Alumni Focus - Carol Lemke ('64)

From our school's humble beginnings in the basement of St. James Lutheran Church to a new campus on Crusader Avenue, then later working at our current campus on Oakdale Avenue, Carol Lemke '64 has been a part of nearly the entire history of SCLA. A member of our alumni board, Carol shares her memories and the love for our ministry and mission that has sustained decades of connection to SCLA.  

What are your favorite memories of your time as a student in the 1960s?  

Choir and Croixaliers (eight members) were favorites, even when we sang at churches on cold and snowy winter mornings. Cheerleading for our little basketball team was about the only athletic activity for girls, other than one girls' intramural basketball challenge at the West St. Paul Armory (our gym at the time). The first school building had five classrooms, a small office and library space, and a coatroom.

From your days as a student and throughout your years of working at St. Croix, what are the biggest changes that you’ve noticed? Which improvement is your favorite? 

Back in the beginning stages of St. Croix, my mother took me to the opening service at St. James even though I was still in grade school. That was in 1958. The ground-breaking ceremony was the next step.   After grades K-8 in the public system, I started at St. Croix as a freshman in 1960, in the third class to graduate in 1964. We were the first classes to experience the "new" building on Crusader Avenue. Registration was a little scary, since Ron Pape signed me up for band.  All I had played was piano, but the new glockenspiel, cymbals, and bass drum all proved to be fun. There were fewer than 60 kids in the whole school, and maybe 15 - 20 in the band. Look at the program today. Changes are huge! Students are SO talented, the directors are fabulous, the facilities are wonderful!

What path did you take after graduating?  Did your experience at St. Croix prepare you for this journey?

(Doctor) Martin Luther College was chosen mostly because I didn't really know what to do, so I followed some friends there.  It was God-led all the way.

One year of teaching in Watertown, SD, marriage to Carl in 1969, four kids, and eight "grands" later, over half of my life has been connected to St. Croix through Carl's coaching and teaching and my part-time work in development for several years.

Besides moving to the Oakdale campus (yes, we were also in on the volunteer preparations to get it ready in 1995), I love the chapel, which gives the proper focus for all we teach and stand for - Christ alone, our rock and cornerstone.

What advice do you have for current students?

Today's students have so many amenities that could only be dreamed of over 60 years ago. The faculty is super! Christian education is so necessary for our anxious society, so necessary for our hurting world. Students, take it all in and be the salt of the earth; preserve the true Word, consider ministry as part of your future, stay committed to excellence, and marry another faith-filled servant of God.  😍