Connecting With Zion’s Past

by Dennis Dugger

Once or twice a year, part of this column will be dedicated to reviewing what was happening at Zion 125 years ago, 100 years ago, etc.  This is the first such review.

125 Years Ago – 1882     Zion was ending its first decade and H. F. Deters was Zion’s seventh pastor.  We had gone through seven pastors in ten years!  In addition to being Zion’s pastor, he taught German in the public schools.

At the Jan. 8, 1882 Congregational Meeting, a motion to require church membership before one could serve on the Church Council failed to pass.  Yes, you could have served on the Council without being a member of the church.

On Jan. 22, 1882 the Council was given the authority to sell the “old organ”.  This must have been a reference to Zion’s original instrument which was actually called a melodian.   Purchased for $185 in 1874, it had been replaced by a newer “reed organ”.  It was apparently not a “hot” item since at the Apr. 17, 1882 meeting, the Council moved to raffle it off at the church picnic on May 29, 1882.

100 Years Ago – 1907     Zion’s tenth minister, W. A. Bomhard, resigned and Zion’s first satellite church appears to have disbanded as a result.  Rev. Bomhard had also served as pastor of St Paul’s German Evangelical Church in Stanley, Kentucky.  The six family groups that formed the congregation of St. Paul’s came out of Zion’s congregation in 1896.  St. Paul’s records are now kept at Zion and the last entries were made in 1907.  Was this our only satellite church?  Maybe not!

1907 also produced two confirmation classes.  Fifteen were confirmed from the regular class and later six were confirmed in an adult class.  The total of twenty-one was one of largest for any year in Zion’s history.

75 Years Ago – 1932     Due to the Great Depression, the Council reluctantly voted on Mar. 7, 1932, to cut the salaries of the pastor, organist, and janitor by 10%.  In 1933, Rev. Rasche reportedly volunteered to take an additional 10% cut in salary.

50 Years Ago – 1957     Zion’s minister was Rev. J. Wallace Zink.  On June 25, 1957 the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which was 23 years old, and the Congregational Christian Church, which was 26 years old, founded the United Church of Christ, though it appears that Zion did not actually use the new name until about 1962.

25 Years Ago – 1982     Rev. John F. Schroeder was our minister and Mrs. Robert L. Lyon was our organist / choir director.  Both have the longest service for those positions in Zion’s history.  Rev. Schroeder served Zion for almost 28 years, and Mrs. Lyon was hired in 1945 to be a temporary fill-in until a permanent organist could be found.  She resigned in 1983 after 38 years of service to our church.

In the spring of 1982, the men of Zion presented a portrayal of the Last Supper; in the summer, we had a softball team; and at Christmas, Our Santa’s Sack outreach was still in its infancy, having started the previous year.  I’ve placed a photo of the Last Supper portrayal on the bulletin board.  See if you can identify the “actors”!  By the way, the last year in which Zion had a softball team was 1983.

There you have Zion’s happenings of long ago.  Now for a follow-up on our last installment!

Zion was the tenth church to be organized in Owensboro.   Zion was established on April 2, 1872 when a constitution was adopted for the Deutsche Evangelische Zions Kirche; or, in English, Zion German Evangelical Church.  The five men that signed that document were Andreas Walz, Adam Zinsz, Friedrich Friedmann, George Kiefner and Adam Steitler.

Recently, I discovered that Susan (Strawn) Hall is a great-great granddaughter of Adam Zinsz.  Her mother, Janice (Purdy) Strawn was the daughter of Emmett Purdy Sr. and Thelma Marie Zinsz.  Thelma Marie Zinsz was the daughter of Peter Zinsz and the granddaughter of Adam Zinsz.  Adam Zinsz, born in Prussia, was a “hotel keeper” according to the 1880 Census.

If there are other current members that are descendants of one of Zion’s five founding fathers, please share with us.

Before I write one more word, I wish to acknowledge Rev. John Schroeder’s contributions to our knowledge of Zion’s history.  Many years ago, his efforts and guidance resulted in our old German records being translated into English by Dr. Ernst Press.   Rev Schroeder also wrote several newsletter articles that dealt with Zion’s history.  Every day that I work with our history, I’m more thankful for these resources.  Much of what I have written started with Rev. Schroeder’s groundwork, as will much of what I write in the future.  Thank you Rev. Schroeder!

Dennis