1916. Radios got tuners. The first Gershwin tune was published, "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em; When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em." Telephone and electric lights were installed in the Bethlehem parsonage. On September 20th, Pastor C. F. W. Meyer left Evanston to a Lutheran congregation in New Rutherford, New Jersey. Pastor Paul W. Luecke from Roselle, Illinois, was installed on December 6th as Bethlehem's new pastor.
1917. The Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark. The U.S. declared war on Germany. Gasoline-powered double-decker buses operated near parks where trolley tracks could not be built. Puerto Ricans become citizens of the U.S. The Lutheran Laymen's League was founded on June 22 as a vehicle for proclaiming the Gospel. Lutheran Brotherhood formed as a fraternal mutual aid society for Lutherans. Five different inter-Lutheran endeavors culminated in 1917 and 1918 to coincide with the 400th Anniversary of the Reformation: "There was never a debate among America's Lutherans whether or not to celebrate the quadricentennial of the posting of the Ninety-five Theses in 1517. The only question was how and on how large a scale... Lutherans across the land formed committees for local celebrations, implicitly agreeing to forget, at least for a time, their internal squabbles in order univocally to sing the praises of Luther and his doctrine... everywhere there was enough joint Lutheran activity to make preparation for the 1917 observance a turning-point for Lutherans in America." Cooperative work that bore fruit in and around the time of the celebration: The National Lutheran Council, an inter-Lutheran was founded by eight church bodies, including our Synod, in 1918. The Norwegian Lutheran Church of America united 90% of Norwegian Lutherans in 1917, and later became the Evangelical Lutheran Church (1946). The National Lutheran Commission for Soldiers' and Sailors' Welfare was founded in 1917 as an inter-Lutheran body to minister to Lutherans in the armed services of World War I. It ended in 1922. Common Service Book and Hymnal was published in 1917 by the churches which would unite to form the ULCA. The General Synod, General Council and United Synod of the South merged to form the United Lutheran Church in America in 1918, reuniting three "Muhlenberg" strands. Mr. Mossner left the service of Bethlehem Lutheran School, having accepted a call to Port Hope, Michigan. Miss Minnie Kohn of St. Paul, Minnesota, was given charge of the primary grades until a new teacher could be called. In the late spring the Bethlehem Walther League was organized which was composed of both younger and older members. The elders were authorized to collect money for an auto, which was presented to Pastor Luecke as a gift.
1918. On November 11, armistice ended the World War. The first regular airmail service was between Washington, D.C. and New York. Mount Wilson telescope was completed. A world-wide influenza epidemic struck, killing 22 million people. The United States population was 103.5 million people. Piggly-Wiggly advertised Meadow Gold butter, 46 cents per pound; pure Italian olive oil, $1.75 per quart; a large can of Burnham & Morrell Baked Beans, 15 cents; Swift's pure lard, 27 cents per pound; Thos. J. Webb coffee, 32 cents per pound, and U-No-Me cling peaches, 19 cents for a large can. The Slotkowsky Sausage Co. was founded and sold what would become the most widely known Polish sausage. The Great Patriotic Food Show in Chicago, given by the State Council of Defense, offered a book of recipes bearing the legend, "It is the patriotic duty of every woman to follow the advice and recipes contained in this book." Among the meatless dishes are creamed rabbit, head cheese, tamale pie, potted pigeon on toast, goose rice timbales and possum (marinate it overnight in vinegar and lemon juice). St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was organized in Evanston. Mr. Wm. Luebkert was installed as teacher of Bethlehem's primary grades before the fall term. Several months after his induction into office he was obliged to resign from active duty on account of ill health. In World War I thirty-one young men and one young lady entered the armed services of our country. The Service Flag honoring these young people was unfurled in a special service on Sunday evening, August 11. Upon invitation to participate in the Evanston Memorial Day Parade, the congregation suggested that the various societies take part in this wartime exercise in the name of the congregation. Canned goods were gathered for River Forest.
1919. People in large cities could now dial telephone numbers themselves. Shortwave radio was invented. Flip-flop circuits were invented; they would help computers to count. There were race riots in Chicago. The United States Constitution was amended for the 18th time, this time to prohibit the sale of alcohol. A godsend to gangsters, Prohibition meant the end of saloons with their free lunches. Lunch counters and soda fountains appeared, as did speakeasies. Trumpeter-band leader Joe "King" Oliver moved to Chicago, continuing a migration of New Orleans musicians to the bigger, more prosperous city to the north. The Peace Conference at Versailles opened. On August 14 the Lutheran Deaconess Association was organized at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Zion Synod organized the Slovak congregations otherwise without synodical affiliation and was received as a non-geographical synod of the United Lutheran Church in America. The Rev. F. A. Neumeister, missionary in Sinton and Woddsboro, Texas, starts conducting worship services at the Mellenbruck farm for Mexicans in San Juan, using interpreters. Mary Markley (1881-1945) became the first woman secretary with the ULCA Board of Education, assigned to administer religious work with college students, the first position of its type in an American church. In March, Mr. Toenies came to Bethlehem to instruct the scholars of the primary grades. In August, he was installed as a regular teacher of Bethlehem Lutheran School. The Bethlehem Walther League was reorganized into a Senior and a Junior Society and both received permission of the voters to join the International Walther League. A soldiers' and sailors' welcome home celebration was held at the church on Sunday, October 26. It was decided to have an English service every Sunday. A building fund was instituted.
1920. The United States Senate refused to ratify the 1919 Treaty of Versailles with Germany. The 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote. Sound recording was done electrically. Herman Rorschach devised the inkblot test. The League of Nations was established in Geneva. An earthquake in China killed 200,000 people. The Drake Hotel was built in Chicago. The population of Evanston was 37,234 people. Owing to the extreme increase in the enrollment of pupils at Bethlehem School, the congregation was obliged to arrange a third school-class. Miss Norma Stolte of Troy, Illinois, was placed in charge of the new class. The Bethlehem Men's Club was called into existence with Mr. George Simons as president and Mr. Louis Krueger as secretary.
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