I have mentioned Dr. Gustav Schuricht in passing within a few previous blog posts, and, knowing that he was a descendant of an original Stephanite immigrant, I was hoping to find a reason to tell his story. Today, I get that chance, and you will read his story. It leads us to a few other … More Gustav Schuricht – Lutheran Doctor in St. Louis
I think today’s birthday boy might have been delivered by a doctor who had his office in his grandmother’s hotel. There was once a hotel in Altenburg known as the Wagner Hotel, which was operated by Theresia Wagner when a baby was born in 1899. The ad for Dr. G.B. Schulz shown below indicates that … More Doc Wagner – US Navy
Once upon a time in Altenburg, there was a Neubeck Store. A previous post, Dealer and Healer in Downtown Altenburg, told the story of that place of business. In that post, this advertisement for that store was included. The owner of this store, George Neubeck, and his wife, Johanna (Grosse) Neubeck, had several children, only … More Emma Neubeck and Her Boss
I rarely write a story on this blog that recognizes the anniversary of a death. I am much more likely to focus on celebratory events like birthdays and weddings. However, when I found the date of death of one of the leaders of the Stephanites who arrived in Perry County in 1839, I think it … More “Lord Jesus, You Have My Soul”
I am sharing an old post today for a few reasons. One is that I am tired. We just completed two days of hosting people who chose to be a part of this year’s Christmas Country Church Tour. About 1000 people made a tour through our museum to view our Christmas exhibit. Secondly, I discovered that today would be … More A Jacob Preacher’s 180th Birthday
St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ruma, Illinois is celebrating their 175th anniversary this year. It is not often that a story on this blog takes us to that little church in Randolph County, Illinois. Today will be one of those posts. The baptism record for today’s birthday girl is likely to be found in the … More A Rathjen-Rowold Romance
Today is a day when I had a men’s Bible class to teach this morning and a bus tour at the museum later, so I have decided not to take the time to write a new story. In the process of looking for a previous post to republish, I discovered that it was 5 years … More 5th Anniversary of Another Lost Landmark
I have a difficult story to tell today. We are presently in the week after Easter Sunday, and it is the message of Jesus’s resurrection that is sometimes the only hope that we Christians have when overwhelming sadness enters our lives. In such times, we often depend on the comforting words we hear from our … More Hope in the Resurrection
Today’s birthday girl, Clara Julie Estel, does not show up in our German Family Tree, but maybe someday, more records from Old Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis will be included. Five of her older siblings are found in the GFT, but several others who were born later, including Clara, are not. Since Clara’s father … More Prairie Pastor and His Pi Partner
This past Sunday, Gerard Fiehler and I made a road trip to Jacob, Illinois where we attended worship at Christ Lutheran Church and spoke at a Heins family reunion. Take a look at this map below. The red arrow points to the location of the church and the reunion. If you look at the scale … More Road Trip to Jacob, Illinois
