May 12, 1971 (8 pages)

= oe Ti iat 2 — Sep A REE Gg: ce fen eee ih 4 ¥ @ SS 8; The Nevada dssseiy Nugget, Wednesday, May 12, 1971 Fire destroys Chicago Park church . Wind, lack of water hurt fight St. Paul Lutheran Church at Chicago Park burned to the ground in the early afternoon on Mothers Day, The. building was not occupied when the fire erupted. Morning services were over shortly after 10 a.m, TheSunday School session was held in the nearby parsonage but it was over by 11, The fire was reported at 12:42 p.m, Three trucks and 14 regular firemen from the PeardaleChicago Park Volunteer Fire Department responded, according to Fire Chief Carl Bauch, *“Ophir Hill despatched two trucks and eight men when Bauch called for aid, Two men from the Gold Flat department and one offduty fireman from Beale Air Force Base, plus several onlookers, gave assistance, Inability to get sufficient water plus high winds hampered the efforts of. fire fighters, The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. Although the congregation met unofficially as early as 1900, the MESS constitution was signed M en 23, 1902. Services were h Chicago Park School until ae : church was built in 1904, The first lumber pile assembled for construction of the church was destroyed by fire. The first pastor, Rev. Martin. Kuessner, dedicated the building on Dec, 4, 1904, The property had been donated by Chicago Park pioneers, Dr, Charles Pusheck and his mother. The first child baptized in the congregation was Margaretha M, Sonntag, October 26, 1902. Paul Sonntag, on April 12, 1903, became the first young person to be confirmed, The first wedding was that of Carl Fredricks and Grace Rishel on January 11, 1903, On April 19, 1903, the funeral of Ludwig Bierwagen was the first to be held by the congregation, He was buried in St, Paul Cemetery. Prior to 1924 most services and records of the church were in German, From 1924 until 1942 both English and German were used, On January 11, 1942 the use of German in records and services was discontinued, Also lost in Sunday's tragic fire were the original altar, pulpit and baptismal font, also the pews, all priceless antiques, The pews had been purchased in the *20s when the Catholic Church _A FIRE ON Mother's Day destroyed a Chicago Park landmark, St, Paul's Lutheran Church, Peardale Chicago Park volunteer firemen are shown here mopping up, (Photo by Lowell Thompson.) Grace Lutheran Church inGrass in Auburn was remodeled, The iginal St, Paul charter were altar, pulpit and font were from among the few items saved. San Francisco churches, Rey, Arthur H, Herkampis the The electric organ andtheorpresent pastor of St, Paul and Valley. Will the little church be rebuilt? If God is willing. re START MY NUGGET RESERVE MY FREE SCRAPBOOK BINDER AND SUBSCRIPTION FREE SUBSCRIBE NOW! 1: 1 YEAR -°3" 2 YEARS -°5" 3 YEARS a DON’T MISS A SINGLE ISSUE! OF THE REPRINT— “NORTHERN MINES” by Edmund Kinyon VETERAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR and GOLD RUSH HISTORIAN and start your TORIC SCRAPBOOK “eee 8 8 CTS eee enn Srey ry ADDRESS . . GV ce oie EP. oS PHONE cei, ce os nahin aeinw sd tee as THE NUGGET, P.O. Box 572, Nevada City, Calif. 95959 rant with each new subscription: NUGGET HISTORICAL SCRAPBOOK HARD PRESSBOARD BINDER to preserve the historical centerfold in each issue ot THE NEVADA COUNTY NUGGET.

= oe Ti iat 2 — Sep A REE Gg: ce fen eee ih 4 ¥ @ SS 8; The Nevada dssseiy Nugget, Wednesday, May 12, 1971 Fire destroys Chicago Park church . Wind, lack of water hurt fight St. Paul Lutheran Church at Chicago Park burned to the ground in the early afternoon on Mothers Day, The. building was not occupied when the fire erupted. Morning services were over shortly after 10 a.m, TheSunday School session was held in the nearby parsonage but it was over by 11, The fire was reported at 12:42 p.m, Three trucks and 14 regular firemen from the PeardaleChicago Park Volunteer Fire Department responded, according to Fire Chief Carl Bauch, *“Ophir Hill despatched two trucks and eight men when Bauch called for aid, Two men from the Gold Flat department and one offduty fireman from Beale Air Force Base, plus several onlookers, gave assistance, Inability to get sufficient water plus high winds hampered the efforts of. fire fighters, The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. Although the congregation met unofficially as early as 1900, the MESS constitution was signed M en 23, 1902. Services were h Chicago Park School until ae : church was built in 1904, The first lumber pile assembled for construction of the church was destroyed by fire. The first pastor, Rev. Martin. Kuessner, dedicated the building on Dec, 4, 1904, The property had been donated by Chicago Park pioneers, Dr, Charles Pusheck and his mother. The first child baptized in the congregation was Margaretha M, Sonntag, October 26, 1902. Paul Sonntag, on April 12, 1903, became the first young person to be confirmed, The first wedding was that of Carl Fredricks and Grace Rishel on January 11,

1903, On April 19, 1903, the funeral of Ludwig Bierwagen was the first to be held by the congregation, He was buried in St, Paul Cemetery. Prior to 1924 most services and records of the church were in German, From 1924 until 1942 both English and German were used, On January 11, 1942 the use of German in records and services was discontinued, Also lost in Sunday's tragic fire were the original altar, pulpit and baptismal font, also the pews, all priceless antiques, The pews had been purchased in the *20s when the Catholic Church _A FIRE ON Mother's Day destroyed a Chicago Park landmark, St, Paul's Lutheran Church, Peardale Chicago Park volunteer firemen are shown here mopping up, (Photo by Lowell Thompson.) Grace Lutheran Church inGrass in Auburn was remodeled, The iginal St, Paul charter were altar, pulpit and font were from among the few items saved. San Francisco churches, Rey, Arthur H, Herkampis the The electric organ andtheorpresent pastor of St, Paul and Valley. Will the little church be rebuilt? If God is willing. re START MY NUGGET RESERVE MY FREE SCRAPBOOK BINDER AND SUBSCRIPTION FREE SUBSCRIBE NOW! 1: 1 YEAR -°3" 2 YEARS -°5" 3 YEARS a DON’T MISS A SINGLE ISSUE! OF THE REPRINT— “NORTHERN MINES” by Edmund Kinyon VETERAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR and GOLD RUSH HISTORIAN and start your TORIC SCRAPBOOK “eee 8 8 CTS eee enn Srey ry ADDRESS . . GV ce oie EP. oS PHONE cei, ce os nahin aeinw sd tee as THE NUGGET, P.O. Box 572, Nevada City, Calif. 95959 rant with each new subscription: NUGGET HISTORICAL SCRAPBOOK HARD PRESSBOARD BINDER to preserve the historical centerfold in each issue ot THE NEVADA COUNTY NUGGET.