Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Myhrwold
----Source: Greenwood Gleaner (Greenwood, Clark Co., Wis.) 11 Jul 1963
Dr. Paul Tournier writes that self-expression is the basic problem of life. "What is the meaning of a person's life?" What do I myself mean? How can I express this to someone else? In this series of articles called "Meet the Folks," I have tried to explore the meaning of lives of some of our people, as they see themselves in relation to the community, and to life in general.
Part of the meaning of my life, I suppose, comes out of my family and background. My father came to Wisconsin from Norway when he was eighteen. He knew only hard work from the time he was fourteen. Yet, I believe that he was on one of the greatest men I have known. He was a just man, and he gave of himself. He had a lot of tenacity, and could live under discouragement without giving up. He gave of himself to church, school, and community, I would like to be like him, if I could.
My mother's father was a land and horse trader. He lived in history, and loved it. He could remember hearing Lincoln speak, and knew Sheridan and Sherman personally. He gave me a sense of history and an interest in people. The neighbors though he was crazy, when he sent my mother off to get an education; you just did not waste education on women in those days. But her education was the richest inheritance he would have left to us.
But the most important fact for me, is that Jesus Christ gave Himself for me, and has laid hold on my life. My life has meaning only as that life is live in witness to Him, and in service in His Name. This is what I wish to be, and to do. When I fall short, He restores me with His forgiveness.
Because of this, I believe in my community, under God, Greenwood has a real, meaningful future . I believe that we have right here the resources for our own growth and development. I believe that our business is to discover the talents which people have, then to help them to grow and develop those talents into meaningful skills. I believe that every person, no matter how great or humble, has an important role to play in the life of the community, and I believe that we need to learn to accept and to trust one another.
In three years, my wife, children, and I have learned to love the Greenwood – Longwood – Willard community. We hope and pray that we can be of use to our people in their experience of God, and the development of themselves, and in their experience of service together.
Sometiems someone says, "Don't you often get discouraged?" It reminds me of apicture I saw once, of someone asking a little fellow, "Isn't that boy awfully heavy for you to carry?" He replied, "He ain't heavy, mister; He's my brother!" My family and I feel this way, not only about our congregation, but about Greenwood (Clark Co., Wis.) and its people.
