HANOVER HISTORY - Volume 1, No. 19
May 18, 1986
The History of the Hanover Lutheran Day School
The First School
The first church-school, shown here 1n a sketch drawn by A.H. Oberbeck, was located east of the Old Hanover Cemetery, corner of Melrose and Delwin Streets, Cape Girardeau.
It was completed in late 1846. Day school may have been held as early as 1846, however, our research finds around 1861 as a more likely beginning.
There is some evidence to suggest that the Hanover Day School began with the organization
of the congregation in 1846. The first Pastor, Christian August Lehmann, organized the Trinity Lutheran Day School in 18.54 and, since pastors generally served as day school teachers for the academic subjects, as well as the Bible and confirmation instruction, he was probably called upon to instruct the children of the Hanover congregation.
Recorded interviews of some of the older members, conducted in the 1950's by Kenneth Birk, placed the origin of the Day School at beginning of the· congregation. The earliest verifiable school reference, however, vas in 1861, when a grandparent was remembered to have remarked about an incident involving the weather while he was attended the school. The grandparent was Andreas Christoph Friedrich Lorberg, son of Andreas and Wilhelmine. "The year was 1861 after lunch, in the late spring, a terrible stern came out of the west, over Mr. Bertling's house and barn, it was a cyclone {strong wind).
The wind blew and the rain beat down on the shingles. A. rather large tree was blown down against the northwest corner of the church (school), a small back porch was damaged, we didn't have school anymore that day and we helped the Pastor (Rev. Daries) move the limbs so he could go to his house." (According to Walter Bertling, Pastor Daries was a German Evangelical pastor who had confirmed his father, Frederick Bertling, in 1860).
Description of the church-schools "The interior of the church was plain. The walls of logs and clay were whitewashed. The shingled roof appeared in the background of the whitewashed rafters. The east and west walls each contained three windows and the chimney stood between the second and third windows beside the east wall. In the rear left corner was an organ. In the center was the altar, in back of which were steps that led up to the pulpit. A small desk and chair stood in the right rear corner for the purpose of conducting Christian Day School. "Mrs. Karoline Anngardt, Geb. Brinkopf, confirmed in 1880 at the age of 13).
The next date remembered was the-early 1870's. Henry Krueger, who lived close to our present church, told of climbing fences, walking through the fields, down lanes alone fence rows to get to the school location on the Bertling farm.
These fragments of memories certainly- suggest that Hanover Day School was being conducted by the Pastors as early as 1861 and possibly as early as 1847 when Pastor Lehmann arrived. Confirmation instruction surely began in 1847 as two years later, in 1849, the first confirmation class included•
Henry Maier (Meyer) (see Illus. 14 A and article 18) Christian Maevers, Christian Hilleman, Christine Maevers, Henry Koerberm, Elise Bertling.
These glimpses through the parted curtains of time, would answer the question of the date or origin of the Hanover Day School asked by our cominittee. The dates would be consistent with the confirmation education and academic instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic that so many or our ancestors surely were involved in. Several German school books used at Hanover, including reading and catechisms, some dated in the 1850's, have been placed in our archives. One fiebel (reading book--primer) has "Hannover" written inside the front cover and the name J. Rau. The date 1861 is written under the name.