Kenosha and Nashotah: God’s Well-Spent Quarters
By Elizabeth Hartung-Cole
Outdoor altar at Blazing Star Camp, Nashotah, Wisconsin, 1938.
Congratulations to the Rev. Dave Manley’s (‘20) call to service at St. Matthew’s in Kenosha! Reading the article in a previous Chapter post, prompted an avalanche of memories and a realization of how God has intertwined St. Matthew’s and Nashotah House into my life.
My father, George F. Hartung (‘44) was the youngest in a Swedish Lutheran family of six children in Kenosha and grew up during the Great Depression. When he was ten, the priest at St. Matthew's happened to hear his clear voice and perfect pitch at a local school’s talent show and offered him 25 cents to sing in the choir every Sunday. George accepted God’s calling (and the quarters!) The next summer, St. Matthew’s arranged to send George to summer camp at Nashotah House. By the time he was thirteen, George wrote a school report on career plans detailing how he was going to attend Nashotah House and become an Episcopal priest. He did indeed graduate from Carroll College and Nashotah House Seminary, and was ordained by Bishop Ivins at St. Matthew’s in 1944, by which time George’s parents and many of his siblings had become active members of St. Matthew’s.
George Hartung (‘44), center, at his ordination.
In 1941, George met Angelyn, whom he would marry at Nashotah House’s St. Mary’s Chapel. My mother was born in the town of Nashotah, and her mother’s English family (Hewit) helped design St. John Chrysostom Church, located in nearby Delafield where my grandparents were married in 1916. Her father’s family (Ake) were active members of Holy Innocents (demolished in 1960s). The original Ake home, built by my great-grandfather, still stands.
I was fortunate to have spent all of my childhood summers with my grandparents in Nashotah. Dad and I would walk down Mission Road, which then was canopied by elm trees, to attend mass at the House weekday mornings. On Sundays, we would all drive to Kenosha to attend service at St. Matthew’s with aunts, uncles, and cousins.
In 1998, my parents’ requiem mass was held at St. Mary’s Chapel, followed by their burial in the cemetery. I cherish every visit and put a quarter by the headstone!
Fr. Manley and I are blessed to have both Nashotah House and St. Matthew’s as integral parts in our lives.
George and Angelyn’s wedding photo.
Elizabeth Hartung-Cole grew up in Goleta, California, while Goerge was the chaplain at University of California, Santa Barbara. She has a BA and MA in linguistics from UCLA, taught in Japan for four years, and spent 30 years as a teacher and administrator of refugees and immigrants in inner-city Los Angeles schools. Elizabeth and her husband recently retired to mid-coast Maine and their delightful daughter works in Washington, D.C., as an international research analyst. Elizabeth is also pleased to be a supporter of Nashotah House, and hopes you will consider a gift.
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Do you have a Nashotah House memory you’d like to share, favorite chapel “prank,” a description of what life was like, or a word of advice on raising kids at the House and/or ringing Michael the Bell? We would love to have your “sketches” of Nashotah House from back in the day— whether that day was last week, last year, or years ago. We are currently collecting these among alumni, spouses, students, and friends of Nashotah House, and would love to include yours.
Nashotah “Sketches” may be emailed to chapter@nashotah.edu subject line: Nashotah Sketches. Feel free to write a brief “biography” of yourself, as well as any pictures you’d like to share with the community. We look forward to sharing!By Elizabeth Hartung-Cole