ST. JOHN LADIES AID / LWML
A History As Told By Jeanette Luckow, April, 1987
A beginning usually starts with a date; however, the first date listed in the
faded ink of the old tattered minutes book is January 7th, and we must
assume that the year was 1926. The minutes of that meeting record that a motion
was made to hold a meeting on May 20th, and that meeting was duly recorded
and dated May 20{\super th}, 1926. So from this we established a true beginning.
The Pastor then serving the church was Reverend H. L. Buesing and he conducted the
meeting, as that seemed to be the custom at that time.
Of great interest was a list of what may have
been the charter members, embracing a surprisingly large group of 22 ladies. At
most they are so listed. A Miss Arvilla Krake was among these, and we find her
still very active in the Aid today; however, we recognize her more easily as Mrs
Arvilla.
The meetings were all conducted with prayer, devotions and song before any business
or working plans were made. To raise money and help in other ways to benefit the
congregation were always foremost in the minds of these ambitious ladies.
On that memorable May 20th, 1926 the ladies started a "Fish Pond"
for $5 to introduce a little sales gimmick to raise funds. Of course
dues were a part of their contributions, based on an ability to pay, and were voluntary.
Fees totaled $4.15 for starters.
A sign of the times was the charge of 35 cents for a Mission Feast Dinner.
Over the early months and years the ladies held many food sales and started a Sunshine
Fund to be used for flowers and cards for people who were ill.
The Lord has been giving these ladies the gifts of culinary and handiwork arts, and they turned these into
good works for Him. The Lord blessed them by showing them that the money they
received could be used in many special ways. They paid off some small loans for
the church. Perhaps not so small in those days, for example, one was for $220. In
July of 1928 they contributed $500 to the Church Extension Fund.
Throughout the years
the "Fish Pond" appears to have been a moneymaker to help the
various causes and needs of running a parish, such as the painting and decorating
of the church.
Amusing reading for
today was the 25 cents charge for a plate lunch consisting of sandwich, cake,
ice cream and coffee at the ice cream socials. For this very special time the ladies
were empowered to either borrow an ice cream freezer or, if none was available,
they could purchase five gallons of the commercial kind.
As was custom, Reverend
H. L. Buesing always gave a message of inspiration and on special occasions invited
other pastors to offer their inspired word. One of these was Reverend O. Schreiber
from Hayes, who visited in August 1931 and left the members filled with the Lord's great promise for all. \par}
By now annual mission festivals were a regular part of the activities.
In July 1932 the ladies
purchased the materials to screen the back porch of the parsonage, and once again
paint the outside of the church.
Words of thanksgiving
were recorded in the minutes by the then secretary, Mrs. A. C. Kelm, for the payment
of the church debt in full.
Meetings were usually
held in the various homes of the ladies and this practice continued. Ice cream
socials were very successful, swelling the Ladies Aid treasury to $136.48
during the year 1934. One such social was duly noted as being held
under the trees by the school house.
As of January 1935,
the president was no longer the pastor, and Reverend Buesing could devote more of
his time to the work of the Lord in many other ways where he was more greatly needed
. The first lady to be president was Mrs. Earl Krake. Now they truly were the Ladies Aid.
One of their many tasks
was the sprucing up of the church for the joyous Easter season. A huge church cleaning
bee was conducted by all.
Reverend Buesing left
in May of 1936 and the new pastor was Reverend Gustave Karpinsky, who served diligently
until 1941 when he entered the armed services as a chaplain during World War II.
In preparing this little
history it is duly noted in the minutes of August 5, 1937 that a motion is made
to serve old chickens for the mission festival. We
have not quite been able\ta to understand the wording of this, but it brought a smile
to our lips and should certainly do the same for anyone who may take the time to
pursue this.
As we have mentioned
before, over the years the ladies helped with repairs to both the church and the
parsonage. The Lord gave generously of His love, for it showed in all their fine
deeds.
In 1938 the ladies
hit another milestone and started conducting their meetings in the church basement.
In 1940 they revised their constitution and established 25 cents as the monthly
dues. That same year they held a picnic at Boot Lake Park.
Reverend O. Schreiber took over after Reverend Karpinsky left.
In April of 1942 Miss Hattie
Seaman joined the Ladies Aid. We know her better as Mrs. Hattie Williams, our beloved and devoted organist.
The ladies were now
more blessed financially, and were making small but heartfelt donations to such
organizations as the Army and Navy Commission, Valpariso University, and Infantile
paralysis - all these being reminders of the times of the war and the polio epidemic
era.
November 1944 marked
the 25{\super th} anniversary of the church, and the ladies served a dinner for
50 cents a plate.
Pastor Schreiber served
the church until October of '45. When he left the vacancy was filled by
Pastor Malueg, who remained with the church until 1953.
In July of 1945 the Ladies Aid treasury boasted a balance of $556.02. With some of these
funds they purchased all new altar and pulpit cloths to beautify the church altar.
A tradition was now established that members bring a little gift for their Christmas Party Meeting,
and this remains a practice even today.
As of January 1947, the
Ladies Aid has now become of age, for the funds to support the group
now have their very own businesslike checking account.
Pastor Malueg asked
the ladies if they would purchase paint, and he would gladly paint the porch and
garage of the parsonage. Needless to say, all the ladies were in accord.
Harvest dinners became
a thing of the past as in 1949 the format was changed, and bake sales were planned
instead for Labor Day and during hunting season. That same year Christmas Party
gifts were limited to 75 cents. Ah, for the days of yore!
