EMIL J. BERNET

From La Crosse County Historical Sketches, La Crosse County Historical Society

Emil J. Bernet was born in the town of Shelby, La Crosse County, August 14, 1865 and resided in La Crosse from 1887 until his death in 1939. Members of his family were prominent in the earliest Mormon Coulee church. Mr. Bernet served for many years in various offices of the German Methodist (later the Salzer Memorial Methodist) Church in La Crosse. Besides relying on his recollections he has consulted such church records as exist. Mr. Bernet's parents were members of a Swiss group who came to America from Brienz, Canton Bern, in 1856. See La Crosse County Historical Sketches, 1, 21-22.

THE EARLY HISTORY of the Salzer Memorial Methodist Church cannot be told without at the same time considering the story of the small societies in the surrounding country communities. At that time these were joined to La Crosse, and together designated as the La Crosse Mission of the Upper Iowa Conference. In the fifties of the last century, the Upper Iowa Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church sent some of its members into this region for the purpose of doing missionary work among the many German immigrants who were at that time establishing homes in this new country.

These men went from one locality to another visiting the people, preaching in homes and schoolhouses wherever people would listen to them. They met with marked success from the very beginning.

By 1860 small societies of interested people had been formed in a number of localities. Here preaching services, prayer and class meetings, Sunday Schools, etc., were held at regular intervals. Numbers had joined the church and local organization had been perfected. The localities where such societies had been formed were at that time as follows: La Crosse, Brecken Ridge (now called Brinkman's Ridge, in the town of Hamburg, Vernon County), Chipmunk Coulee, Mormon Coulee, Burr Oak, and Jacksonville, in the town of Adrian (Monroe County).

The entire field covered a territory extending fifteen miles north and south and fifty miles to the east of La Crosse. In fact, during the early years most of the work done by the preachers and about all of the results achieved were in these country communities. The reason is not far to seek. In 1854, the population of the village of La Crosse is given as about 750 people. There were but few Germans here and those were not at all religiously inclined. The great number of German people who were at this time coming into southern Wisconsin were thrifty, hard-working farmers who had left Europe bent on bettering their economic condition. They were ambitious to acquire some land and establish homes for their large families. There was little chance for employment in La Crosse and the trend of settlement was entirely to the country sections.

The people in Chipmunk Coulee and on Brecken Ridge were largely German Bohemians, most of whom were Catholics. In Mormon Coulee there were chiefly Swiss and in other places there were German Lutherans. These settlers were pious, God-fearing people with religious training in school in youth; but even with this religious background they had been entirely neglected by their churches before this time. There was an occasional priest in the towns who could be called upon to baptize, marry, or bury. The Methodist circuit riders were ready to pray with a penitent sinner under a tree in the woods or on the lee side of a haystack, and administer all religious rites when necessary. Literally left as "sheep without a shepherd" by their own churches, there was an immediate response to the earnest, sincere preaching of the gospel according to Methodist principles. Meetings were held in homes and schoolhouses whenever anyone would listen.

During the pastorate of C. F. Leiprandt, 1857-58, there were numerous conversions. Six persons are entered in the records as joining the church in 1857 in Chipmunk and Brecken Ridge and more in 1858. In January, 1859, thirty-one joined at one time at these places and a number at Burr Oak Valley where the Reverend Schaefer was pastor. More followed in all of the societies that have been mentioned.

With such a large field to cover, with means of travel that were slow and cumbersome, the pastor could be present at the various preaching places only at intervals of from two to four weeks. The work was carried forward in his absence by some of the able zealous converts as class leaders, exhorters, and local preachers, in prayer and class meetings and Sunday Schools.

Some of the new converts were from the first ready to spend much time, also money, for books to prepare themselves for preaching as local preachers or in the regular services.

The relative success in the country communities as compared with the efforts in La Crosse, may be seen from one of the pastoral reports in the early sixties; this showed an increase of twenty-six persons in the membership in the former, but now one at La Crosse. In the course of years this condition was reversed, with sad consequences for the country communities.

