Castalia pastor rode horseback to churches

CASTALIA — His time in local ministry was short, but Rev. Philip Ried made a significant impact. Rev. Ried (sometimes spelled Reid) was the first pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Castalia, a daughter congregation of Zion Lutheran Church in Sandusky. The church started in 1901 in an old public school by the Rev. Theodore J. C. Stellhorn of Zion Lutheran in Sandusky, the church's website states. Stellhorn taught catechism to some of the young people in Margaretta Township in the early 1900s, but in the summer of 1901, Rev. Ried was called to minister to three different churches. The parishes were located in Mustcash (an area of western Erie County near Crystal Rock), Groton Township and Castalia. Rev. Ried traveled between the congregations on horseback and taught catechism classes in his home. A building fund was started in 1905, and the cornerstone for the Lutheran Church in Castalia was laid on Oct. 2, 1910. Dedication of the new church building took place on Aug. 27, 1911. Grace Lutheran Church is located at 203 S. Washington St. in Castalia. In February 1912, only five months after the church's dedication, Rev. Philip Ried died. He was attending a session of the Luther League in Toledo when he suddenly fell ill. Rev. Ried was well-respected in the community. His obituary, from the front page of the Feb. 6, 1912, Sandusky Daily Register, reported that Rev. Reid was "a faithful worker and an excellent preacher as well as a man whose advice and counsel was sought in affairs of citizenship as well as religion, the Rev. Mr. Reid had none but friends. There were many manifestations of sorrow when the announcement of his death was received at Castalia." Rev. Ried's parents outlived him by many years. At the Castalia Cemetery, there is a striking monument on the Ried family plot. The cross is inscribed with the words "Simply to thy cross I cling." A booklet marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of Grace Lutheran Church provides a history of the church. It is found, along with many other church histories from Erie County, at the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. Reporter Caitlin Nearhood contributed to his article.