Fred T. Eggert Papers

NOTE: This rough manuscript was found within the collection and is likely autobiographical. The manuscript has been edited and abridged for inclusion in this finding aid.

Fred T. Eggert (Saint Louis - Concordia Seminary 1924)

First Call to Saint Paul at Grindstone, South Dakota; Immanuel at Creighton, South Dakota; and including preaching stations at Pedro on the Cheyenne River and Wall, South Dakota where the famous WALL DRUGSTORE now is and where the main church of the parish now is. After 2 1/2 years the parish was divided and two pastors served.

December 7th - married Violet Daisy Sheridan of Old Trinity in Saint Louis and [brought] her "west."

1927 - first child born at the Lutheran hospital 164 miles away - Margery Ann.

1929 - second child - Verna Mae - same hospital.

For two years [I] also taught an 8 grade public school...to meet the costs.

Second Call. Received a call to Saint John south of Aberdeen, South Dakota and accepted it. In the depth of the depression it was decided to build a much needed church. It was a beautifully designed church. We needed $16,000 and our pledges ran to over $17,000. Here our third child was born, Mary Louise, also in a hospital, but only 13 miles away. (During this pastorate [I] served on [the] District Youth Board.

Third Call. In late summer of 1935 a call came to serve a dual parish in the Colome, South Dakota area, also sprawled over a large area. It was decided to accept this call and we served as best we could for two years.

Fourth Call came in August of 1937 to Meinert, Missouri where I was also to [teach] school - 8 grades, with 45 pupils. It was a real challenge and I accepted the call. Seven years were spent here. [The] congregation [had] 120 communicants and 40 active Walther Leaguers. During [this] period I also did resident p.g. work at Seminary. I hold B.A.-B.D. and S.T.M. degrees.

Then came the war. I applied for chaplaincy [and] was disqualified for physical reasons but [I] was determined to serve. The Armed Services Commission of the Missouri Synod sent a call as [Lutheran] service center pastor. I resigned from that congregation and in 1945 the family moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to take charge of the Center work there.

Next. The war was over, Camp Shelby was closing, and so was the Center. Just before Christmas of 1946 we moved to Kansas City to manage the [Lutheran] Center there. Hundreds of servicemen streamed in for a shower and a cup of hospitable coffee on their first stop from the west coast.

Next. This center was closing also. In 1947 came a call from the Central District to serve a mission congregation in Henderson, Kentucky. We decided we should go. [The] Korean War [arrived] and again the [military] camps were thronging with men. Now it was for me to serve again at Camp Breckenridge where the 101st Airborne Division became stationed and I became the Civilian Chaplain to the division - really a blessed work. We were able to establish a [Lutheran Service] Center at our church for the military on leave and once again I was in the work I loved. During this pastorate I also served on the Central District Youth Board and served as a substitute teacher for Henderson City Schools.

Next. In September came the request from the Armed Services Commission to take charge of the new Center in San Diego, so in early October of 1951 we were once again on the road to new challenges [and] new horizons. My duties were not only to those men who came to the Center, but also to work in and with the military, the Naval Training Center, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and other installations in the area. Cooperation with the USO was to be nurtured.

This kept us busy until 1962. Then the request and invitation came from the Commission to take charge of an overseas Center, in Kaiserslautern, Germany where there was a huge concentration of American and Canadian military. We had church services every Sunday, confirmation classes, retreats, public relations activity, work on the Airbases and Headquarters areas, counseling, youth work, and the operation of the Center.

Next. In 1965 we were to retire but the Commission asked that I add another year of service by taking over the Center in Charleston, South Carolina which I did. Returning to San Diego, our [present?] home, I served for a time as vacancy Pastor at Faith Church and then served as Pastor in a 1 1/2 year vacancy at Messiah Church.

Finale. That is yet to come, but in 1974 our family, both church and personal celebrated our 50th anniversary of marriage and ordination. Our whole family was together, all 16 of us plus relatives and many, many friends.

And now. It is 55 years since graduation and the first charge. The world and life has changed in so many ways - perhaps all but one. In 1924 the call was "Preach the Gospel." In 1979 the call is still "Preach the Gospel."