DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. Mark's Lutheran Church in DeWitt County. Now settle in, because this story starts with a storm — and it doesn't start gentle.
The year is 1875, and a great gulf storm rolls into Indianola. That's the kind of storm that doesn't just rearrange furniture — it rearranges lives. And sure enough, it sends a wave of Lutherans up the road to Cuero.
By 1880, German Lutherans are gatherin' for services, led by pastors comin' in from nearby communities. They were worshippin' in borrowed time, in borrowed space, and making do. Then 1886 arrives, and Indianola gets hit again — this time the destruction is final.
More Lutherans come to Cuero. And out of that loss, something is built. On July 18, 1886, the German Home Mission Board of the Lutheran General Council organizes St.
Mark's Lutheran Church, with thirty charter members standing up to be counted. Thirty people, a new congregation, and a town that had just absorbed the grief of an entire community washed away by the coast. Now here's the detail that'll stick with you.
When St. Mark's erected its first church building in 1889, they went looking for a bell. And they found one — a copper ship's bell, the very bell that had hung in the Lutheran church down in Indianola before the storms took everything.
That bell made the journey. Survived what the town could not. And there it went, installed in the new building in Cuero, carrying the voice of a congregation that no longer had a home to ring from.
The Sunday School had already been organized by then, going back to January 2, 1887. The Ladies' Aid formed in 1889 specifically to raise funds for that building — so in a real sense, the women of St. Mark's helped put the roof over that bell's head.
The church kept growing, kept organizing. The Luther League came together in 1902. The first parsonage was built in 1905.
The Brotherhood organized in 1918. The Women's Missionary Society formed in 1921 and eventually merged with the Ladies' Aid in 1955. The present church itself went up in 1939 — and they brought that old copper bell right along with it, this time as the prayer bell.
A second parsonage followed in 1953, and a fellowship hall in 1959. The congregation moved through affiliations over the decades — the Iowa Synod, then the United Lutheran Church in America, then the Lutheran Church in America. Ten pastors served St.
Mark's from 1886 to 1972: J. Butterman, Cornelius Ziesman, John Hurtzig, Reinhold Schubert, William Utesch, A.A. Hahn — who served two terms, mind you — Frank F.
Eberhardt, John W. Kern, John A. Jacobs, and H.
A. Hanson. And then there's one more name worth calling out slow: Dr.
L. C. Kleinecke, Sunday School superintendent from 1889 to 1949.
Sixty years of showing up for the children of that congregation. That is not a footnote — that is a life's work. Two storms drove people from Indianola to Cuero.
One bell followed them. And what got built on the far side of all that grief is still standing. That copper bell has been ringin' a long time.
What the marker says
The great gulf storm of 1875 in Indianola brought many Lutherans to Cuero. By 1880 German Lutherans were meeting for services conducted by pastors from nearby communities. The 1886 destruction of Indianola brought more Lutherans, and St. Mark's was organized by German Home Mission Board of the Lutheran General Council on July 18, 1886, with 30 charter members. Sunday School was organized Jan. 2, 1887. Ladies' Aid was formed in 1889 to raise funds for building. The first church building, erected in 1889, installed a copper ship's bell previously used on the Lutheran church in Indianola. First parsonage was built 1905; present church, 1939, with old copper bell as prayer bell; second parsonage, 1953; fellowship hall, 1959. The Luther League was organized 1902; Brotherhood, 1918; Women's Missionary Society, 1921, merging with Ladies' Aid, 1955. Dr. L. C. Kleinecke was Sunday School superintendent 1889-1949. Ten pastors served from 1886 to 1972: J. Butterman, Cornelius Ziesman, John Hurtzig, Reinhold Schubert, William Utesch, A.A. Hahn (two terms), Frank F. Eberhardt, John W. Kern, John A. Jacobs, H. A. Hanson. St. Mark's has been affiliated with Iowa Synod, United Lutheran Church in America; and with Lutheran Church in America. (1972)