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Week Before Christmas
Special For Cloningers
The week before Christmas is
a special time of the year for the
Rev. and Mrs. L. Glenn Clon-
inger, retired Kings Mountain
couple, who traditionally
decorate a Christmas farmhouse
with angels and crosses which
have been given to them during
their 45-year ministry.
Mrs. Cloninger, director of the
Junior Choir of St. Matthew’s
Lutheran Church, of which her
husband is retired associate
pastor, bakes Christmas bread
and turns out many of her yum
my recipes of chicken and
dumplings which she serves to
various church and community
groups during the holiday
season.
Their home in Dallas, ‘Twin
Oaks,” the five bedroom, two
story white frame house on a 25
acre dairy farm, has been their
retirement home since they
returned to this area in 1973
after serving the St. Luke’s
Church of Waukesha, Wisconsin
for' 31 years and before that
Lutheran churches in Billings,
Montana and Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.
For five years Rev. Mr. Clon
inger served as the associate
pa.stor of Kings Mountain’s St.
Matthew’s Lutheran Church of
which the couple are active
members.
Born on a farm in Gaston
County, Pastor Cloninger lived
in his present house and he and
his six brothers helped their
father in a large dairy operation
during their growing up years.
After graduation from Lenoir
Rhyne College, he attended Nor
thwestern Lutheran Seminary in
Minneapolis and it was while he
was a student that he met Grace
Hollenbeck, of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Young Glenn Clon
inger was a houseguest, along
with another young man, in the
Hollenbeck home while they
were particiftaung in.,« college
sponsored play, Grace said the
two corresponded for some time
and Glenn Cloninger returned to
serve his first pastorate in
Milwaukee and it was his first
job as the new assistant pastor to
make calls at homes of all the
members. The Hollenbecks were
Presbyterians, but needless to
say, their house was on his list.
Rev. Mr. Cloninger started his
extensive cross collection in
1945 with a Roman Catholic
cross brought to him by a friend
from the Holy Land. In his col
lection are Crusaders crosses, a
Russian cross, a Roman Catholic
cross blessed by the Pope, and
brought to him by a young ser
viceman on Christmas Eve,
crosses from Egypt, Spain,
Turkey, Norway, Iceland,
crosses made of horseshoe nails
from Mexico, a cross from Israel,
and a Fairy cross from the
mountains of Western North
Carolina. The beautiful
Crusaders Crosses are of native
stone from the Holy Land, the
Cicily Cross, Greek cross,
Hugenot Cross, and The
Cariboca, all of which have
sptecial meaning and relate the
complete story of the Crucifix
ion with the crown of thorns, the
nails and whip and other sym
bols. The double crosses from
Spain were used as weather-
vanes, the minister said in
relating the history of his crosses.
Pastor Cloninger estimates
that his unique collection in
cludes some 175 crosses and he
plans to do some cataloging after
the Christmas holidays. Most of
the crosses are used in decora
tions year-round but are enhanc
ed at this season of the year with
the traditional green and red
family trimmings and Grace
Cloninger’s extensive collection
of angels, also brought to her by
members and friends in their
travels. Blue Swedish glass
angels, wooden angels and china
angels are in various sizes and
shapes from all over the world.
One of the most beautiful angels
in her collection is one from a
church secretary from Bavaria.
Kissing angels, angels atop music
boxes, and lace paper doily
angels are among this beautiful
collection.
“It takes a while to unpack all
the angels at Christmas,” said
Mrs. Gleninger.
Another highlight of the Clon
inger Christmas Farmhouse is
that Grace and Glenn Cloninger
roll out a Christmas red carpet at
the entrance of their home and
keep it there throughout the
holiday season. Friends and
visitors receive a warm welcome
at the Cloningers and are also in
vited to sample Christmas stollen
with coffee and enjoy chicken
and dumplings and other
delicacies in the dining room.
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Story and photos
by Lib Stewart
RELAX IN CHRISTMAS SETTING - Poator and Mrs. L. GIsnn
Clonlngw rnlox in th* living room ol tholr homo in Dollos. a
Christmas houso at this sooson oi th# yoor. Tho Cloningors
havo boon busy this sooson ontortaining irionds.
Section B
Thursday, December 18, 1980
The Cloninger Farmhouse is
ideal for holiday entertaining.
