St. John’s is very lucky to have four very dedicated women who arrive at church religiously every Wednesday morning at 10 to sort through and organize the pictures and historical documents that have long sat scattered and neglected in various drawers, shelves and cupboard around the church.
Joyce Huston, Joanne Kropp, Caroline Maslowski and Ruth Simpson share stories and memories as they work side by side, arranging photographs from as far back as 1903 into albums, according to themes.
There are pictures from before the “new” addition was added in 1923, before there were stained glass windows or stucco over the brick walls. There is an old picture which includes horses and carriages, and several posed pictures of the many members of the Ladies Aid Society. The women uncovered a registry of “new members” that includes the names of our oldest current members, and several pictures and documents written in German, which was the original language used by our members until the early 1900’s. They have several pictures displayed in the Cafe with more to come. Stop by and have a look. In addition, Ginny Beamish will be gathering oral histories from some of our eldest members which will be compiled into a video. If you’re interested in helping or just have questions, please feel free to talk to any of these ladies. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.