Norwalk German Lutheran Church
Clearly not *just* a church, and a routine Google search has more blindsides than a Survivor Tribal Council. Here’s a condensed excerpt from the Waymarking website: “This church is identified on searches as St Jacob. The signs say St John. When WWI came to America, the government expected full cooperation for the war effort and all things non German. This caused a serious problem the Wisconsin Synod Lutheran church as they were of German background. The church itself refused to preach with support for the war effort … This caught the ire of both patriotic Americans and the government. One such target was Rev Otto Engel, who was the pastor at St Jacob. Rev Engel formed the American Liberty League (and) ultimately (he) was targeted by the Justice Department. He soon became the most detailed and intrusive target of the entire Wisconsin Synod. The Department of Justice went after Rev Engel so fiercely that they interrogated children, raided his house three times after he left Norwalk, and tried many times to trap (him) into being guilty of the Espionage Act. In the end Rev Engel was not indicted and ended up going to Poland to start a new church for war torn Germans there. The building itself is still in amazing condition. It has the year AD 1900 embossed at its base and is very well maintained.” We tell you all this because, first, it’s interesting; second, the card has Rev. Engel’s name; and third, the card almost steers you to La Crosse as the location, which it’s not — not to mention the different name of the church itself. Martha could not have known all this when she mailed the card to Emma in 1910, with stamp and postmark. Grade: 1