Connecting with Zion’s Past

by Dennis Dugger

On September 1, 1873, before Zion had a sanctuary, or even a lot upon which to build one, Zion’s Ladies Aid Society was organized by Mrs. Julia Schoettle and Mrs. Maria. Steitler.  Mrs. Schoettle was the wife of George Schoettle, Zion’s second pastor, and Mrs.  Steitler was the wife of Adam Steitler, one of Zion’s founders.

As one of its first projects, the Ladies Aid gathered $300 to go toward the purchase of a site for our first sanctuary.  The Society also helped to fund Zion’s second parsonage in 1889 and one room in the parsonage was furnished so it could be used as a meeting place for the Society.  Through the years the up-keep of that parsonage was largely assumed by the Ladies Aid.

Recently I have been reviewing the minutes of the Ladies Aid Society.  One of the most interesting periods was from 1918 to 1925; an era when the Society had 60-65 members and averaged about 35 in attendance at their meetings.

The Ladies Aid pledged $500 per year to the Building Fund from 1923 through 1925.  Think of that!  That’s $500 per year in the 1920’s!  To meet such a goal and to do all the other things that they did, they were continuously engaged in fundraising projects.  These included holding an annual Fall Bazaar, an annual Easter Kuchen Sale, ice cream dinners; making and selling of quilts, homemade aprons, and ragrugs; sponsoring stands at the County Fair and during the Chautauqua; buying and selling of vanilla and lemon extracts and bias fold; and creating something called “yards-of-dimes”.  “Kuchen” translates to “cake”, so I believe a Kuchen sale would be like a sale of baked goods.  Bias was long narrow strips of material used to bind the edges of garments.  A “yard of dimes” would be enough dimes placed side-by-side where the distance would equal a yard.  So how much money would a yard-of-dimes be worth?

In the early days of the Ladies Aid, meetings were held in the parsonage or in the homes of the various members.  It was usually impossible for everyone to be in the same room.  When the auditorium was added off the back of the church part of the basement was designated the Men’s Club Room.  However, one month the Ladies Aid met in the Club Room and liked it; all could be in the same room and everyone could hear the speakers.  So they decided to meet there the next month too “with the permission of the men” of course.  Thus, for many years to follow, most of their meetings were held in the Men’s Club Room.

During the tenure of Rev. Rasche, pastor from 1927-1935, the Ladies Aid Society published a 36 page booklet titled “Digest of the Day”.  Its contents included height and weight charts, diet menus, a calorie chart, several pages of proper exercises complete with diagrams, instructions on how to lay the table and serve the dinner, instructions on preparing food in quantities and “cold packing”, “electric” refrigerator suggestions, laundry helps, home remedies, a weights and measures chart, a time table for cooking vegetables, a harmonious colors chart, and many advertisements, which helped to pay for the project.

The Ladies Aid remained the organization for Zion’s women until the mid 1930’s.  After the merger of the Evangelical Church and the Reformed Church in 1934, the women’s organizations of these two churches also merged.  Seven years later, on December 5, 1941, the Ladies Aid of Zion was officially dissolved and the new Women’s Guild organized with 39 charter members.  The stated mission of the Guild was to unite all the women of the church in Christian Fellowship and with divine help and guidance to develop an understanding of the work of the entire church, deepen spiritual life, stimulate sacrificial giving and promote Christian service in the home, local church, the denomination, the community, the nation and the world.

During World War II the Guild helped the service men of our church by keeping in close touch with them at home and overseas by using letters and sending them gifts on their birthdays.  After the war the Guild prepared boxes of food and clothing for individuals in the war torn countries.

Over the years, other projects of the Guild have included sponsoring the confirmation classes and annual Birthday Supper, gifts for graduates, Christmas gifts for staff, supporting the Boulware Center, buying blankets for the poor, decorating for Harvest Home and Easter, delivering flowers to the sick and shut-ins, and supporting Santa’s Sack.  It would be impossible to list all that they have done in this space.

This month the Women’s Guild of Zion is celebrating its 135^th birthday.  Though our Guild is adjusting to the times, it will continue to play a very important role for Zion.   “HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the WOMEN’S GUILD!”

On another topic; Zion’s marriage records have been computerized and stored in a database.  You can find a printout of the marriages on one of the bulletin boards, where they will be displayed for a few weeks for your review.  If you see an error, send me a correction and I’ll check it out.  Some of these records were difficult to read.  Many of the questions were cleared up by going to the courthouse and looking up the marriage bonds.  However, not all questions were resolved.  A question mark following data indicates that the accuracy of the data is still uncertain.

I also received a very nice, and informative, letter from Rev. John Schroeder, our longest serving pastor, concerning the “bell and tower chimes” story.  The “bell ringing training” was necessary because some would pull so hard that the bell would go “over the top” and the rope would detach.  Climbing up and through the trap door of the tower to reattach the rope was quite a chore.  The double “dings” or “dongs” were caused, as Rev. Schroeder put it, by the ringer not “having his Wheaties for breakfast”.  This caused the clapper to hit only one side of the bell.  Next month I’ll report more from his letter.