Each society elected stewards and trustees, the former to supervise the activities of the group, the latter to take charge of property. The society was governed by an official board composed of the stewards, trustees, Sunday School superintendent, class leaders, and local preachers. This official board -- "Gemeinde Vorstand" -- met as a quarterly conference under the supervision of the District Superintendent, an official of the Annual Conference to which the quarterly conference was responsible in accordance with the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The activities of the local societies were at all times under the direction of properly ordained and licensed pastors, members of the Annual Conference and responsible to it.

The La Crosse Church as well as all of the outlying charges were from the beginning under the jurisdiction of the Methodist Episcopal Church of North America.

The Annual Conferences with which the La Crosse congregation had been affiliated from time to time are as follows: Upper Iowa Conference from the beginning to 1864; Northwest German Conference from1864 to 1924; Chicago Northwest Conference from 1924 to 1933; West Wisconsin Conference since 1933.

Conference minutes and other records of the La Crosse congregation show that as the years passed, different names were used. In the beginning when financial support came from the missionary funds of the Conference, the several societies were referred to as the La Crosse circuit or the La Crosse charge. For many years after that it was called the La Crosse and Chipmunk Coulee congregation. Between the years 1885 and 1895 the name "Zion's Methodist Episcopal Church" appeared on the transom over the main entrance of the old church building at Seventh and Ferry Streets in La Crosse. There is no mention of this name in the church records.

After another German Methodist Church was established on the north side in La Crosse (1887-8) the older church, then just east of Fifth Street on Jay Street, was known as the First German Methodist Church. The present church edifice at Seventh and Ferry Streets was erected in 1895, and the name "German Methodist Church" was cut into the cornerstone. At a regular meeting of the official board in 1917, it was voted to change the name to "Salzer Memorial Church" in memory of John A. Salzer¹, one of the early pastors, a local preacher for the rest of his life, and a generous subscriber to the building of the new church. By direction of the trustees, the inscription on the cornerstone was changed to "Salzer Memorial Church."

The year 1858 is regarded as the date when the La Crosse church was founded, because in that year the Reverend Peter Schaefer, pastor in charge, made a beginning with regular preaching services². The meetings were held at first in a small schoolhouse on the eastern edge of the village. The Reverend William Schreiner, who became the next pastor, made a humble beginning with a small Sunday School. When he left in the fall of 1862 there were five members on probation. None of the five appears again in the later records, and it was difficult during all these years to induce anyone willing or able to help in Sunday School work, or to carry on any activity during the absence of the pastor.

At this time a small church building was erected on a rented lot and the pastor and his assistant spent much time and missionary effort in the village community, but with only indifferent results.

It seems that the attitude of the La Crosse people was like that of the Athenians, who after one of the greatest gospel sermons in history had been preached to them, mocked and said to Paul, "We will hear thee again some other day;" while the people in the country communities were like the Bereans who received the word gladly and with all readiness of heart and searched daily in the Scriptures whether the things were so. In La Crosse at one time there were five members reported, but four of them belonged to the pastor's family³. Meanwhile the good work outside La Crosse prospered by leaps and bounds; there were frequent revival meetings during the winter season and camp meetings in the summer time to which people came from long distances. Intense interest was shown and in truth, in a spiritual sense, "the lame walked, lepers were made whole, the blind received their sight, and the gospel was freely preached to the poor."

Among the earliest names appearing on the rolls in the Brecken Ridge records are the following: Lamprecht, Koller, Thiel, Koch, Theyson, Woodbridge. In Chipmunk Coulee most of the names of the early members are still in evidence in their descendants who are today active members of our congregation; among these are Starch, Tietze, Paudier, Bendel, Kuhnert, Hieckel; others not now represented are Uhl, Ritschel, Ringel, Lies.

In Mormon Coulee there appear the names Markle, Ott, Sprenger, Eggler, Bernet; in Burr Oak Valley, Heinack, Jung, Pfaff, Voelker, Strongmann.

At Tomah there was a settlement of Methodists who came from Columbus, Wisconsin, in an early day. They were regularly served from La Crosse until 1872. Family names of early members were Schulz, Paley, Biegel, Prahl, Baumgarten. The last was a godly widowed mother with several strapping sons, one of whom entered the ministry from Columbus; another was a member of the St. Louis Conference for many years; two were local preachers. There were also several preachers and local preachers in the second and third generations. A brother-in-law, the Reverend Spicker, was long in the N.W. German Conference.

