By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Messiah Lutheran Church of Hays celebrated its 75th anniversary with a special service and dinner on Oct. 26.
Families who had been members since the church's founding joined the celebration, including Dixie Dies and family, who traveled 1,300 miles from Montana to attend the service.
Joel Histerman and Keith Kohlmeier were special guest pastors for the morning's service.
The first service of Messiah Lutheran was conducted on Oct. 29, 1950, (Reformation Sunday) with the Rev. H. T. Munderloh of Russell leading the worship. The service, attended by 17, was in the Christian Church building at Eighth and Walnut.
The official organization of Messiah Lutheran took place on Jan. 4, 1951, with six voting members. They were Bill Duitsman, Ralph Fink, Paul Gross, Robert Naegele, Walter Naegele and Robert O’Gara.
On June 7, 1953, the Rev. Frederick Rhode was installed as the first resident pastor of the congregation. Ground had been broken for the construction of the first chapel at 20th and Main on Oct. 19, 1952. The chapel was dedicated on Sept. 20, 1953.
Dixie Dies, 75, is the daughter of Ed and Geneva Dies, founding members of the church. She and her siblings grew up in the church. However, Dixie married after high school, and she and her spouse moved out of Hays.
Her parents stayed in Hays and remained members of the church throughout their lives.
"The chapel was small and cozy," Dixie Dies said. "We had Christmas programs and Sunday school downstairs. It was fun. I have a lot of warm memories."
She said she remembers dressing up for the Christmas pageants, but she most looked forward to the small bag of candy she and the other children received at the end of the program.
She was also a member of the youth group, Alpha Key Rho, which was active year-round. During the summer, the youth attended picnics.
"It was small and sort of like a big neighborhood, where everybody knew everybody and everybody's kids and what they were doing," she said.
The original chapel, with its thick redwood beams, is still a part of the current church building. The chapel continues to house the original baptismal font, at which the first child baptized in the church, Barry Dies, Dixie's younger brother, was baptized.
Dixie's nephew was the first child baptized in the new sanctuary.
"It's just pride that this has continued," Dixie said. "It's lasted, and you can tell by the congregation this morning the fellowship they have for each other. I stepped out of my car, and a woman I hadn't seen in 30 or 40 years said, 'Dixie, it's nice to see you!' Just like it was last Sunday."
Dixie said it was essential to have a church to grow up in. During the 1960s, Hays was dominated by the Catholic congregations, she said.
"To have our own group, our own place, it was important," she said.
On March 20, 1960, the educational unit was dedicated.
Groundbreaking ceremonies were conducted on Dec. 15, 1968, for the present chapel. The cornerstone was laid on May 25, 1969, and the dedication was on Nov. 2, 1969.
Renovation of the original chapel was completed in 2000, converting the space into a meeting room. The church's courtyard addition was constructed between 2003 and 2006.
Tina (Kaempfe) Anguish created a history of the church's 75 years for the celebration. Her family began attending the church shortly after it was founded.
"We are a very family- and community-oriented church. My dad was the congregational president for our 40th. My mom and her good friend, Geneva Dies, were in charge of our 50th history and church directory book. Here I am as church historian for our 75th," she said.
Anguish began updating the church's historical archives in 2020 when she moved back to Hays.
The church was established with a campus ministry in mind for what is now Fort Hays State University.
Tina's father, Jerry Kaempfe, began attending Messiah in 1951 as a freshman at Fort Hays. Her mother, Viola Vincent Kaempfe, began attending in about 1955 or '56.
They were married in the original chapel in 1959.
Tina's Aunt Bonnie (Kaempfe) married her Uncle Darrell Gabel at Messiah Lutheran in 1961. Aunts Mary and Bonnie were also active in the Gamma Delta group, which was the college group for Lutheran Fort Hays students.
Tina was baptized at the church in 1962. Her brother, who she thinks was named after the church's Rev. Polley, was baptized in the church in 1967. Both siblings were confirmed in the church.
Tina and her brother's marriages (1987, 1992) and their parents' funerals were at Messiah Lutheran. Her dad died in 2011, and her mother in 2018.
Fontaine and Jack Hilgers also met in the Gamma Delta youth group when they were freshmen and were married in 1966. Jack died in 2023.
Jack served in Vietnam, but the couple ultimately settled on his grandfather's farm near Plainville.
Fontaine, 81, attended the 75th anniversary celebration and said being a member of the church had been a great support throughout the couple's lives.
Gary and Ila Hulett have been members for 62 years. The couple's son and daughter grew up attending Sunday school at the church.
Ila, 89, said she had happy memories of Sunday School, working with children, sponsoring the college group and attending Ladies Guild meetings.
"Being together with my husband," she said. "We both worked at the college and encouraged the young college students to attend."
"I have years and years of fond memories," she said.