Category: Grandpa

The Third Commandment

Rev. Johann CaauweLeave a comment

thirdcommandment

I just found this piece of paper in an old German book I have on my shelf. It appears to be some Catechism copywork by my grandfather. The Third Commandment is copied two more times on the back side of the sheet. I might have thought that this was during his Confirmation instruction days, except that I’m pretty sure he was confirmed in German. I wonder when he might have written this?

More Stories from Grandpa’s Table

Rev. Johann Caauwe1 Comment

I was going through some of the tapes and wanted to share with you just a few minutes of the audio. In this section, he begins by talking about the crops, and a time “when the corn didn’t grow.” But he compares it to the famine during the lives of the patriarchs. Then he says, “But we have to keep on reading.” and then goes on to talk about how they ended up at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hastings, despite the pastoral visits in the hospital (when his thumb got cut off in a farm accident) and comments from the Swedish Lutheran pastor. Earlier in this recording, he was talking about some friends or neighbors that expressed their concern when they were planning to have their first child (my mother) baptized. They said, “We don’t believe in baptizing children.” Grandpa said, “Well I do.”