There had been considerable talk of establishing an orphan’s home somewhere within the borders of Iowa, and the subject came up for discussion at several meetings of the Lutheran synod. Reverand Halland had
reserved a piece of land for the purpose of a Children’s Home a mile and half south of Stanton which was purchased by the synod. The members of the first board were Reverand B.M. Halland of Stanton, N.G. Dahlstedt of Fremont,
John E. Bergstrom of Red Oak and Andrew Swanson of Stanton, G.E. Peterson, Red Oak and J. Walling of Bethesda church. The settlers broke up a portion of the land and the farm was rented for five years or more.
Then a building was erected at a cost of $1,600. The dedication of the white frame building on October 31, 1881
was a fulfillment of the vision that had been in the mind of Reverand Halland from the very first of the
settlement. Perhaps his life work may be best be summed up in the fact that he reserved the best quarter
section of land for the purpose of founding the Children’s Home and chose for himself the least desirable
quarter section in the community of Stanton. From then on, settlers knew that if they died, their children
would be cared for at the Iowa Lutheran Children’s Home for Orphans instead of being sold at auction.
In August 1885, the Swedish Lutheran Church of Stanton held a picnic in the grove near the South Ward School house with proceeds going to the orphanage.
The children were well cared for and were taught in both the English and Swedish languages. In the early years teachers were at the orphanage, but later the children attended school in Stanton.
Work continued on the orphanage, and in 1903, the board awarded contracts for the construction of a new building to John P. Anderson of Stanton and plumbing, heating and sewerage systems contracts were let to Kerrihard Co.
of Red Oak. The Stanton Call reported that “the new building will be a great improvement over the present on, and the heating, lighting and sewerage appointments will be modern and include improvements. A gasoline engine will
be used to pump water into a pneumatic tank which will supply pressure to force the water all over the new building. The sewerage will be to a septic tank which will consume the waste, the overflow from it being clear water.
This was the only system of this kind in the state. It is said to be by far the best system.”
Funds to carry on the charitable work were contributed by the congregation at the conference within the state, the produce of the farm, bequests from wills, and many activities of the local Stanton church and area
organizations.
In August 1885, the Swedish Lutheran Church of Stanton held a picnic in the grove near the Southward school house with proceeds doing to the orphanage. A general contribution was always taken up Thanksgiving Day
and donations in money and clothing were accepted at any time by the principal or the board.
In 1912, Claus L. Anderson was treasurer of the home and reported the home in a prosperous condition financially. He reported that the partial failure of crops would demand more generosity toward the Home on the
part of its friends unless they wanted to have a large deficit the next year. In that same year a piano was given to the home through a contest sponsored by C. W. Hine and Co. Drug Store, in Stanton. In October of 1914
an annual “cheesing day” was held at the Orphans Home. Then cheese was made. In spite of bad weather quite a few people attended and they presented Mr. and Mrs. Olin, superintendent and matron, a small purse collected
from those in attendance for their faithfulness to the little folks of whom they had charge. Devotional services were held and led by Reverand Peterson.
Big Annual Picnic
June 26, 1914 – "The Stanton Call"
The annual picnic of the Lutheran Church and Sunday school was held at the Orphan’s Home yesterday.
The day was warm, but a good breeze was stirring, so it was not uncomfortable. There were services at eleven o’clock in the morning, and a disappointingly small number of people were then present. Reverand Peterson preached and
Reverand Lund of Bethesda closed with prayer. People kept coming, and there were a few more when the time came for the basket dinner, but there were very few families. The personnel and children at the Home were guests of
families, and because families were few, some of them had five or six children as guests at dinner.
From 1:30 to 2:30 the band gave a delightful concert. This was followed by a program by the children of the Sunday School, given from the platform constructed for the occasion. The children did well, both in singing
and reciting. The church choir sang half a dozen songs. Then Reverend C.D. Lund of Bethesda gave one of his characteristic addresses. He took occasion to rebuke those of hearers who had not been present at the forenoon meeting,
and then, as a Jeremiah of old, read them all a lesson on the want of moderation in eating, an offense more prevalent, he said, than drinking;’ he disapproved strongly of the use of tobacco in any form. In short, he delivered quite a philippic. It was interesting, and as Reverend Peterson remarked, people will remember it. There were plenty of automobiles to carry the people to and from the picnic grounds. The stand did a thriving business, in addition to dealing out free ice cream and lemonade to Sunday School teachers and pupils.
