"...Help me through Jesus' Passion..."
1970. Postal Reform Bill made the U.S. Postal Service a government corporation. In Germany, a videodisc was demonstrated. The U.S. Post Office and Western Union offered Mailgrams. The computer floppy disc was an instant success. Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Four students were killed during Vietnamese war protest at Kent State University. Floods killed 500,000 people in East Pakistan. Elizabeth Platz, and became the first female Lutheran pastor in North America after the Lutheran Church in America approved ordination of women. The American Lutheran Church also approved ordination for women and made Barbara Andrews the second ordained Lutheran woman in the U.S. The six-year-old inter-Lutheran confirmation commission recommended separating confirmation from first communion, allowing children to commune at earlier ages and allowing confirmation instruction to take place at later ages. CTA opened its Jefferson Park line. The band formerly called Chicago Transit Authority, now known as Chicago after pressure was applied by the city, scores its first hit with "Smile." The population of Evanston was 80,113.
The salary of Bethlehem's church secretary was raised from $140 to $225 per month. School janitor hired for $500. per month. Children were allowed to walk to altar with parents during communion. Examination of rolls shows that only 30% participate and give; 60-70% haven't taken communion in the past year. Only one or two hundred people come each Sunday. Vacation Bible School was started up again after lapse of four or five years and had about 50 pupils. A church project was begun to secure 450 bench Bibles. These were to be used by worshipers in following the readings for each service. Many of these were placed as memorials, others as gifts. Assist railings were placed near the entrance to the chancel area of the church to help people walking to the altar for communion. With the use of a new tape recorder, worship services were brought to shut-ins.
1971. Intel built the microprocessor, "a computer on a chip." Wang 1200 was the first word processor. Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver, Canada. Idi Amin became ruler in Uganda. The pocket calculator came on the market. Marc Chagall painted Circus with Jugglers. Rival's Crock-Pot made its debut at the International Housewares Show in Chicago. "Grease," a new musical by locals Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, opened in the Kingston Mines Theater. James Levine makes his Ravinia Festival debut, taking over the Mahler "Resurrection" Symphony on a week's notice at the season-opening gala and is named Ravinia music director the following year.
At Bethlehem, German services were discontinued except for Maundy Thursday because of light attendance. Only six of 36 students at school were from the congregation. There were no sixth grade students because Evanston Middle School goes grades 6-8. An second monthly Communion service was added in January, 1971. Individual cups, attempted in years previous, were used on this fourth Sunday of each month. The church exterior was painted. Two lots were purchased on the southwest corner of Lake and Ashland to provide offstreet parking; to meet city regulations; and to increase the attractiveness of the school property through landscaping.
1972. There is a breakin at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. HBO started pay-TV service for cable. Sony introduced 3/4 inch "U-Matic" cassette VCR. New FCC rules led to community access channels. Polaroid camera focused by itself. Digital television came out of the lab. The BBC offered "Ceefax," two-way cable information system. "Open Skies" allowed any U.S. firm to have communication satellites. Landsat I, "eye-in-the-sky" satellite, is launched. Sony's Port-a-Pak, a portable video recorder, came on the market. "Pong" started the video game craze. "Jesus Christ Superstar" was produced on Broadway. President Nixon visited China. Terrorists murdered 11 Israeli Olympians in Munich. CAT scan was used for medical diagnoses. The first legal beer was served in an Evanston restaurant.
Bethlehem's mission budget was cut to $7500. and its total budget reduced to $74,564 from $83,369. The Youth Group (formerly the Walther League) completed work on the decoration of the Youth Room, furnished with contributions from members and friends. The group's float entries in the Fourth of July parades, 1971 and 1972, were awarded the first prizes in their division.
1973. There was a ceasefire in Vietnam. Spiro Agnew resigned and Gerald Ford became Vice President. The microcomputer was born in France. Allende was overthrown in Chile. Arab oil-producing states embargoed shipments to U.S., Europe and Japan, leading to an energy crisis in the West. The Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade decision made abortion legal. Wounded Knee was occupied by American Indians. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod New Orleans convention became known as "the Battle of New Orleans," with struggles between "conservatives" and "moderates" increasing. Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELiM) was formed by "moderates" within the Missouri Synod as a "confessing movement" in response to actions taken at the LCMS convention. ELiM began publishing Missouri in Perspective. The Regional Transportation Authority was created. Rising 1,450 feet above the sidewalk, Sears Tower, designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, officially became the world's tallest office building. Formerly called the Standard Oil Building, the 80-story Amoco Oil Building was constructed during roughly the same time as the Sears Tower and is Chicago's second tallest structure, standing 1,136 feet tall, designed by Edward Durrell Stone & Associates and Perkins & Will Corporation. The Bethlehem Parent Teacher League (formerly the P. T. A.) purchased a bus for its school in hopes of attracting more students. The bus was driven by the principal.
