The Lutheran Homes Society was organized in 1895 through the efforts of Reverend Henry Reinemund. Reinemund asked Mrs. Elizabeth Hershey, wife of a wealthy lumberman, to donate her large country home and five acres of land to be used for the care of orphaned children. Originally, all efforts were channeled into providing a Christian environment and nurturing of children.

Later, Lutheran Homes expanded its Christian concern to include care service for persons faced with the problems of advancing years. As the need for childcare lessened, the program of service to the elderly took new shape and form with the completion of Valley View Manor in 1968. On April 20, 1968, the forty-four elderly people in the old aged building were moved into Valley View Manor, as it was to be called. The new Valley View Manor had rooms for eighty-six people and within six months, all of the rooms were filled. By late 1968 it was decided to complete the master plan for the building by adding the final three wings and adding room for sixty more people for a total of one-hundred forty-six. This project was completed near the end of 1969.

The next major development and expansion began in 1995 in conjunction with our 100th anniversary. A new state-of-the-art Special Care Unit was added in 1995, which is now home to nineteen residents afflicted by Alzheimer's disease. In addition, a beautiful new Chapel, twelve spacious private rooms, a fully equipped therapy room, and an assisted dining room were added.

In the summer of 2001, fourteen assisted living apartments were finished below the Special Care Unit. The apartments allow people independence and a sense of security at the same time. In the fall of 2002, construction began on six Town Home units, which will provide independent living for anyone age 55 and over. The Town Homes' ammenities include one or two-car garage, four season room, optional basement, 2-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, and much, much more. Adjacent farmland, which once helped sustain our orphan children, now serves to bring enjoyment to residents as they view the tilling of the soil and harvesting of the crops. Thus, what began as a small home for children in 1895, has grown through the efforts of countless dedicated Christians into a professional program of services to the elderly.

"So faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love."
1Corinthians 13