History of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

History, Nebraska, Personal, Religious 5 Minutes

I was unable to find a picture by itself of the current church/school but you can see it in the opening picture in this video. Overhead view of the current church, with the school I attended on the right; I was baptized in this church in 1953 and was confirmed in April 1967. The entire wing on the left and the parking lot was added after I left the area.

In the year 1865, a group of members of the Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul congregation at Ixonia, WI gathered together with the desire to raise their cildren near a church and school. This caused them to consider emigration. Pastor Hoeckendorf, the minister of this congregation, at that time had relatives who lived near West Point, NE. So they got the idea to send scouts into this area. They wanted some trustworthy people to check everything out right there on location.

The info in this post was taken from this booklet.

They entrusted this important matter to “Father” Braasch, “Father” Wagner, and John Gensmer. These men departed for NE and, since the area surrounding West Point was already more or less settled and the whole group couldn’t possibly also settle there, they ventured further north over the wild plains of Nebraska until they came to the area which is now Norfolk.

They found that the land was fertile, the water drinkable, and wood was also found on the North Fork and the Elkhorn rivers. Very pleased with their finding, they joyfully returned to Ixonia and delivered the good news.

Pic from internet

On May 23, 1866, it was time for the old pioneers to leave their homes and strike out toward their new destination. It was a difficult time since many heartrending goodbyes were required – parents to their children, children to their parents, brothers and sisters parted, relatives and friends shook hands for the last time. The long journey was made in “prairie schooners” pulled by horses and oxen. In 3 caravans, 53 wagons moved through the uncultivated terrain, accompanied by cattle and sheep. Along the way, they encountered great difficulties, such as crossing rivers without bridges and maneuvering through swamps. Some days they had to stop to wash clothes and bake bread and on Sundays, they observed regular church services, which were led by Father Braasch, the leader of the whole train.

Around the 12th of July 1866, the members of the new German Settlement arrived in close proximity to the present-day Norfolk. After the land was measured and raffled off, everybody moved onto their allotted properties from 17-20 July.

Note: You may need to enlarge the pic to see – on the left just over half-way down, you will see the name “William Duhring.” (My brother inherited the farm and now his children have inherited it from him – Chris gets the land in order to keep it in the Deering name, ‘Nette gets the house.) That was my birth grandfather, Arnold Deering’s Father (Grandpa changed the spelling of his last name in order to appear less German, probably due to WWII, I expect). If you look up further towards the center, close to the river, you will see the name “Martin Raasch,” my adopted great-great-grandfather.

I’m not sure when this picture was taken – clearly not in 2007 – but these were the 4 remaining founders still alive at that time. August Raasch, my adopted great-grandfather, was the first postmaster in Norfolk. He was wounded at Gettysburg and carried shrapnel in his back until he died; in later years, he was basically an invalid but with 12 children (mostly boys), he had plenty of help on the farm.

Of course, it took time to build homes and barns so, in the meantime, they either built one-room log cabins or sod houses.

The first services of this new settlement took place in a shed on the North Fork of the Elkhorn River. Shrubs and branches covered the roof to provide shade and the dirt floor was covered with hay. For the rest of that first summer, they held church services in this shed. I don’t know when the first real church, a log building 24 X 30, was built – there was no altar or chancel and the benches consisted of boards which were laid on wooden blocks. Occasionally the boards would fall over when the people rose during the service. This church was used until the year 1878; in 1876, the congregation had bought 12 acres from Pastor Hoekendorf for $120.

The first parsonage was built in 1878 and at the April meeting that year, the congregation decided to build a new church. The new one would be 36 X 50 and cost approximately $1,405. The number of school children increased significantly so the congregation found it necessary to hire a regular teacher and build a school house. Since they already had a teacher, a house for him was also required, which was constructed in 1884.

Although the church building was finished, the interior was bare – no chancel, altar, benches or organ. Father Braasch made the initial contribution when he paid for an altar and chancel for the church, providing an example for the wealthy people among the members. The congregation bought the benches and, in 1884, they acquired a pipe organ (the organ still remains in the current church, as you will see in the interior picture). Since the church did not have enough seating for the attendants and the school also needed another classroom, the congregation voted unamimously to build a new church. During a meeting on January 21, 1907, the decision was made to build a brick building.

Architect Stitt created the plans and specifications for the beautiful building, which was designed in the gothic style of the 13th century. The cost of the building and interior came to about $24K. The cornerstone was laid in August of 1907 and the dedication took place on May 3, 1908. The old church was remodeled to serve for school functions and weekly catechism.

In July 1916, it had been 50 years since the founding fathers of our congregation arrived on these grassy plains. Since the congregation did not want to let this day pass without an expression of gratitude to God, they decided to celebrate their 50th anniversary on July 16, 1916. For this event, they had the interior of the church painted – the finished work is a credit to the master, Mr. Art Reiman of Milwaukee, and is a perfect work of art.

At the end of the 1st row is my birth grandmother, Marie Deering (she loved Hitler, btw); in the 2nd row, you will see my grandfather, Arnold, as well as Ernest Raasch, my adopted grandfather.
Esther Raasch was my adopted grandmother – Ernest died around the time I was born. He was a Nebraska State Senator. My birth mother lived with them for a period of time while she was in HS – she and my adopted Mom were close friends.

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Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

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300 thoughts on “History of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church”

  1. EXCERPT: “A man claiming to be the neighbor of Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett had a simple message for the protesters gathered in front of her home Friday. Daily Signal news producer Douglas Blair asked the man about his view on the protests in front of Barrett’s home in response to the leaked draft of the Supreme Court majority opinion reportedly slated to overturn Roe v. Wade.

