This was a time of hardship for the settlers in the Helotes area as well. Most farm families could subsist on what they produced, but it was difficult to get cash to pay for goods which they could not produce. They often sold butter, eggs, and furs in San Antonio in order to acquire cash.
Rev. W. C. Lembke - It was during this time that the Texas District of the Joint Synod of Ohio began to establish mission fields in Texas. Beginning in 1903, Reverend William Christian Lembke was sent to develop a mission field in Bulverde and Helotes, Texas.
Reverend Lembke was born March 19, 1837 in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany and attended Capitol University in Hermannsburg Mission, Germany. He was ordained in Marysville, Ohio on May 26, 1870 and served churches in Marysville, Crestline and Luckey, Ohio, as well as in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Because of a chronic throat infection he was told by doctors to move to a warmer climate. He moved to Texas in 1901. He was married Augusta Mahnke in 1870 and had seven sons and two daughters.
Reverend Lembke served the missions of Bulverde and Helotes from 1902 until 1905 preaching and baptizing in the old rock school house near Helotes. The first baptized was Edda Emma Olga Braun on July 13, 1902. The first church council included Heinrich Steubing Sr., Phillip Ruempel and Charles Braun. The first confirmation class on May 30, 1903 included: Edwin Steubing, Alwin T. W. Steubing, Walter B. Galm, and Emma Carolina Galm. The first marriage was that of Fritz Borman and Lilly Braun on May 9, 1903. The first funeral was that of Karl Adolph Alfred Braun on August 20, 1902. On February 14, 1904 the congregation was officially organized and the charter was written. Reverend Lembke died August 19, 1922 and is buried in Detroit, Michigan.
Rev. Nicolas Frueh - In 1905 Reverend Nicolas Frueh came to Texas and accepted a call to the mission field of Bulverde, Salado and Helotes. Reverend Frueh was born on December 11, 1879 at Kalafat, Romania, near Bucharest. He served as an interpreter of Italian, English, Rumanian, and French in the Infantry Division of the Austrian Army
in Tyrol. In 1900 he entered the theological seminary at Breklum, Germany and was graduated in 1905. He then came to Texas and was ordained in Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Seguin, Texas on September 3, 1905.
He served the missions of Bulverde, Beitel and Helotes from September 1905 until August 1911. In 1908 Pastor Frueh was married to Elsie Beck at Grace Lutheran Church, San Antonio. Pastor Frueh was president of the Texas District of the former Joint Synod of Ohio for ten years. He also served on the board of regents of Texas Lutheran College and gave impetus to the starting of Mexican mission work in the Rio Grande area. He served the La Vernia-Elm Creek parish from 1911 until 1940. He died on April 13, 1953 at Memorial Hospital in San Marcos, Texas. The funeral services took place in Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Seguin, Texas on April 15, 1953.
When Reverend Frueh came to Helotes in 1905 there were about 48 communicant Lutherans in the Helotes mission. During his first year of service there were eight adults and eighteen children baptized, and one funeral was held. During Reverend Frueh's tenure the congregation began to organize and develop. Each member was asked to pay twenty-five cents each month for expenses. A committee was selected to solicit donations in order that a church might be built. The members of this committee were Reverend Frueh, J. E. Balscheidt, Charles Braun, Charles Steubing, and Henry T. Brauchle. Due to the diplomacy of J. E. Balscheidt, Mrs. Anton Gugger donated the tract of land for the church. Mr. Phillip Ruempel donated fence posts and Henry T. Brauchle purchased wire for the fence from the West End Lumber Company in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Balscheidt obtained monetary donations from prominent San Antonians, including George Brackenridge. (There is no documentation of who gave or what amounts were given.)
The church was designed and built by the members of the congregation. It is believed that Samuel H. Galm and Henry Steubing Jr., as well as other unidentified church members, helped to build the church. The men of the congregation were experienced in building barns and houses, and applied the same techniques for building the church. It is probable that they patterned the building after country churches in Germany, although the style was typical of the materials available in Texas in 1906. At that time the building included a very small sacristy (at the back), there was no narthex (at the front), and the front door opened directly into the church. The walls and ceiling were made of beaded wood, a small table served as an altar, and the people sat on benches.
Walter B. Galm drove a wagon drawn by a team of mules to San Antonio to pick up the church bell. It was purchased either from Alamo Iron Works or the Steves Lumber Company. This same bell has been used in all three of the churches at Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes and is still in use today in the current sanctuary (Church #3). It is believed that the lumber was purchased at the Steves Lumber Company. As "Zion" is a famous hill in Jerusalem often mentioned in the Bible, the church was appropriately named since it also is situated on a hill. The church was purposely oriented, and equipped with many windows to catch the prevailing breeze. The church services and catechetical instructions were conducted in German, and women and men had segregated seating. The custom of segregation by gender would continue until the 1940's.
