What Kind of a Lutheran Am I?

Whether I’m on social media, discussing genealogy, comparing spiritual journeys with a friend, or having a theological discussion, there is one place that is going to come up eventually - Bad Axe Lutheran Church.

And when it comes up, there’s a good chance I’ll get a funny look.  In recent years I’ve come to answer that look with a proud, “That’s right. I’m not just a Lutheran. I’m a BAD AXE Lutheran.”

Bad Axe Lutheran Church and Cemetery, Vernon County, Wisconsin

The Meaning of the Name

The first question is usually, “Where did that name come from?” My favorite version of the story behind the name is one my grandfather, Ellef Everson, used to tell.  He said there was a battle between warring Native American factions on that spot. At the end, the chief who lost the war, angrily threw his battle axe into the air and yelled “Bad axe!” It fell into the nearby crick and is probably still there to this day.

I don’t know if it’s true. Grandpa could be very convincing. What is true is that the church is situated in Purdy Valley, near the town of Viroqua, Wisconsin, on one of the banks of a fork of the Bad Axe River.  (“River” may be a bit of a misnomer because it’s really more of a “crick.”)

Christofer Ivarson's grave at Bad Axe.
Descendants of immigrants have to
learn to get used to spelling variations.

Early History of Bad Axe and My Ancestors

Bad Axe was founded in 1869, but their building (which my ancestors helped to build) wasn’t ready for use until 1874.  Since the church was founded by immigrants from Norway, the early services were held in Norwegian.

I was told that my Everson ancestors helped to build the church, but a history book prepared for the centennial anniversary in 1969 does not list any Everson (or Ivarson in its older spelling) ancestors in the charter members; yet, my third great grandfather, Kristoffer Ivarson Teigolo, is buried in the cemetery next to the church.

Another third great grandfather, Hans Jakobsen, IS listed as a charter member. Hans was married to Marie and they had a daughter named Anna.  Anna was married to Jens Ivarson (James Everson, 1840-1928), son of Kristoffer and Gertrude.  I have deep roots in this place.

These are my Everson ancestors who are buried at Bad Axe:
Third great grandfather Kristoffer Ivarson (often anglicized to Christopher Everson) 1813-1883 

Second great grandfather Jens Ivarson (angl. James Everson) 1840-1928

Great grandfather John Everson 1878-1933

Grandfather Ellef Everson 1910-1980

These are my Jacobson ancestors:

Grave of Hans Jacobson

Third great grandparents Hans (1814-1889) and Marie (1830-1905) Jakobsen

Second great grandparents Anna Mathilda Jacobson (1846-1928) who married James Everson

John Everson, my great grandfather, was married to Gertrude Tonette Ellefson. Their son, Ellef Johannes Everson, is my grandfather.

Ellef was baptized at Bad Axe and confirmed there in 1925.  I am fortunate to be his only grandchild who was both baptized (11/24/1963) and confirmed at Bad Axe - more about that later.

Ellef Everson's
Confirmation photo

My Mom, Ellef’s daughter, married my Dad at Bad Axe.

I was baptized there on November 11, 1963 by Pastor Julius F. Masted.

Okay, so there is the family history that ties me to Bad Axe.

The Bad Axe Quartet

It would be a sad thing to write a post about Bad Axe and not include information about the famous (at least locally) Bad Axe Quartet. My grandfather, Ellef Everson, was a part of the group along with Rudolph Skrede, LeRoy Tryggestad, and Lester Fauske.

The Bad Axe Centennial book describes how the quartet was formed:

At an outdoor Luther League meeting at the home of Lewis Hotlen in 1931, these four men sang together for the very first time. They sang “Life’s Railway to Heaven.” They had no practice and sang the song in unison, substituting for other singers who did not come. Pastor Nesheim heard them and said, “Come over and I think I can make a quartet out of you.”

One month later they made their first appearance, as the Bad Axe Quartet, at another outdoor League at the home of Ray Tryggestads. They sang, “Wayside Cross.”

In 1969 they had been singing together for 38 years. My grandfather also told me they placed first in Barbershop Quartet singing at the World’s Fair in Chicago, something I haven’t been able to verify.

Whenever people from the “olden days” have talked about my grandfather, they’ve always had to mention the Bad Axe Quartet.