In La Crosse, some of the early names were Rossberg, Dehn, Wanner, Dommershausen, Kober, Brill, none of whom are remembered by persons now living. When the Reverend John A. Salzer began his pastorate, in 1866, there was only one full member at La Crosse, aside from the pastor's family, and it is quite possible that this was C. Koller, who at about this time came to town from Brecken Ridge.

Not all of these early converts continued on the straight and narrow way. Some, like Demas of old, again loved this present world, for we find such notations in pastors' membership record books as: "dismissed for disorderly conduct"; "will not conform with church rules as to intoxicating liquors"; "gone without a church letter"; "has not been seen in meetings for two years or longer."

After the close of the Civil War the once struggling steamboat landing village of a few hundred people had become a city of several thousand. River traffic was heavy, a railroad had been built, trade and industry were developing; as a result there was increased opportunity for employment.

During and after the pastorate of J. A. Salzer numerous Methodist families, as well as individuals, came to town from the surrounding communities and also from a distance and found permanent employment. They, of course, took an active part in church work and from this time on the society in La Crosse increased and prospered.

C. Koller and family were one of the first of these. He came from Brecken Ridge and from the very first took a keen interest in church matters; he was an active worker in Sunday School as long as he lived. There followed Alex Duerrwachter with his mother and sister, later Mrs. Weiss, from Hokah or Crooked Creek. Then came several Koethe brothers who before the War had lived near Hokah with their parents, later on Brecken Ridge, where some of the relatives still reside. At a later date the Gruber family came from Milwaukee, J. Geo. Koenig from Madison, R. Sorgel from Portage, Chr. Kassner from Peoria. The last was a local preacher for some time and later entered the St. Louis or Western Conference.

As years went on there was a continuous increase from outside churches and places, so that today even the "foreign colony," if we should so call them, are a considerable part of our rank and file. We may mention the names of some members who came as young men and later established families: C. Rau, H. E. Gross, William Thiel, Zeratsky, Muenster, Schaefer, Vollenweider, Goebel, Isler, Hottman, Franz, Lange, Vogel. From the North Side church, when the work there was discontinued, came the families Nessler, Schlabach, Engelke, Figgie, and others. Then, in 1919, when the Chipmunk Coulee membership was again united with our congregation, there was of course a substantial increase.

In 1869 the present real estate at the corner of Seventh and Ferry Streets was purchased, and the small church which had been built on rented ground in 1862 was moved to that location. It was later twice rebuilt and enlarged. A parsonage was built in the seventies and a new one replaced it about 1890. The present beautiful church edifice was erected in 1895 and the pipe organ was installed in 1908.

When J. A. Salzer retired from the ministry in La Crosse in 1869, he had a large family, was in debt, and was obliged to work hard for long hours at his profession; nevertheless, he continued active in church work. He often went on Sundays to any place on the charge in his own conveyance to preach once and sometimes twice. In the La Crosse church he took part in all weekday meetings and acted in any capacity in board and other business meetings. His long years of experience as a pastor and his accurate knowledge of local conditions were a great help to the pastor. In protracted meetings of many weeks' duration he was present almost every evening, a power in prayer and exhortation. He died as he had lived a kindly, pious, humble child of God.

The same circumstances that tended to build up the society in the city worked to bring about the decline of the country societies. The farms were small and the ground was often infertile, with only a few acres of tillable land, the balance steep, rough, stony hillsides. The families were large. Many heard the "call of the west," and the wanderlust was too strong to be resisted. Many of the families moved west to the broad stretches of cheap, new land. While this was a distinct loss to the church here, these families became in many cases valuable additions to struggling societies in these new communities, and their children and grandchildren are still in the churches there. Others, as indicated above, removed to the cities for employment and in time permanently located in their new surroundings.