By 1900 49% of all farm families in the Southern United States were sharecroppers. In the Helotes area, however, most people owned their own farms. 1911 was a bad year for prices and it was followed by a national depression in 1913 and 1914. Drought returned and cattle and cotton prices went down when foreign markets were cut off by the European war. At this time hundreds of cattlemen and thousands of farmers went bankrupt. The people of Zion Lutheran Church, for the most part, had little cash, but were able to subsist from their own farming and ranching resources.
In 1911 Reverend Nic Frueh accepted a call to the Elm Creek-La Vernia Parish. The congregation was then served by a series of supply pastors from neighboring communities including Pastors E. G. Knaak 1912-1913, H. M. Sauer 1913-1914, and G. E. Grueber 1915-1916. Reverend Simon C. Zettner lived in the Helotes area and taught school there. He also conducted services at Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes.
Rev. W. W. Laubach - Reverend W. W. Laubach accepted the call to Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes in 1917 and remained there until 1936. There is no information available on his early life. A notice of service at Beitel Memorial Lutheran Church on August 12, 1916 in the "San Antonio Light" newspaper states that "student W. Laubach of St. Paul, Minnesota will preach". In 1917 most Texans joined the fight against Germany.
The legislature recommended that all books favorable to Germany or written in German be destroyed; and study of the German language was dropped from schools. There was a brief persecution of German families, some of whom were fifth-generation Americans. The election codes were amended to stop voting by the foreign-born. These events had an effect on the people of Helotes. Tradition says that the pastor was told by the sheriff that he could no longer preach in the German language and that confirmation could not be taught in the German language. (The Supreme Court eventually reversed the ruling.) Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes still has the old German Bible, used in the early part of the century, which is displayed in Church #1. Zion Lutheran Church congregational meeting minutes indicate that by 1928 a German service was held on the second Sunday, and an English service was held on the fourth Sunday at 10:45 a.m. during the months of June, July and August. One of the most significant happenings during 1918 was a serious influenza epidemic in the Helotes area which left many people ill, some with pneumonia, and some died.
Reverend Laubach was a great leader. By 1920 the congregation paid the pastor $500 in yearly salary, and the Mission Board paid another $500 in yearly salary. In 1923 a wood stove and pipe was installed for $18.00, and cemetery lots were $10 each. In 1926 the sacristy was built, and in 1929 a high altar was built with $20.00 pledged by the congregation and $20.00 pledged by Mrs. Boegel. It is believed that the $20.00 from Mrs. Boegel was used for the painting of Christ which was on the altar. The Depression had a definite effect on the local farmers and ranchers. There was an excellent crop of oats and corn in 1929. Before the Depression hit, in December 1929, oats was selling at 65 cents per bushel, and corn was selling for $1.00 per bushel. After the Stock Market crash, oats went to 10 cents per bushel and corn to 18 cents per bushel. Cattle sold for 1 cent per pound, hogs for 2 cents per pound, and eggs were $1.35 for a 30 dozen case. These prices made it difficult for the farmers and ranchers to barter and trade for items which they could not produce, such as flour, sugar, coffee, and shoes.
In 1935 the congregation decided to remodel the church. The remodeling was done by Henry Steubing Jr. and Richard Brandt with additional help from Emanuel Steubing (a son of Henry Steubing). They were paid $2.75 per day with additional labor donated by other church members. The labor paid to Henry Steubing was $108.50, and the labor paid to Richard Brandt was $104.50, of which they each donated $9.50 back to the church. The labor paid to Emanuel Steubing was $79.00 for a grand total of $292.00 for labor. The 24 church pews were designed by Reverend Laubach at a cost of $75.00, and lights and wall holders (still in use today in Church #1) were purchased for $12.50. These lights were operated by a battery electric plant which was commonly in use before electricity was available. At this time the narthex was added, the sacristy was enlarged, and the bell tower was moved over the new narthex. Dark vertical wood paneling was placed on the interior walls, and the ceiling was covered with acoustical tile panels.(57)
Rev. A. B. Weiss - After Pastor Laubach accepted a call in Georgetown, Pastor G. A. Poehlmann served from 1936 until 1937. In 1937 Reverend A.B. Weiss became pastor and remained until 1948. Reverend Arthur B. Weiss was born in 1895 in Brenham, Texas. He was a graduate of Texas Lutheran College and Wartburg Seminary. He was ordained on
July 23, 1918 and became an active Lutheran missionary in West Texas serving Lockney, Wilson, Post, Slaton and Southland. Before this time missionaries traveled by horseback, buggy or stagecoach. William Flachmeier wrote in his book, Lutherans of Texas in Confluence that "Pastor Weiss was the first motorized missionary on the Texas Panhandle". He was responsible for beautification of the church grounds at Zion, and there was a notable increase in membership. In 1937 services were held in English on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. On the third Sunday of the month there was a German service held at 10:30 a.m. and an English service held at 8:00 p.m. In July 1937 the congregation voted to purchase insurance on the church property which was valued at $4,000. In February 1938 electricity was installed in the church, and the old electric plant was sold to Walter Galm for $50.00, including the batteries. In April 1938 a water well was drilled and cemetery lot owners were asked to pay 50 cents each to run a water line to the cemetery. In June 1938 the Luther League (a youth group) was organized. Pastor Weiss built a Baptismal Font in 1940 (still used in church #1), with materials donated by the confirmation class.
