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| Editor's Note: The caption under the top picture calls for clarification because the picture here and in the book is not of original quality. Strum had two Norwegian Lutheran churches. The St. Paul's Lutheran Church is on the left in this picture. It was also know as the "White" church because of its color. And its new and yet uncompleted parsonage is directly across the street, to the right of the church. The second Lutheran Church, the West Beef River "Brick" church, and the uncompleted belfry referred to in this picture is very difficult to see and is in the far background, nearly dead center of the picture, across the river to the south. We know from local account that St. Paul's Lutheran Church Pastor Helsem bought the land and built the house for the old parsonage which stands today on the left side of the picture, not in full view. Pastor Helsem owned both the land and the house that served as the parsonage and later would not sell it to the congregation because of a conflict with some members. Instead, in 1913, he sold it to the Paul Eide for $500. Paul rented out the house until in 1920 he, his wife, Milla (Amundson) Eide, and their family moved from Bruce Valley to Strum. Descendants of that family still reside in the house. The new St. Paul's parsonage was completed in 1915. Updated January 18, 2006 with assist from Carolyn (Eide) Boehne, of Strum, and a local family history and genealogy reference book, "Lilleaasen", by Juneau & Beatrice (Garson) Johnson. Fred Matson |