one Salvation Army center to another. This time, their two grown children will stay put, and Eddie and Ann Patterson will move on alone.

“I really don’t want to go, but I decided a long time ago that I would go where they needed me,” Eddie Patterson said with a sigh. “The people here in Ventura are really friendly, and my wife and I have really been accepted very well.”

Lts. Michael and Rene Beauchamp, now living in Whittier, will replace the Pattersons when they leave June 26, only to start up again in San Pedro three days later.

Local charity directors say the energetic Pattersons will be missed.

“It’s remarkable what they’ve done in this short period of time,” said Mary Ann Decaen, community services coordinator for Catholic Charities. “They’re really dedicated.”

The Pattersons’ purpose for all their labor, Eddie Patterson says, is simple.

“The reason I do all of this is because I want to help, and because of my Christian faith,” he said. “If I can build a building that’s going to help the homeless, that’s what I’m going to do.

“I like putting my faith into practice.”