    “It’s none of their business, why are they here?” he said. “They have the right to protest but not in front of someone’s house. They live here, this is where she lives.” “They shouldn’t be doing this. Go home and get a family,” he responded when asked if he had a message for the protesters.”

    https://dailycaller.com/2022/05/13/amy-coney-barrett-neighbor-words-left-wingers-protesting/

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Really cool story posted at QTree:

    Entire article: “Lou Zezoff, a 74-year-old Vietnam veteran, and his wife Annette live in Granite City, Illinois. He wanted to stop for a pleasant supper with his wife at Cracker Barrel, but he had no clue that he would be moved to tears by these incredible Marines. Lou saw a table of younger boys close as soon as he stepped in. He didn’t think much of it until the guys rushed to his table, interrupting his meal frequently. As the veteran began to cry, their actions drew the attention of the whole diner. Lou Zezoff, 74, and his wife Annette live in Granite City, Illinois.

    They recently went out to dine at Cracker Barrel and were looking forward to spending quality time together. Lou stepped out wearing his “US Navy Vietnam Veteran” cap, as he always did. When the couple arrived at the restaurant, Lou observed five men sitting at an adjacent table after being seated. He didn’t realize it at the time, but the young guys had seen Lou and his hat, and they planned to make this an evening to remember.

    The young lads acted quickly as Lou and his wife issued orders. Lou was calmly eating his supper when one of the young men approached him and took a seat at his table. As he approached face-to-face with the young man, Lou remembered, “I stood up.” The young man extended his hand in gratitude for Lou’s selflessness. Lou was taken aback by the gesture; after all, this isn’t something that happens every day at a restaurant. The rest of the group came up and showed their appreciation, and Lou assumed it was over. “I recognized them as military because of their high and tight haircuts,” Lou explained.

    Marines, in fact. And, as I already stated, it didn’t end there. When the first man returned to his table, another stood up and approached Lou. The veteran rose once again, unsure of what was ahead. “I want to thank you for all five of us,” the second young guy remarked, motioning to the other three. Lou expressed his gratitude for the young men’s good sentiments, and the two exchanged a few words. Lou expressed his gratitude and wished all of the soldiers continued success in their military careers. He went back to his lunch after that, assuming the situation was over.

    But, once Lou and his wife had finished their meal, he motioned for the check to be brought over. “This is your lucky day,” the waiter exclaimed as he waved the bill at their table with a wide smile on his face. Lou’s meal had been purchased by the young Marines. A note was also written on the receipt. “Semper Fi!” was scribbled over the top, with a “Oorah!” at the bottom, by one of the Marines. Lou approached their table, surprised, and wrapped his arm around one of the guys, demanding they didn’t have to pay for his supper. It was enough to say “thank you.” “You don’t have to do this.”

    “I understand that being in the military doesn’t pay well,” Lou explained. But the Marines held their ground. Lou explained, “They wanted me to know how much they valued me.” Something else happened just as Lou and Annette were ready to leave that stunned the other guests. The young Marines wanted to give the veteran one more sign of respect before they parted ways. While the fifth guy was away settling the bill, the other four strolled up to Lou’s table and extended their hand to shake the veteran’s hand one final time, he remembered, admitting that it brought tears to his eyes. One by one, they each thanked and hugged him.”

    https://theragingpatriot.org/2022/05/11/shocking-five-young-men-repeatedly-interrupt-an-elderly-veterans-dinner-with-his-wife-leading-him-to-cry/

    Liked by 3 people

      1. I think you’re right, CM! Shameful! All because teachers were too lazy to make it interesting enough to hold their attention. The school wanted to give my GS that and, thankfully, my daughter refused.

        Liked by 3 people

  6. Oh, FFS!! That arrogant little shit!!!! Sorry – I know a lot of people like him but I simply can’t stand Don Jr. Even the way he walks is arrogant!!! Yes, I know he didn’t create it but even the way he gesticulates with his hands – kind of in a fist (hiding his small hands, perhaps?) irritates me!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think he has a complex because he is so short, personally. I just cannot like ANYTHING about him. Same for Kimberly – in my view, she is a slut and probably is the reason his marriage broke up.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. EXCERPT: “A migrant woman living in Texas told a South Texas border rancher that she “expects” the federal government to deliver her smuggled child to her. A migrant woman, apparently unknown to the family, smuggled the child across the Rio Grande after being handed the child by human smugglers.

    Fox News journalist Bill Melugin tweeted a video on May 12 showing a woman carrying a two-year-old girl she had just carried across the border river near Eagle Pass, Texas. The woman told the reporter that human smugglers handed her the little girl and instructed her to cross the dangerous river where dozens of people, including children, have died in the past two months.

    A second tweet reported that the rancher whose land the migrants crossed onto, contacted the child’s mother after finding a note with her contact information. The piece of paper said the mother lives in Dallas — 415 miles to the north. The rancher told Melugin the mother seemed nonchalant regarding the news that her toddler had just been smuggled into the U.S. by being carried across a dangerous river where dozens of people — including infants and other toddlers –drowned during the past two months.

    The mother added that she “expects” the U.S. government to get her daughter to her. The woman crossed with what Melugin called “one of the largest single groups I’ve ever seen during my border trips to Eagle Pass.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/border/2022/05/15/migrant-mom-in-texas-expects-feds-to-deliver-abandoned-child-to-her/

    Liked by 3 people

    1. are they gonna do a dna test to make sure that’s the “mother” before they give the child away?
      or just be willing participants

      Liked by 1 person

  12. EXCERPT; “Pennsylvania Senate candidate Kathy Barnette on Saturday released a DD-214 showing the initial months of her active duty Army service, amid scrutiny of her past statements that she served 10 years in the Armed Forces.

    Barnette posted the DD-214 on Twitter, after nearly a week of questions from reporters trying to vet her record and asking for that specific document, which raised questions over whether the surging candidate was ready for a general election in November.

    The DD-214 shows the first few months of her military career in 1990 — which would be basic training and advanced individual training for her military occupational specialty (MOS), which at that time was administrative specialist. Retired Army Col. Kurt Schlicter, who is backing Barnette’s opponent David McCormick in the race, told Breitbart News after viewing the DD-214 that Barnette released, “There’s nothing that jumps out at me that’s unusual about this.”

