The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1928, Page 56

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56 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

years of strenuous labor in trying to make its exis-
tence permanent. And now to find it a thing of
the past —dead—is as sad as standing at the
graye of a beloved child. However, such sentimental
thoughts will probably be of little interest to our
readers.

We found our old friend and pupil, Teacher
Wm. Seeberry, still at the head of St. Paul’s
School, and we noticed that he is as efficient and
enthusiastic as ever. He is ably assisted by two
other former pupils of the writer, Teachers Arthur
Berger and Miss 8S. Raymond. St. Paul’s enrolment
is no longer as large as it was in former years, due,
no doubt, in a large measure, to the closing of
Luther College. But the teachers assured the
writer that they had a fine, dependable body of
pupils and that they succeeded in gaining a large
number of them for the Church. For various

Mount Zion Church and School.

reasons our St. Paul’s School has always proved
a most efficient missionary agency, and because of
this most of the members of St. Paul’s were former
pupils of the school. The slump in the enrolment
of St. Paul’s School is due also to the fact that
a number of large and modern public schools with
up-to-date equipment have been built in this section
of the city and that the Catholics have opened
several good parochial colored schools in the neigh-

»borhood. The fact that the pupils of the public’

school enjoy the use of free text-books has a strong
tendency to reduce the enrolment of all our colored
mission-schools in New Orleans.

Mount Zion School.
From St. Paul’s we made a dash to Mount Zion,
our oldest colored mission-school in New Orleans.
A few days prior to his visit to this school the

Editor had visited Mrs. Vix, the widow of Mount —

Zion’s pioneer teacher. During this visit he natu-
rally exchanged reminiscences of the old days when

“Mr. Vix’s school” was the best-known colored edu-
cational institution of a large portion of the “up-
town” section of the city. Many of the older col-
ored people of this part of New Orleans still refer
to Mount Zion School as “M2. Vix’s school,” which
fact speaks well for the high estimation in which
this veteran mission-worker stood in the eyes of his
former pupils. Mr. Vix and his faithful colleague,
Mr. Meibohm, during the long period of their ser-
vice, proved a blessing to a large part of “up-town”
New Orleans in a measure which only eternity will
fully reveal. May we never forget their unselfish
labors !

Mount Zion School is in very efficient hands.
Teacher Seraile has charge of the upper grades, the
intermediate grades are in the hands of Miss John-
son, while the lower grades are taught by a very
capable young lady whose name has escaped me.
At Mount Zion the writer was given the opportunity
to hear the combined school sing several hymns as
only colored children can sing them. The whole-
hearted manner in which they implored God,
“Father, bless our school to-day,” and the unction
with which they rendered, “Alas, and Did My
Savior Bleed,” could leave no doubt in the mind
of the hearer as to the sincerity of the singers.

By the way, Mount Zion will observe its golden
anniversary next month. A committee of the con-
gregation waited on the writer before he left New
Orleans and asked him to serve as the anniversary
preacher, since he is the oldest living former pastor
of Mount Zion, having succeeded the sainted Pastor
Bakke in the summer of 1891. In passing, it may
be mentioned that for sentimental as well as other
reasons the writer hopes that circumstances will
permit him to accept the invitation, since it was
here that he was ordained to the ministry almost
thirty-seven years ago. During the eighteen years
of his service in New Orleans he served Mount
Zion as actual and vacancy pastor for eight or more
years. He was greatly tempted to accept the invi-
tation when tendered, but upon second thought
decided that it would be more proper and wise to
let his acceptance depend upon the consent of
his present congregation and the kindness of the
railroad companies in furnishing reduced trans-
portation.

Bethlehem School.

From Mount Zion Pastor Luecke took the writer
to Bethlehem, where a very flourishing school with
four teachers: Principal Aaron Wiley, Teacher
Williams, and the Misses Craig and Dotson, are
teaching the largest mission-school we have in New