Cornerstone reveals long-sealed memories

In recognition that Trinity Lutheran Church of Wilton will have a final service at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27 and then close, church leaders recently removed the time capsule that had been sealed in the church’s cornerstone during a July, 1950, ceremony.

 

Roger Bahr, 90, is a lifelong member of the church and was 12 when he attended the ceremony. He remembers his family being pleased that a photo of his grandparents was among the documents in the capsule, and being somewhat fascinated as the specially crafted copper box, about 5 inches on each side and 10 inches tall, was soldered closed as everyone watched.

 

Beyond that, he says, the ceremony had relatively little meaning for his childhood self. After all, there was no church there yet, just parts of walls.

 

There had been more than a year, already, of planning, hiring an architect, finding a contractor, and soliciting pledges from church members to help pay for their new brick building, which would cost about $50,000 to build.

 

In the months after the cornerstone was sealed, the basement of the church was completed and services began being held there. Bahr remembers the confirmation service for the class ahead of his was held in the basement, but one year later, he and his classmates were confirmed upstairs in the finished structure.

 

The altar and baptismal font from the congregation’s original wooden structure, built in the late 1800s, appear in the group’s picture.

 

For a box about the size of a loaf of bread, a surprising number of documents and printed items were enclosed in the time capsule. 

 

Letters of congratulations signed by then-president Harry Truman, then-governor Luther Youngdahl, the leader of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and the pastor of First Lutheran Church of Waldorf are all included.

 

There are 11 photographs in sizes ranging from an 8x10 of the 1948 church confirmation class down to a 3x4 photo of the church’s altar still standing in the congregation’s original wooden structure.

 

Three complete newspapers were folded into the capsule. One is the Waseca Herald dated July 20, 1950. The Herald billed itself as “Waseca’s Thursday Paper,” and had printed the architect’s drawing of what the church would look like along with a short article titled “Trinity Lutheran Church to Lay Corner Stone Sunday.” 

 

Also sealed in was the March 7 edition of the Waseca Journal, which touted itself as the area’s “first of the week” newspaper. Though a bit ragged, the surviving copy of the Journal features the church’s construction plans as its main story for the week, titled “Contract for $50,000 Wilton church is awarded to Sjostrand.” 

 

The third whole newspaper in the time capsule is a copy of the Lutheran Journal dated May 1950.

 

Also taken from the time capsule were 7 internal congregation documents. Among these are a brief church history, a list of monetary pledges made by church members in support of the new construction, and a copy of the contractor’s bid summary, including how much would be discounted if the congregation were to forego putting a concrete floor in the basement or finishing the basement once it was constructed. The church’s constitution, in the form of a small booklet, was also enclosed.

 

Also in the box were 15 printed pamphlets and booklets from various events and organizations, including the printed program used for the cornerstone ceremony.

 

All the items from the cornerstone will be available for the public to see during the final church service in September. The intent is that, when the closing process is complete, the documents will be donated to the county historical society.

 

When all the good-byes are said, the 1.7 acre property with its two structures will be shown by a realtor to potential buyers. The former parsonage, a 1970s era split-level house, and the church building, 27x90 feet in size, will be available for purchase.