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1623 B No. Platte
1956-1959
St. Marks' Lutheran Church, Verdon,
Nebraska
The Old Desk is on the Move again.
Central Lutheran Seminary
Fremont, Nebraska
Spring of 1960 we moved to 1623B No. Platte (the next door
Quonset from our first home 1623A). We lived there only a few months
because we received a call from a small country church in Verdon, Nebraska
where we would serve for the summer months.
St. Mark's Lutheran
Church Verdon, Nebraska 1960
The old desk was loaded into a farm truck provided by Kenneth Vogel
our neighbor from the farm just ½ mile to our East. All of our other belongings were also
piled in beside the desk for a short ride to Verdon, Nebraska about 150
miles south of Fremont..
My first experience being in the country was a few months previously
when Del supplied for Sunday services at St. Mark's. At that time we drove
our 1951 black Pontiac along this rural,
gravel, tree lined road with fields of corn planted on either side. We took in
the countryside enjoying the beauty of the fields and the newly budding trees. A
farmer appeared on his tractor and waved and smiled at us. A bit further a
couple in their car waved and smiled at us. I asked Del who they were. He didn't know. I
remember asking him if maybe they
knew we were coming because they had waved. He informed me that this
is the custom of people who live in
the country. I couldn't believe it; people were so friendly! In the
city, you didn't wave or show recognition to anyone unless you knew who it
was. The
church having been built in 1913 burned in 1943. The congregation continued to worship in the basement
structure for
several years. We enjoyed serving at St. Mark's Lutheran Church near
Falls City in Rural area near Verdon, Nebraska. The old desk enjoyed its own
bedroom (study) once again. This time the pastor's study was
located in the downstairs of this early 1900's Large white frame, 2 story
plus full attic parsonage.
One day while Del was at the desk in
his study next to the living room. I was watching General Hospital on our
new black and white TV (To us it was new at $5 purchased from an estate auction
that spring.) I began to hear some consistent shuffling sounds coming from
behind the closed doors where Del had been studying. Curious as I was, I had to
check out the sounds. To my surprise I found my husband on his knees on the floor.
His desk drawers were all pulled out of the
desk and stacked on top of each other beside him. Del's body was almost hidden inside the desk where
the right drawers had been removed. Slowly he appeared from inside the desk with
a small nest in his hands. The nest was made from his
class papers which were now shredded to make a perfectly soft crib for six tiny pink finger size baby mice.
Mother mouse had been with them but scooted away to a nearby cornfield at the edge of the property and
left her babies to an uncertain future. They were placed in the corn field
to the east of the parsonage. This house a magnificent white home at the crest of a hill overlooking the beautiful waving green
fields of corn surrounding it. Because the house was uninhabited, several
families of mice took up residence there. It seems the old desk served
another purpose having become a delivery room for new babies..
Central Lutheran
Seminary Fremont, Nebraska 1960
Summer came and went at St. Mark's in Verdon. Kenneth Vogel's
farm truck came and was loaded once again with the Old Desk and all our other
belonging for the trip back to Fremont at 1623B where it took up residence once
again in our bedroom. For one more year at Central Seminary, the lamplight once
kept it warm during winter studies.
St. John's Lutheran Church,
Des Moines, Iowa 1961
Spring time brought another move, This time to Des Moines Iowa
where Del interned for the summer at St. John's Lutheran Church. Our home was
now an apartment in the Franklin Court Apartments with air conditioners running
in everyone's windows making it difficult to sleep with windows open. We
didn't have an air conditioner. The Old Desk didn't care as it was still
being used to study by in the evenings.
In September, The old desk was on the move again, this
time in a U haul back to Fremont for one last year of study. It was now
in an upstairs bedroom in the Seminary apartments on Linden Avenue.
These were apartments for the Seminaries' married students. Our dressers were in a large closet at the end
of the hallway. Wendy slept in the large front room where we had our
couch, chair, bookcase, and our refrigerator and dinette set. The small kitchen area had
a very small refrigerator under the cupboard area which we used for food
storage not a refrigerator. We were happy to have our own large unit to
care for our cold storage needs.
The desk was used for studies every afternoon and
evening. Wendy took naps in the afternoon so daddy could easily baby-sit
and study. Mom took care of her while he attended classes in the
mornings, and she worked at Karl's Jewelry Store every afternoon,
Saturdays and evenings when the store was open. This arrangement worked
very well and helped Mom once again to PHT (put hubby through).
St. John's Lutheran Church
Cozad, Nebraska 1962-1966
The old Desk making a major move now. It
moved in a borrowed trailer to its next working place to the Pastor's
Study that was no longer in our home. This time it took up
residence on the West end of the Church nave in the Brick Church
Building. As we looked out the window of the study, the parsonage was to the west, but
fields of alfalfa were surrounding all of the property.
Now 8½ miles of gravel road outside of
this small town of Cozad in west central Nebraska we were in Alfalfa
Country for sure. Another home of Alfalfa mills reminds us of when
Del drove truck for them during College days. Here in the middle
of Nebraska, he no longer worked for them. We simply observed the
harvest, listened to the trucks going by to the mills many times a day
and smelled the freshly mowed alfalfa which was harvested plentifully
having a fresh mowed smell outside our windows. Soon it would be processed in the towns
nearby. Every small town in the area had an Alfalfa Mill. The smell of
the processed alfalfa was all too familiar and reminded me of a bad odor
I would rather not have to take in.
