Sugar Grove
There are five churches in the Mountain Lutheran Parish charge. They are Mt. Hope, New Hope, Faith, St. John, and Calvary Lutheran churches.
New Hope is located at Minnehaha Springs. This congregation came to this location with the “White family.” In 1876, Henry White and his wife, Sabrina, and their eight children moved from Crabbottom (Blue Grass), Highland County, Virginia, to Pocahontas County. They left their home, nine years after the Northern Army burned their home and while Sabrina was pregnant with their seventh child, Henry Lee, who was born in January in the springhouse.
They had purchased about 2,100 acres of farm and timberland and moved into an existing house. In that home, they reared their children in the Lutheran faith, holding church with itinerant pastors who rode through on horseback, forming a congregation in 1876 with the family of William and Ida Rexrode Palmer, a cousin of Sabrina. For several years, Rev. A.A. Hahn and Rev. William Sibert ministered to the White family, where services were held in homes, in school buildings, and other churches until construction began on their own church.
The church was built with the cornerstone laid on July 9, 1893, by Rev. J.F. A. Lautenschlager. The “Mission” was first part of the Crabbottom Charge, then of the South Branch Parish. Pastors who served there included Dr. Krause, Pastor Lautenschlager until 1938, and Pastor Kuhlman until 1946. It was in 1954 that the church was joined in the Franklin Parish, which included Franklin and Mt. Hope in Upper Tract under the pastorate of Orville Lueck.
Services were held every other Sunday until the 1990s when Pastor Neal Weltzin began weekly services. Membership increased and community activities were embraced by the parishioners.
Since 2001, the Franklin parish has been the Mountain Lutheran Parish and was extended to include St. John Lutheran Church in Moyers and Calvary Lutheran Church in Brandywine. Serving the five-point parish have been Jessica and Jason Felici, with the current pastors being Paul Schafer and Angela Lambert.
From 1876-2026 makes it 150 years to celebrate. Pastors serving this congregation were A.A. Hahn, William Sibert, F.F. A. Launtenschlager (1881-1887 and 1891-1895), E.A. Young (1888-1889), M.A. Ashby (1895-1897), P.L. Snapp, S. H. Puffenbarger (1901-1906), Paul Lautenschlager (1928-1938), Siegfried Kuhlman (1936-1946), Orville Lueck (1946-1954), F.C.H. Scholz, Robert Brown, Andrew Ballas, Cecil Bradfield (1964-1970), Joseph Bartczak (1971-1977), Charles Erzkus (1978-1990), Neal Weltzin (1991-1997), Mary Posten (1998-2004), Craig and Wendy Richter (2004-2012), Jessica and Jason Felici (2012-2023) and Paul Schafer and Angela Lambert (2024-present)
On Aug. 16, this milestone was celebrated with a worship service at New Hope with members from the five-point parish and persons from the surrounding community. Dinner on the grounds followed. This is quite a milestone to celebrate!
Life’s little instructions include the following:
1. Listen to the chattering of a brook.
2. Enjoy the smell of fresh-baked bread.
3. Hold a baby kitten.
4. Catch raindrops with one’s tongue.
5. Smell flowers in bloom.
Cows are spending a good bit of time under trees. Perhaps they are having a meeting to discuss the weather. Showers continue to come through, with every drop well received in this community.
Quotes for the week are as follows:
“Wunnerful, wunnerful!” — Lawrence Welk
“Crying is cleansing. There’s reason for tears, happiness or sadness.” — Dionne Warwick
“Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” — Dr. Seuss
“Unless you show off, you’re not going to get noticed.” — Elton John
“Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.” — John Wayne
The best place to hear the “Talk of the Grove” is on the patio.
Schools opened this week, with the beginning on Monday. Everyone is in the excitement mode. Students wore their new clothing, and wore their best smiles to greet the principals, teachers, bus drivers, and school personnel. May each student endeavor to make it their best year of learning.
This week’s visitors of Evelyn Varner were Janet Judy, Terry Harper and Roger and Reda Shrewsberry.
Geneva Varner spent Monday night with Joyce and Robin Marshall at McGaheysville, Virginia.
Recent visitors of Tom and Paula Mitchell were Roy and Gloria Wilfong, John Hughes of Mineral, Virginia, Cynthia Hughes and Tim and Jennifer Hoover, all of Harrisonburg, Virginia, Morgan Hoover of Boston, Massachusetts, Allison and Damian Morris of Mt. Crawford, Virginia, Roger and Donna Hoover, Cary and George Hevener, Norm Wilfong, and Dan Wheeler.
The annual Sugar Grove Lions Club family night was held Thursday at the VFW pavilion. Grey Jones, district governor, was the special speaker at the bountiful dinner meeting. A nice turnout was had with members, their families, and volunteers attending the function.
On Saturday, Tom Mitchell attended his 69th high school class reunion. Many classmates gathered at the Walnut Street United Methodist Church in Franklin where the ladies catered a very delicious array of food. Plans were made to meet again in a year.
Clickety-clacks for the chin waggers are as follows:
•Candy corn was originally known as “chicken feed.”
•Ketchup was once sold as a medicinal cure for diarrhea.
•China uses approximately 4 billion miles of toilet paper a year.
•In 1995, eBay was founded.
•A single strand of spaghetti is called Spaghetto.
Concerns are for Roger and Joan Ashley, Mercedes Aumann, Dave Basagic, “Bo Boggs,” family and friends of Jimmy Bowers, Jeff Craig, Stanley Dahmer, Isaac Eye, Carl Gant, Sue Hall, Clyde Hamilton, Chip Harper, Armanda Heavner, Starr Hedrick, Keith Hoover, Mickey Huffman, Cynthia Hurry, Gary Jamison, Mike and Lisa Jamison, Tara Kelley, Stanley Kile, Keith Kimble, Lori Ann Lambert, Melissa Lambert, the family and friends of Nettie Losh, Skip and Roger Mallow, Yvonne Marsh, Dottie Mitchell, Helen Nash, Willa Nelson, Ronald Pitsenbarger, Alda Propst, Sheldon Propst, Willard Rader, Jimmy Rexrode, Robbie Sites, Kitty and Curtis Waggy Jr. and Edwin Wimer.
