Photos by Kim Carlsted-Gillis Top: (L-R) Mike Garey, Kris Garey, Ken Bjorklund, Diane Bjorklund, and Burt Carlsted-Gillis taking a break during the Trinity Lutheran 100th anniversary walkathon that honored pastors who once walked from Grand Marais to Hovland to serve their parish. Above Left: Walkathon participants were sent off from Bethlehem Lutheran with prayers and blessings. Above Right: John Redshaw on Java (left) and Stan Pelto on Cadence made the trek from Grand Marais to Hovland to help Trinity Lutheran Church celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Five people walked the 19 miles from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais to Trinity Lutheran Church in Hovland Sunday, August 9, 2009 in honor of early Cook County pastors who years ago made the trek once a month to hold services and meet with parishioners. Some of those pastors also walked to Lutsen and Tofte as well.
The ceremonial walk was part of Trinity Lutheran’s 100th anniversary celebration going on throughout this summer.
Making the entire distance were Pastor Kris Garey, Ken Bjorklund, Ruth Busta, Denise Axtell, and Burt Carlsted-Gillis, at age 70 the oldest participant. Walking 10 or more miles were Diane Bjorklund, Virginia Hahn, and Doug Fieg. Walking less than 10 miles were Sonja (Fieg) Giles and Bonnie Fieg.
Roller blading the entire route were Chris and John McClure and Zachery Madrano, the youngest participant at age 16.
Joining the group on horseback were John Redshaw on Java and Stan Pelto on Cadence.
A regular Sunday worship service was held at Trinity at 8:30 a.m. August 9, but later that morning, pastors Ham Muus and Mark Ditmanson along with Northeastern Minnesota Synod Bishop Tom Aitken sent the group off from Bethlehem Lutheran with prayers and blessings.
Kris Garey, pastor of Trinity Lutheran, said they wanted to honor the first pastors and parishioners who walked to get to church. The pastors started coming more than once a month once buggies and cars became available.
The event was also a fundraiser that brought over $1,000 to go toward payoff of the parsonage mortgage and toward stemming world hunger.
The intrepid five left Bethlehem at 11 a.m. and arrived at Trinity six hours and forty minutes later.
“It was so fun,” Garey said several days later. “By the end we were tired and our feet were getting sore,” but she enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the others better, she said.
A large group welcomed the walkers/rollerbladers/horseback riders when they arrived. The walkers sat outside on the steps and took their shoes off, Garey said, before her husband Mike served everyone root beer floats. Kim Carlsted-Gillis was ready with a slide show of the walk on her laptop.
Pastor Garey felt determined to walk the entire distance whether anyone else did or not. She started preparing for the walk in February and had worked her way up to 13 miles. “We wanted it to be fun,” she said, and to allow anyone to join in whether they walked the entire way or not.
Providing sandwich “fuel” and photographing the event were David Hahn, Mike Garey, and Kim Carlsted-Gillis. Eleanor Waha, Gwen Lenz, and Craig Heitke helped by preparing and/or serving the food.
The celebration of 100 years of serving Christ will continue the weekend of August 29 and 30. memorial/dedication service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, August 29 at the Trinity cemetery, site of the original church. A hymn sing and welcome will take place at the present church at 3:30, and dinner will served at 5:00 in the Hovland town hall. Sunday will include a “festival centennial worship service” at 8:30 a.m., followed by a discussion of the church’s history and future and a fellowship hour.
According to Pastor Garey, the current building was in the process of being built from 1947 to 1949. was the first church building in Cook County to reflect the environment around it, using wood from the forest and rocks from the Lake Superior shoreline. Local craftsmen made the pews, carried floorboards from the original church, and crafted paneling for the walls.
Trinity Lutheran is “really and truly part of the history of the Hovland community,” Garey said. “It’s [been] one of the mainstays of Hovland for 100 years.”
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