Pieces of History, Mower Co., MN Includes STERN, QUAST, CHRISTGUA and other families ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Diane Rollins Submitted: February 2007 ========================================================================= Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church The Stern family was active in this church where services were conducted in German. The family's baptisms, confirmations and marriages were conducted at the church or with clergy of this church. Lydia played the church organ and also played piano for church functions. The church is still active and conducting services. From Mower County History pages 324-326 ----------------------------------- Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Taken from History of Mower County On December 3, 1883, a meeting was held to organize an Evangelical Lutheran congregation. The first trustees were Conrad Christgau, Johann Christgau and W. Jacobi. Prior to this, services had been held by various pastors and students from Red Wing and New Ulm. In 1891, the congregation built a church on land given by the widow of Conrad Christgau. Services prior to the building of the church had been conducted in the District #106 schoolhouse across the road. The old German custom of men sitting on one side of the church and women on the other was given up when the church was dedicated. The reason for the change was said to be so the fathers could help the mothers take care of the little children. The church built in 1891 is still in use. In the early 40's it was extensively remodeled: rooms were added on either end, a full basement constructed, electricity and a furnace installed. In 1954, eight stained glass windows were installed in the main part of the church. A landowner in Ohio, Houston Hays, owned land in Section 29 and donated a little more than an acre to be used as a cemetery. It was platted in lots one rod square, with a 2-foot path one way and a 4-foot path the other between the lots. Members of the congregation cleared the ground and each member that contributed labor received a lot free. Members who joined later paid $3.00 for a lot. Later a cemetery association was formed; a constitution adopted and officers elected. ------------------------------------------------------------ Maple Leaf School District #106 from History of Mower County The one room school known as Maple Leaf School is still standing across from the Trinity Evangelical Church in Section 29. Some of the teachers were: Helen Sullivan, Edna Richie, Helen Studer, Ferne Anderson and Laura Studer Hammermeister. The school was built before the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Services were held in the school while the church was being built in 1891. I always tried to get to the school by eight o'clock. In the winter I had the fire to build and get my board work on the blackboards. We would have ten minutes opening exercises which would be songs such as "America"," Minnesota State Song", and others taken from the "Golden Book of Favorite Songs". Some days we would have quotations and on some, riddles. Classes were from ten minutes to twenty minutes long. It depended on how many grades we had. Sometimes there wouldn't be anyone in a certain grade. The names of the schools were Sunny Side, Maple Leaf, Monitor and Phillips. Some of the school board members were Nick Quast, Louis Schwartz, Fred Studer and Henry Schloo. As for wages I got $75.00 a month and up to $95.00 a month. In my last year of teaching I only got $50.00. By Laura Studer Hammermeister ------------------------------------- Mrs. Rolfson has Memories of Long Ago Mrs. Guy Rolfson (sister in law of Emma Stern Rolfson), Austin, recently wrote to tell about Dexter Township at the turn of the century. She is 99 years of age. Her letter follows: "I wonder if you would be interested in a few things about Dexter Township.""I went out there to teach in 1903. I had to have a years experience in order to get a first grade teacher's certificate. I taught that year in the Monitor School, which still stands. My husband's father, Asbjorn Rolfson, came to America in 1867. He was born in Norway in 1853. At 14 years of age he stowed away on a ship which was leaving for America. He hid under some canvas on deck. They were well out to sea when he was found. They took him to the kitchen and fed him, then made him work for his board. When they landed they told him he would have to return to Norway, as he had no sponsor here. A man who heard them tell him this said "I will sponsor the boy". He brought Asbjorn to LaCross and then he was on his own. Asbjorn worked his way to Brownsdale where some Norwegians from his home locality now lived. He learned English in the Brownsdale School, then went into Dexter Township." I have an old receipt, dated 1894 and signed by Gottlieb Seebach, county treasurer, which shows a total tax of $14.84 on an improved 80 acre farm. Dexter Township was politically minded. Otto Goetsch was our state representative and Victor Christgau was our congressman. ========================================================================= Copyright Diane Rollins 2007. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm =========================================================================