    Barnette only last week released her NGB-22, which is the equivalent of a DD-214, but for Army National Guard soldiers. The NGB-22 showed she joined the Army in 1990, and three years later joined the Alabama Army National Guard, serving from 1993 to 1998. Another document she released showed that she was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve in 2000, after a total of 10 years of service.

    The Army also first confirmed to Breitbart News that Barnette had served in the Army National Guard from 1993 through 1998, and the Army Reserve from 1998 through 2000. The Army said any additional records would have to be obtained from the National Archive Records Administration since she had left the Army more than 15 years ago.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/05/14/after-days-of-pressure-kathy-barnette-releases-a-dd-214/

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Well, he’s done – I can’t imagine anyone wanting to vote for him now. The claim that they were able to “….entirely reverse the stroke…” is pure BS!!!! It also means he will be susceptible to more strokes from now on – clearly, he has a blood clot issue.

      EXCERPT: “When a person suffers a stroke, millions of brain nerve cells die because of the lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Stroke survivors are often plagued with motor disabilities that come after stroke such as paralysis and speech difficulties. Brain cell death is irreversible.”

      https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/blog/clinical-trials/reversing-effects-of-stroke/

      Liked by 2 people

  15. With all this talk about RE codes over at BB, I decided to look at my DD214 – since I was in the WACs, I was able to request an early discharge due to pregnancy – I only had a couple of months left but they pissed me off one too many times! They kept moving me around to different offices to fill in when civilian secretaries left, and to train the incoming secretary. LTC Prosser had PROMISED he wouldn’t move me again – when he came to me and said I had to do it again, that was the last straw! LOL – mine is RE-3, which means may re-enlist with a waiver, which doesn’t surprise me, since I technically got out on a “medical discharge.”

    Liked by 3 people

              1. Never having had a sister I can’t really imagine the closeness that relationship might provide. Glad you can keep in touch as best as possible. Seems like those video calls, like Skype or Facetime, are all the rage, so you can at least see each other, in addition to hearing each other’s voices! 🙂

                Liked by 1 person

              2. Nah – I refuse to get a smart phone – we talk and e-mail. Besides, she would never be able to figure that out anyway! Not technically proficient in any way unless you’re talking about a truck! That is a whole different story, since she drover OTR for many years.

                Liked by 1 person

              3. LOL I don’t even have a cell, nor do I want one! I’m a tech dinosaur for sure. Now that hubby has decided to become a trucker I’m learning all sorts of stuff about that life! Great you guys can keep in touch though 🙂

                Liked by 1 person

              4. My sister could give him some great advice!!!! She and my brother were both truckers – our Grandpa on my Mom’s side was a trucker and Sis used to help him wash his truck as a toddler – she fell in love with trucks right then and there, and that has never changed. Now she drives a school bus and loves it!

                Liked by 1 person

              7. Well, there’s still a ways to go before we’re even really in the Real Trucking domain.

                Hubby is Still scheduled to take his DOT CDL test Thursday morning…so as soon as he passes & has the license in hand it will be time to earnestly enter the job search!

                Liked by 1 person

      2. I really enjoyed that part of what you shared, your family history! My mom was adopted too, but we don’t have anything like that level of detailed knowledge of her birth family. Ironically they hailed from the Ionia, Michigan area, just one letter different than that Wisconsin origin location for the congregation.

        Are you on FamilySearch.org at all? I bet some genealogists would Love those photos w/ names attached & a link to your post for greater details. Family Search is a free genealogy site, somewhat companion to the paid Ancestry.com as in both are run by the Mormons.

        I really enjoyed your post!!!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I signed up on some free site some years ago when my Sis and I were talking about our family history and found a bunch of info on both families. But no, I have no desire to share all of that. My birth Father was also adopted and no-one knows anything about her. My Mom said she met her once – she was dark skinned with Indian features – and my Dad had American Indian-type facial features so we always speculated about that. I was even thinking about using one of those DNA testing sites, but, as usual, I read the fine print and discovered they would own my DNA. Nope, nope and nope!!! LOL

          Liked by 1 person

          1. All of that is intriguing…& wise! I was curious about my mom’s background when I learned she was adopted after my blood grandma died & then our parents decided to tell us about her adoption. It was in 2000 (as a mental reprieve from my 4 year old son’s 2nd Open Heart Surgery) that I began looking in earnest (Mom turned 60 that year) & then we ended up meeting some of her birth family in 2001 & now have an “annual” lunch meeting w/ some birth cousins. She also has 2 half sisters on her dad’s side & 1 on her mom’s that she maintains some degree of contact with.

            Her birth mom’s other daughter May have been adopted by the birth family. Years ago hubby & I & our 4 kids vacationed in Colorado (hubby was born there & we honeymooned in Estes Park). While on that trip we spent an afternoon w/ Mom’s cousin Cathy & her family. They took us into the mountains to visit their cabin (that has since burned down in wildfires, tragically). Cathy told me that she was convinced that she was Avis’ other baby & gave various reasons why she thinks that her mom, who was Avis’ older sister, chose to raise her as her own (& only child). Other birth cousins have different opinions as to whether Cathy is mom’s 1/2 sister or her 1st cousin & they both did AncestryDNA which doesn’t actually “prove” the degree of relationship.

            Cathy died recently so maybe when we all get to heaven God will reveal the truth of these mysteries, though it’s likely that we won’t care by that point!

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Estes Park! Blast from the past….when I was married to my first hubby, his family routinely went to Estes Park for a period of time in the summer. That first year, we joined them and I wanted to do the trail ride up a mountain. No-one else wanted to go so I went by myself. They warned me that rain was predicted and gave me a slicker before turning me loose. I just let the horse lead the way – he knew what he was doing. The downpour started when we got to the top. Coming back down, I was scared shitless because of the wet rocks but I just gave him his head and he brought me safely to the bottom. What an experience!!!

