The Illustrated Historical Atlas of Sioux County Iowa  1908

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE GERMAN
EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ST. JOHN'S CHURCH OF READING TOWNSHIP.
By Rev. C. D. Nuoffer

The German Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church Organization of Reading Township was established in the year 1875 with a membership of seven, whose names are as follows: Messrs. Carl Hennrich, Ernest Hennrich, Henry Van der Hamm, Henry Baack, John Rentschler, Herman Witt and Fred Franke. Services were at first held in private homes and later on in school house No. 6, on section 14, until 1884, when they erected a neat church edifice on a 40 acre tract of land located in the southeast ¼ of section 15, which had been bought for church, school and cemetery purposes. Their dedication of their new house of worship occurred on the 13th day of July of the same year. In 1888 a small parsonage was built which has since (in 1904) been remodeled into a large commodious mansion as shown in accompanying cut. In 1894 a school-house was erected near the church building for the purpose of religious instructions. Besides this school, the church also conducts a Sunday school with an attendance of from 40 to 50 pupils.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ST. JOHN'S CHURCH

The members of the church have not spared any pains, nor means in beautifying their place of worship and its surroundings, keeping everything in good order. In 1887, a number of families severed their membership with this church, organizing a new congregation in the town of Ireton for the accommodation of such who lived at a distance of from ten to fifteen miles. This organization, numbering at present about 50 families, being known as the German Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul's Church. The present total membership of St. John's Church is 231.

GRASSHOPPER RAID.-The early settlers met with not a few discouragements and hardships, the grasshopper raid being perhaps the most trying and enduring, their mode of destruction being very effectual; on wheat, they would gnaw off the straw just under the head, letting it drop to the ground; on oats they would gnaw the small files which support the oats, leaving them fall to the ground; on corn they would destroy the silks and tassels. They also manifest a liking for garden vegetables excepting green peas which they would not eat. During the nine years of the early settlement, they were with us five out of nine. In July 1873 they made their appearance, destroying nearly all the entire crop; in the year of 1874, they took half of the small grain and all of the corn; the following year there were no grasshoppers, but in 1876 they came during the last days of July, depositing their eggs which hatched the following spring and they stayed with us until July, destroying all the small grain. A good crop was raised in 1878 as they came too late to do any damage, but laid their eggs which hatched the following spring; This year, they took the entire small grain crop. During the grasshopper raid, many of the homesteaders sold their property at a great sacrifice, left the country and located in other parts. One homesteader was heard to remark that he would rather have an old sow and seven pigs down by Des Moines than eighty acres of land in Sioux County.