The Old Little Cedar Lutheran Church in Adams - Written by Allen Huseby, August 18, 2015
This church was built in 1908. Long, wide steps led from the street to the church entrance. A side entrance and rear door were less intimidating, but still not handicap accessible as modern times require. The church itself was brick with a tall steeple crowned with a cross that reached toward the Heavens. The focal point inside was an ornate wood alter with a life size figure of Jesus. The legend was that the sculptor designed it with arms reaching toward Heaven. He would leave the clay model at night and return in the morning to find the arms had sagged. He decided the lowered arms were more welcoming and decided to leave it that way. Maybe not true, but a charming story. A large half-round wooden kneeling communion ring fronted the alter. The pipe organ and raised pulpit were to the left and the choir box was on the right. This was all about four or five steps above the sanctuary. My great aunt, Ida Anderson, was the organist for many years.
My Dad, Aaron Huseby, loved to sing and was a regular in the choir box which faced toward the organ. There were many good singers, but they were on full view to the congregation, so if someone fell asleep, everybody knew. When Miss Holte’s children’s and junior choirs performed, they lined up on the steps.
The pipe organ must have been replaced in 1960 or so. I recall pipes stacked behind the church. My parents had bought a 1960 Impala, so the old 1950 Chevy became mine. It needed a muffler and tail pipe and Dad found an organ pipe the right size and wired it up. That worked for awhile and I must have had the sweetest, most sacred exhaust system in town.
Rows of wooden pews stretched down either side of the main aisle to the back. The church was ”L” shaped and the pews to right side ran perpendicular to the main sanctuary. An “L” shaped balcony covered this area and the back of the church. Many families sat in the same place every Sunday. My grandparents, Bennie and Amanda Huseby, sat on the left outside aisle about six rows from the front. They were regular church-goers, but sermon time was often nap time for Grandpa. There were beautiful stained glass windows on the north wall. The window sills were heavy limestone slabs and I have a bench in my flower garden made from these sills. A door in the balcony led to the bell tower where I would play recordings of hymns through loudspeakers prior to Sunday service.
The basement included a kitchen so it was used for all sorts of meetings, lutefisk dinners, banquets, funeral lunches, and so forth. Our Norwegian ancestors would scoff at the idea of a basement in a church, as well as using it for a place to dine. However, as immigrants came to the Midwest, they settled close to those from the old country. Churches were the focal point of a community and were used for all kinds of gatherings. This continues today, and it would be a rare church that didn’t have a dining hall, even if it was no longer in a basement.
Unfortunately the brick walls began to bow out, and reinforcement rods stretched across the sanctuary at balcony level. I suppose this was a reason the new church was built as the damage could not be repaired.
My Dad, Aaron Huseby, loved to sing and was a regular in the choir box which faced toward the organ. There were many good singers, but they were on full view to the congregation, so if someone fell asleep, everybody knew. When Miss Holte’s children’s and junior choirs performed, they lined up on the steps.
The pipe organ must have been replaced in 1960 or so. I recall pipes stacked behind the church. My parents had bought a 1960 Impala, so the old 1950 Chevy became mine. It needed a muffler and tail pipe and Dad found an organ pipe the right size and wired it up. That worked for awhile and I must have had the sweetest, most sacred exhaust system in town.
Rows of wooden pews stretched down either side of the main aisle to the back. The church was ”L” shaped and the pews to right side ran perpendicular to the main sanctuary. An “L” shaped balcony covered this area and the back of the church. Many families sat in the same place every Sunday. My grandparents, Bennie and Amanda Huseby, sat on the left outside aisle about six rows from the front. They were regular church-goers, but sermon time was often nap time for Grandpa. There were beautiful stained glass windows on the north wall. The window sills were heavy limestone slabs and I have a bench in my flower garden made from these sills. A door in the balcony led to the bell tower where I would play recordings of hymns through loudspeakers prior to Sunday service.
The basement included a kitchen so it was used for all sorts of meetings, lutefisk dinners, banquets, funeral lunches, and so forth. Our Norwegian ancestors would scoff at the idea of a basement in a church, as well as using it for a place to dine. However, as immigrants came to the Midwest, they settled close to those from the old country. Churches were the focal point of a community and were used for all kinds of gatherings. This continues today, and it would be a rare church that didn’t have a dining hall, even if it was no longer in a basement.
Unfortunately the brick walls began to bow out, and reinforcement rods stretched across the sanctuary at balcony level. I suppose this was a reason the new church was built as the damage could not be repaired.