St. Johns Lutheran School in Wykoff has traditionally taken part in Wykoff’s annual Fall Fest with a bake sale, but this year is extra special for the school as it is celebrating its 150th anniversary.
St. Johns Lutheran Church was started in 1874 and just a year later, the school opened for its first students. The first and only parochial school in Fillmore County, it operated out of the parsonage for the first 12 years before it was moved into the basement of the newly constructed church building. In 1951, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary and then began fundraising for a new school building. The current three-room school was opened on December 7, 1952.
The first day of school this year at St. Johns began on September 2 with the typical first day of school activities. At the end of the day, students got to enjoy refreshments and old-fashioned games such as egg on the spoon, foot races, a three-legged races, gunny sack races, and more, to replicate the games that students would have played 150 years ago when the school first started.
Of course, the big celebration will take place during Wykoff Fall Fest. On September 26, an open house will be held at the school. At 5 p.m., an old-fashioned baseball game against the Rochester Roosters will take place complete with concessions and a food truck followed by fireworks at dusk. School principal and 4th-8th grade teacher Mickey Angerman noted that that will be the first time that fireworks will be set off in Wykoff. The next day, the annual bake sale will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and the school will participate in the parade. This year, a special float is being planned which will feature the newest graduate of the school, ninth grader Elsa Eickhoff and the oldest graduate, 99-year-old Beatrice Eickhoff. Many other alumni, teachers, principals and members of the church will also walk in the parade. On Sunday, there will be a guest speaker from Concordia College followed by a reception after the service.
The celebration won’t end there, though. A very special school year is being planned for the students with a different activity each month to keep the celebration going. “It’s very exciting,” Angerman commented.
This celebration has been in the works for some time now with a special committee working hard for months to plan the float and all the events, and research the history of the school. A timeline will be hung up in the hallway of the school for the open house that will cover all of the great events in America’s history over the last 150 years and show what the school was doing in relation to those events. A new logo was created and every student will receive a t-shirt to wear in the parade. Other souvenirs will also be available such as buttons, magnets, glasses, etc.
St. Johns Lutheran School is reminiscent of a small country school with just three classrooms for grades K-8. Kindergarten and first grade uses one classroom, second and third use another, and the last one is for students in fourth through eighth grade. On average, the school sees 30-32 students register each year. Eagle Care, a before and after school care program is available for students as well.
A common conception is that private school is expensive and out of reach for many families, but St. Johns is supported 80% by the church congregation. “We have been very blessed to have a church that respects and sees the true value of education,” Angerman said. “What the church is willing to give to our students is really a blessing.” In addition to support from the church, a group of volunteers, mostly consisting of parents and church members, keep the school going as well. Many of them share their skills and hobbies with the students, providing a well-rounded education. “It’s a family here,” administrative assistant Robin Breckenridge said.
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