First Congregational Church

This was my church growing up in Winona, Minnesota.  It was the First Congregational Church.

My memories of this church are vivid.  I remember attending with my mom, and reciting the Lord's Prayer:

One of my favorite hymns, which we sang often, was Holy Holy Holy:

The Benediction was always this song:

Later, in Sunday School, studied the Old and New Testaments, and we memorized the 23rd Psalm:

In High School I taught Sunday School, and then my friend Lora and I decided to visit every church in Winona, and attend a service at each one.  We went to quite a few.  Of course, I now know they were almost all Lutheran and Catholic!  Not as diverse as we thought we were being.

Here is a link to a post about growing up in Winona.

My Childhood

My childhood photos (from 1955 through about 1981) are on this page which is linked with my mom's blog, and for that reason it is captioned in the third person.

Elementary School Pictures

Kindergarten, with Mrs. McVey

First Grade, with Miss Kottschade

Miss King, my all-time favorite teacher, for Second Grade

Third Grade, with Miss Buggs

Fourth Grade, with Mr. Adank, a very close second favorite.

Fifth Grade, with Mr. Ludwitzke

Sixth Grade, with Mr. Hickethier.  This was an experimental accelerated sixth grade, with kids from all over the district, so lots of new faces, and many missing from the old cohort.

Here is a link to my post about Growing Up in Winona.