Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1879-09-17

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In the month of April 1892, subse-
quent to the subjugation of European
| troops in America, was enacted law
that opened out to emigrants the mag
nificent territory north and west Of the
Ohio-a territory long previous the
| scene of battle between the French
and English soldiery. This vast ex-
panse, so rich in natural resources, so
promising to the toll of the husbandmen,
at once was peopled by immigrants
from densely packed Germany and
specially from the rugged Westmore-
land county.
These thrifty Germans had no sooner
conquered the giants of the forest than,
true to the spirit of their education and
loyal to that Church which had Sc
cured for them liberty of thought and
act in accord with the dictates of a
pure teaching of the Word of God,
they sought to have their children sep
arated from the great masses of them
that know not God, and have them
engrafted into the church by baptism,
to have the Gospel preached to them,
and the Holy Supper administered in
its purity. With this devotion to their
highest interests, they had among them
as early as the opening of the present
century pastors who faithfully broke to
them the Bread of Life and pointed
out the folly of bartering soul for a
few narrow acres of land. These
pastors preached faithfully and as fire.
quently as possible, sometimes in the
open groves, sometimes in rude barns,
until proper house was erected. Not
few times did those old forests, ig-
norant of every harmony save the
warbling praises Of birds, and their
own plaintive signing, reverberate with
new songs-the hymns of the hopeful
in the Faith, which those sturdy Ger
mans, with a devoutness peculiar to
their nation, sang. These hymns,
which they had learned to lisp in in
fancy and in prattling childhood, formed
in manhood and old age a bond of union
between each other and the Church,
and are to-day the richest legacy to
the Church. The one doubling this
need but to compare the best hymns
of recent authors with the aged, Nun
danket allie GoHt" or "Christe Biut
Gerechtigkeit, or "GoH rulet Noch," to
be convinced.
This devotion of the German to
his church led to the erection Of st.
Johns in the years 1928 and 1929 for
the accommodation Of the increasing
multitudes that assembled time after
time. 1t was bold undertaking and
boldly accomplished. The cold Stone
Church." whose fiftieth anniversary
was celebrated on Friday, September
5th, would be an honor to any congre-
CATION at the present day. What must
it have been fifty years ago! 1t is,
in truth, monument that records the
virtue Of a people who are to-day too
often sneered at /; it is a monument
that teaches our emigrants to the West
how to prosper a community by honor
ing its God it is a monument round
which the faithful Of to-day delighted
to gather in vast assembly to recount
the virtues and wisdom of the builders
On Thursday evening, the evening
previous to the Day of Jubilee, SER
mon appropriate to the occasion was
preached by Rev r. B. Roth, Of Utica,
\. Y. The theme was /: "The Divinity
of Christ is the foundation Of all things
and of the Church."
The Jubilee Day dawned fair and
favoring. The rains Of the previous
days instead of dampening the ardor
of an enthused people tempered the
atmosphere and settled the dust. The
clements conspired with the occasion
to perfect the joyous emotions of those
coming TO join in the celebration. The
opening service Of the day was digni-
fed by the solemn act Of baptlzing n
babe, whose pious mother was about
to migrate to the far West. After this
ceremony was ended, the morning SER
vices were conducted in the German
language by the Rev. Prof Gilbert,
one of Germany's best Hebrew schol-
ars, classmate of the famous Tischen-
dorf, formerly pastor Of ST. Johns
Evangelical Lutheran congregation,
now the revered instructor Of Hebrew
and modern languages in Thiel Col
legc. On these services united voices
that had long been separated, and once
more the old walls re-echoed in gladness
the old choral, Now thank we all our
God"
After this service the boys from
! Prospect with horns, and drums, and
cymbals sounded call to dinner 1t
was a call considerable more harmoni-
Gus than the shrill voice Of some pro-
voked dame calling the good man to
the burnt broth. BE it spoken, greatly
to their credit, despite the brevity OF
the time consumed in practice and the
various hindrances encountered during
that time, they produced superior har-
moDy.
Heeding the call we surrounded a
table that was fit for king Arranged
with consummate skill it was preemi-
nently the best of its kind. In shape
an l., which letter represented the
initial letter of the word Lutheran
From end to end the fruits Of nature
and the products Of the good house
wife weighed heavily on the uprights
so heavily that part Of the table sanl
to the ground Stacks Of pies were
there and huge piles of sandwiches
with huge cakes, all surrounded witt
garlands of flowers deity woven. The
supply of fowl seemed to indicate tha
one Jubilee provided n sadder havoc
in the poultry yard than score o
foxes. Though the supply was pro
digious, the opening Of many hundred
mouths soon cngulfed almost the very
vestiges.
During the general melee at the tabl
the writer undertook to view the dec
orations, in which, though EXTENSIVE