The original copy of this article was found in a file at Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis, MO. It is believed to be a translation of a manuscript that may still be in the archives of Trinity Lutheran Church, Fedor, Texas.



Trinity Lutheran Church “on the west Yegua Creek, Burleson County” (as the old records have it) now Fedor, Lee County, was organized on the 11th day of March 1870. Visitor Brohm came down from St Louis for that organization meeting, for Texas belonged to the Western District of Synod. Prof. Leubner of Serbin brought him to Fedor.

Pastor Pallmer of Serbin served the little flock of 22 persons for a year and a half. During the winter months of 1870 Candidate Proft began a school, teaching 4 days a week for a term of 8 months. In the fall of 1871 Proft was ordained and installed as the first pastor of Fedor. A building 24’ X 20’ was built at a cost of $80 which was to serve as the pastor’s dwelling, a schoolroom, and a church, all in one. The children were asked to bring $8 for tuition for the school term.

In the January meeting of 1872 the congregation resolved to build a separate building for the school. $300 was donated for this building. When Pastor Proft resigned to become the pastor of Ebenezer Congregation near the present Lincoln, Pastor G. Birkmann became his successor. He taught the school for three years, 1876-1879. He was then transferred to Dallas, Pastor J. M. Maisch succeeding him at Fedor. He also taught the school until 1881. Teacher Nehrling became the first man of his profession to conduct the school at Fedor. When Pastor Maisch followed the call to Walburg, Nehrling was left in charge of the congregation. This Nehrling was later a famous naturalist. His book Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt was much read even abroad and is probably a standard work to this day. Also Pastor Birkmann gathered many valuable butterfly and insect collections, receiving the gold medal at the World Fair in St Louis. There is a peat bog, miles north of Fedor, a real paradise for a naturalist. The West Yegua and the dense post oak forests harbor much wild life. To this day foxes sometime play havoc with a flock of turkeys. But Nehrling soon had to move away, because he could not endure the climate. The West Yegua was for years the source of all drinking water for the pastors and their families and the teachers of the school. Malaria! Just at the time that Nehrling left, Pastor Birkman accepted the call back to Fedor. Into the schoolroom once more! But he was soon relieved by Teacher G .M. Schleier who began to teach after the New Year, 1883. He now 1ives in La Grange, but has many an interesting anecdote of the time when he also had the post office in his house and had to represent the U.S government to the toughs from the Knobs Hills, west of Fedor. The congregation built a new school for Teacher Schleier in 1884 at a cost of $600. It had also built a house for Teacher Nehrling in 1881. The congregation did much building in those days, financing everything itself. One finds subscriptions of $100 per person in the old records. The people loved their school and did much for it. At Schleiers time the enrollment was 25 children.

For 27 years this second schoolroom served its purpose. It was renovated in the year 1911. In 1916 an addition was added to the east, making two large classrooms 24 X 36 each (14’ ceilings). This building serves well today. Two fine stoves (Waterbury System) provide very uniform heat in the winter; high ceilings and ample window space give cool, fresh air in the summer months.

Fedor has had a large list of teachers. Since 1886, when Schleier accepted a call to Warda, the following teachers were employed: Rhode, Daepke, Daenzer, Redeker, Leubner, Schweder, Roesel. During Roesel’s time the school made considerable head way. The congregation resolved to add a second classroom (1918) and to employ students as help. There were 36 odd pupils in school. The first student to help was the present pastor of the church (1910-1917). Her was followed by Student Knoernschild the next term, the man who still teaches his school faithfully in his congregation at Freyburg (1917-18). In 1916 the congregation thought best to call an assistant pastor who could also help in the school. Candidate Braner received and accepted the call. The congregation at once built a dwelling for the new pastor which was never used for its original purpose. For when Braner came, Teacher Roesel accepted a call for the north, and so Pastor Braner moved into the former teachers dwelling. The new house was sold.

Assistant Pastor Braner suddenly saw himself, the only teacher of the school until Student H. Grunau arrived from the Seminary in St. Louis. Both Braner and Grunau were novices in that first term 1918-1919. Student F. Boerger replaced Grunau the next term. Pastor Boerger is now at Three Rivers. The congregation then called a Seward Candidate, Wieting. But when Wieting came, Pastor Braner left for the north in 1920. Wieting requested the congregation to get Student Germeroth of Seward to help him out. Germeroth taught until 1921. That fall Student H. Berntha1 helped Wieting; 1922-23 Miss Louise Werner now Mrs Otto Doering of Galveston helped with the school. But again the congregation lost its teacher. Weiting left in the Spring of 1924.

Both Pastor Seidel and Pastor Lugenheim helped Wieting with the school in 1923-1924 according to Pastor Birkman. For the aging shepherd of the congregation, Dr Birkmann had resigned in 1922, after having had more than a score of different men and ladies helping him with the children of the school.