Back to the Old Desk. The smell of
fresh countryside and quietness made it possible for the pastor to spend
many good hours of concentrated study and preparation for classes,
services, and Sunday bulletins. Those bulletins were typed with the manual
typewriter onto stencils, and run off on a mimeograph which was in the
basement tool room of the parsonage. It shared the room with Del's
tools. Many hours were spent repairing that old mimeograph. That
was the most frustrating and often very difficult time. That was
the only time Del worked in the parsonage. Most of the work was done in
study at the old desk and in the church building.
After a couple years the old desk was replaced by a newer
version in 1963. A grand new Oak Office Desk donated by Pastor Stanley
Eklund from our home church in Sioux City, St. Luke's Lutheran. Pastor
Eklund received new office furniture and his old desk was given to Del. Del was
the first son of St. Luke's to go into the ministry.
(Picture of study area at back of Church Building)
Now the new desk traveled to Cozad on top of brother Ron
Carstens' automobile. It had to travel on its desktop with feet in the
air. What a sight that must have been! It wasn't any worse for the trip
and took the place of the old desk which now retired to the basement of
the parsonage.
The Old desk was retired to the basement of the
parsonage for the remainder of its life in Nebraska.
1966
June of 1966
Both the Old and the New desk moved.
Destination Swedesburg, Iowa Henry
County SE Iowa
1966-1981
Now in June of 1966,
it was time again for a move to a new home over 550 miles to SE Iowa. A
small village became home. This village is Swedesburg located in Henry
County between Burlington, to the SE, and Iowa City, to the
North, on Highway 218. The old desk, the New office desk and
all of the belongings of our family from the parsonage were loaded on a
moving van and then traveled the long trip to SE Iowa arriving 4 days
later. The old desk took its new position as Judy's desk and landed
in a basement room in the center of this large basement which was
located under this large white frame 2 story parsonage. It was used for
craft work and order set ups for products she sold for Stanley Home
Products and Shaklee. It was used daily and did its job well. 
The newer Oak Office desk took residence
in Pastor's Study. The study was first located in the sacristy of the
church. 
Because of the constant cross traffic in the sacristy (behind Christmas Tree) and the
inability to keep it locked and secure; the study was moved to an upstairs room
of the parsonage. So inconvenient was this room for visitors that within
a very short time it again moved to the church building. This move was
to the basement area taking the space of a Sunday School in the
middle of the basement. Here it remained a faithful servant to the
pastor for another 15 years.
If you go to the third basement window from left that was Del's
Study underground.
1981 Another Move
1981-1985 Mt. Pleasant Address
Only 10 miles South of Swedesburg to
the town of Mt. Pleasant Iowa was the next stop.
Both desks arrived at Linden Heights into a ranch style home. The day
after moving into this home we were informed that the house we were
renting had been sold. We had 30 days to find another home. By the
help of God, we were able to purchase our first home on 14 West Highland
on a hill to the West side of Mt. Pleasant. This home overlooked a corn field down
toward High way 34 which traveled East and West
across the state of Iowa. (Picture
from West Highland)
Because there was no room inside the house or
garage The old desk sat on the back patio area of the home. Weathered and worn from
snow, sleet, rain and sun caused it to disintegrate and no longer had a
purpose in life. Soon it was moved to
the shed to the back or south of the house. The old desk took the pains
of an ax and a saw and was piled up for fuel in the fireplace during the
cold months of winter. There its last purpose was cremation. It was a
good and faithful servant.
The new desk took residence in a room
at the bottom of the steps in the lower area of this Split level home. There it was surrounded by damp, moist air and
cornfields. Those cornfields were the homes of mice and
rats. We were made much aware of these little critters. One day we
began to smell a very nauseas odor. After searching every inch of this
room we found the corpse of a poor mouse who was caught without
food. After removing this critter the smells dissipated and once again
we became the residents without mice.
After losing its old friend and
predecessor, the new desk next had to prepare for a long trip to its new
home in Arizona. A ride in Mayflower Moving van moved it along with
other large items and three more households from other families moving
to Arizona. The desk along with all Del and Judy's belongings arrived at
6933 West Medlock Dr. in Glendale, Arizona. It resided at 6933 W. Medlock Dr.
for the next 7 years. Moving directly across the street after 7
years on the South Side of the street, it had its own room which
became the study for another 7 years. Here it has to share with a
computer purchased first in 1992 and operated by Judy. Del continued to
work with his standard Hermes Typewriter when doing written work. It was
a very sunny warm room and a great place to peacefully work away from
other activities which took place in the Ranch style 4 bedroom, 2 bath,
living, dining and recreation room near the large kitchen are. Another 7
years later it made its final move to 572 Leisure World where it had a
Study room of its own at the back of the house.  Again
the second bedroom became the den or 'study' as we called it. Here
is will remain for the rest of its life with these owners.
1998-until present this was our home. The desk moved in the
year 1999.
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Here is where
the old desk served Del for many years. Three years to be exact at 1623A. Each day and
night long hours were spend poring over text books and pounding on a
standard upright manually operated typewriter on which most assignments
were completed. Numerous hours were spent poring over texts books of Sociology,
geology, English literature, Western Civilization....and the most remembered by me was Greek. I
studied Greek with him for many weeks until I became sick with flu and had to take
off a week. Being too far behind to ever catch up with the class, I discontinued
serious study. Greek was a
requirement for entrance into Seminary. 
Girls
in picture are from Left to right back to front. Nancy, Mary, Connie,
Joanne, Linda Smith and front row Rhonda, Diane, Mona Smith, Robin Knee,
Mary Williams and our Wendy Jo Carstens crawling in front. Later
Cindy Lou came to live with us.