Pastor Steve Dow, who recently was called to our "host" Ezekiel Lutheran, grew up in Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin, which is in the extreme northern part of the state bordering on Michigan. Despite the name, Land O’Lakes WI is not related to the MN company. He grew up on a 4500 acre preserve surrounded by a 9 foot high security fence. The property was owned by the owners of the St. Louis Zoo. The property has bison among other animals, and there are five private and 1 public lakes on the property, which made for a youth with lots of fishing and outdoor focus.
Steve worked as a fishing guide on the property when in high school. The property owners arranged for guests to visit and fish on the property. In addition to the bison, there are bears, deer, and other animals. One elk was spotted on the property. Steve graduated from Northern Pines High School, which was part of the Lumberjack Conference for sports (and a mere 28 miles from his home). He participated in both sports and music at Northern Pines. Steve attended Augsburg College with a goal of seeing new places since he never had the chance to travel because of the year-round nature of his parents’ work.
Between college and seminary Steve spent a winter at Holden Village Retreat Center in the state of Washington. He met his wife at Holden Village when she came from Oregon for a 3-week program at Holden. They met playing volleyball. Steve’s wife is also a pastor, currently on break from call. In one memorable exchange from his past, Steve said his then girlfriend said to him “if you bring me a gl of water, I’ll love you forever”. Steve’s memorable reply was “if that’s all it takes”.
Steve went to seminary in Wartburg, IA, and he has served 3 congregations: Elizabeth IL, Rochelle IL, Eugene OR. Has 4 children 23, 20, 17, and 2 (just adopted). Steve and his wife have fostered children previously, but circumstances for this child made adoption the best option for all. Steve started in June 2023 at Ezekiel. They have a house at the north end of Ellsworth, which took a while to find.
Steve’s free-time activities include studying family history. He knows that his 3rd great grandfather served in the Civil War. Steve also likes to hike, with his favorite place being Holden Lake in WA (understandable from the photo he showed us). Has also done a lot of coaching: soccer, flag football, and basketball. Also likes to take groups to Holden Village, which is very remote. It’s on the edge of a National forest in WA. The Lutheran retreat center was donated by a copper mining company that shut down the mine when it became uneconomical.