| Summary: | S.Helgeland, Thomas Helgeland, Nels C. Rukke. A Ladies Aid Society also was organized, and in 1883, the Sunday school was organized with Anfin Helgland and L. Helgeland as the first Sunday school teachers. Anfin Helgeland served many years as “Klokker” and choir director. T.S. Quanbeck served many years as a Sunday school teacher also. Rev. I. Lundeby was called to serve the congregation in 1883 at a salary of $150 per year. Often adverse crop conditions caused him to cancel any part of his salary they had difficulty in raising. Eivand Vettleson donated land in 1884, about three quarters of a mile southwest from where the cemetery is now located, and a log church was to be built by Thor and Halvor Quanbeck who were hired to erect it for the sum of $30. The log walls were almost completed the same fall, but before the structure was completed, the site was abandoned because the flood waters of the Sheyenne River would have made it an impractical spot for a cemetery. Land was then donated by Halvor Knutson on the hilltop where the cemetery is still located, and in 1885 Ole Erickson and Charles Colson were to be paid $45 to build a frame church. This new building was damaged by a windstorm shortly after completion, but repairs were made immediately. More members had joined by now including Hans Berwick, Lars Njos, Ole Thorsland, Eivand Vettleson, William Domier, Andrew Settevig, and Aasmund Waa and their families. Some years later a church barn was built which was destroyed by a tornado in 1916, but was rebuilt the same year. New Luther Valley Church. In 1896 Rev. Lundeby resigned; he was replaced by Rev. Halvor S. Quanbeck who served until 1904. He made his home in Aneta, the end of the Great Northern Railroad at that time, and as the winter of 1896-97 was the winter of the largest snowfall ever experienced, Rev. Quanbeck made several trips to the New Luther Valley Church for Sunday services on skiis, the distance one way being about 12 miles. An organ was added and Miss Lorenze Freegard (Mrs. JobMoen) was the first organist. Elma Helgeland (Mrs. John Fretheim) succeeded her, followed by Miss Esther Helgeland. Rev. B.I. Land succeeded Rev. Quanbeck and served until 1911, and during his term as pastor an addition was made to the church on the west side. Rev. C.J. Nestvold accepted the call in 1912, and during his term as pastor an addition was made to the church on the west side. Rev. C.J. Nestvold accepted the call in 1912, and during his service, the Luther League was organized with Henry Quanbeck as its first president. In 1917, following the resignation of Nestvold, Rev. Knut Gjestfjeld accepted the call and served until 1919, followed by Rev. O.P. Grambo from 1922 to 1924. If these names have a familiar ring to the readers, it is because these same pastors also served Zion Church congregation which was the subject of a previous "Nostalgia" article. Rev. 0. Swenson arrived in 1925 to continue the work. During this time another addition to the church was built which included a belfry. A church bell donated by Halvor Waa, was also added. In October 1925 the New Luther Valley congregation had a surprise party for Mr. and Mrs. Halvor Knutson. A dinner was served at the church and an enjoyable social time followed. Mrs. Knutson was presented with a silver dinner set in honor of her 60th birthday, and Mr. Knutson, for 20 years the janitor of the church received a leather vest. Mr. and Mrs. Knutson were the voluntary and unpaid custodians of the church property for many years. In 1932 the 50th anniversary of the church was observed with Rev. T.O. Burntvedt, President of the Lutheran Free Church, present to give a commemoration sermon. Rev. Swenson resigned in 1933, and some time elapsed before Rev. D.W. Lyndal, the youngest pastor to serve the congregation, came. He arrived in the summer of 1934, immediately upon his graduation from Seminary. It should be noted that upon the arrical of Lyndal, services were conducted in the English language in contrast to the Norse language used during all the previous years. Rev. Trygve Dahle succeeded Lyndal in the previous years. Rev. Trygve Dahle succeeded Lyndal in 1937, and it was at this time that the George Bakke residence in McVille was purchased for use as a parsonage. It was in 1936 that a new altar made by Mike Orskog and an altar painting done by George Quanbeck were dedicated. In 1943 a windstorm reduced the New Luther Valley Church to a state of rubble, and the congregation negotiated the use of the then unused Presbyterian Church located in McVille. After enjoying its use for some time, this church property was purchased for the sum of $1,000 in 1944. Rev. Edwin C. Peterson entered upon his duties as pastor in December 1944 and continued until 1950. Two noteworthy achievements during this period were the revision of the church constitution and the remodeling of the church building. This project consisted of building an addition to provide a modern kitchen and Sunday school room with a full basement and a modern heating plant. All this was accomplished at a cost of $15,000 made possible by the generous amounts of volunteer labor by the members. This was dedicated in October 1949. Rev. O.K. Olson spent only a short time as a pastor with New Luther Valley as he passed away while in active service in this congregation. He was succeeded in 1952 by Rev. Paul Ronning who was instrumental in getting the Baldwin electric organ installed in 1955, a notable feature being that the sum required to purchase it, $2,050, was raised by direct contributions from members and friends during the short period of one week. The Zion Lutheran congregation joined with New Luther Valley in 1958. Rev. Ronning resigned in 1960, and was succeeded in 1962 by Rev. Hamar Benson who remained but one year. During this time a new church building was contemplated ana lots procured which were formerly occupied by the McVille school grounds. Plans were drawn up and building commenced, the building reaching completion and was used for the first time for the Christmas program, December 1967. On the building committee were Robert Knutson, Arnold Haugen, Kent Quanbeck, Mrs. Anton Rorvig and Dale Quanbeck. On the finance committee were Vardon Quanbeck, Alfred Haugen, Lee Quanbeck, Dennis Rorvig and Robert Lofthus. Dedication of the new facility was April 28, 1968, with Pastor Tollefson, District President, present for the occasion. A note of pathos is injected into the history of the original church upon noting that the first wedding performed was that of Hans Erickson and Elizabeth Johnson, and the first funeral conducted was for this first bride and her infant daughter. 1251 Scanned with a Czur book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited in Adobe Acrobat Pro
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