‘Frau Pastor’ Ruby Kriewaldt aged 99

It amuses me how some pastor’s wives today distance themselves from the ministry of their husbands, with the apparent excuse that the divine call was not issued to them. How times have changed! In my experience, the pastor’s wife was considered to be part and parcel of the call.

I was born in 1908, the eldest child of humble parents, Gustav and Helena Wegener, who worked a small farm near Palmer, South Australia. They gave me the name Rubina. After basic schooling at Palmer Primary School, I eventually found work in a local store-cum-post office. I helped my parents with farm work like milking cows, collecting eggs, and feeding the horses. I was active in church, teaching Sunday school and playing the organ.

My parents strongly encouraged me to marry Pastor Emil Kriewaldt from Brinkworth, who had been tentatively courting me while serving the Karoonda parish. We were married in 1932, and my life changed dramatically! At the tender age of 24, I became ‘Frau Pastor’ and felt like a fish out of water.

The first shock I received in my new role was being told by the elders that I would be required to milk two cows to supplement my husband’s stipend. (Thank God I had been a farm girl!) For 30 years, rain or shine, I milked the cows, separated the milk and sold the cream once a week to the butter factory at Balaklava. Sometimes it was necessary to start milking at 5:00 am in order to accompany my husband to various church commitments.

The next shock I received was at my first Women’s Guild meeting. I was informed that it was traditional for the pastor’s wife to be the president of the guild. Although I protested that I had never attended a guild meeting in my life, this didn’t count and I held that position until we left Brinkworth in 1965.

Thanks to my musical ability, I was called upon to play the organ for services at Brinksworth, Blyth, Clare and Canowie Belt. Occasionally I played with my first child, Brenz, tucked into my left arm.

My favorite pastime and hobby was gardening. I love flowers, even plastic ones, and my garden usually looked a picture. It was natural, therefore, that I was expected to provide flowers for weddings. Usually I ended up decorating the church as well. Since it was unforgivable to not use any flowers donated by the members, sometimes I ended up with 20+ vases on or near the altar and along the aisles. I lost count of how many times I did this. It was demanding work and sometimes took two days to complete. Thoroughly tired out from this work, I sometimes also fronted up as the organist and sang a solo for the ceremony.

Since Brinkworth had no suitable accommodation for visitors, the Lutheran manse was expected to be the local B&B. Visiting dignitaries like Sir Robert Nichols. MP, Harold Raymond of the Band Concert fame, pastors and even swaggies were catered for at the manse. Schoolteachers were sometimes given board for up to two years. One week I washed and ironed 27 shirts!

One on occasion, during a heatwave, a district synod was hosted by the Brinkworth congregation, and the manse was expected to cater for the official’s midday meals. At one of the meals a certain pastor announced that he was going to take off his coat because of the heat. All the others followed suit, except the president who declared, ‘My parishioners have never seen my without my pastor’s Rock (coat) even when I am chopping wood, and I have no intention of taking it off now.’

For many years I taught religious instruction at the Brinkworth Area School and accompanied my husband on many visits to the member’s homes and to the hospital. As well as these ‘churchy’ activities, I was engaged in community activities. I was the president of the local Red Cross for many years and an official in the Country Women’s Association. I also taught pianoforte.

Until a new manse was built in the late 1950s, we lived in a badly cracked stone home which featured a wood stove, a sink without a drain, no hot-water service and an outside toilet at the back of the year. However, in spite of these conditions, I raised three healthy boys and have some wonderful memories of the people who passed through our humble dwelling.

Ruby and Pastor Emil Kriewaldt (‘Krie’) in 1966

In 1966 we left Brinkworth to retire in our own home in Elizabeth. However, it wasn’t long before I was assisting my husband, who agreed to look after the Hillcrest congregation on a part-time basis and to serve as a prison chaplain.

He died virtually with his boots on in 1978. The I found life somewhat quieter and less hectic. Twenty-six years later, in 2004, I gave my garden a fond farewell and moved into hostel accommodation at Mannum, near where I grew up.

I have continued to write and send cards to many people (another passion of mine). In spite of my failing eyesight, which means that I am writing almost from memory, I have sent over 600 cards and letters since moving to Mannum. My sons say that I keep Australia Post in the black!

Following my 100th birthday in October, I thank God for blessing me so richly and keeping me healthy over a long and active life. (I have been in hospital only one day since giving birth to my children.) I thank God for the privilege of being a pastor’s wife. I never minded playing second fiddle to my beloved ‘Krie’ and considered it an honor to serve by his side. Am I old-fashioned?

Source: “They Call Me Frau Pastor,” The Lutheran, 2008. Scanned photocopy provided by Jonathan Brenz Kriewaldt, 23 October 2012.