The history of this church has continued to show the Grace of God working in
this community.  It amazes me that a "pioneer spirit" and perseverance have
continued to be a large part of  the values and activities at Fish Lake. 
This is evident through the continuous efforts of this congregation to serve
the Lord and Savior.  It was difficult to pick and choose what to say to you
today, and I am sure there is information some of you may want to share.  If
you remember a story or experience you would like to share about these
pastors, I will welcome you to share those memories at the end of this talk.

In October of 1947 Fish Lake and Harris merged under one parish and together issued a call to Pastor David Edward of Guckeen, Minnesota.  The call was accepted and Pastor  Edward gave his first sermon on March 7, 1948.  A
special meeting was held to discuss the purchase of the Floyd Anderson house with Harris congregation.  That motion was lost..  It was decided that Fish Lake would purchase the house in Harris, by themselves for $8,000. 
Unfortunately Pastor Edward's health failed and he was never able to move
into the parsonage.  He passed on October 7, 1948, and is buried in the
cemetery at Fish Lake.

There was an interim pastor that served for a few months during the winter
of 1948-1949 - Pastor Karl Holmberg.  During this time the Fish Lake Board
met with the Harris board to discuss the calling of a new pastor and the
establishment of the salary.  In December a special meeting was held to
authorize the sale of the parsonage on the "so called" South Fish Lake Road
where it joins the Harris-Cambridge road.  It was sold to William Mattson
for $2000.

Lay Pastor Phillip Lindblom began serving Fish Lake and Harris for about a
year 1949-1950.    During his service there were 5 baptisms, 2 funerals and
member ship was 209 communicants and 35 children.  More improvements were made:  a large tool shed for the cemetery; the cemetery and landscaping was improved .  The Pastor Brinks monument was leveled  In October 1950, a special meeting was held to act upon the recommendation of the St. Croix District for Fish Lake and Spring Lake to merge under one Parish.  The motion to approve the merger was voted on with 49 out of 54 votes and was approved by the Minnesota Conference.  In November there was a new section added to the Cemetery Boards by-laws to be known as perpetual care of lots in which there would be a fee depending upon the size of the lot.  Annual dues was discontinued and in its place each member  family was asked to contribute on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis.  The trustees were given authority to dispose of the Fish Lake Parsonage at Harris in the best manner they saw fit.

On December 13, 1950, a special meeting was held with Vice Pastor Milton
Gunberg of North Branch conducting.  The issue to call a Pastor had failed. 
A motion prevailed that the annual meeting of the congregation be changed to the 2nd Wednesday in January, each year starting in 1952.

The March 26, 1951, issue to call a pastor, failed with no result.  On July
11, 1951, a special meeting was held to issue a call to pastor Hjalmar Olson
of Minneapolis.  He was to serve the Fish Lake and Spring Lake
congregations.  Pastor Olson received a unanimous vote of 45 ( I am not sure
if this was  both congregations at the time or just Fish Lake.)  He accepted
the call and began serving on November 1, 1951 until June 1,  1955 at which
time he retired due to ill health.    It is  noted that the minutes for 1952
were typed and placed in a loose leaf  notebook, prior to that all minutes
were written in longhand.  In March of 1952 official authorization was given
the board of trustees to dispose of the parsonage in Harris.

More projects were completed.  There were proposals for a new heating plant
and renovation of the church interior.  It was decided to celebrate the 85th
anniversary of the church after the renovation was finished.  Pastor Olson
evidently suffered some illness as from the later part of 1952-1954, Sunday
services alternated between Fish Lake and Spring Lake Churches.

Service projects also continued.  In 1954 it was reported by Pastor Olson
that the All Lutheran Food Appeal was sponsored by the local churches.  As a
result of these efforts, a carload of shelled corn was shipped from
Cambridge, to be processed into cereal and sent to starving portions of the
world.

When  pastor Hjalmer Olson started in 1951, Fish Lake and Spring lake formed a two point parish with one pastor.  The parsonage at that time was owned by the Spring Lake congregation and was located there.  In 1952 the
congregation sold the parsonage in Harris that was owned since 1948.

More projects were undertaken.  They lowered the ceiling, removed part of
the balcony and blocked out the rest of it at a cost of $9000.  On Easter
morning of 1964, the parish hall burned, most of the items were saved,
however the building was ruined.  There were several meetings held to
discuss what to do about a replacement.  On May 26, 1964 it was authorized
to proceed to have a full basement excavated under the church.  The plans
were to include a new kitchen, furnace room, restrooms, storage room, as
well as a large are for future Sunday school rooms, a dining area and a
walckout on the south east corner.  Melvin Landin, Mrs. Selmer Birkeland,
and Holger Warner were appointed as a fund raising committee and reported
that in the fall they had total receipts of $13,500.  The bid was awarded to
Adrian Hawkinson of North branch at a price of $22,500.  The congregation
authorized the council to obtain a loan at the North Branch Bank for $9000
to pay off the improvement obligations.  The loan was paid off about 2 years
early.

