Showing 108 results

Harold J. Leraas was born in Barrett, Minnesota on December 30, 1908. He attended Barrett High School in the mid-1920’s. In 1930 he graduated from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. He later attended the University of Michigan in 1932 and 1935, where he received his master’s degree and doctorate, respectively. The same year that he earned his doctorate, he married Helen Stein and joined the Pacific Lutheran University faculty as a biology professor. He is credited for establishing the strong reputation of the university’s pre-med and pre-dental programs. In the 1940’s he began practicing dentistry and maintained a practice in Parkland until 1960. He also served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. He worked at Pacific Lutheran University for 39 years, retiring in 1974. Before his retirement he was presented with an Outstanding Teacher Award by the campus chapter of Blue Key. He died on Tuesday May 7, 1985 at the age of 76. Many of his former students contributed funds to the establishment of the Leraas Lecture Hall in his honor.

Addresses: 1516 Pacific, 1535 Commerce, California Building, Washington Building

King of Kings in Seattle, Washington, held its first service on October 8, 1961. It had its last service on February 9. 1964. This was a mission congregation serving the Burien area.

Holger Jurgensen and Gunhild Felland Jurgensen's son Erling Jurgensen attended Pacific Lutheran College in the 1930s. Nicknamed "Snooky," Erling was the starting football fullback and team captain in 1938. He graduated from PLC in 1939. While attending PLC, he met fellow student Aagot Judy Gerde. The two were married and had two daughters, Nancy Carol Jurgensen and Janet Jurgensen. Both graduated from Pacific Lutheran University, Nancy in 1966 and Janet in 1969.

On February 24, 1890, a group of 33 Norwegian immigrants and pioneers organized Immanuel Lutheran. The first church, located at Minor and Olive, was dedicated November 20, 1892. When Dr. and Mrs. H.A. Stub came in August of 1903, they began one of the longest pastorates in the history of the Pacific Northwest- 54 years. During those years, Immanuel became one of the largest congregations in the west. Attendance increased, and in 1907 a new church was built on Pontius and Thomas. It was dedicated June 30, 1912 with Dr. H.G. Stub, father of the pastor and president of the NLCA, as the dictator. It was dedicated before the largest assembly of Lutherans ever gathered in Puget Sound up until that time.

A pipe organ was installed in 1915 to which Andrew Carnegie contributed $1000. A gymnasium was added later, as well as a parsonage and Sunday school facilities. The church was again remolded and expanded in 1932.

Membership decreased and changed at Immanuel. Under Nyer Urness and others the program has changed to aid inner-city people. The church has converted its facilities to include a shelter program which houses people and provides meals for up to 50 persons each day. A food bank has been established and a center set up for an emergency feeding program.

When the Northern Pacific Railway Company built their Northwest terminus repair shops in south Tacoma in 1892, there were a lot of Scandinavians among these who worked there. A group of families decided that a Norwegian church was needed, and established it in 1902 under the direction of pastors in the area. The church was organized with assistance from the Home Missions. Ground was purchased and a basement built where services were held for a number of years beginning in 1908. In 1917, the English language was introduced for services, supplanting Norwegian. The church debt was paid and the mortgage burned in May of 1927. Groundbreaking for the present church was held and the new sanctuary was dedicated on the 50th anniversary of the congregation, November 18, 1956.

October 4, 1971 there was a fire at Hope Lutheran Church caused by arson. A statue of Jesus brought over from the original building was destroyed along with many records, and other artifacts. The building was remodeled to repair the damage caused by the fire.

The congregation dissolved in 2014. Their last service was March 9, 2014.

This congregation was started by the Board of Hope Missions of the ELC, who called Milton W. Nesse as the organizing pastor. In 1940 Reverend Ofstedal of Phinney Ridge and Shirley Christiansen conducted a survey of the area and a Sunday School was organized in January of 1942. Known as Trinity Sunday School, it met in a store at NE 148th and 15th Avenue NE and later moved to a community clubhouse.

