Continuing on, (decades ago), my siblings and I have almost reached the Preston Elementary School! At the intersection of Fillmore and Pleasant Streets, two beautiful churches sat on opposite corners. We walked on the north side of the street allowing us to pass by a splendid red brick building, the glorious Preston Presbyterian Church. Even at a young age we were struck by its beauty! Sitting kitty corner from it was St. Paul’s German Lutheran Church.
It was the mid 1950s and Preston Elementary was overcrowded with students. That situation generated the conversion of our lunchroom into a classroom. So, where did we eat lunch? Anyone who grew up in Preston remembers, we simply lined up, single file, and walked across the street, down the basement steps of that Presbyterian Church and ate in a lime green painted room. In fact, everything was lime green – all of the walls, the picnic-style tables and even the plastic, Melmac dishes – all lim green!
The front door of the church was always padlocked tight, we were never allowed upstairs! Now, after hearing the following story, oh how I wish I could have at least, one time, seen the inside of that church!
Several years ago on a Sunday morning, I received a phone call from my brother Dick Drury who lived in Winona. Their family was watching the church service being broadcast from the Crystal Cathedral in California, Reverend Robert Schuller preaching. My brother said he almost fell off his chair when he heard Pastor Schuller mention Preston, Minn.! It’s an amazing tribute to that small brick church that once stood in beautiful Preston, Minn.!
Following is an excerpt from Reverend Schuller’s sermon:
“When Mrs. Schuller and I first came to California 40 years ago, to begin this church, we had no money and no members. We organized a small church which attracted a handful of beautiful people. We started with this thought: ‘This is our chance to shape a church that has the potential of becoming a great church for God.’
“At that time, I recalled when, as a seminary student, I was assigned to resurrect a dying Presbyterian Church in Preston, Minn. It was my summer mission under faculty supervision from my theological school. I had been told to look up an old gentleman that would have the key to the church building (which had been closed and locked up for some time). There had no longer been any need for it. But it was my duty to reopen its doors and be creative on how I would attract prospective members (those who had no church home).”
“I found the man. He gave me the key and I unlocked the door. It was stuffy. It was dark. It was dreary. But the stained glass windows were treasures of art! They were Tiffany stained glass windows. And the pews were gorgeous! They were hand carved out of black walnut…”
Reverend Schuller continued on about the importance of members working hard to keep churches alive.
I have heard from several Greenleafton folks who remember when Pastor Robert Schuller came to the area as a seminary student, and that he was “on assignment to revive” the dying Preston church. They talked of a very friendly, out-going, ambitious young man who was eager to start his life’s work.
Robert Harold Schuller was born on September 16, 1926, on a farm in Alto, Iowa. He was raised in the Dutch Reformed Church and educated at two of its institutions, both in Holland, Mich. Upon graduation in 1950, he became a pastor in Chicago.
When the time came time for the Preston Presbyterian Church to be demolished, my brother-in-law Marlow VanderPlas, his father and brothers were the hired crew. They were to dismantle the building and haul the remains to the city dump. Marlow stated the inside of the church was already completely empty, the bell had already been removed, and he wasn’t sure if it had been salvaged by another congregation. Next, the steeple came down as it was thrust into the hole in the roof, crashing to the floor inside of the vulnerable, old building. Those beautiful stained glass windows? Marlow said they removed the windows next and that they decided to keep them, hauling them out to their farm. Unfortunately, a few years later the windows fell victim to vandals, and were completely destroyed. Such a sad ending for the beautiful Preston Presbyterian Church. So glad we still have a picture of it!
Ironically, in researching the history of the church, I found a poignant reference to the 1918-1919 flu epidemic in a local history book entitled, “Coming Home – Preston’s 125th Anniversary,” by Judy Juenger & Joe Gartner. The church had experienced a dwindling in attendance of their Sunday school, so parishioners started to hold classes in some of their homes until…The glaring entry states: “This continued until the flu epidemic of 1919.”
And here we are, 100 years later, in the middle of a world-wide pandemic! Who would have ever thought it possible!
Joe Gartner says
It was oonverted to apartments and still exists in this greatly renovated condition. I remember going to kindergarten in the basement. I also remember going over to the Presbyterian Church and pumping the organ as someone played it. The organ is in the Fillmore County Historical Society in Fountain. This would have been about 1957. Joe Gartner
Francie Fairbairn Sauer says
Hi Joe, I remember kindergarten in the basement of St Paul’s Lutheran church…..located on the southeast corner of Fillmore Street & Pleasant Street. Kathy Boe, the minister’s daughter, lived right next door (on the east side) of St Paul’s Lutheran church) in the pastor’s manse.. My recollection of the Presbyterian Church, ( where we went for hot lunch) had exterior (ground level ) doors that provided access to the (basement/kitchen/lunchroom) . with doors that were pulled open (at ground level) and we went down stone steps to get to the “hot lunch” area. My Dad, Ralph, attended the Presbyterian church there, until he married my Mom and converted to the Catholic Church. Both of my paternal grandparents were buried from the Preston Presbyterian Church. After that building was leveled, there was a vacant lot at the site and presently a two story house (that was relocated from another lot in Preston) sits on the old Presbyterian Church lot. The St Paul Lutheran church, which was located on the SE corner of Pleasant & Fillmore St. was where we had kindergarten. St Paul’s Church was eventually torn down and a two-story apartment building was built there.. I think that apartment building was built by Morrie Bjork in the mid=60s…….soon after the present Christ Lutheran Church was built.
Janet says
Thank you for this great article! I’m curious if St. Paul’s German Lutheran Church is still in Preston. My grandparents and great grandparents used to go to that church.