After the resignation of Pastor Olson due to ill health, on June 1, 1955,  a
call  to Pastor AP Almen was made and accepted.  Pastor Almen served from
October 1, 1956 to  June 1, 1965.

The Dedication of the basement was on September 19, 1965.  Pastor Almen read a translation of the History of the church. Vice Pastor Harold Elvert
assisted with the dedication.  They passed out Bibles to the seven
Confirmands and the service was followed by a potluck dinner.  It was noted
on the bulletin that Reverend Elvert would be meeting with Melvin Hammarberg the first part of October in regard to securing a pastor for the Fish Lake-Spring Lake parish.  The church Organist Mrs John Hultgren (Emelia
Peterson) reigned as organist in 1965 after continuously serving for 50
years.  Mr. Harold Palm served our congregation as a resident intern from
October 1, 1965. He was a seminary student who was Ordained in May, 1966.

At the annual meeting held on January 12, 1966, a resolution was passed to
appoint a steering committee to begin plans for the Centennial Celebration
to be held in 1967.  They celebrated on February 19, 1967 and a week from
June 18 through the 25th.  The centennial program is printed in the 1967
centennial book.  The program was successful and well attended. The final
centennial worship service was held on June 25 with the Rev. Dr. Melvin E.
Hammarberg, president of the Minnesota synod speaking to a church filled  to
capacity.

On June 21, 1967, Pastor A.P. Almen conducted an all Swedish service and the church was so filled additional chairs had to be brought up from the
basement.  People came from near and far to celebrate this centennial and it
included 2 cars full from the state of Wisconsin..  This was the last sermon
Pastor Almen preached. He retired due to ill health and moved to St. Peter
where he died October 21, 1976 at the age of 80.

On May 3, 1966 a call was issued to Ronald E. Hackmann .   He began his
service here on June 26, 1955 and served until 1970.  The Fish Lake Cemetery association purchased and erected a large Rose Granite centennial monument and planter on the church yard.  The monument was dedicated by Rev. Hackmann on Sunday June 18, 1967.   It is my understanding that the youth group flourished under his direction. However there were several young people that were buried during his service, most of the deaths were related to the Viet Nam conflict.

Reverend Millard Ahlstrom served the congregation from September 5, 1970,
until June 20, 1971 as interim pastor.

Pastor Dennis A. Hawkinson began his service here on June 27, 1971, having
just been ordained.  There is limited information regarding pastor Hawkinson
in the church records. It is my understanding that during his service here
he became blind from glaucoma, and retired from Fish Lake.  He is still
working in the braille evangalist ministry and speaks annually about 
braille bibles.  In October, 1974, a new double unit furnace was installed
in the church basement.

Since 1976 was the nations Bi-Centennial year, the fish lake congregation
erected a nice flag pole and granite marker in the memorial park section of
the cemetery.  Reverend Hawkinson dedicated the project on July 4, 1976. 
The flag used was purchased from the federal government and the cemetery
board has a letter from George M. White, Architect of the Nations Capitol,
stating this flag was flown over the United States Capitol, Washington D.C.
on January 30, 1976.  It was followed by a dinner and a songfest on church
grounds.

After his retirement the membership dwindled, I was unable to find much
information regarding this time, however there were still faithful members
in this community that had hope and the grace of God.   Their prayers for
leadership were answered once again.

As Fish Lake was about to fold, the membership had dropped to 40 with only
about 20 active members, a pastor by the name of Walter E. Leitze, Jr.
agreed to stay for one year.  Of course as God has worked in the walls of
this church before, little did he know it would be 22 years here before he
retired.  Pastor Walter E. Leitze, Jr. served from 1981 to 2002.  Fish Lake
and Salem Churches were a newly yoked parish. He came here a divorced man of seven years, to a failing congregation.  At first services were held every other Sunday in the Salem Church, but as time went on and membership grew, the services were held every Sunday in both churches.  When he first came into the church there were two fuel oil furnaces, that occasionally belched soot. With the  small membership, they were meeting in the basement to conserve heat.

Walt decided to attend "We Care" a support group for divorced people, where he met Mary Beth Eckhardt Walkingstick, of Storden Minnesota.  They dated
for 2 ½ years, and the marriage proposal was made in front of the pulpit.
She had prayed to marry a Lutheran pastor.

