DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Norse Seventh Day Adventist Church in Bosque County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a whole ocean crossed and a county barely born — and it doesn't let up from there. When the Texas legislature organized Bosque County in 1854, Norwegian immigrants were already making their way to it.
Most of them came to what was then called the Norwegian settlement, a place that would later go by the name Norse. Two Evangelical Lutheran congregations took root there to tend to the community's spiritual life — Our Savior's Lutheran and St. Olaf's Kirke — and for a good while, that was the shape of faith on that stretch of Texas ground.
Then along came Ole T. Nystel and his family, who moved to the area in 1866. The very next year — 1867 — fourteen-year-old Ole was captured by Comanche Indians near his home.
He lived with them for three months. Three months. Think about that for a moment.
After he was ransomed and returned, he was confirmed into the Lutheran Church. That's the faith he came back to. That's where his people were.
But the story doesn't stay there. In 1880, a Danish Seventh Day Adventist Evangelist by the name of A. W.
Jensen visited the area. Whatever Jensen said when he came through, it moved Ole Nystel. Nystel was baptized into the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and he and other converts organized the Norse S.
D. A. Church on February 23rd, 1880.
The first meeting was held January 10th, 1881. A congregation born on the Texas prairie, shaped in no small part by a boy who had once been carried away from it. The members built a small frame church on an acre of land out of the Thomas A.
Graves survey. J. O.
Olsen deeded that acre to the church's general conference at Battle Creek, Michigan, on September 13th, 1886. Then on April 23rd, 1904, A. E.
Anderson deeded one-fifth of an acre to that same general conference — a burial ground for church members. And it's in that burial ground where some of the weight of this story comes to rest. Ole T.
Nystel is buried there, alongside his wife Annie — born Anderson — and their son Oscar, who died as a missionary in New Mexico in 1918. And their grandson, Walter Thomas Nystel, a marine killed in World War Two. Four generations of one family, from the Norwegian settlement to the battlefields of the world.
The first sanctuary eventually gave way to a new structure, dedicated on March 8th, 1913 by Elder Field and Elder Miller. That building still stands today — the oldest standing Seventh Day Adventist Church in Texas. The congregation ran a Sabbath School and made yearly offerings to missions as far away as Japan and Korea.
The last regular services were held on December 31st, 1927. But here's the thing about a congregation — it doesn't always need a Sunday schedule to hold together. Since 1983, the people connected to the Norse S.
D. A. Church have gathered for an annual homecoming.
The building stands. The burial ground holds its memory. And every year, they come back.
Some places earn their keeping.
What the marker says
Norwegian immigrants moved to Bosque County when it was organized by the Texas legislature in 1854. Most came to Norwegian settlement, which was later named Norse. Two Evangelical Lutheran Churches, our Savior’s Lutheran and St. Olaf’s Kirke, served the people’s spiritual needs. Ole T. Nystel and his family moved to the area in 1866. In 1867, he was captured by Comanche Indians near his home at age 14, and lived with them for three months. After being ransomed and returned, he was confirmed into the Lutheran Church. After A. W. Jensen, a Danish Seventh Day Adventist Evangelist, visited the area in 1880, Nystel was baptized into the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He and other converts organized the Norse S. D. A. Church on Feb. 23, 1880. The first meeting was held Jan. 10, 1881. Members built a small frame church on an acre of land out of the Thomas A. Graves survey, which J. O. Olsen deeded on Sep. 13, 1886, to the church’s general conference at Battle Creek, Michigan. On Apr. 23, 1904, A. E. Anderson deeded one-fifth of an acre to the general conference as a burial ground for church members. Among those interred are ole T. Nystel, his wife, Annie (Anderson), their son, Oscar, who died as a missionary in New Mexico in 1918, and their grandson, Walter Thomas Nystel, a marine killed in World War iiII. The current structure replaced the first sanctuary and was dedicated on Mar. 8, 1913 by Elder Field and Elder Miller. Today it is the oldest standing Seventh Day Adventist Church in Texas. The congregation included a Sabbath School and made yearly offerings to missions as far away as Japan and korea. The last regular services held were Dec. 31, 1927. The congregation has held an annual homecoming since 1983.