EAST SIDE CEMETERY

The first Scandinavians to settle in the Stanley country arrived in 1875.  Although those first settlers were young people in the prime of life, they also realized that man's days are numbered here on earth.  They gathered at Simon Anderson's log house in the early part of 1885 and decided to form a cemetery association. The association was called the Scandinavian Cemetery Association of Stanley, Wis, now called Our Saviors East Side Cemetery.  Mr. Kristian Larson, one of the members, promised to transfer an acre of ground in the northwest corner of his land for a cemetery, in return for small monetary conisideration..  When this offer was accepted, the ground was surveyed and plotted by Christ Tiedeman.  Lots were staked out, and the association place on public record.

Later in the year, on October 1, 1885, the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was organized under the leadership of Rev. P.A. Dietrickson.  The following people were charter members of the newly organized church; Jens P. Clausen, Andrew Peterson, Ole Samuelson, Simon F. Anderson, Simon Peterson, Soren Larsen, Christian Jensen, Hans Anderson, Peter Peterson, T. M. Andrews, Christian Grosvold, Carl C. Berg, Hans F. Anderson, Andrew Swanson, Ole Krogan, Nils Larson, and Christian Larson.  Other sources add these names, Samuel (Olson) Samuelson, Mrs. George Johnson and Andrew Sorenson.

The first person laid to rest in God's new acre, in 1885, was Mrs. Millie Krogan, pioneer wife of Ole Krogan.  There were no doctors, pastors or undertakers in the area, so friends and neighbors rallied around the bereaved.  Samuel (Olson) Samuelson, a furniture and cabinetmaker fashioned a coffin from large white pine boards.  Andrew and his brother, Sven Samuelson, worked nearly all night to provide enough lumber for the coffin.

There were no roads, only tails through the forest land, and the funeral procession followed an old Indian trail on the west side of the Wolf River from the Krogan farm, which was located two miles south of Stanley.  The coffin was place on a homemade wooden cart, pulled by Andrew Samuelson's team of oxen.  Other men with saws and axes traveled on ahead and cleared a path for the procession.  At Stanley, they crossed the Wolf River and proceeded eastward to the Cemetery.  John Chalkley, A Baptist preacher, spoke at the grave.  Later Rev. P. A . Diedrickson of Menomonie, Wis., completed a Lutheran burial.

The second burial was that of Kristian Larson, original owner of the acre.  He was a strong, healthy man in the best years of his life, when he met with a fatal accident during his work.

In 1898 the church split into two Lutheran Congregations, the older Norwegian Synod and the United Lutheran Synod; referred to as the North Side and South Side Churches.  After almost 20 years, the two congregations reunited, under the leadership of Rev. J. N. Midtlien, on Nov. 12, 1917.  They became, Our Savior's Lutheran Church, as we know it today.  Because of differences which existed between them, the North Side Church would not accept the responsibilities of the East Side Cemetery, which was affiliated with the South Side Church.

At a meeting on Sept. 24, 1928 members of the Scandinavian Cemetery Assoc. (now called East Side Cemetery) asked that Our Savior's Lutheran Church to assume responsibility of the cemetery.  The matter was referred to the Board of Trustees and eventually table.  Several more attempts were made over the years to unite the Church and Cemetery.  On May 11, 2004 the Cemetery Assoc. voted unanimously to merge under Our Savior's Lutheran Church.  Aug. 2, 2004, the Church Council voted to accept the East Side Cemetery request to be part of the Church once again, approved at the annual meeting of the Church in January 2005.

Pioneer cemeteries tell an interesting and ongoing story of people and families in a community.  They speak of those who know, some we have heard of, and other long forgotten.

Dean Samuelson, Pres. East Side Cemetery