By 1939 the congregation had grown to 225 baptized members, and 22 hymn books were purchased. The church constitution was translated into English and the new version was signed by each member of the congregation. German services continued to be held on Sunday afternoon.
In 1942 a parsonage was built on the church property at a cost of $2,300.00. The money was borrowed from the Mission Committee of the Lutheran Church. In January 1943 Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes became an independent self-supporting congregation and was no longer considered a mission church.
During World War II the community made many sacrifices for the war effort. A number of the young men, and two women, of the congregation went to war; a burden for those at home who needed their help in running the farms. A number of residents in the community took defense jobs in San Antonio. It was common for several people to pool their rationing coupons for tires and gasoline, and carpool to work in order to save rationing coupons. As in previous times of hardship, the people of the area were able to benefit from their ability to subsist from the food grown on their own farms. The Ladies Aid of Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes regularly made cookies for the soldiers visiting the Lutheran Service Center in downtown San Antonio. Meeting minutes report that over 1300 soldiers visited the center on one weekend.
Several members of Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes fought in World War II, or were involved in the occupation forces after the war. In the church was a banner which included a blue star for each soldier who serverd during World War II. There was one gold star indicating that one person from the congregation was killed. This was Richard McCulloch, great grandson of Heinrich Steubing Sr., who was an airplane gunner in the Navy and was stationed in Florida. On July 17, 1943 his family was informed that his plane disappeared on a routine flight over the Gulf of Mexico. After a thorough search, with no sign of the plane or an oil slick, the men were declared as missing, and were later declared dead.
Other members of Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes who served in the military forces during World War II were Ralph Benke, Augusta Bippert, Robert Brauchle, Arthur Braun, Burton Braun, Carl Ebert, Hilmar Ebert, Ino Gass, Karl Gass, Roland Jonas, Sr., Fern McCulloch, Edwin Menn, Jr., Melvin Michalizak, Vernon Schuchart, Clarence Steubing, Elton Steubing, Erwin J. Steubing, Jr., Muriel Steubing, Roland Weidner and Victor Weiss. Members who served in the occupation forces or Korea were Lloyd Benke, James Gass, Raymond Benke, Samuel Galm, David Gass, Oscar Gass, Richard Gass, Lester Krueger, Charles Lehne, Gerald Nickel, Glen Nickel, Millard Schuchart, Edgar Skolaut, Virgil Steubing, Bobby Tezel and William Tietze.
After the war, Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes participated in sending clothing and food to Europe during the relief efforts. The congregational meeting minutes indicate that the old German language hymn books were sent to Germany. The women of Zion were asked to bring pieces of fabric or wool thread which were sent to Germany for aprons, shirts, socks and gloves to be made.
Many of the people in the area retained their jobs in San Antonio after the war. As the original settlers died, their land was often divided among their heirs, and the farms became smaller.
Rev. Matin J. Schwarz - The Reverend Martin J. Schwarz accepted the call to Zion Lutheran of Helotes and was installed on October 10, 1948. The Reverend Martin J. P. Schwarz was born in 1886 in Breslau, Silesia although nothing is known of his early life and education. He both immigrated to the United States and was ordained in 1909. Reverend Schwarz
was a member of the organizing committee which met to establish Texas Lutheran College, now Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. A telephone was installed at the church, the old wood stove was sold, and a butane gas heater was installed. Preparations were made for a new church, the contract was let, and a loan signed. Marvin Eickenroht was the architect and Alvin Lehne was the contractor. The church was built at a cost of $20,000 and proudly included electric lights, fans and propane heat. There was seating for 250 people on pews brought from the old church and folding chairs. When the new church was dedicated on November 26, 1950 the congregation began the service in the old church, filed out and into the new church to complete the service. The Luther League helped furnish the church by donating the oak clergy seat and lectern. The Ladies Aid provided the oak pulpit. The altar from the old church was moved to the new church.
In 1950 Reverend Schwarz resigned to serve the Cave Creek-Crabapple parish near Fredericksburg, Texas..
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