The Brooten Community Church hosted a 100th anniversary celebration over two days on the weekend of July 2-3.
(Video) The song "Amazing Grace" sung by the congregation at the Saturday, July 2 Hymn Sing.
Shown is a photo of the original Brooten Christian Reformed church building.
The Brooten Community Church ties its local origins back to Peter Mastbergen, who migrated from Sheldon, Iowa, to a farm five miles south of Brooten in 1914.
Within two years, dozens of Dutch dairy farmers like Mastbergen moved to the Brooten area from northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota, undoubtedly attracted by low land prices.
The significance of the Mastbergen family stems from the first Dutch church services held in the Brooten area at his farm. Soon, local Dutch families gathered for worship in the School District No. 124 schoolhouse between Brooten and Belgrade.
To read the full story and see photos that went with it, read the June 30 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. Also, many photos from the weekend (July 2-3) were published in the July 7 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.
A photo gallery will be uploaded on July 7 to the website Smugmug gallery.
Reader Comments(0)