In 1918, the State Board of Control served the Children’s Home Board with a notice that Old Main building must be closed as unfit for use, unsanitary and a real fire trap. The board took courage and decided to build. Reverend Elmquist visited 84 congregations in three months in an attempt to raise the necessary funds to build and raised $50,000 in cash. Three fireproof buildings were built.
Linnea Benson Swanson, whose father P.T. Benson was superintendent of the home until its closing in 1938, and who was boys’ matron for several years, explained the picture taken in the 30’s and tells about her experience while working and living there. In the picture, the brick building on the far left was the Boys building. Directly behind it to the north was an identical building for girls. Three wards in each building had ten beds in each with a capacity of 60 children. There were always more boys than girls. Closets with drawers in them provided the children a place to keep their belongings. The dark building was called the central building and housed the office, kitchen, dining room and laundry. The large white house was the home of the superintendent. In the middle is the old school. The small white building was the chicken house and the other barns were part of the farm operation.
It was Linnea’s job as housemother to get the boys up in the morning and ready for breakfast. Some of the boys went out to help chore and others had household chores. The ages of the boys ranged from three to eighteen. When the children turned 18, they had to leave the Children’s Home. A place was always found for them either with farmers who needed a hired man or they went back to the county from which they came. After breakfast the boys walked to Stanton to school or church and the girls rode a bus. On muddy days the boys were sometimes given a ride on a lumber wagon. Linnea taught six of the children who were too “slow” to attend regular school in a program for special students started by her father.
At church the girls sat on one side and the boys on the other side in the front pews. In school few of the students from the Home participated in extra curricular activities as they had chores to do and would have to walk into town in the dark for evening practice. The superintendent at the home also insisted on getting school work done. One promising athlete from the Home was taken in by the superintendent of the Stanton Public School and given a home. He played basketball for the high school and went on to college after graduation.
The children all ate breakfast and supper together in the central dining room. They carried lunches to school. In the basement of each building was a large open play area. The children had balls to play with and sleds and skis for winter sports.
Every summer church organizations sponsored a day at the home. Many families came for church services in the morning followed by a basket dinner with the children as guests of the families. In the afternoon would be programs and games
and activities for everyone along with refreshments. At Christmastime, the Rotary Club from Red Oak got the names and ages of the children and would serve dinner for the children with members sponsoring each child and giving them
each a nice gift. The younger girls usually got dolls and the older girls jewelry, and the boys generally received sports equipment.
Years marched right up to the depression and it was difficult to maintain the home. Some were wards of their respective counties and a sum of $10 or $15 per month was received for room, board and clothing. It was a
rarity if as much as $30 or $40 was paid. There were 7 to 10 workers at the home and they worked for as little as $30 per month. Of course, the farm manager and superintendent received around $150.00 per month.
The children’s home was closed and vacated in June of 1938 by order of the Iowa Lutheran Conference and the Iowa Lutheran Welfare organized in the early 30’s took over the care of the orphans. During its
operation, the Lutheran Children’s Home at Stanton had served about 400 children. In July of 1938 a committee composed of Claus Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Lindberg, and Mr. and Mrs. Albert Ossian submitted a
proposal to purchase the Children’s Home and call it the Halland Memorial Home. The Iowa Lutheran Conference turned down the offer. In December 1938, the livestock and equipment of the home was sold at auction
bringing $4,000. The Harry Rea family leased the farm and lived there. In November 1942, the Stanton Zephyr reported the sale of the Children’s Home property to W.A. Bishop, a farmer from Red Oak. Mr. Bishop planned
to farm the 240 acres. The buildings remained vacant but standing until late in the 1980’s when Alan Hart purchased the farm and demolished the buildings.
References:
The Stanton Call
The Red Oak Independent
Gracious Bounty, by Claus L. Anderson and Linnea Swanson
Source: Twentieth Century Club’s booklet "Lest We Forget", 1991 shared by Carroll Peterson
Stanton Historical Cultural Center
410 Hill Top Ave
Stanton, Iowa 51573
TN: 1-712-829-2840
Email: shcc@myfmtc.com
