Country Bible Church will mark 90th on Sunday

--Kristen Repp photo

This photo of the Country Bible Church near Dusty will be handed out to all who attend worship services there this weekend. The church is celebrating the 90th anniversary of its construction on Sunday.

Things have changed in the more than 100 years since Country Bible Church was first established as the St. John German Congregational Church near Dusty. For one thing, the congregation now speaks English. Among other things, the name and the building have changed.

Constructed in 1926, members of the former church began attending the Country Bible Church in 1926. This weekend, the congregation will mark its 90th anniversary in the building.

According to historical church documents, the families of Pastor Henry Vogler, brothers Peter Uhl, John and Jakob Stueckle, Philip Broeckel Sr., Philip Broeckel Jr., and Frederich Steiger arrived in Dusty from South Dakota in 1905 and, after briefly attending the Alkali Flat Church, decided to form their own congregation.

“One hundred years ago, German-American farmers from the Midwest came out here to the Palouse,” said Pastor Steve Szasz, current Country Bible Church pastor. “Most were wheat farmers. They settled in the area and began meeting in homes in the early 1900s.”

They gathered in Stueckle’s home, with Uhl conducting the reading service and Pastor Vogler leading the Sunday school and praying meeting services, as well as managing the holy sacraments. Other families soon joined, and it was eventually decided to secure a building for the growing congregation.

An old school house was purchased in 1913 and remodeled to fit the church’s needs.

“They met across from his farm (John Stueckle’s) about a mile from the where the current church is,” said Szasz. “They bought an old school building from the LaCrosse School District.”

In 1914, following the death of Pastor Vogler, the St. John German Congregational Church merged with the Endicott Congregational Church for services once a month.

As the church continued to grow, the need for a larger space became apparent, and so in 1926, the congregation undertook the project of building a new church.

“One of the families donated about an acre, and they built the church building,” said Szasz.

Szasz said the cost of building the church – about $9,300 – was paid for by the members of the congregation.

“It’s so well built that it’s solid,” he said. “But they paid it off within a year.”

With the members having paid for the building, the decision was made to leave the church without an official affiliation.

“Because the families paid for everything, they left it independent, non-denominational,” said Szasz.

It remains so today.

The church building was officially dedicated on Nov. 14, 1926, under the name of St. John’s Congregational Church. An article in the LaCrosse Clipper said about 300 people attended the dedicatory service and followed it with celebrations in their homes.

That building is now 90-years-old, and the congregation will be celebrating this weekend.

In an account translated from German, Pastor Gottlob Keppler, who served the church from December 1922 through March 1927, described the dedicatory ceremonies, stating, “The day was blessed by beautiful weather so that many friends from near and far gathered to partake of the beautiful festival”.

“The visiting guests not only filled every seat but some had to find standing room,” he wrote.

Songs sang at the celebration included “Open the Beautiful Gate” and “Now Thank We All Our God.”

The congregation continued to speak German for several years, making the change to have services in English and German in the ‘40s and then exclusively in English not long after.

“Around World War II, all the services were still in German,” said Szasz. “The church not only needed to assimilate, but drop the German.”

Nearly 30 years later, the church underwent a name change, adopting the name of “Country Bible Church” in place of “St. John Congregational Church.” Country Bible Church became the official name on Feb. 28, 1972.

In a pamphlet which will go out to attendees at the 90th celebration services this weekend, Szasz describes some of the significance of the construction of the church building.

“The spire on the top of the steeple points onlookers toward heaven,” he writes. “The roof design at the top is unique in what is sometimes called a ‘gabled dormer with eyebrows and a hip roof.’”

He also detailed that a kitchen, restrooms, storage areas and a new well were added to the church in 1960, as well as new aluminum siding that replaced the previous wooden siding.

“The church stands out,” said Szasz. “It is such a beautiful building.”

Szasz also said the church often receives inquiries for weddings.

At the 90th celebration this weekend, each attendee will receive a special photo gift. The photo was taken by local photographer Kristen Repp and shows the church as it stands now.

Szasz said the celebration will stand as a time to remember and celebrate the legacy of the church and its pioneers.

“We're basically celebrating the 90th of the church building, and we're focusing on what it took for these people to undertake this,” said Szasz. “The vision, courage and sacrifice it took.”

The celebration will be Sunday, Nov. 13, at 10:45 a.m. at the Country Bible Church.