The history of Our Savior’s Church originates
with our founding fathers in Norway.
Christianity
became established by King Olav Haraldson, later becoming known as St. Olav who
reigned about 900 hundred years ago. Christianity
came to Norway at the point of a sword. It was by King Olav’s decree. The early church was ruled by the Vatican. It was a State Church that later broke with
Catholicism and embraced the teachings of Martin Luther.
Our
church was founded by immigrants from Norway.
Their reasons for immigration were several. The Norwegian State Church was despotic;
church law took on the power of state law and capacity to render justice. This rankled the lower classes, already
oppressed by in justices. Norway was a
class society with little opportunity for advancement, including the
acquisition of land. There was a
religious group led by Hans Nilson Hauge that worshiped in people’s homes; they
were known as “Haugianers”. The state
frowned on the practice to the extent that the imprisoned Hauge. Many of his followers took umbrage to that
treatment and immigrated to the USA.
Among those immigrants was Tollef
Saugstad a Haugen follower from Rinsaker in Norway, not far from Ringebu,
St.Olav’s birthplace.
Tollef
was a pious man with a pious family he had a son the name of Christian whose
life was a story in itself. He had a
daughter who was a missionary. He
donated land for a Methodist Cemetery east of town. Later, he sold the land to his Son-in-las Sigbjorn
Constalie
He
was instrumental in the establishment of Sankt Petri (St. Peter) congregation,
donating land for a log church building and a cemetery.
Meanwhile,
settlers traveling the Black Hawk Trail from Prairie du Chien observed a
prairie that could quickly cleared for agriculture and timber nearby for
buildings.
A
settlement was established known as Coon Prairie. One of the first things the immigrants did was
to establish a church. It was known as
the Coon Prairie Lutheran Church. Land was donated for the church, parsonage
and cemetery.
Most
of the immigrants were of very modest circumstances, opportunity for earning
money was limited but by dint of perseverance a substantial church was
built. As often happened the church
burned but was quickly rebuilt. The congregation had outgrown their rural
church and the new one was built in town.
In
1888, Church families were not different from filial families; friction
developed to the extent that part of the congregation split off, forming the
new Our Savior’s Congregation. At the
same time an invitation was extended to the St. Petri Congregation to join the
new Our Savior’s. The invitation was
accepted, swelling the numbers in the new Congregation.
A
new frame church building was erected across the street to the south of the
present church building. ai That
building was moved to Milwaukee street and is now Mike’s feed and supply. A temperance hall was erected on the old church
site. That building stood empty for some
time. Later, it was sold to Benny Johnson who remodeled into the dwelling that
stands there to this day.
In
the years since our Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration in 1938, many changes have
taken place in the Church. Originally the
floor in the church basement was wood. Moisture
would make it roll and buckle into waves.
The second floor was supported by a series of posts. The posts were removed and the second floor was
supported by steel beams. The wood floor
was removed and a concrete topping received the resilient flooring you see
today. A stage was built.
There is a fan room next to the boiler room with
heating coils. Air from the second floor
had to pass over the basement floor on its way to the fan room, creating an icy
blast across the floor. This was
corrected with an under-floor tunnel from the southeast stair well to the
boiler room. Later, the addition of furnaces
made this equipment unnecessary. The
original boiler was a cast iron, coal fired boiler. It was replaced by a gas-oil fired boiler,
making the coal bin obsolete. The coal bin was remodeled into the ladies rest
room. A new more efficient boiler was
installed later.
Our
organ is a fine instrument but originally it was operated pneumatically, an old
time ineffective system prone to problems.
The organ was remodeled to an electrical system with a new console in a
new location north of the southeast stairway.
A platform was constructed to accommodate the changed console location.
In
1963 the church embarked on its first major construction project. A new parish
hall was built. Presently it houses a
lounge for the congregation.
Additionally, and more importantly, it serves a great community need in providing
space for the day care center.
After
a great amount of deliberation, a long needed elevator was installed, a boon to
the elderly and handicapped of the congregation.
Other
important additions and changes include:
Attic
Insulation
Metal roof
Parking lot
Re-decoration
Carpeting
Pew cushions
Kitchen remodeling
Storm windows to protect stained glass windows
Cooling
In
addition, for more than two decades, on the first Saturday in February, the Men
of Our Savior’s (MOOS) have presented a Lutefisk supper in recognition of our
Scandinavian origin.
The
event is a fund raiser for the congregation and turns out to be a great vehicle
for fellowship, not only for the diners but also for the workers. There is a bonus in the event as a training
ground for our youthful servers; they learn to be a serious, courteous part of
the adult world that spills over into their everyday life.
