Joan Staples

Letters from my Grandfather Joan Staples

This memoir of my grandfather, a Norwegian immigrant pastor, one of the founding fathers of the Lutheran Free Church, ties together the personal history of his work and family, the Norwegian immigrant experience and the development of the Lutheran Church in America. The story of Christopher Ytrehus is told through letters written home to his mother on the Ytrehus family farm near Kjelkenes, Norway, where he grew up. The letter format felt like a natural way to tell his story because it seemed to be the way he would have liked to record it. Some might question, are these truly his letters? The answer would be: the facts and the spirit are true, though the words are mine. The memoir covers Ytrehus' immigration and early life in North Dakota, the events that led to him choosing to study for the ministry, his involvement in the formation of the Lutheran Free Church, his work as a circuit rider pastor on the western frontier, and his life as a homesteader in rural North Dakota. His life was composed of career successes juxtaposed with family tragedies, but above all, my grandfather was an entrepreneur for religious freedom. In telling his story I hope to support the ideal of religious freedom that shaped our country through tying together the creation of the Lutheran Free Church, the importance of family relationships, and the ways in which our country was shaped by the wave of immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The book also includes my History of the Lutheran Free Church. My grandfather was a joyous person, full of energy and determination to make the best of what life dealt him. These letters are intended as a tribute to his strong work ethic and generosity of spirit.