              Talk about complicated! I have 9 siblings – my only full sibling was my brother who died a few years ago. The rest are all half-siblings. My birth Mom was pregnant with my sister when my Dad married her – Sis’s birth Father (who was Spanish, hence her black curly hair and completely different body structure – she has always been very heavy and has a lot of bone issues, which her son has inherited) wanted her but my Dad met him at the hospital and convinced him that he WANTED her, so he agreed. Then came my brother and I – btw, we discovered in going over the records that my Dad’s Dad (Grandpa) was illegitimate! Fancy that!

              Then Mom re-married and they had 3 boys, one of whom was born before I was adopted. Before they got married, oh, yeah, he just LOVED her kids! And he was abusing her even then – he once drug her by her hair down the hall of the trailer where we were living. But, then, she often gave as good as she got! After? Not so much! She arranged my adoption and sent my brother to live with a farming family with whom we had grown up. She kept my sister since she was old enough to care for the young’uns and help with the horses. Our step-father brutally raped her when she was 11 – she had it far worse than I did, I promise you that! They were in a car out in the country and she managed to get away and make it to a nearby farm and stayed with friends until they all went before a judge. When the time came to go before the judge in his chambers and she saw Mom, she blamed my sister! During the hearing, step-dad said, “Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed!” AND THEY ALL LAUGHED, INCLUDING THE JUDGE!!!!

              Mom had another girl sometime between the 3 of us and the 3 boys but none of us knew about her until Debby was close to 30. I never met her. We often wonder if there aren’t more somewhere out there!

              Now let’s talk about my birth Father! He served in Korea – left when I was about 2 so I didn’t even remember him. Again, mutual abuse! He met a Korean woman, married her, and brought her back to the states with him. They had 2 children, a girl and a boy – I finally met my sister at my brother’s funeral, but I’ve never met Tommy, my brother. He retired from the Army. My sister and her family live near Norfolk but we have no contact.

              Is that confusing enough for you? ROFL

              Liked by 1 person

              1. Wow they could do a whole mini-series about that type of saga. Finding peace, comfort, & forgiveness in & through the Lord might be the only way to survive & thrive from those deep traumas & wounds…

                My mom’s half sisters on her dad’s side both had different mothers. The oldest one is just a few years younger than Mom but the younger one is like a half decade older than me. The younger one claimed that her dad molested her but the older one denies this (& the younger one thinks their dad molested her sister too but that she’s in denial)–they both told Mom she was “lucky” not to have known or been raised by their alcoholic & abusive father. The younger one knows the Lord now, & He has given her much healing but she’s made a lot of bad choices in her life & the consequences have bled into the lives of her kids & grandkids.

                According to the birth families–we actually met one living sibling for each birth family & cousins on both sides though we’re really just in touch w/ the ones on Avis’ side–Robert’s family ran a distilling business & he would sometimes get the key to the company & go there to drink w/ people so that may have been where Mom was conceived, when her birth parents were teenagers. Given their ages I was concerned it might have been some type of date rape, but Avis was molested by a farm worker after her dad died suddenly, so she may have become sexualized by that traumatic encounter. She was sitting on her father’s lap when he died of a massive heart attack. When she was sent away for her confinement, to the other side of the state, she never really came home to live again. She gave birth in Detroit & Mom was taken home from the hospital by her adoptive parents. My grandma described Avis to me for she’d had a glimpse of her while in the hospital to get Mom…

                When Pearl Harbor happened Robert went out drinking w/ buddies & in a drunken state signed up to serve. His dad, who’d served in the army in WWI, went down to the recruiting station to see if he could get Robert switched from the Marines to the Army, but was told “Hell No!” & Bob was sent by rail to boot camp. He served in the Pacific Theater, was at Tarawa, & came home w/ a Japanese parachute but would never talk about the war.

                Avis also joined up & was in the WAC’s & stationed in Alaska at some point. She was only 15 when Mom was born & was forced by her family to give the baby up. She apparently spoke of Robert shortly before her death & called him “the love of her life”. He had 3 (known) daughters by 3 different woman, being married to the other moms. She had one other baby, possibly Cathy, & a couple of marriages that ended in divorce. She May have been actually into women…

                Both birth-parents were dead before we found out about them, so all this info was filtered through the memories of others. We met Robert’s sister for a meal & she & his oldest daughter both refused to believe that my mom was his child. Mom had obtained a copy of her original sealed birth certificate (which is where I got most of the clues used to find the birth family info) & it was signed by Robert. When his sister & daughter saw his recognizable signature That is when they believed that Mom was really his child!

                Mom never cared to know Anything about her birth family. I was the one who was obsessed when a teen & remained loosely curious then motivated to search, prayerfully, in the early days of this century, partially as an escape from the chaos of the special needs stuff w/ our son. Mom has more of an ongoing relationship w/ these birth relatives than I do, but I am so thankful to have been able to have been instrumental in helping her discover these lost connections!

                Liked by 1 person

              2. Sounds like your family have the makings, too! The vast majority of people do NOT realize how much sexual abuse was going on in the homes, within families. My adopted Dad abused me sexually, altho it wasn’t rape or anything like that. My adopted family story could make up another mini-series! Isn’t it amazing how we manage to survive, and even thrive, to a certain extent? My sister and I both inherited my Mom’s personality, whereas my brothers were much calmer and cooler. My sister looks like no-one else in the family, whereas I look exactly like Mom, and my brother was the spitting image of our Dad. The 3 boys all resemble their father. I’ve seen pics of Debby and she must have looked like her Dad because she didn’t look a bit like Mom. She died some years ago after committing suicide; she had gotten thru uterine cancer but it came back and she just couldn’t take it any more. Left one daughter named Brandy – cute little blond girl, altho she is grown up by now. Complicated things, families!!!

