At the 150th Anniversary Community Reunion on June 1 at 1 p.m., we will gather for a photo much like the group above did on August 1931, when the first community reunion was held some years after the church had closed for Sunday services and fell into disrepair. The West St. Paul Booster/Dakota County Globe ran an article promoting the event stating, “It is expected that all former members residing within riding distance will participate at this memorial service.”
We hope even those beyond riding distance will join us June 1! Following the 1931 event, the papers reported:
REUNION AT SALEM CHURCH HELD SUNDAY
Memorial Services Conducted in Abandoned Church for Charter Members.
Former Residents of District Come from Many Parts for Gathering.
The old congregation of Salem Evangelical Church, situated on the Salem Road between South Robert Street and the German Road and adjacent to Schmidt’s Lake and long since abandoned, held a memorial and reunion service in honor of Frederick Jacob Zehnder and Mrs. Carolina Fredericka and Mrs. Maria Barbara Zehnder, deceased, and other charter church members.
After twenty [eighteen] years since services were held in this quaint old church, its doors were re-opened last Sunday afternoon. Services were conducted by Charles Kachel, who was raised in the Salem district and a former member of this congregation; Rev. G. Spaeth of St. Paul, a former pastor of this church; and Rev. R. M. Mueller, also a former pastor. The three pastors recalled the hardships endured by the early pioneers in this district many years ago.