St. Luke Lutheran Church of Olney

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. Luke Lutheran Church of Olney. Now settle in, because this story starts before there was much of a town at all.

Back in 1883, this stretch of Young County was still a roundup point on the cattle range. Open country, rock and log cabins, Salt Creek Valley just beginning to fill up with German families of the Lutheran faith. They had their land.

What they didn't yet have was a church. But they were working on it. The following year, a man named William Bernhardt received something from a visiting cousin.

Not cattle. Not tools. A bible, a prayer book, and a devotional book, a Hauspostille, as the Germans called it.

And those three books became the seed of something that would outlast every roundup, every fence line, and nearly every building in the county. The families gathered in their cabins and used those books to conduct religious services themselves. Leading the way was Henry Kunkel, the pioneering son of a large family from Posen, Germany.

He stepped up as leader, and they started a Sunday School to go along with their worship. Then in 1886, the first formal service arrived, conducted by Pastor Bartelo of Hamilton County. Over the years, several Lutheran pastors made their way out to this fellowship and kept the flame going.

But the story really turns a corner in 1896, when the Lutheran Board of Missions assigned Pastor F. M. Rudi to this field.

He got to work. And on Reformation Day, October 31, 1897, Pastor Rudi officially organized what would be known as the St. Luke Lutheran Church.

Now they had a name, a congregation, a purpose. What they didn't have yet was a building of their own. So the members met in the Terrapin School building, which served them well enough, until 1914, when they finally constructed a church house near their homes, two miles northwest of Olney.

A second structure rose at that same location in 1926. But time has a way of shifting things. More and more of those church members moved into Olney proper.

The congregation followed them, and in 1967, St. Luke relocated into town and built the very structure that marker now stands beside. From three books carried by a cousin, to a cattle-range cabin, to a school building, to two structures out in the valley, and finally into town.

That's not just a church finding its home. That's a community building one, piece by piece, across nearly a century.

What the marker says

In 1883 when this area was still a roundup point on the cattle range, German families of the Lutheran faith began settling in the Salt Creek Valley. The following year William Bernhardt received a bible, prayer book, and a devotional book or "Hauspostille" from a visiting cousin. The families began using the books to conduct religious services in their rock and log cabins. Henry Kunkel, the pioneering son of a large family from Posen, Germany, acted as leader. They also started a Sunday School. In 1886 the first formal service was conducted by Pastor Bartelo of Hamilton County. Through the years, several Lutheran pastors conducted worship services for the fellowship. In 1896 the Lutheran Board of Missions assigned Pastor F. M Rudi to this field. On Reformation Day, October 31, 1897, Pastor Rudi officially organized the St. Luke Lutheran Church. The members met in the Terrapin School building until 1914 when a church house was constructed near their homes at a site which was two miles northwest of Olney. A second structure was built in 1926 at the same location. Many of the church members moved into Olney. In 1967 the congregation relocated in town and built this structure.