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St. Mary's Gets Its Name
While the church had a home, surprisingly it was without a name. It wasn't St. Mary's -- not yet. Two years after its founding, the congregation still was called, simply, the Danish Church Society. Perhaps our ancestors were more than usually contemplative, but not until May 1876 did they settle on St. Mary's Lutheran.
The local church hosted a meeting of Danish Lutherans that spring, with some pastors, seminarians and lay delegates coming from as far as Chicago. The name question, which had been endlessly debated within the parish, was put to those attending. Over many cups of coffee that week, we can imagine, the delegates reached consensus, and a recommendation offered.
St. Mary's? A somewhat unusual name for a Lutheran parish, perhaps, but there was precedent in the old country, someone explained. And why not St. Mary's, whom the Angel Gabriel called "blessed among women”? And it was so.
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St. Mary's was six years old in 1880, but its adult membership still numbered only 44. That same year, a Sunday School was begun for the younger generation. The Rev. Dan also left that year to accept a call in Chicago, and the church again turned to Emmaus in Racine for its new pastor, O.L. Kirkeberg. He served two years and was followed by Thomas Lyngby, who also was shared with Emmaus.
After Lyngby arrived, St. Mary's sold its secondhand church building for $1,300, about what they had paid the Congregationalists, and, for $500 bought a building lot at what is today the corner of 52nd Street and 10th Avenue. There, in 1883, St. Mary's constructed a new $1,800 church. When Lyngby left in 1886, the parish got its first fulltime, resident pastor, the Rev. P.H. MoIler. He was paid $225 annually, but had to provide his own home. When Moeller accepted a call in Spencer, Iowa, in 1891, St. Mary's decided to provide its new pastor with a parsonage. |
The church, which then numbered 90 families, came up with $1,700 to buy a comfortable home. After being without a minister for nearly six months, the congregation called the Rev. N.P. Simonsen in February, 1892. He left after about a year, because his wife was not able to adjust to Kenosha's climate. C.H. Fechtenberg, Mary's next pastor, came in 1893 and left two years later, repIaced by the Rev. Dahlstrom who led the congregation for five years.
During Dahlstrom's years, growth continued and several building projects were undertaken. The church was raised and a full basement was constructed. Also, a spire, costing $2,400, was added to improve the exterior appearance. In 1900, a new parsonage, costing $3,150, with the lot, was built next door to the church.
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