SAXON LUTHERAN DEDICATES STATUE TODAY

FROHNA -- When the first Saxon Germans settled into eastern Perry County, they didn't expect disease and hard times to befall them. But their faith kept them strong in the midst of hardships.

A man known as the "American Martin Luther" helped keep those early settlers focused on their work as part of the Lutheran Church. Now their descendants are preparing to dedicate a statue in honor of one of the first settlers.

A nearly 6-foot-tall concrete statue of C.F.W. Walther will be dedicated during a 2 p.m. ceremony today at Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna.

Walther is probably best known among local residents for his participation in a public debate held at the log cabin college in 1841. He was the first instructor at that college in the Dresden settlement. The college now sits in Altenburg.

Walther was the first president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and served as a professor at the Lutheran seminary in St. Louis.

Most people in the area already know the story of Walther and his work with the early settlements, said George Thurm, president of the advisory council at Saxon Memorial.

But the key is to preserve history so that people will know their heritage, Thurm said.

"There were already many Lutherans in America, but they were scattered," he said

The early Saxons faced so many problems early in 1839 that they were ready to return to Germany, but didn't have the money necessary to do so.

Walther "convinced the people that they were a church according to Scripture," Thurm said.

Because of Walther's work in the church, a statue was built at the Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in St. Louis. Vandals damaged the statue nearly 10 years ago and it was removed.

Eventually duplicate statues were made. One returned to the cemetery and another was placed at the Lutheran Synod offices in the St. Louis area. But the third statue's location remained a mystery.

It was eventually found in an abandoned lot. Early in the spring, the director of the Historical Institute, which owns the Saxon Lutheran Memorial property, discovered the statue.

It was donated to the memorial. But it needed repairs.

"When we found it the arm and hand were broken and several fingers were lost," Thurm said.

The concrete statue was repaired during a six-week project. It will be unveiled in its new state today, complete with seven flowerboxes representing the seven early settlements.

For more information, contact the Rev. Jim Marten, curator at Saxon Lutheran Memorial at (583) 824-5404.

SAXON LUTHERAN MEMORIAL

How to get there:

Take I-55 north to Fruitland exit. go north on Rt. 61 to county Road A. Turn right to follow A to Frohna. Turn left on county Road C.

More Information:

(573) 824-5404