# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1917_S27
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

The Lutheran Pioneer

Tt wasn’t quite completed at the time, but we just
had to have our Christmas services in the new
building. It’s about a mile from here, back towards
Vredenburgh. Yes, that’s it on the hill there. It
jis 20X32 feet, and is built in the well-known
“T.-shape, which seems to be the style of most of
our more recently built chapels and schools. We
haven’t painted it as yet, but hope to do so as soon

as the paint arrives. Sure, the boards are rough,

head ceiling. Whenever we get the means, we'll
finish the walls. We haven’t any regular school |
desks either. When the children want to write,
they get down on their knees and use the seat of
the bench as a desk. When we get new desks, we
can discard these benches, and the children can
save their knees. That stove you see there is a
Christmas gift from the confirmation class of Rev.
H. Strasen, of Courtland, Minn. He sent us six

The Board for Colored Missions in 1917.

Front row (right to left):

Prof. G. Mezger, Chairman; Rey. C. F. Drewés, Field Secretary (seated! in center); Rey. R. Jesse.

Rear (all standing): Rev. L. A. Wisler; Mr. E. Schuettner, Treasurer; Rey. W. J. Schulze; Rev. Th. F. Walther.

but they will look fine when once painted. As yet
| we haye no bell in the tower, but I am not worry-
_ ing, since I believe that some good ‘friend or con-
* gregation will give us one, as soon as it is known
We have five acres of land, and
We also
‘have a fine spring down the ‘hill, which I had
cleaned out and myself lined with a stone wall.
- Of course, you also want to see the inside of

‘the building. You will notice that the side-walls
have not yet been ceiled, for our money gave out

: “by the time we had put in the floor and the over-
4

_ that we need one.
™ enough wood on it to last many years.

dollars for Christmas, and we used it to buy a stove.
Many thanks to Rey. Strasen and his class! _
We open the folding-doors here, and that lets
you into the chapel. It still looks quite bare and un-
finished, but as soon as our chairs come, and some
good friend gives us a pulpit and altar, and some

_good Ladies’ Aid Society gives us a carpet for

the platform, and still another sends us pulpit
and altar covers, itll look quite different. Our
platform, by the way, is 8X20; so, you see, it
won’t take much carpet to cover it. © yes, our

organ will be along, too, in due time, when some