 

The Bad Axe Quartet
From left: Rudolph Skrede, LeRoy Tryggestad, Lester Fauske, Ellef Everson

There was also a female version of the Bad Axe Quartet that my Mom sang in. It seems that singing music that bears witness to the gospel is in my blood.

My Early Relationship with the Church

My Dad was in the Navy so Mom spent a lot of time in Wisconsin while he was away. My earliest Sunday School years, which I have no memory of, were in Bad Axe.

Navy life called us away from Wisconsin. We lived in Maryland, and then Hawaii. I have memories of going to church during these years: Sunday School at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, a Church of Christ in Maryland, and even a Lutheran church in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

But I can’t claim that any of these places had much to do with my formation as a Christian. (They probably did, but I don’t remember.)

Return to Bad Axe

In 1974 I had started the sixth grade and we moved back to Wisconsin where my Dad was the local Navy recruiter.

Within weeks I could recite the Apostles Creed and a sung version of the Kyrie I’ve never heard anywhere else.

O God, the Father in Heaven, have mercy upon us.

O God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us.

O God, the Holy Ghost, true comforter, have mercy upon us.

Confirmation photo with Pastor H. Alfred Weltzin
The boy on the right and two girls on the lower right are my cousins.

I knew when to sit and when to stand, and every Sunday morning I was literally surrounded by relatives – both living and dead. So, it came to be that I started confirmation classes and was confirmed (along with three cousins) by Pastor H. Alfred Weltzin in 1978.

Pastor Weltzin was not the most exciting teacher, but he was thorough and made sure we understood the content of Martin Luther’s small catechism. He was also one of those people who used hymnody as a connection to theology and Christian living.  I remember several times his bursting into song. “Dare to Be a Daniel,” “Jesus, Priceless Treasure,” and “A Mighty Fortress” were never far from his lips.

Leaving Bad Axe

In 1980, at the beginning of my senior year of high school, my family moved from Wisconsin to Jacksonville, FL. By the summer of 1981, I was working in churches and then became a music major at Jacksonville University.

While I was a student at JU, I attended a choral evensong service at St. John’s Cathedral (Episcopal) in downtown Jacksonville. The occasion was the first Sunday of Lent and from the prelude to the retiring procession I was blown away.

St. John’s Cathedral is a grand structure in the Gothic Revival style built of Indiana limestone. The nave is ringed with immense stained-glass windows and home to an impressive organ and choir. (At the time, John Barry was in charge of the music program.) The liturgy and music moved me deeply and I began to hope that some day I might work in an Episcopal church.

I worked for several denominations over the years including the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian, and United Methodist Churches. (Lutherans are scarce in Jacksonville and the opportunity to work for a Lutheran church never came up.) Finally, in 2000, I began to serve as the organist-choirmaster of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Even St. Luke’s was more liturgy than I was really used to, but I immersed myself in it and learned quickly. (Bad Axe was liturgical, but there wasn’t a lot of attention to detail or creative liturgical art. There are not many churches that sing as well as Bad Axe, but we didn’t have a choir.)

Just Like Home

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Easter 2019

Finally, in 2006, the position at St. Mark’s was announced.  (I had visited for a couple of Christmas Eve services in the 1990s and vividly remember thinking, “This is one of three jobs in town that I would really like to have one day.”) Being the cantor at St. Mark’s is literally a dream come true. Not only have I returned to the church of my youth, but to the church of my foremothers and forefathers. I truly feel at home at St Mark’s and in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

My first Christmas at St. Mark's in 2006
Of course a red scapular with poinsettias only exists in the world of photo-ops.
Christmas scapulars are actually white for the liturgical season.

The Place Where My Thoughts Return

My thoughts often return to Bad Axe. I remember Sunday School with our teacher, Richard Parker. I remember saying the creed, catechism examinations, Sunday School assemblies, Christmas services, and lots of other things. The thing I remember most is Pastor Weltzin reminding us every Sunday, “God our heavenly Father hath had mercy on you, and hath given his only Son to die for you, and for his sake hath forgiven you all your sins.”

Pastor Daniel uses different words, but they always remind me how long God has been with me, and loved me, and forgiven.  I got that from Bad Axe.

That’s why I’m not just a Lutheran. I’m a Bad Axe Lutheran.

Bad Axe Lutheran viewed across Purdy Valley in the winter