A History of Bethlehem
When Bethlehem was first established, River Grove was no more than a
landmark. There were no paved streets or sidewalks, no running water and
no sewer system. When members came to evening services they had to carry
storm lanterns to find their way since there were no streetlights. Most
members were farmers who had to travel quite a distance by way of horse and
buggy. At the right is a great picture of the original church and school.
Click to get a larger copy.
In 1998 we celebrated our 100 Anniversary. Read the
"Celebrating God's Love for One Hundred Years" booklet used at the service.
Here are just a few interesting facts regarding the history of Bethlehem:
Bethlehem Lutheran Church was founded on May 8th, 1898
All services were in German up until 1904.
All meetings were also held in German. The first English meeting
wasn't held until March 9th, 1927.
Bethlehem received a flagpole from the 1932 Chicago World's Fair. The
flagpole is still in use in front of the school.
Our present church was dedicated on November 4th, 1951.
The guest book stand in the Narthex is the lectern from the original
church.
A three dimensional representation of the Lord's Supper that was in the
altar of the old church has been placed in front of the balcony.
The two rear pews in the balcony were brought from the original church
building.
A History Of Bethlehem Lutheran School
Bethlehem Lutheran School was established in 1900, just two years after
Bethlehem Congregation was founded in 1898. The first building was
dedicated in October 1901.
At first, the pastor of the congregation also taught school with occasional
help of students from Concordia Teachers College. The first permanent
teacher was called to teach grades 1-8 in 1925, and in 1935, a second teacher
was called to teach grades 1-4. The first female teacher was contracted
in 1944.
In 1951, a new church was built and contained a classroom so that the
school could be expanded to three classrooms. In 1958, the first
Kindergarten class began with 12 students.
In the fall of 1960, Bethlehem Congregation decided to build a new school.
In March 1961, construction began. While the school was being built,
Kindergarten was held in the narthex of the church, grades 1-4 were held in
the classroom of the church, and grades 4-8 were held at Mount Calvary.
In September of 1961, the new building was opened with four classrooms,
several auxiliary rooms, and a gymnasium that was dedicated in 1964 as Ahrens
Hall in memory of Harold Ahrens, the first called teacher. A fourth
teacher was added to teach grades 1-2.
September 1966, saw the beginning of the four-year-old preschool class, and
in 1970, a fifth teacher was added to teach grades 3-4. In the fall of
1984, a preschool class for three-year-olds was begun.
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