                Liked by 1 person

              3. Wow, Filly so much grief & hope in overcoming in all that!

                My mom didn’t encounter that level of abuse at all. Her (adoptive) parents were Finnish, both originally from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula & spoke archaic Finnish, though Mom never learned the language. Her parents were not openly demonstrative w/ affection & I’m not sure if they ever said “I love you” to her in childhood. They were Very Hard Working salt-of-the earth people & quite involved in their Lutheran Church.

                My mom is a bit emotionally detached & that has trickled down in our family to some degree too. We do all say “I love you” to each other, hug occasionally, & usually have fun when together (which isn’t very frequently).

                https://specialconnections.wordpress.com/2018/09/30/family-its-more-than-just-blood/

                I wrote about some of these things here…

                Liked by 1 person

              4. Speaking of that – we got a lot of love when we lived with my maternal Grandma, which was most of the time. OTOH, with my adopted parents (I was 8 when I went to live with them), we said “I love you” constantly, multiple times a day, with lots of hugs and kisses. But when it came to understanding and allowing me to be myself, that was an entirely different proposition – they were very abusive emotionally in many ways. What hurt me the most was not being allowed to see my brother and sister! I missed them desperately, yet I only saw them twice from the time I was adopted until I got married at 17 and was able to leave their house. Except the one year that my sister and I were both in HS at the same time. When my brother was being shipped to Vietnam, he wanted to see me before he left. My Grandpa asked my parents – Mom of course left it up to Dad (the wife must be submissive and ALWAYS a “lady”), and his comment was “More people get killed on the highway than in Vietnam!” But he did allow him to come and see me for about 15 minutes.

                Plus, my a-Dad and his shenanigans, yet they were oh-so holier than thou every day!!!! BIG in the church, as you will see in my open about St. Paul’s Church.

                Liked by 1 person

              5. That Christian hypocrisy is particularly alarming to me (though all of it is sorrowful). If they were just straight-up “sinners” it would be easier to understand/”excuse” their horrific behavior toward all of you. I would have likely developed issues with God based on those behaviors of people that claimed to be His. So sorry for you & your siblings sufferings!

                Did your brother ever come home from Vietnam? Did “all” of him–mentally, emotionally, relationally, & physically?

                We were in leadership in a church in Northern Michigan almost 30 years ago now. There was a Sunday School teacher who was known to be cheating on his institutionalized mentally ill wife. That he was allowed to continue in this position while straight-up being an adulterer was Extremely Disturbing to me.

                My friend in Tennessee, who happens to be black, has lamented several times to me about the extreme mental abuses she endured in primarily black churches. In fact these dynamics often drove her to attend primarily white churches & suffer a lot of racial abuse from her “community”. It was really part of her personal journey to live a more color-blind life amazingly. God is good to bring transformation & healing out of our brokenness!

                Boy if we Believers would just be Honest about our feet of clay, & attempt to be reconciled with those we’ve (inadvertently or intentionally) wounded–what a different world this would be. Healing the breach is a major ministry of the Holy Spirit, if we only let Him in…

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              6. My faith remained set in stone until my daughter died, Valerie, altho I began eschewing organized religion long before that, for the most part. My beliefs have evolved thru the years and I no longer subscribe to all the dogma. I do not want to hear/read proselytizing – I know it all – I am VERY suspicious of those who constantly proselytize – they are hiding something, IMO. I also believe far too many people use “faith” as an excuse NOT to do for themselves and take responsibility for their own actions.

                I simply refuse to deal with the hypocrisy. I found a wonderful church in Bealeton, VA that I attended for a while, and convinced my daughter and SIL to join me. SIL made the decision to be baptized in that church and my GS was considering it, altho he was still quite young. The people there were the most welcoming, loving and non-judgmental I’ve ever met in a church. The pastor was bald, with a goatee; he wore t-shirts, jeans and sandals, and rode a HD – actually, he looked very much like my SIL.

                Oh, yes, my brother came home and he was fine but he did NOT talk about his time in Vietnam except for one convo with our Mom. She told me about it – he was on a PT boat on the Saigon River and described having to shoot children who had been wired with dynamite, put in a sampan and sent out to blow up their ship. They had no choice but it haunted him. He died from cancer just over 3 years ago after being an owner/operator OTR truck driver for many years.

                I finally confronted my a-Dad many, many years later. I simply wanted to know why but he couldn’t answer that – he didn’t know why. But he DID apologize to me, and my a-Mom also apologized to me when I returned here in 2009. She had blamed me….”You have those genes! You always were precocious!” Sure, Mom!

                That family is why I despise lying so deeply and I HATE secrets – they LIVED a life of secrecy. My birth family may have been from the “wrong side of the tracks” but at least they didn’t hide their true nature. The whole family was like that, for the most part. God forbid there be a divorce in the Raasch family!!!! My uncle got a divorce and it was hidden from everyone, including other family members, for many years.

                Liked by 1 person

              7. Oh Filly I’m so sorry that you lost your daughter!!!! How did she die (if you don’t mind sharing)?

                Glad your brother made it back from the “conflict” & sorry that he’s gone now.

                I agree about hypocrisy & the church. I’m not for organized religion but have stayed steadfast in clinging to Jesus (quite imperfectly) in spite of the manifold abuses by His “people”. When we had a house church service, with our kids & significant others “illegally” per Gov. Witchmer’s “mandates” it was the first time in years that I really felt God’s presence in a church-like situation.

                I think the house church model, like what happened in the biblical church, is way closer to God’s ideal than what is more typical for church nowadays. Our old church was filled with refugees from the “Island of Misfit Toys” so we pretty much “fit in”, as much as it was possible for us to do.

                Hubby’s very connected to the church where he regularly plays the bass now. It’s not really my speed, but I do occasionally attend to support him.

                I miss more meaningful worship, but apparently what’s to my taste is so passé now. Many “praise” songs today seem to focus on us & what has God done for us lately not on Him so it’s hard for me to really enter in…

                I’m very comfortable in places where the pastors are in jeans & T-shirts & not lording it over the congregation, but still speak biblical truth!

