Church, sweet home
New Salem couple find sanctuary in old sanctuary
By JAMES C. FALCON
editors@bhgnews.com
Ron and Jenny Waliser are used to people driving past their home and looking.
The “gutsy ones,” as Jenny Waliser calls them, stop and knock on the front door. They want to see what’s inside. The Waliser’s oblige. It’s all in a days work when you live in an old church.
“I love it, I love it. I love showing it off,” Jenny Waliser said of her home, the former old Bethlehem Lutheran Church in northeast Garrison in February.
From the outside, their home looks more and more like a home. The double doors have been replaced by a single door, the same you would find on any house. A large two-door garage, which was built by a previous owner, is located in the rear. However, the overall architecture, including the large windows with translucent panes, as well as the long memories of neighbors, are a giveaway that their old home was once a part of the Missouri Synod.
The couple, who came here from New Salem, wanted to move to Garrison for the fishing and to be close to friends.