Mrs. Cloninger opens all the
rooms on the first floor and uses
them to seat her guests. The four
fireplaces are decorated with
Christmas greenery and red
bows and enhanced by angels
and Christmas scenes. The solid
oak antique dining table, which
seats 14, is overlaid with a
Christmas cloth and decorated
with candles. A 200-year-old cor
ner cupboard has the original
hardware and was once used by
Pastor Cloninger’s mother to
store her homemade cakes and
pies. The buffet is graced by a
beautiful nativity scene, a gift
from a church secretary, from
Germany, and the silver creche
on the mantel was a Christmas
gift from the architect who
designed the 2300-member
Waukesha, Wisconsin St. Luke’s
Church, which was constructed
and almost all paid for during
the last 10 years of Pastor Clon
inger’s ministry. A unique altar
points to the mission of the
church to preach the gospel to
every creature, said Pastor Clon
inger. Twelve five-foot figures
carved of Linden wood from Ita
ly are symbols of the 12 apostles
which are used, along with a
cross, on the altar. A fish net ef
fect is also used, again to point to
Jesus as fishers of men and an
chors are the hope of the world.
There are also faceted glass win
dows and the communion railing
is at the floor level with a ramp
utilized to give easy access to the
church. The Cloningers returned
to Wisconsin for the notebum-
ing ceremony in 1974.
Cedar from the Cloninger
farm was used to fashion a
bedroom suite. A solid black
walnut bedroom suite also came
from the farm and a grape design
high headboard features a third
antique bedroom suite. The red
bedroom features a modem
bedroom suite with an old timey
trunk. The Cloninger master
bedroom is on the first floor.
Grace and Glenn Cloninger
have done some renovation to
the house, which was built in
1913. They enclosed a screen
porch and removed a wall bet
ween the porch and kitchen. A
den-kitchen area is a comfortable
spot for entertaining and opens
into a knotty pine panelled den.
The stairway is also garlanded
for the holidays and candles
burn from every window. The
family Christmas tree is in the
living room and the house
grounds and adjoining tool shed
are decorated in red and green.
“Merry Christmas” is used on
the toolshed and Pastor Clon
inger has constructed lights to
form a tree shaped design in the
front yard. Another “welcome”
sign is the yellow ribbon attach
ed to the twin oak tree in the
yard.
Grace and Glenn Cloninger
like to entertain. They took the
Junior Choir on a hayride, using
the wagon, etc. from the farm,
hosted the Senior Citizens of St.
Matthew’s to a chicken and
dumpling dinner, and the Senior
Choir of St. Matthews. The
Dallas Readers Book Club was
entertained at dinner Thursday
and Tuesday the Cloningers
* served chicken and dumplings to
35 members of the Senior
Citizens Club of St. Paul’s
Church of Dallas.
Mrs. Cloninger, who has a
wide reputation as a good
Southern cook, hails from the
North but has shared a Southern
recipe for chicken and dumplings
with many friends over the
years. She is also a talented musi
cian, likes to knit and crochet,
and made afghans for all 10 of
her grandchildren. Pastor Clon
inger lists gardening and working
in the yard as his hobbies. The
family estate requires lots of
yard work.
The Cloninger sons. Dr.
Leonard Cloninger and Dr. Paul
Cloninger of Sacramento,
California, and Dr. John Clon
inger of Boston, Mass, will not
be home for Christmas but some
of the family were here for a
Thanksgiving visit.
Friends are always dropping
in for a holiday visit with the
Cloningers whose home
epitomizes the message on a
needlepoint pillow: The music of
Christms is laughter, the warmth
of Christmas is friendship, and
the spirit of Christmas is love.
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GARLANDS — The etaircaM leading to the se
cond story of the Cloninger Farmhouse is
garlanded with Christmas trimmings. Mrs. L.
Glenn Cloninger. dressed in a Christmas red
blouse, black shirt and pearl studded tie.
stands in a Christmas setting.
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CHRISTMAS IS A SPECIAL TIME FOR COU
PLE — The week before Christmas is a special
time of the year for Rev. and Mrs. L. Glenn
Cloninger who fill their house ond yard with
decorations and their kitchen with the aroma
oi baking bread and chicken and dumplings.