With a vibrant and rich history in service and compassionate giving, Lutheran Living Senior Campus has evolved from a small coalition of neighbors caring for one another to expansive senior living facilities serving Muscatine, Iowa. In order to see the evolution of care, let us learn more about the history of Lutheran Living:
The Early Days of Lutheran Living
After immigrating to America, German-born Henry Reinemund was originally ordained at a Lutheran Ministry in Davenport. He resigned from Zion Lutheran Church in Muscatine and began caring for orphaned children and the elderly in 1895. Alongside his wife, Sophia Weltz, and their eight children, Pastor Reinemund began running a facility to help those in need. The Reinemund family would lead the facilities for 23 years.
In search of a bigger facility, the Reinemund family got in touch with the Hershey family. Multimillionaire Benjamin Hershey, known as the ‘Lumber King,’ owned the land on which Lutheran Homes is now located. Hershey was one of the first men in America to ship blooded cattle from Europe to his farm and creamery.
After his death, Hershey’s wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Myra, donated their summer home and five acres of land to the Reinemund family. After extensive renovations, the new facilities included a school, kitchen, dining hall, and rooms for orphaned children and elderly residents. The facility would later accommodate a chapel that welcomed worship, baptisms, confirmations, marriage vows, and more. The Reinemund family would come to run the facility–affectionately named Lutheran’s Orphans and Old Folks Home–for over 23 years.
In 1921, a new school was built behind the Hershey home to accommodate growing minds. Desiring continuing education for orphaned children, classes were held in the basement of the orphanage until 1922.
Under New Ownership
After the death of Pastor Reinemund and his wife, leadership fell to Reverend Charles L. Ramme in 1918. In his first year, Reverend Ramme saw the end of World War 1 and initiated the ringing of the Hershey Home bell tower after it had been left silent for many years. After a plight of influenza endangered the Ramme family in 1919, Reverend Klein and his family took over leadership in 1921 and remained there for 20 years.
Reverend Elmer Nicholsen took up the post at the end of 1941 and served the children and elderly, resigning because of the difficult times brought on by WWII. He returned to the parish ministry in Hammond Indiana. Reverend Lawrence Stumme was them called to the position. As the orphaned children grew into young adults, the care services and education program evolved into many phases before being phased out by the mid-1960s. The focus of the home switched primarily to elderly care, a community in which Lutheran Home still compassionately serves.
Lutheran Living Today
Today, the mission of Lutheran Living Senior Campus is to provide compassionate care and services in order to address the individual healthcare needs of the resident community. Our full-time chaplain leads the support of Christian worship in the Faith Chapel with weekly Bible study, daily devotionals, memorial services, monthly Catholic Mass, weekly communion services, pastoral visits to those hospitalized and much more.
While Lutheran Living has evolved in form and leadership, the mission of providing compassionate spiritual care has remained the utmost priority. To learn more about our modern services, visit Lutheran Living today.