Pastor Walt has a fascinating life history along with his partner and friend
Mary Beth . Together they served the congregation in many ways.  Walter was born in St. Paul in 1932.  He attended Macalester College, William Mitchell
College of Law and Luther-Northwestern Theological Seminary in St. Paul
after graduating from Mahtomedi High School in 1950.  He has earned two
bachelors degrees:  a bachelor of Arts at Macalaster, in 1954 and a bachelor
of Divinity at Luther-Northwestern in 1973.  Since that time he has earned a
Master of Sacred Theology and a Master of Divinity both at
Luther-Northwestern.  This June near his 75th Birthday he should obtain his
Phd.

Pastor Leitze was ordained in 1964, but maintained a dual career.  He
enlisted in the Navy Coast Guard reserve in 1952. In 1954, the enlistment
became active duty in which he obtained the rank of Yeoman Third Class, in
Boston MA.  From 1956-1965 he was with the US Coast Guard Reserve and earned the rank of Lieutenant.  He continued on as a US Navy Chaplain, from 1965 to 1992 and became Commander in 1979.  In 1984 he was the first Naval Reserve Chaplain to be selected to attend a National Course on Reserve Components in Washington DC.

His work history includes being a technical writer for Remington Rand
Univac, writing technical manuals for Control Data Corporation, and was the
78th employee of that company.  He served as Associate Pastor at Mt. Carmel, Minneapolis, and Pastor to several churches from Aurora to Apple Valley.  He
worked with treatment programs as a consultant, and counseling as industrial chaplain. He worked as a Manager At Ells Personnel Services from 1973-1981.

The Synod was requested for a call to a new church. After interviewing 
several places,  the Leitze's made the decision to make it at Fish Lake or
be done. Once that decision was made, membership grew.  Once again it was
time to create more room, so the projects started.  Another portion of the
basement was added, the bathrooms moved, the library and nursery, and an
office for the pastor and secretary were built (at first the secretary's
office was a conference room).  In 1980, the pipe organ was re-painted so all the pipes would  match their original look.  The organ was refurbished completely. The entire inside and outside of the church was renovated.  New siding was put on and painted, the upstairs area was completely refurbished, from putting up new sheetrock, regaining the balcony area, painting of the walls and ceiling and the carpeting and re-upholstery of the entire altar area.  This was done so it would resemble what the church looked like in 1917.   When it was all said and done over $300,000 worth or improvements were made and no debt was incurred, due to the hard work and contributions of the congregation.  Food and clothing were collected for flood victims, the youth group donated time and money for various projects, and other local organizations received donations.

Walter continues to be active in Ministry, counseling Bi-Polar individuals. 
He continues to be interested in Industrial Chaplaincy, which deals with
jobs that cause conflicts with religion.

Pastor Phil Gotch served as Interim Pastor for a time prior to our call to
Pastor Dale Stiles  in June, 2003.  He was accepted by unanimous vote, when
he accepted the call.  Pastor Dale was born in Albert Lea MN, in 1969.  He
attended college at Concordia, Moorhead  and then went to Luther Seminary in St. Paul.  He was ordained at his home congregation, Grace Lutheran Church. He met Carrie Johnson, of Lindstrom Minnesota and was married in November 1995.

Prior to his call to Fish Lake, Pastor Dale served the Our Savior's Lutheran
Church of Circle Pines as the youth pastor.  While Fish Lake was looking for
a new pastor, Dale was ready to pursue more challenges and personal growth as a Pastor.  It is amazing how the prayers go up to God and the blessings come down to all of us.  Together the Stiles' serve the Lord and are a wonderful addition to our community.    They reside in the Stark area with
their three children, Caleb born in 1998, Annica born in 2001, and Tobias
born in 2005.

Membership  has more than doubled since Pastor Dale accepted the call, so
more projects were undertaken.  The parking lot has been blacktopped, a
playground built, the deck rebuilt, a prayer garden installed, and the
kitchen was completely renovated.  He created and maintains a website for
the church, sends communications via e-mail, and has helped to update
administrative practices and policies.  Many mission trips have been taken
including South Dakota, Alabama, and even going to Africa.

Outdoor services have continued. The annual corn feed is held and many other traditions that were a part of this churches history have been maintained.  The organ was re-dedicated on October 30, 2005.  This year we are celebrating the 140th Anniversary throughout the year with numerous events.

The membership here has waxed and waned, however it was more a sign of the times rather than leadership or lack of leadership that has effected the
growth.  This church has been truly blessed, it is evident in the young
people who attend Sunday School and Pastor Dales children's sermon, to the
seasoned Christians who provide mentorship and friendship to everyone.  The Church has grown and continues to be a pillar in this community.