Annie Antje Henrichs, 2nd great grandmother in RootsMagic tree

Annie Henrichs is mentioned in the Greene Recorder February 5, 2003 in an article on
Mission in a Mile, Church Stories from Butler Center, Iowa by Herbert Freese published in 2002. (I read this book through an inter-library loan, contacted who I thought was the author, turned out to be the author’s daughter, who sent back a very nice note and a copy of the Mission in a Mile book which has added so much to my Family Tree).

Pastor Siegfried Siefkes came from Germany to Butler Center, Iowa a historical town no longer around. He worked to organize a new congregation, The Kirchenbuch der Evangelisch Lutherisch Eben-Ezer Gemeinde or Ebenezer Church. The pastor wrote a letter to the actual German Kaiser asking for help, that wasn’t successful so he started asking the local German community to contribute and successfully all but $100 which was borrowed from the bank. The pastor and congregation understood they had a year to pay back this loan but within a month the bank and contractor came for payment. The pastor begged for a week to raise the $100 and it was granted. At the Sunday service the pastor and congregation met and talked about ways to raise $100 in a week. A farmer offered to sell seed oats, but that wasn’t enough.

A young lady, daughter of one of the members, spoke up. She was 22, working as a hired girl and had saved most of her pay, $80 she kept with her, in her bag. She offered to loan this to congregation, the additional $20 was then easily raised. On Monday morning the church Deacons went into town and paid off their debt with Annie’s loan. The church building was saved, the congregation thrilled.

Annie Antje Henrichs saved the church and she and Enno Frerichs ‘a fine young farmer’ were married in that same church.

The photos shown and the whole story in the Greene (Iowa) Recorder via the Greene Public Library Digital Archives: 2003 Feb 5 Greene  Recorder page 5, column 6 top.