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              8. Prepare for a saga, my friend! A real-life story this time…..

                My daughter, Heather’s, Father and his entire family were alcoholics. So, she was predisposed to alcoholism, but in VA, we rarely drank at home and she kept it under control, even when she worked as a bar tender. It was the thing to do to go out to the clubs, primarily on Friday & Saturday nights in VA, whereas here in NE, people drink at home, for the most part. Beer is as common as water!

                Her hubby is a very weak man and not the smartest tack in the box so, of course, she had him so wrapped he didn’t know if he was coming or going. But they were happy together so…..I was happy for her. They dabbled some in drugs but never got out of control or addicted, thankfully.

                She was pregnant with Piper when we moved back in 2009, after suffering thru a miscarriage the previous fall. Oh, that was a horrible – they had been listening to their baby boy’s heartbeat for two weeks, then went to a check-up and there was no heartbeat any longer. She was scheduled for a D&C but that morning, she started losing him spontaneously. Horrible treatment at the hospital!

                The way of life here, drinking at home, caught her and it began to get out of control. They stayed with my nephew and his wife for 6 mos. or so and they introduced them to another VERY hard-drinking couple and the rest was history.

                I had quit drinking for the most part before we moved back and I simply could not stand being around them when they were drunk. It got REALLY bad! I tried and tried and tried and tried to wake her up but…to no avail. Then she went to see a “counselor” and, lo’ and behold, now all of her “issues” were MY fault. She also had issues with her back – she inherited my small bone structure while also inheriting her Dad’s Mom’s weight, as well as not being very active physically. Hence, she had a weight problem, which put incredible strain on her back, as well as high BP. She had 6 discs in her back that were basically destroyed and needed surgery.

                But she had begun seeing a “pain doctor” – she was on so many drugs – 6 different scripts – and he continually told her that surgery would put her in a wheel chair – of course, gotta keep that revenue stream going – it ended up with her addicted to Fentanyl patches. My sister’s back was completely destroyed after all her years OTR and she had a brilliant back surgeon who did her surgery – they opened her up down the front, then flipped her and opened her up down the back – she had 5′ of titanium in her back. Twice she tried to convince HB to go see Dr. Longly, but she kept saying, “My pain doctor says…..” She was addicted by then, to the drugs and the alcohol, so she didn’t want to believe it.

                Piper was 5 at the time and almost lived with me – I had to do all I could to get her out of that mess as often as possible and I wanted her to experience a calm, “normal” existence. Poor girl watched as her Mom and Dad destroyed their lives.

                I was still managing the Legion Club then and was preparing for the New Year’s Eve party, 2014/2015. Piper used to love going with me to the Legion on Monday’s to clean after the Sunday Dance.

                In their drunken states, they dabbled with a swapping type of situation with the hard-drinking couple – I despised those 2 – Jen drove drunk all the time with her 3 kids in the car with her! And her hubby was also a very weak man.

                In any case, Monday morning of that week, HB calls me, screaming to come and get my POS son-in-law, going on and on and on about how he made out with Jen (she had done it herself at one point!), and babbled on and on – drunk, of course! I interrupted her and said “Where is Piper??!!??” “She’s standing right here!” I told her to get Piper’s stuff together and I was coming to get her.

                By the time I got there, both she and SIL were passed out, with Piper going about her usual, playing by herself – she was quite accustomed to it, unfortunately. I also felt HB and SIL needed time alone to try to get things together. They did quit drinking for most of the rest of the week, and I thought they were making some progress.

                It all just snowballed. At one point earlier, it was so bad, I called Children and Family Svcs and reported them – the stupid bitch never even went inside the house!!!! SIL was going into his 30 day program and signed a temporary custody agreement to allow me to keep Piper with me, but HB refused. I found a place not far from me for her for treatment but she refused to go into a lock-down situation.

                In any case, they managed to go all week w/o drinking, but she was still on all the meds. I brought Piper here but needed someone to stay with her on NY’s eve – I didn’t know anyone here with whom I would trust her so SIL’s Dad came up to stay with her until I got done at the club. Thank God Piper was with me!

                SIL had decided he was going to give her an ultimatum – quit drinking w/in 3 months or he wanted a divorce. But he didn’t have the courage to do it sober, thinking it would be easier if they had a drink or two. So he went out and bought some vodka, they got drunk and that was when he told her. That was on Friday and that night, they sat and watched movies. She had her regular spot on the couch where she basically spent her days and nights. He said she got up now and then and went to the BR, then came back to the couch.

                On each trip to the BR, she apparently added another Fentanyl patch – I don’t think she was actively trying to commit suicide – I think she was just trying to anesthetize herself from her emotional pain. At about 2 or so in the morning, he finished watching the movie and got up to go to bed. He looked over at HB and could see something was wrong – she was in the throws of a massive coronary. He pulled her onto the floor and tried to do CPR and called 911. Again, thank God Piper was here with me and didn’t have to see that!

                I don’t take my cell phone into my BR at night so when I checked my phone around 7 am on Saturday, there was a message from SIL. I immediately called him and he gave me the details. I lost it, screaming “WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER??? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER???” Luckily, Piper was still asleep and didn’t hear me.

                But I had to keep it together for Piper’s sake. I kept it all to myself; we had breakfast and I told her we were going to go to her house, never mentioning her Mom. Neither of us said anything to Piper but, of course, she immediately saw that her Mom’s stuff wasn’t on the coffee table next to the couch where she always used to lie and noted her absence. She saw the people dropping by to extend their condolences, no doubt heard some of it, knew something was up but had been through so much already, she asked no questions. She was also used to her Mom being “sick” the majority of the time.

                Finally, on Sunday morning, Piper was in her room and I told SIL we had to tell her since it would be discussed at school. Such a sweet, sweet girl is my Piper! We brought her into the LR and she sat on her Dad’s knee. He began, “I’m sure you’ve noticed that Mommy’s not here.” She IMMEDIATELY piped up and said, “Mommy’s an Angel now!” Oh, Valerie, I just wanted to cry!