From the very first there was a strong tendency on the part of the young folks to drift into the English church societies that were being established. This condition was bitterly fought by the older people, but to no avail. Societies of other churches were soon formed all around, so there was competition on all sides, and each denomination prepared to take care of its own.

In 1872 the societies in Tomah and Burr Oak Valley were formed into separate charges. In the seventies the society on Brecken Ridge turned almost entirely to the Evangelical Association. Some ten years later, when their fervor had died down somewhat, services were resumed for a few years. Mormon Coulee was discontinued in 1887, and the few remaining members from here and Brecken Ridge transferred to North La Crosse.

After the congregation in the north side became established, in 1887-88, the membership of Chipmunk Coulee was transferred to that charge. In 1919, when North La Crosse and Chipmunk Coulee were abandoned as a charge, the membership from both of these societies was transferred to the La Crosse church. The resident pastor supplied the pulpit in Chipmunk Coulee, with the aid of the local preachers and retired pastors, until 1929.

From that time to the present, with the improved hard roads and the general prevalence of automobiles, the families from the country have attended all our regular services in the city church, and appear to be satisfied with the change. All services in the country churches have since been discontinued. While this means the abandonment of once live and active country congregations, it seems to have been the only solution under the circumstances.

For quite a number of years our German Methodist Church had an English service in the evening, while the regular morning service was in the German language. From 1929 to the latter part of 1931 we had a short German sermon during the regular morning service; the rest of the service was then entirely in English. Since that time all our services are entirely in the English language excepting the one adult German Bible class. The Sunday School, with this exception, has been conducted entirely in the English language since about 1919.

For our young folks who are accustomed to go about from place to place by auto, or even by air, it is difficult to realize transportation conditions as they existed seventy-five years ago. Roads as we know them were simply non-existent, not a hard road anywhere and few graded. The prairie for miles north and south of the village and also some of the land east and northeast in the circuit was drifting sand desert. Transportation was originally by ox team and travel by foot or horse.

Creeks and streams contained much more water than they do at present, were narrower and deeper, with steeper banks; bridges were few. Frequently streams had to be waded, sometimes a log or two from bank to bank would help. The roads through marshy ground on either side of the streams were of the so-called "corduroy" pattern, a construction wonderfully and fearfully made and full of danger.

For weeks in spring and fall roads were impassable on account of mud, and frequently for weeks in winter they could not be traveled because of the deep and drifting snow. When light vehicles could be used they were of course an added convenience but in other ways a cause of extra trouble.

Rev. Schuette traveled the Tomah mission for several years with a horse and two wheeled "sulky." The preacher at times started out with a horse and buggy; then as roads became bad he parked his buggy and proceeded on horseback; finally, abandoning the horse also, he made the rest of the distance across country afoot to be in time for the service; then he picked up his equipment on his return trip.

Frequently in debt for his outfit or education, always on a meager salary that often was not paid in full, how the pastor of that time was able to keep soul and body together, dress decently, and above all support a family, is more than we can imagine today. It is small wonder that, with exposure, hardships, and privations, besides ceaseless mental and physical labor, many were worn out by middle age and died long before their time.

Let us now follow the history of the sites and buildings that our La Crosse German Methodist Church has occupied. In 1862 a lot was rented from T. N. Norton and during the spring a small frame building erected for church purposes. This was lot 4, blk. 18, Dunn, Dousman, and Cameron's Addition. It ran east and west along the extreme east end of Jay Street, the west end facing the alley. The price was $4.00 per year, payable in advance. The west part of the lot where the building was placed is now occupied entirely by the rear of the Wisconsin Theatre building, and if the church still stood it would be in the shadow of St. Joseph's Cathedral.

The cost of the building was $275.00; the money was contributed by congregations in the eastern part of the state. As there was no one else around with sufficient interest the pastor and his assistant were the building committee; incidentally, they also did much of the work, not on the 6 hour day, 5 day week plan, but any hour of the 24, every day but Sunday.

In 1869 the present site at Seventh and Ferry Streets was purchased on a land contract, and the church was moved there.