Again the Aid did as
its name implies, and paid up what the church was short in the debt fund. More
institutions were given donations, such as Bethesda Lutheran Home for the mentally
handicapped, and the Institute for the Deaf in Detroit.
Changes were made in
the constitution in 1953 limiting the term of office to be held by any one individual
. That same year the picnic was to be held at Boot Lake Park, but was canceled due
to inclement weather. Now, it really must have been a deluge to keep all these
ladies away.
Reverend Westphal filled in the term after Reverend Malueg left, and he stayed until 1955.
More sophistication
now enters the well established group, for bake sales were held on a regular basis
during each June, July and August. In June of '54 the dutiful recorder
listed all the goodies that the so-gifted ladies donated. It was such an impressive
list of mouth-watering goodies, and served a dual purpose by serving a worthy cause
as well as tempting the palates of all who would partake of same.
Reverend Richard Tremain became pastor in 1955 and remained at St. John until 1960.
In the ensuing 15 years
the ladies had several pastors whom they were privileged to serve. Between 1960
-64 there was Reverend Daniel Ahrens, from 1965-67 there was Reverend Loren Trapp
, and Reverend Leslie Weerts served until 1968.
In 1969 there was a
great need to replace the old church, and the ladies again came forward with a
contribution of $4,000 toward the start of the new church which the congregation
was planning to build.
On November 2, 1969
ground was broken for this new church, which is where our ladies meet at the present
time. It boasts a fine kitchen and fellowship hall. Here, also, are held all the
bake sales which have become well known in the community, and are something of
an event throughout the area for permanent residents and the so-called
summer people as well.
The new church on Highway
32 became a God given reality and was dedicated on August 30th, 1970.
For this wonderful event the ladies served a buffet lunch at noon, and also served
snacks and coffee throughout the day. It was indeed a very real open
house of the Lord.
As must be evident
over the years, St. John Lutheran Church grew with the help of the Lord. It was
no longer a small mission church and became one that could help other churches,
as it had been helped in times past.
The Ladies Aid entered into mission work by contributing to various charities, and offering their
help to those in need. From this stemmed an interest in the Lutheran Women's
Missionary League, and soon they were invited to attend one of the League
meetings, which they duly recorded as having been held at Polar, Wisconsin on October
23, 1958. This generated an interest in attending the League rallies, at which
St. John was very well represented.
The mite box has become the tool of the League to raise money for many mission
needs. By 1961 St. John Ladies Aid had become a part of LWML, and in April
of 1962, they and their sister church in Laona sponsored their first rally. They
now were truly a part of the Northeastern Wisconsin Missionary League group.
According to the minutes of November 5, 1964 of the Aid,
the first LWML project meeting was to be held at the home of Mrs. Fred Harms on
November 19th, and the project was the making of quilts for the Bethesda
Lutheran Home at Watertown. This was the start of many mission service projects
to follow. Some of these are suggested by LWML, and others have been taken on their
own as the need arose.
Once again St. John was co-host with Laona for the fall rally of October 25, 1967.
The ladies sponsored their first fall rally alone in October of 1970. They now also
sent representatives to all rallies and conventions to keep posted and up to date
on the workings of the League. It should be mentioned here that they were hosts
of the fall rally on October 21, 1975, and had to hold the luncheon in the Townsend
Town Hall as the church kitchen and hall would not accommodate the large attendance.
However, in 1979 a building project was started to enlarge both the kitchen and
fellowship hall, and on October 21, 1982, St. John Church was able to accommodate
all the guests for the rally held that day in its large and spacious addition.
Through the following years Reverend Richard Dannenbring was installed as pastor
, and served both Townsend and Laona, as had the previous pastors since 1955. He
was followed by Reverend Keith Brutlag, and during his service, a vicarage program
was initiated. Vicar Larry Harvala served a year and then returned to the seminary
to finish his studies in 1979.
That same year St. John decided to become a single-unit parish, and the dual arrangement
with Laona was dissolved.
The Ladies Aid will always be thankful for having had the help and guidance of all
these pastors in the years gone by.
In April of 1980, Reverend Gerald Behling became pastor, and he continues with both
compassion and love, to guide the ladies in their efforts to be servants of the
Lord.
Truly the Lord blessed these ladies and their congregation in allowing these wonderful
events to take place.
submitted by Jeanette E. Luckow, with many thanks to Kate Erler, Arvilla Nolop,
and Hattie Williams, to whom I am humbly grateful, for without their input I could
not have compiled this history.
*Since Jeanette's phenomenal journal, Reverend Gerald Behling retired from
St. John in the fall of 1993 at which time Reverend Gary Bratz became our Shepherd
until January 4, 2003. On January 4, 2004 Reverend Ken Mangold was installed as
our Leader. At this time, we are waiting on the Lord to answer our call.
Reverend Gerry's funeral was held here at St. John on November 15, 2003
. Norma, Gerry's wife is an active member of St. John.
Reverend Gary Bratz and his wife Sandy reside in Weston, Wisconsin where they are
active in the Lord\u8217\'92s work.
Reverend Ken Mangold chose to step down due to his ill health. Pastor Ken, wife
Lisa, and children Alyssa, John and Aleena reside in Lakewood, Wisconsin and are
currently active members of St. John.
Our number of members in Ladies Aid has started dwindling through people moving
away and deaths. The Lord has blessed us and we are an active bunch who do good
for many needing help through our Bazaars and Bake Sales. We are looking for new
members so we can continue to do the Lord's work here at St. John.-- Final
statements submitted by Linda Arentz.