Her passion is to preserve country church in Lima

By Janell Bradley

LIMA – Many hands make light work as the old saying goes, and nowhere is that more true than at the Lima Church's annual "Lima Leaf Day" the first Sunday in October of each year. It takes many donations of pies and cakes to serve as many as 600 hungry folks.

But even with many helping hands, leadership is key to success.

A long-time leader for the cause of maintaining the Lima Church as a community center, and the Lima Cemetery as a peaceful resting place – is Patricia Baumler.

Pat, who's been a member of the Lima Ladies Aid since 1971,  has always felt an obligation to work for the good of the church because it's where her ancestors once were members. Three generations of Baumler's family attended church services there. Her love for the country church in what was once a thriving town which boasted a rail line, dates back to when Pat was just a little girl. 

"It's just a special place for me and our family," she explains. "My mother and father were married in that church and I started Sunday School there when I was three." She explains further, "Almost all of my Dad's siblings are buried in the cemetery. I remember Grace Popenhagen was my Sunday School teacher. We sat around a table in the kitchen area in little round-backed chairs that were a replica of the wooden round-backed chairs that are still used in the church."

An every-third-year reunion of the Jones family ancestors is held at the church. She says it gives the East Coast families and others from farther away, "a chance to feel the way we do about the church." There are horse and wagon rides to former homesteads that now are part of the Volga River Recreation Area.

The last services at Lima Church were in 1949. Now, there are still occasional weddings, funerals and annually, Memorial Day services and Lima Leaf Day held there.

When there are services and burials in the church cemetery, the Lima Ladies Aid serve escalloped potatoes and ham or sandwiches, depending on the season. In preparation for weddings, the membership makes sure the church is clean and ready for use.

In an effort to preserve the structure, a couple of women's clubs, the cemetery association and neighbors to the church volunteer time and resources. When club membership dwindled, the ladies' aid and Volga Valley Club combined to become Volga Valley Lima Ladies Aid. Pat and other stalwart supporters of Lima's existence, also make up the Lima Cemetery Association.

And when Leaf Day rolls around each year, Baumler helps organize volunteers that cook 90 pounds of hamburger on Friday, that will become 'Lima Burgers" on Sunday.

The women wrap table service and the men carry some church pews outdoors for use in the cake walk. Sunday, Baumler and her entourage of other volunteers begin arriving about 7 a.m. to begin warming in roasters,  the Lima Burger and – pork loin prepared and donated by Marty Stanbrough the last several years.

Although Leaf Day is the church's biggest fundraiser, volunteers also gather annually to host either a pancake breakfast, soup supper or ice cream social. Particularly in years when numerous mowings of the church and cemetery grounds are needed, the second fundraiser helps meet those costs.

Donations and memorials are also important to the church and cemetery's livelihood, Baumler says.

In addition to her volunteerism to benefit the Lima Church and cemetery, Baumler has co-chaired the sewing circle at Bethel Presbyterian in West Union,  and has served on the Diaconate and has served on the worship committee and as a Lay leader. Last year, she traveled with the youth group from Bethel, to a warehouse in Minneapolis to sort, pack and ship packages as part of the Shoebox program. It was so much fun, she participated again this year. 

With other sewing circle members, she's made diapers, and pillowcase dresses for children in Africa. This winter, the ladies intend to make quilts.

As a member of Fayette County Tourism, she's volunteered hours at the Little Red House in Fayette. She was a member of the Palmer Hospital Auxiliary - Fayette unit until it disbanded. She's also served on the hospital foundation, donating theme baskets for the annual auction and a quilt for the annual raffle.

As a Master Gardener, she maintains a garden at Maple Crest Manor in Fayette. She's also part of the rotation serving coffee and treats Sunday afternoons at Maple Crest. Over the years, she's helped with American Legion dinners in Wadena.

Although retired from a career as a rural postal delivery worker, Baumler hasn't let any grass grow under her feet. Her family – husband Charles and daughters Elaine Grimm, Leann Popenhagen and Stacie Gorkow and their families and children, would be the first to admit, their wife and mother is always putting others first and welcomes the opportunity to help out whenever she can.