                We explained, yes, Mommy’s in heaven now; I told her she could ALWAYS talk to her Mommy, that she would hear her, even if she couldn’t reply to her. But sometimes, Piper, those who are in heaven will send us signs that they are thinking of us. (I had previously put a penny on the floor in her bedroom.) Sometimes they will send butterflies, sometimes it’s feathers, and sometimes, they will leave pennies for you. Do you know what, Piper??? I think I saw a penny on the floor in your BD!

                She brightened up and immediately ran into her BR looking for it. “I can’t find it, Grandma!” So I went in and pointed it out and she came running out and said, “It’s a Mommy Penny!!!!” SIL said, “Piper, would you like to choose one of your banks and keep it just for your Mommy pennies?” So she went to her room and brought back a ceramic bunny bank, took a marker and in her shaky, 5-year old hand, wrote “Mommy Pennies” on it. She has a ceramic heart here that holds her Mommy pennies – it has been years now since she has checked to see if I’ve put any more pennies in it. She used to check every single time she came here.

                So, there you go! Yes, I do really need to write a book! SMH

                Liked by 1 person

              9. Oh Filly, so heartbreaking, yet also so beautiful & wise how you handled your granddaughter. You are an amazingly strong & resilient woman. Just Wow.

                Thank you for sharing this deeply personal tale. May the Lord continue to cover you & Piper w/ His wings of love & heal the hurts until you can all be united again in Paradise.

                ❤ In Jesus' Love ❤

                Liked by 1 person

              10. Ah, you make me blush, Valerie. But tbh, I was happy I was able to be balanced for Piper’s sake. That is certainly not my natural way to react in a “normal” situation. My best side seems to appear in an emergency.

                Liked by 1 person

              13. I just replied on another comment, but he passed 2 of 3 parts, to re-do the driving test Saturday afternoon, back in Jackson at a different test site. We were at the bowling alley site yesterday. Sat. he’s supposed to be at a Wal-Mart parking lot site…

                Liked by 1 person

              14. That is the hardest part, is the actual doing. I never could get the hang of the double clutch! And don’t even ask me to back that sucker up! He’ll get ‘er done, I’m sure of it!

                Liked by 1 person

              15. He was So Relieved to have passed the 2 portions he did!!! He has a history of test-taking anxiety & ADHD so the extreme details on the pre-trip meant he was nervous that he might freeze up & forget. Thankfully 2 of the 3 monkeys are now off his back!

                I was similarly encouraging him that he Definitely will pass the road test, hopefully on Saturday. If it takes longer then we’ll just have to deal. Plenty of his classmates have struggled in the process too, so it’s all part of the journey.

                Hopefully he’s airing out All his concerns from the road test w/ today’s driving instructor so nothing is unclear.

                At one point in the test yesterday the DOT tester had him pull the truck to the side of the road & then said “would you get out of the truck now?” & upon reflection he thinks he should have articulated the emergency procedures but he wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted so she just had him pull back into traffic…he was re-thinking Every part of the drive & second guessing himself a lot last night. The testers don’t tell you which parts you passed & which were problematic but he knew that hitting a curb was an auto-fail.

                Yeah that double clutching & downshifting has been an interesting learning curve. He said the school said that many trucks now have an auto transmission so you might never have to use what they teach you there. I think it’s best to learn on the hardest type of system so that dealing with the easier systems should be no prob.

                When I took driver’s ed I lamented that they didn’t teach us on standard transmissions (so you could easily drive an automatic). I guess my dad took it to heart & would lease a manual every year while I still lived at home…not sure if that continued w/ my 2 younger brothers. (Dad got 2 lease cars a year at his Ford job, so we had the privilege of driving new cars every year–Nothing like my real life now!!!)

                Liked by 1 person

              16. Yes, more and more trucks are automatic, now. Oh, they’ve got some real powerful “cadillac” trucks out there these days. But talk about $$$$’s – they cost as much as, or more than, a house! Some of the fancier ones would boggle your mind!

                I never took Driver’s Ed – my Dad took me out to the mall parking lot – that’s where I learned the basics. Add on meandering drives on the surrounding country roads, gradually letting me drive home from church, etc. If we were going to visit my Aunt/Uncle’s farm down south in Leigh, I got to drive once in a while. But we also had automatics so I didn’t learn to drive a manual until after my first marriage – I was 17 – my hubby’s sister, Pam, had a VW Beetle and I really needed a vehicle. She patiently told me want to do – a VW beetle back then was the simplest manual transmission, really.

                And I got in and drove into town. Yeah, I killed the motor a time or two, and ground one of the 4 gears once or twice. But it was really so simple….I was a master by the time I brought the car back, having fun zipping around and thru traffic. LOL

                Oh, I wish you lived up here – friends would have sent out the word that you guys needed a little guidance and help in this new adventure. A driver/company would have already stepped up and hired him on as a 2nd driver/apprentice. That’s why I love my State!!!!

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              17. That’s all awesome! I couldn’t do Nebraska…I’d miss Trees too much! It killed me living in Tulsa for 10 years for I Really Love the North Woods! We saw such pretty woods along the highway yesterday between Detroit & Jackson 🙂

                I Greatly Appreciate the sentiments & friendly neighborly lifestyle you imply. It would be revolutionary in our existence, believe me! So glad you have that atmosphere to help you get through the tough times!!!

