09/12/2023
The Big White House Next to Church: One of the First Inhabitants Remembers
This is the conclusion of an article written by Clara Seuel Schreiber, whose father, Rev. Claus Seuel, came to be pastor at Freistadt in 1894. This article was printed in the Winter 1980 issue of the “Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly,” courtesy of Dr. August Suelflow, Director. The reprint can be found as an article in The Hidden Historical Treasures of Trinity Freistadt Lutheran Church, published in 2014 by the Trinity Freistadt Historical Society. The book is available for purchase.
Article begins:
… and then came Freistadt!
Well remembered by us sisters is our arrival in Freistadt in November, 1894. Also, my father's installation by Pastor Osterhus of Milwaukee.
After a long train ride from Portage and a four-mile wagon ride from Granville, there was the grand reception in the old parsonage at the foot of the hill. We used to call it the Wichmann parsonage because the Rev. Wichmann family had lived there so long. It was a romantic place, with a lovely garden spot enclosed by tall evergreens, enchanting in the light of the Japanese lanterns. 1 recall how fairy-like they swayed in the wind. There was a band to welcome the new pastor. They played lively music as well as hymns. A choir sang, speeches were made and there were long tables in the sitting room loaded with ham and potato salad and delicious cakes. Some of the children romping around stopped to talk to us in German. This made us giggle because we girls talked German only to older people, never among ourselves.
In the spring the congregation decided to build a new parsonage, located nearer to the church. And that place became our beloved home for the next twenty years .
. . 'Christmas was followed by the somber Lenten services. Then came Palm Sunday, when Freistadt children were confirmed and reaffirmed their faith. Relatives came from far and near to celebrate with them. And then joyous Easter, when Freistadt sang triumphantly "Christ is Risen."
Meanwhile, Honnie and I watched the building of our new home—the parsonage (the white house next to the church). Every day we would go up the hill near the church to watch the progress being made. It looked as though it would be a big house. And by fall it was finished, and we could move in. And oh! how happy we were. I don't remember a big celebration, but we just moved in.
The house was certainly big. There was a large basement with a kitchen that had a wooden floor and a big worktable. One stairway led to the pantry upstairs and another to the outside. Adjoining was little room with a huge barrel for rainwater. This was where the laundry was done. A middle room had a section for winter vegetables, and opposite that some shelves for canned goods. The third was a small room for coal.
The kitchen had a southern exposure with a large porch and a window to the west. Near it stood an enclosed sink with an iron pump for rainwater. A new-type stove and a wood box occupied the opposite space. From here we stepped into the dining room, where a wide window facing north provided a view of the church. Both kitchen and dining room had doors to the big sitting room with its spacious bay window, where Mother paraded her flowers. A rolling double door, which was closed all winter, led into the parlor. This room was used only on special occasions. The large window looked east, across the porch and lawn to Granville Road and the Hilgendorf woods. A door from both rooms opened to the hallway and carpeted stairway. Father's study was above the parlor. From it a long hall led to the west window. Next to Father's study was the girls' bedroom, and opposite it was the guest room. Then my room and the choreboy's room.
Here a stairway led up to the large attic. I loved to sit here in an old rocking chair with ancient books and magazines packed around me to read, never minding the terrific heat of summer. This was my paradise! Whenever I could, I would slip up the rear stairway from the dining room to the attic or my room. Beside a window to the west my room had a half-window to the south. The room was furnished simply, but to me it was a heavenly place. Here I could study my lessons undisturbed. I could read when I wanted to. And in spring, when the froggies came out of their mud holes in the creek, I could enjoy their song. As soon as the weather became warm and the summer hot, the crickets took over. They outdid the Freistadt Band and the choirs, which practiced in school many evenings. Their shrilling went on all fall until the weather became too cool.
The carpenters had built a barn, a woodshed, a wooden sidewalk around the house, and a fence around a large space for a garden. Father had planted shade trees to mark off the space between the church and the home. He also had two fir trees on either side of the sidewalk near the gate. And Mother had a big flowerbed there. A garden space was planted with apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees. Along the fence were gooseberry and currant bushes. Mother had strawberry plants in the garden and every kind of vegetable. Everything grew fast and bore abundantly. Not to be forgotten was the chicken coop built near the barn.
And so the house that was built became the home I loved so dearly. The frogs sang in spring, crickets screamed in fall, the saucy little wren dared us to chase it, and in the woods across the road the whip-poor-will and "Peter-Peter" songs drifted to us.
When storms crashed and lightning flashed, we felt secure, for Father was there with his prayer book. Every evening after supper and mornings after breakfast; he read those simple, trusting prayers. But when the storms were over, music and singing returned. We could not live without music. And the friends that came to see us joined us.
When fall came, the house cleared. I started my two-mile walk to the country school on the Jahn Corner near Thiensville. I enjoyed teaching here so much because I loved those children, and they liked me. Is it a wonder that those two years were among the happiest in my life?
It is no wonder that this home has never been forgotten. The times were peaceful and prosperous. The home was always busy. People came and people went. Some stayed, some didn't. There was much work, living was good. But it was not all singing and play. With the many people always around, some helped and some didn't with the many cherries and vegetables needing to be tended.
Mother and Father both loved company. The table talks were interesting. And not to be forgotten were the parties at the young people's homes in summer and holidays when students from Concordia and other schools added their bit of fun.
And now Freistadt Trinity Congregation has celebrated its 140th anniversary. Deeply religious like the forefathers but not crepe-hangers, they have been true to God and their country. The home I loved has taught me to pray deeply—from the heart—to my Savior. It has also taught me to love and appreciate good music. And —Ach, ja! The old German Gemutlichkeit. . .
Editor’s note (written in 1994): Esther Hilgendorf recalls Rev. Seuel as having a full white beard. He preached under the canopy that used to be over the old pulpit. The pulpit, at that time, was much higher than it is now, and the pastor had to climb stairs to reach the pulpit.
Rev. Seuel served at Freistadt for 20 years, and served as Wisconsin District president for 6 years. The Seuel family left Trinity in 1914.
