The Trinity Danish Lutheran Church papers contain materials from its inception in September 1880 to their centennial celebration in 1980. The papers are divided into five series: Parish Registers, Notes, Correspondence, Printed Material, and Ephemera.
The Parish Registers series consists of handwritten log books listing the dates of congregant births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and deaths. There are also lists of membership rolls. These log books are written exclusively in Danish until 1920. Photocopies were made of the 1892-1945 book for preservation purposes.
The Notes series is made up of handwritten minutes which are divided into four sections: Annual Church Meetings, the Gayville Study Club, the Ladies Aid; and the Sunday School. The minutes of the annual meetings are written in Danish until 1921. The Sunday School section contains related enrollment lists and financial records.
The Correspondence series consists of three letters of resignation from Pastors H.M. Andersen, Thorvald Hansen, and Paul Petersen. There is also a letter from the Growth In Ministry program questioning the church’s decision to discontinue their affiliation with said program.
The Printed Materials series is made up of pamphlets and programs for anniversary celebrations; newspaper articles describing the dedication of the new altar in 1950; the church constitution, the synod constitution and bylaws, and two issues of Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota’s “Smoke Signals” newsletter with a photo of a child. On the back of the photo is “Lanse, bd 2-28-66”.
The Ephemera series consists of two citations of achievement for the Gayville Woman’s Club from 1968-1970 and 1970-1972. These awards were made on behalf of The Community Improvement Program.