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175th anniversary photos

During WELS’ 175th anniversary, Forward in Christ magazine will be spotlighting historic photos and sharing more about what is taking place in those photos.

January:

Old black and white photo of classroom children and their male teacher on benches
Christian education became important early on in the synod’s history. By 1860 nearly half of the synod’s congregations had a weekday school, usually taught by the local pastor. Soon larger congregations in Milwaukee were calling teachers to free up the pastors. In 1872, 19 teachers formed the first Wisconsin Synod teachers’ conference. Initially, only men were teaching, but by the mid 1870s, women also began to teach at the schools. Pictured are students and the teacher at St. Matthew, Milwaukee, Wis., in 1888. At that time, girls and boys often were in separate classes.
See more photos and other historical resources at welshistoricalinstitute.org

Volume 112, Number 01
Issue: January 2025

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