Old home, new face
St. John's Lutheran Home keeps mission, changes methods
by ELIZABETH TAUFA Reporter
For nearly 150 years, the St. John's Lutheran Home has provided services to Western New York children.

The St. John's Lutheran Board held a dinner on May 15 to honor former residents of the home. Board President Ed Kinkel, left; Treasurer Mike Heckerman; Vice President Joan Runcke; Secretary Ronald Peters; and Financial Secretary William Dannebrock attended the dinner.

Established in 1864, the home was originally intended for children who had been made destitute by the loss of a father or family support source.

The home was established by the congregation of St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran Church, then on Hickory Street in Buffalo and now at 6540 Main St., Williamsville.

In 1868, the congregation purchased 20 acres of land on the west side of Harlem Road in West Seneca, where the home was located. An additional 85 acres was later purchased.

"I suppose it was good for what it was," said Charles Moore, who was a resident of the home from the age of 9 to 13. "But the regimen bothered me."

At one time, the property was home to as many as 200 children and saw the greatest number of residents from World War I through the Great Depression.

The St. John's Lutheran Home for Children was originally built in Buffalo during the Civil War, but was moved to West Seneca in 1868.

The regimen Moore referred to involved farming and caring for livestock. Residents attended primary school, and when they graduated from eighth grade were either put to work or attended South Park High School.

"I didn't want to go to South Park, so I ran away," Moore said. After leaving the home, Moore attended what is now Hutchinson Central Technical High School and later went on to graduate from Syracuse University and become an architect.

Even though he had made up his mind to be an architect before entering the school, Moore noted that his time at the St. John's Children's Home made him and his brother and sister, who were also at the home, self-sufficient.

After World War II, the state mandated that changes for the home had to be made. The Board of Trustees determined that the cost of such changes would be too excessive and beyond the home's capabilities, thus forcing it to close in 1960.

However, the St. John's Lutheran Home remains a charitable organization that continues to provide support for Western New York children through Lutheran Charities that include The Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center, the Lutheran Youth Organization and the Samaritan Pastoral Counseling Center.

Ed Kinkel, who has been a member of the St. John's board since 1970, noted the changes that the charitable organization has made are due to wise investing on the part of the board.

The sale of the home and the land it was on, as well as the material assets within the building, were the initial funds that were invested.

As of 2002, St. John's had raised $3 million to put to use in grants and loan forgiveness.

"We're able to fully finance a youth director for all of Western New York," Kinkel said. "As far as I know, we're the only organization of this type that does that."

The St. John's Lutheran Home also rents two homes - at $1 per year per house - to Gateway-Longview Inc., an organization that provides holistic solutions for children, youth and their families, improving their lives by providing care, treatment, education and supportive services.

"The homes are for high school kids," Kinkel said. "It's supervised living, and they attend public school."

Kinkel also attributed the changes in the board itself to the continued accomplishments of St. John's.

While the physical nature of the St. John's Lutheran Home has changed, the mission remains to serve the children of Western New York.

For more information on the St. John's Lutheran Home for Children, call 632-2623 or e-mail to amluth@buffnet.net.

e-mail: etaufa@beenews.com