Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

correspondence has reconstructed the committee to have consisted of Professor Stindt
and Bliefernicht of DMLC, Pastor William Nommensen, Pastor Julius Bergholz, Pastor
Otto Kuhlow, Pastor Hans Moussa, and Mr. William Graebner. 163 Their report, at first
withheld from the creditor committee of Bethany by the board of control, was eventually
reworded and recast to give the opposite impression of what the report was trying to
convey. 164 The result of this action by the board of control was the withdrawal of the
public support of Bethany by the WELS.
During this time, there were several attempts to sell the school. One striking offer
came from the National Lutheran Education Association (NLEA), another group within
the Synodical Conference. Berhardt Holst, the president of NLEA, made the made an
offer to the board through the Minnesota branch of NLEA (Dr. Schlesselmann, Mr. Emil
Boie, and Rev. Adolph Ackermann, pastor at Immanuel in Mankato and former president
of DMLC) in 1923 to purchase the property and the school, but the offer was rejected
because the stockholders who had invested in the Bethany were basically asked to eat
their losses and receive nothing for their investment as well as come up with an
additional 25,000 to liquidate the standing debt.
The fallout of these situations plus the fiscal irresponsibility of the current board
of control was twofold. The stockholders transferred control of Bethany to a new board
of control in June of 1924. That board of control quickly came to the conclusion that
Bethany could never reach its goals due to the great friction that had been created during
163 William Nommensen was the vice-president of the Western Wisconsin District; Julius Bergholz was a
pastor in Lacrosse, WI; Otto Kuhlow was a pastor in Jefferson, Wisconsin; Hans Moussa was pastor in
Fond Du Lac, WI; William Graebner was the younger brother of August Graebner as well as the city
treasure of Milwaukee.
164 The Bulletin, 2. In a handwritten marginal note, Professor Stindt wrote, “Ruft wir Wahrheit!” (We
proclaimed the truth!)
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