                Liked by 1 person

              18. I loved the woods in Colorado, Virginia – my entire 7 acre place in VA was in the woods, with a big clearing for the house and yards, pasture and barn – more than half was wooded. Trees everywhere! Nebraska has more trees than you think but it’s a different kind of woods – I understand that difference, having lived just N/E of Skyline Drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

                My mailing address was ### Bentonville-Browntown Road, Browntown, VA. But I lived almost in the middle between the two towns (slightly on the Browntown side), on a curvy, windy, long mountain 2-lane blacktop road on a 50 acre property. Houses and small farms interspersed along the way, only a few not back in the trees. We (HB, S, & me) rented a two-story 1700’s house built from the surrounding stones and rocks of the mountain. Unfinished basement – HB refused to go into the basement because the black snakes cooled off there during the day. LOL

                My daughter was dog-sitting for a friend’s Boxer and I took him out tramping around in the woods. Such clear, clean, sweet-scented air! And the birds flitting here and there!

                Oh, yeah, I like the woods, too! LOL

                Liked by 1 person

              20. Oh, Val….I was sooooo pissed!!!! The house was turned around, kind of – the back of the house actually faced the road – the technical front, with a sun porch, faced the other direction into the woods and a big hill. There was a cement carport on that side that we turned into our patio, parking our vehicles in the driveway.

                It was very bare – no flower beds near the house except 3 or 4 really gorgeous peonies about 10 feet out. But nothing along the entire front length of the carport, just grass.

                I needed a project and the Landlord had given me free rein, as long as it was “appropriate.” The house was towards the back right corner of the 50 acre property and quite a distance from the road. In the open field between, there was a 1700’s partial stone wall. At one time, it was used as a fence.

                I dug up a 6 foot wide flowerbed all along the carport – probably 20 feet, I guess – IDK, I’m not a good judge of distances. Cleared it all for planting; came up with the design I wanted, including Euonymous bushes of various types, tulips, 4 O’Clocks, and a few other perennials. Once it was all planted, I commenced hauling stones/rocks from the rock wall in my truck and used it to landscape the entire thing. I probably made 15-20 trips, by myself.

                I have pics – I’ll scan them in and show you before/after. That and another flower bed I created the same way in front of the left wing – added long after the original house was built – which consisted of HB and SIL’s BR/BR combination, with a big bay window.
                We had a chimnea out there in the corner on the carport (cement so no worry of fire), my big glass patio table and chairs – it was sweeeeet!!!! Bug zappers were fun! LOL – Bzzzztt….bzzzztttt..bzzzttt!

                Liked by 1 person

              22. She just didn’t care about all the work I had put in – she had inherited, there had been a fight over it, and all she cared about was getting her $$$ out of it. It was really sad. Having said that, I went by there in 2012 on one of my trips back. They had put in a lake where I used to tramp the fields, put in some recreational roads and 4-wheel trails thru some of the woods. They were considering selling lots at the time. It was nice and clean and somewhat restricted at that point, with no lake-side structures.

                I hated seeing it happen – I didn’t want to go down the driveway and impose so I couldn’t see the house itself from the road – just the roof, so I knew it was still there.

                Liked by 1 person

              23. That’s so sad. It’s disheartening to see those large historic family properties broken up & lost. I would LOVE to find such a property that the family is more interested in it remaining a family property than a source of major revenue…That would last at least 2 generations in my family!

                Liked by 1 person

              26. Chockful! Hee-hee! The first night we slept there when we were moving in, of course, there were boxes sitting all around the carport – we had to get them out of the rain fast! Some had already been brought into the living room, 5 or 6 scattered around the same room with the only access to their bedroom. HB had already gone to bed and SIL and I were just turning in.

                We both heard this faint swishing sound and started looking in the boxes. A small-to-medium sized black snake had crawled into one of them! LOL – neither SIL nor I freaked. Good thing HB never knew – ’cause we agreed to never mention it. He threw on a glove, grabbed it and threw it out in the field.

                Liked by 1 person

              27. Wow!!!!

                Our first house in Gaylord, MI, an hour south of the tip of the Mit, had an Archie Bunker-esque toilet flush from upstairs that absolutely violated the air space of the living room. We had No idea until we lived there. It was so hilariously white trash & embarrassing if anyone was ever visiting LOL

                Liked by 1 person

              30. Anyways….as to why I was so pissed – 2 years after I did ALL of that, the owner decided to have the house re-stuccoed/whitewashed. I specifically asked her to tell the workers to be careful and she said she would. They trampled the entire garden bed along the front of the carport! They even killed the Euonymous bushes!!! You know there was some cussing flying THAT night!!! I came home from my 40 minute commute from work and discovered it. Not so happy camper, you might say!!!

                Liked by 1 person

  19. News story about that storm on Thursday:

    “HASTINGS, Neb. — Severe weather roared through Nebraska again on Thursday. Large hail and consistent winds above 60 mph were common sights in central, southeast and northeast Nebraska.

    The National Weather Service says 60+ mph wind gusts and half-dollar-sized hail are possibilities. A gust of 90 mph was reported in Knox County. A fertilizer plant was reported as being destroyed near Oakdale by a wind gust at approximately 3:38 p.m. CT. Central Nebraska, in particular Lexington and Kearney, were hit with severe wind damage.

    A total of 45 major power outages have been reported by NPPD, with over 6,000 customers affected. A powerline was reported on eastbound Highway 275 near Neligh. A driver was reportedly trapped by the incident, but was able to reach safety.

    In northeast Nebraska, O’Neill has advised drivers to stay off the roads, with the threat of tickets being a possibility. Elkhorn Valley students were sheltering in the school. There was a reported tornado touchdown near the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 275 north of West Point.

    Central Nebraska drivers battled 75-80 mph winds on Interstate 80. Multiple trucks were reported blown over on I-80 in Hamilton County. In Seward County on the south side of I-80, there were pivots reported having been flipped. The rodeo grounds in Burwell suffered extensive damage, with rodeo board members announcing that they will attempt to organize a campaign to rebuild the grounds.’

    This is about an hour west of me:

    South of Pierce, which is about 20 minutes east from here:

    Near Osmond, about 10 miles east of me:

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      1. That is one thing I rarely do any more – speed! Always the speed limit thru towns and no more than 5 MPH over on the highway – it has long been known here that the NE State Patrol won’t bother you if it’s within 5 MPH of the limit.

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