THE LIFE OF RICHARD WILLIAM MUELLER, JR.
(Continued)

Dad’s Autobiography – Chapter 3 – In Book, Page 5

Jefferson, Summer Job, Watertown, Kuckkan Home, Love At First Sight, Competition, Hitchhiking, Thiensville/Mequon, Engaged To Be Married, Professor’s Death, First Sermon Preached, Marriage Plea, Wedding Day

JEFFERSON, WISCONSIN

My Dad accepted the Divine Call to serve St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jefferson, Wisconsin, at the beginning of my first year at Northwestern College. Because I lived in the dormitory in Watertown, Wisconsin, I did not consider Jefferson to be my home. Watertown became the place where I lived more than any other place.

I did live in Jefferson during the summer – with very, very frequent trips to Watertown to see that cute blonde. When I was not in Watertown, I was either sleeping at home or working at the Ladish Malt House in Jefferson Junction.

Summer Job! My job at the Ladish Malt House was ‘at the end of the line’. I helped load box cars with malt and malt sprouts. It was not the cleanest of jobs. Neither was it the easiest of jobs – especially during the first two weeks. My fellow laborers tried to make my life miserable. They thought of me as a young kid – a weakling studying to be a pastor. But I persisted – and held that job for five summers. The final summer there, I was receiving $2.65 an hour – the highest paying job outside of Milwaukee.

WATERTOWN, WISCONSIN

While in college, I also worked at part-time jobs in Watertown. I raked and mowed lawns, shoveled snow, washed walls, worked in a florist’s shop, and drove cab (taxi). I also went on many, many walks with that cute blonde. Sometimes we did ride bicycles. We did not have a car – and ‘Canary’ could not easily accommodate two persons. ‘Canary’ was a motorbike I acquired in Medford.

Kuckkan Home! Many, many days I spent at that cute blonde’s home at 911 N. Fourth Street. Her Mom and Dad treated me wonderfully. The cute blonde says that one of the reasons I came to her home was because of the delicious food I was served there – ham being one of those delicious foods. They treated me so well that, when it came time for them to build their house on Prospect Street, they asked me to help them build it. I will never forget that cute blonde’s father saying to me, “Mueller, let the saw do the work.” I was pressing too hard.

Love At First Sight! I must tell you more about that cute blonde. I first saw her as she was walking up the sidewalk in front of the Northwestern dormitory. I was on the third floor looking out of the window of my room. I remember saying to my roommate, “She’s mine.” She saw me, too. She remembers that I was playing with a hand puppet.

It took a while for that to happen. However, one day soon after, she asked one of her friends to invite me to a party. She had been asked to go there by another boy. When it came time to go for a walk to the brickyard (we can see that brickyard pond from our dining room window today), she said to him, “I am not going with you, Krueger” – and that was that. She went with me. Oh, there were some lapses in betwixt and between, but the Lord kept us together through thick and thin then – and through the rest of our lives.

Competition! By the way, this cute blonde could have married a man who became a lawyer and a judge. She could also have married a man who brought the Tyme machine to Wisconsin. Many others wanted her to be their wife. But she chose me. How thankful I am.

Hitchhiking! Even though I did not have a car, I was able to travel outside of Watertown every now and then. I did it with my thumb. I hitchhiked. I hitchhiked to Millersville, Wisconsin (near Sheboygan) with Don Bitter. He later became a President of the Western Wisconsin District of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. (My Dad had served in that position a number of years earlier.) It was on a weekend after a terrific snow storm. Buses weren’t traveling, but we were – and we made it to Millersville. It was during that weekend that the sawmill in Millersville burned down.

I also hitchhiked to New Ulm, Minnesota, to see that cute blonde. It was in the middle of a snow storm, too. Another friend and I stood on the banks of the Mississippi River thumbing for a ride. A car went by. It didn’t stop. Our hearts sank. But then we saw its stop lights go on. It backed up – and took us all the way to New Ulm. They had recognized the boy with whom I was traveling. Our Lord had His holy angels watching over us then already.

THIENSVILLE/MEQUON, WISCONSIN

Engaged To Be Married! Almost immediately after I graduated from Northwestern College in 1951, I asked that cute petite blonde to be my wife. I had asked her parents for her hand in marriage. I had also sought the permission of my parents to marry her. That momentous occasion took place at the Swabenhof Restaurant downtown in Milwaukee. No, I did not get down on my knee, but I did solemnly present her with an engagement ring. I thank my God that she accepted my proposal – and more so every day of our lives. By the way, to celebrate the wonderful event, we drank our first martinis. We both agreed that they tasted like pine needles – and we have had very few of them ever since.

Professor’s Death! My Seminary days are a blur, with one exception. I remember vividly the day one of our professors was killed by a train right near the Seminary property. It happened early on a Monday morning. I was on my way back to the Seminary from Watertown when the accident occurred. Can you imagine the shock I had that day? It is still vivid in my mind. By the way, the railroad crossing is still there – but now protected by flashing lights.

First Sermon Preached! With studies and frequent trips to Watertown and Jefferson, where my future wife was teaching the first grade in St. John’s Christian Day School, the days rolled by – although not fast enough for either of us. It was during the first two years after our engagement that I conducted my first worship service liturgy. After Easter of my first year at the Seminary, I preached my first sermon for the first time at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in Milwaukee. My uncle Arthur Laesch was one of the pastors there at that time. My Grandfather heard me preach, but not in church. He listened to me over the intercom between the church and the Jefferson parsonage as I practiced my delivery from the St. John’s pulpit.

Marriage Plea! During my second year at the Seminary, a number of students (and I was among them) petitioned the President of the Seminary for permission to be married during our final year at the Seminary. That was unheard of at the time. Students did not get married until after they had completed their course of study at the Seminary.

After many deliberations, President Carl Lawrenz, who had just become the President of the Seminary, announced to us that we would be granted that permission. And he never forgot the “trouble” we had given him in his first year as President. He even reminded me of it when he came to Zambia, Africa, to visit the Mission there almost twenty years later.  Actually, he was kidding.

Wedding Day! Irene Louise Kuckkan, – “Cookie” – (that deliciously cute, beautiful, blonde girl) and I were joined together in Holy Matrimony at St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Watertown, Wisconsin, the church where she was baptized, attended Christian Day School, was confirmed, taught Sunday School, and sang in the choir. The wedding reception took place in St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran School in Jefferson, Wisconsin, where my father was pastor. (St. Mark’s could not host us. It was the day of its annual church picnic.) Our wedding was marred only by the illness of our best man. He was in and out of the ceremony; present only long enough to present the wedding rings. I even drove the wedding car. He, and the maid of honor, rode in the back seat.