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The Parsonage was built in 1900 by McFarland Lutheran Church as a home for
their first resident pastor at a cost of $2,000. When it was built it had gas lighting and
two sources of water; well water from a well in the back yard and rainwater from a cistern
outside the back door.
Rev. Realf O. Brandt with his wife Mathilde and four children; Olaf, Walther, Emma and
Diderikke moved into the parsonage on October 16, 1900. Both daughters were married in the
parsonage. The Brandts lived in the parsonage until his death in 1927.
The next family to live in the parsonage was Rev. Morris Sorenson, his wife, Bertha, and
two children, Ruth and Morris Jr. A third child, Margaret, was the only child born
in the parsonage.. Pastor Sorenson moved away in 1948.
Pastor Gerhard Bergee and his wife Idella came to McFarland in May of 1949 with two small
sons, Gerhard and Paul. The Bergees lived in the old parsonage until 1955 when a new,
smaller, parsonage was built and the old building was sold.In 1997 Gil and Carolyn
Splett started the transformation of the old McFarland Lutheran Parsonage into the present
day Parsonage Bed & Breakfast. Gil and Carolyn have now retired their pots and
pans, giving Craig and Cathy Wrobel a chance to continue their wonderful tradition of
hospitality.
Three of the guestrooms are named after the three families who lived in the parsonage. The
fourth guest room, The Mentor Room, is named in honor of those who taught both the Spletts
and the Wrobels about genuine hospitality and gracious service to others. |