A small cottage on the northwest corner of Seventh Street and Cameron Avenue was for a long time our parsonage. In 1879 the church in La Crosse was rebuilt and enlarged, and a parsonage was built at about the same time. A new parsonage was built about 1890, the old one having been removed to near Nineteenth and Ferry Streets where it still stands. By 1885 the church had again been rebuilt with an addition. In 1895 the present beautiful church structure was erected at a cost of $25,000. It is built of native limestone faced with range rock. Labor as well as material were low priced at the time, carpenters and stone masons being paid $2.50 per ten-hour day. The interior finish is in natural Tennessee oak.

In 1900 the parsonage was damaged by fire. The loss was amply covered by insurance, so it was rebuilt and somewhat enlarged.

In 1902 the church was struck by lightning, entailing a fire loss of about $4,000, entirely covered by insurance. The church is at present insured against fire loss in an amount based on a replacement cost of $100,000, which shows the advance in building costs.

Our beautiful pipe organ, which has given such wonderful service in past years, was installed by the Hinners Organ Co. in 1908.

The old frame church was sold in 1895 for $50 to the Methodist society in Stoddard, Wisconsin. It was moved there in sections and, rebuilt, is in use today.

Property in possession of the congregation at the present time (1932) is as follows: two lots on the northeast corner of Seventh and Ferry Streets, on which the church building and parsonage are situated. Church and lot and cemetery lot in Chipmunk Coulee. Old church lot and cemetery in Mormon Coulee, town of Shelby.

The collection plates used at the present time were made in 1895 from some of the timbers of the old church. They were hand-turned by Fred Schulz. The wood used was selected white pine.

My parents knew all of the pastors except, perhaps, the first and I have known all but the first five. I well remember how we enjoyed their visits at our home and how we looked forward to them. These venerable men used their smooth, fluent High German, in contrast to our uncouth Swiss and the cumbersome Pennsylvania Dutch and Bohemian German dialects used by our neighbors. I remember their tactful approach to every member of the family, gaining their confidence and good will.

List of Pastors in charge from organization to 1932

Karl Kluckhohn 1856-part H. R. Fiegenbaum 1878-1880

Karl Leiprandt 1857-1858 George Hoerger 1880-1882

Peter Schaefer 1858-1860 Carl R. Priebe 1882-1883

William Schreiner 1860-1862 John Schneider . 1883-1886

John Brauer 1862-1864 John H. Klaus 1886-1891

Herman Richter 1864-1866 L. J. Brenner 1891-1894

John A. Salzer 1866-1869 Fred Schaub 1894-1897

Emil Uhl 1869-1871 L. J. Brenner 1897-1899

Henry Roth 1871-1874 George H. Rheinfrank 1899- 1901

Friedrich Hermsmeyer 1874-1875 W. H. Rolfing 1901-1904

William Hildebrandt 1875-1876 J. L. Panzlau 1904-1910

William Pagenhardt 1876-1878 J. H. Klaus ..1910-1916

J. L. Panzlau…………1916-1924 C. F. Schellhase……….…1929-1932

Frank Hartl…………..1924-1929 E. H. Mueller…………….1932

FOOTNOTES

1. Brief biographies of the Rev. John A. Salzer appear in the History of La Crosse County, (p. 189), and the Biographical History of La Crosse, Trempealeau, and Buffa1o Counties (pp. 158-9). During the years of his ministry he had a greenhouse, following the example of his father in Germany. After retirement on account of his health, he entered upon the floral business. This was the beginning of the John A. Salzer Seed Co. (1886) which is still one of the large business establishments in La Crosse. Mr. Salzer died in 1892. (Ed.)

2. In the earliest record book that has been preserved are found minutes of the quarterly meetings in the mission societies that have been mentioned. The records in this volume begin in 1860 and extend to 1885. They were entered in each period by the pastor who served this group of churches. From these minutes reports were made to the District Superintendent. (Ed.)

3. The situation in the La Crosse church here described was typical of conditions in the churches of frontier towns. Whatever might be the denomination or the source from which people came, whether from the East or a foreign country, the former restraints of family and familiar environment had been broken down by the removal to a distant location. Consequently there was the difficulty of starting churches and also the later adoption by them of strict regulations for the control of unruly members. (Ed.)