Lombard's Trinity Lutheran School turns 150

Trinity Lutheran School in Lombard can't point to any one building as proof, but the school has been teaching children at the corner of Roosevelt and Westmore-Meyers roads since 1860.

“It's incredible (for the school) to be here 150 years, kindergarten teacher Marlene Krohse said. “It says something about an influence in a community and a commitment by a church to keeping a school going.

Roughly 300 alumni, as well as current students and their families, have signed up to celebrate the school's longevity today with a breakfast reception, celebratory Mass and anniversary luncheon.

Six German immigrants living on farms in Lombard started the school in 1860 because they did not want to take their children to a Lutheran school in Bensenville every day, Principal Kenn Krohse said. They started a church at the same site eight years later.

The school always has run in families, a trait that keeps it thriving and makes it unique, Marlene Krohse said.

The family of one student, eighth-grader Allison Steben, can be traced back five generations to the school's founders, Kenn Krohse said. Many other families have stayed in Lombard and sent three or four generations to the school.

“It's nice. My family history is still here, which is good, said Larry Matthews, 55, of Lombard and a Trinity Lutheran Church parishioner for eight years. “It's part of my history, part of my heritage.

At least four of the school's six teachers sent their children to the school, and one of them, first- and second-grade teacher Karen Schmidt, is a Trinity alumna.

“It was a whole different type of atmosphere, said Schmidt, who has been teaching at the school for 17 years. “A lot of us lived in the neighborhood and walked to school down the pathways of Westmore-Meyers Road because there were no sidewalks.

Schmidt attended classes in a building constructed in 1946 when the first school building a small, wooden structure was torn down. Trinity Lutheran did not have a gymnasium until 1976, when the current school was built, Schmidt said.

Schmidt said she remembers playing volleyball on the blacktop and running around the school's large, open field.

“It's been a blessing to be back here, Schmidt said. “My kids have fond memories of it, too.

Trinity Lutheran School has about 70 students this year, ranging from preschoolers to eighth-graders, Kenn Krohse said. Enrollment was higher before the recession but is beginning to increase again.

The school's small size contributes positively to the family atmosphere, he said.

“We're a small school but because of that, we know one another, he said. “We're a family of believers that are concerned with the education of children. It really is a family feeling here.