There were 55 charter members on hand when the congregation was organized on Pentecost Sunday, May 20, 1945, and a parsonage was purchased the following June. In 1948 a new site was purchased and construction began on the present church plant. The new church was dedicated on May 28, 1950, and an education unit was completed December 13, 1959. The congregation had their last service November 23, 2003.

Nils J. Hong was born 7 February 1866 in Westby, Wisconsin, and the family moved to Minnesota shortly thereafter. He attended the Willmar Seminary in Minnesota off and on from 1881 to 1892, and taught public school when he was not attending classes. Hong graduated from Luther College in 1895 and returned to Willmar Seminary as an instructor.

In 1897 Hong came to Pacific Lutheran Academy as a professor, where he taught at least a dozen subjects over his many years at the institution. He took over from Bjug Harstad as president in 1898, oversaw the official accreditation of the school, and helped to start Parkland Light and Water (now the oldest operating nonprofit public utility in the US), as well as many other advancements until PLA briefly closed in 1918. During the closure, Hong took a position as an English teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma.

After PLA merged with Columbia College and reopened as Pacific Lutheran College, Hong returned and taught languages and literature there until his retirement in 1938. He died the following year.

The Holy Sacrament Lutheran Church congregation of Portland, Oregon first organized in a home on September 1, 1952 under the name Green Gables Lutheran Church. The first service was held on October 5 of that year under the direction of the Home Mission program of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The congregation was formally organized on January 24, 1953 and took the name Holy Sacrament Lutheran Church. Property was obtained and church building erected. The congregation sold half of its acreage to Portland Unity Church, and the decision was made to pay off the Northwest District's Church extension loan. Holy Sacrament then entered into the American Evangelical Lutheran Church. Beginning in the 1960s, the congregation shared the sanctuary space with Hope Lutheran Church for the Deaf, the Seventh Day Baptist Church, and a non-denominational group called Calvary Chapel.

In 1896, James Henry Holden made his first claim on the area which would later become Holden Village. However, due to the expense and difficulty involved in transporting copper from the isolated mine, the operation did not begin its full productivity until 1937. By 1938 the mine had become successful and processed 2,000 pounds of copper ore daily.

The Howe Sound Company built a town site on the north side of Railroad Creek soon after the mine began to thrive. The town site consisted of a number of dormitories, a gymnasium, bowling alley, mess hall, school, and hospital, among other things. West of the town site was a patch of small houses intended for miners and their families. The Holden Mine and its town site flourished for many years despite the isolation. However, after World War II the price of metal fell and the resources of the mine began to diminish. The mine was closed in 1957.

With the closing of the mine in 1957, the Howe Sound Company sought a buyer for the Holden Mine and town site. With an asking price of $100,000, the remote piece of property did not sell. However, Wes Prieb, a man active in the Lutheran Bible Institute of Seattle, saw the potential for a spiritual retreat center at the old mine. Originally he asked the Howe Sound Company to give the land to the Lutheran Church as a gift. The Company refused, but eventually agreed to sell the mine, town site, and all the land for one dollar.

With the purchase of the land came a multitude of problems for the Lutheran Bible Institute. The structures were old and decrepit. Many were on the brink of collapse and those that still stood did not meet current building codes. With the help of large brigades of volunteers, the Lutheran Bible Institute successfully cleaned and refurbished many of the buildings. The Village began to function as a summer retreat center soon afterward. Originally, the Lutheran Bible Institute imagined a summer-only center, and kept limited staff on-hand for the first few winters. However, both the infrastructure needs of the community and the natural beauty of Holden Village in the winter led to the creation of a year-round retreat center.

Today, Holden Village operates as a year-round retreat center and is one of the most remote continuously inhabited places in the contiguous United States. Largely run by volunteers, the Village offers educational programming and outdoor recreation opportunities to visitors from all over the world.