Now rapid changes were made in the pastorate, but the school was no longer subject to such sudden changes. Teacher Schroeder came to Fedor from the Negro missions in New Orleans and has now been principal of the school since 1924. The list of assistants still shows annual changes up to the year 1931.

1924-25 Rev. L. Lugenheim
1925-26 Miss Martha Schierloh
1926-27 Miss Herta Kistemann
1926-29 Student Anton Lehmann, now Teacher in Port Arthur
1929-30 and again 1930-33, Miss Lydia Wende.

In those years Synod began to feel the effects of the depression. A large list of candidates had no call in the Spring of the year. After much discussion, the present pastor succeeded in persuading the congregation to employ a second teacher permanently, since there was enough opportunity to do so. “Ihr Farmer wuerdet doch auch nicht fuer jeden Crop ein neues Pferd brechen wollen!” [Your farmer also would not want to break a new horse for every crop!] was an argument that went home. The school closed with an enrollment of 88 but when the fall came, and the second teacher, R. G. Buuck took charge the school had 95 pupils. It was a hard task to bring up for teacher’s salaries and rent alone to $45 per month, for in that year eggs brought 9 cents per dozen, cotton was sold for 6 cents per pound, etc. But the Lord of the church who has told us to lead His little ones to Him, has seen us thru all the years of depression. The school did not suffer. Its highest enrollment was 100 in the year 1935. In the present year (1936) 82 have entered. Large confirmation classes for several years, together with fewer children in the homes, have brought the numbers down. However, of the 10 new faces in school this year, 10 entered the 1st grade, the others all the way into the 7th grade, came to us after spending a year or several in public schools.

With the two graduate teachers it became possible to bring the school up to a much higher standard. Only the last 5 years have there been scholars who graduated.

Many a 1ittle lad walks to school 4, 5 and more miles during the dry season of the year. A few donkeys are still in use for transportation. We had as high as 24 of these patient beasts of burden tied to the fence posts around the church property in the past. It was not bad when the donkeys knew what it was all about, we even had one who left home and came to its post by itself after its little mistress had finished school! But after the summer months when the donkeys forgot what school was, they made a considerable noise about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. An amusing sight to see two or three sunbonnets of varying size bob up and down, as they come up the deep road to the church hi1, unti1 you see the black donkey that supports them. Hardly are they at the post, and here the girls slide down behind, quick as lightning.

Much of the equipment in later years has been bought from the proceeds of the school picnics. Those, by the way, are some picnics! A roster of 2 dozen members are usually appointed as a committee to prepare for that picnic. You see there is a pile of 1500 pounds of beef and pork and mutton to barbeque for the many guests from near and far, with all the buying, butchering, etc that is connected with that alone. When picnic day comes the school trustees with the national colors lead the parade, followed by the congregation’s band, and the school children. The parade forms at Richter’s “tank” and then marches thru the sand into Richter’s grove, which has been carefully cleaned by the youth of the congregation. Just around the bend from the old Yegua Bridge is the picnic spot.

Many changes have come, of course, since the day when D. Behnken carved his initials in the old double seated desk, and traced who knows what River down the line from the inkwell impressions which succeeding generations dug deeper with pen and pencil. No longer is the deep, deep sand between us and Giddings such a hard pull for the horses, which used to sweat profusely about 9 a.m. after making the first 3 miles to Giddings. No longer has everybody time enough to watch the ocean of sand part in front of the buggy wheel and lap over again. It is possible in spots now to travel 35 miles per hour - if you know the curves. Here and there a radio (battery set, of course) blares the world’s business in the quiet night, but since the round of duties on the farms has not changed materially, there are few who feel like sitting up late and so; the far off “Hoot! Hoot! Ah Who Ah!” of the ow1, the mournful bugle of the stray hound and a few other night noises are all that’s heard, as Venus dips over the church steeple to the west and Jupiter blinks thru the old cedars to the east. Oh, yes we do off and on hear the distant rumbling of the train’s wheels and hear the engine warning whistle - but we know then that the atmospheric condition is such that rain or cold weather is in the offing - usually sound does not travel so far.

There are advantages in all that, are there not? Seclusion ought to promote quiet study. Many of the children have only rarely seen a movie. The “Sing Choir” and the young people’s Bible class are events to most of the youth here. The Walther League Messenger is about all that’s known in the line of reading material to the youth. The children have their “Child’s Companion.”

We thank God that we have good teachers who are wide awake and will not permit the children to become hermits in the neck of the woods, especially are they eager to give all the instruction they can in the English language, for this old country can no longer give homes to the large number of youths. Many are even now seeking employment elsewhere.

It cannot truthfully be said, that all the 1424 children who have once been lifted out of the water of regeneration have later learned to say: “I believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” - But who can estimate the blessings God has showered here and in many another spot of Texas thru the instrumentality of Fedor’s Christian Day School?