A Brief History of St. Stephen Lutheran Church
by Arv Uitto and Chuck Meier
The year was 1958. Our president was Dwight D. Eisenhower, Alaska and Hawaii were about to become our 49th and 50th states, and "Stow Corners"--with a population of just over 5,000--was about to become the "City of Stow." The wife of a young pharmicist in the city, Jackie Winkler (Mrs. Harold) by name, was determined to start a Lutheran church in the area. Inquiries to the Board of American Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) brought a young couple to Stow to conduct a survey. That survey resulted in a favorable report to the national church.
Early in 1959, a young pastor and his wife arrived to develop the new Stow Mission of the ULCA, as it was then known. That June this same pastor, Charles Wallick, became the first pastor of the Stow Mission. During that summer, Pastor Wallick had made some 1,600 house calls which indicated that 236 families were interested in attending or joining a Lutheran church in the area. With such encouragement, the Board of Missions purchased a home for Pastor Wallick and wife Caroline and the new church officially came into existence.
With a handmade altar and lectern, 143 people attended the first church service at Highland elementary school on September 13, 1959. This was to be the church 'home' for the next 52 months. What followed that first service was the organization of a church choir under the direction of Ruth Alexander; the purchase of a used organ for $100 from Faith Lutheran in Akron; the selection of a name, St. Stephen; the purchase of the 100 year old Wetmore farm house and part of the original farm, where the church was to built; the dedication of the original church building, now the Fellowship Hall, on April 12, 1964 and the building of the new sanctuary and its dedication in 1990. The original church charter was signed by 117 members on March 20, 1960.
We celebrate the faith, courage and dedication of the charter members, some still among us, who built the church; the church we all share and worship in together today and throughout the coming years.