1974. After the Watergate scandal mushroomed, Nixon resigned as President. Gerald R. Ford became President. Ford pardoned Nixon. Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in Ethiopia. Students, faculty and staff from the LCMS Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, walked out to form Concordia Seminary in Exile, later Christ Seminary Seminex. Geraldine de Haas organized a jazz concert in Grant Park to celebrate the music of Duke Ellington, who died in May, and the event laid the groundwork for the Chicago Jazz Festival that would debut in 1979. At Bethlehem, school tuition increased: members from $150 to $200 per year; non-members from $300 to $400 per year first child, $250 to $300 second child. Report on the Arlington Home showed 342 residents, including six members of Bethlehem; 275 persons on waiting list; average cost per day $14.18.
1975. South Vietnam surrendered to the Communists. The microcomputer, in kit form, reached the U.S. home market. Sony's Betamax and JVC's VHS battled for public acceptance. Fall of Saigon triggered a wave of Vietnamese, Lao, Hmong immigration to U.S. Altair personal computer was introduced by MIT. FBI agents and Indians on Pine Ridge reservation confronted each other; one Indian and two agents were killed. Henriette Lund received the United Nations peace medallion. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service placed 15 percent of all immigrants throughout the Southeast Asian wave and beyond, lasting through the 1980s and 1990s Eastern European waves, working with congregations and Lutheran social ministry agencies. Water Tower Place opened its doors to shoppers on October 21 with 74 retail stores, plus offices, a hotel, and 260 condominium apartments; architects for the project were the firms of Loebl, Schlossman, Bennett & Dart and C.F. Murphy Associates. Stanley R. Goodwin and George Tinker are the first American Indian Lutherans to be ordained as Lutherans.
The Northern Illinois District proposed that Bethlehem take over campus ministry at Northwestern. Andy Halvorson joined Elaine Hertwig and Edith Kruse as organists. Expenses for school repairs grew, as did code violations. School had regular program at Ridgeview. Pastor Brueggemann at Northwestern accepted a call to Denver. The Lenten schedule included German communion on Maundy Thursday and English communion on Good Friday. Bids were secured for tearing down the teacherage.
1976. The U. S. bicentennial was celebrated. Apple I computer came on the market. Ted Turner delivered programming nationwide by satellite. Alex Haley published Roots. Earthquakes in Italy, Bali, Turkey, China and the Philippines resulted in 780,000 deaths. Elvis died, as did Mao Tse-Tung. The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was founded by "moderates" who left the Missouri Synod, including many of those who had formed ELiM. Steppenwolf Theater opened its first production in the basement of a Roman Catholic grammar school in Highland Park.
At Bethlehem, a 10 foot artificial Christmas tree bought for Christmas 1976 so there would be no more live trees, to meet fire regulations. Recommendation that Lenten offerings be used for General Fund instead of being sent to Missions and Lutheran Charities was carried for this year only. Confirmation examination was May 9. Possibility of closing kindergarten at school was discussed. Edith Kruse's 25 years of service celebration was planned. Proposed constitutional amendments allowed both women and men age 18 voting privileges but required elders and chairman to be men who have been accepted as voting members. The Youth Group had a float in 4th of July parade. Another proposed amendment to constitution would close the school at end of term, but the amendment failed 16 to 10. Sunday School Christmas program was on Christmas Eve, Day School program the Sunday before Christmas. Plans for providing a lounge or library in the overflow area of the church were approved.
1977. Jimmy Carter became President. Treaty was signed to end U. S. control of Panama Canal in 1999. The Department of Energy was established. Columbus, Ohio, residents tried 2-way cable experiment, QUBE. The first space shuttle, "Enterprise," made its first trip. Egypt's President Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel. The P. T. L. decided to sell the school bus for sale. School enrollment was 28, with 25 projected for 1978. Call committee set. Amendment allowing women voters was approved 14 to 2 in January and accepted 15 to 4 in March. Women were be allowed to apply for membership beginning with the June voters meeting. The first women accepted as members were Marie Dorband, Christine Harloff, Norma Schuett, Esther Thiel, Sue Currie, Joan Hough, Caroline Peters, Eleanor Theorin and Ruth Thiel. Trustees were authorized to give members only the use of church equipment on and off church premises. Pastor E. Timothy Frick accepted the call to Bethlehem's new pastor.
Questions, comments, etc. are welcome.
Send them to Marilyn
Gardner at MFGardner@aol.com