A child from PCYC’s After School Enrichment Program serves punch to Luther Seminary alumni members Curt Johnson and Bob Nervig.

PCYC Founders Return for Visit 50 years later

Editor’s Note: PCYC High School students, Ker Lee and Nkaozong Yang recently interviewed several graduates from Luther Seminary’s Class of 1956 who were among the original founders of Plymouth Christian Youth Center .  The following story is excerpts from an article the students wrote as part of their journalism class assignments for the summer 2006 issue of the PCYC student newspaper, PYC Press. 

In celebration of the 50-year anniversary of their graduation, Luther Seminary alumni visited PCYC on May 3, going from room to room to see how PCYC has improved in the 50 years since some of them helped start the organization.

Food and drinks were served as the Luther Seminary alumni finished the PCYC tours.  Among those attending were Ham and Pearl Muus, Curt and Ruth Johnson, Oz Anderson and Bob Nervig, who were the first directors of PCYC.  In addition to the alumni group other guests included friends of alumni who participated with the Wilderness Canoe Base (WCB).

One of them, Duane Swenson, visited the WCB in 1957 and worked there in 1958.  The WCB is owned by PCYC.  In the summer, the Luther Alumni members used to take students there for fun.

PCYC was always a small place, never big until recent years.  However, it has always had ties to Luther Seminary.  “Ever since the first year, they have always been connected,” said Willamae Swenson.

In fact, the organization wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for these seminary students.  “We had big visions and big dreams,” said Bob Nervig, a Luther Seminary alumnus.

At the beginning, the Luther Seminary students didn’t have any plans to start a school; they were just college students who wanted to help others in need, especially young people.  They started by working with Ramsey and Hennepin County probation officers and were assigned to students that were in need of help.

Luther Seminary is located in St. Paul .  Some students lived in an old donated hotel located at 1322 Plymouth Avenue .  This was PCYC’s first home.

Somehow the students at the hotel started to tutor younger students, and that is how PCYC formed.

Somehow the students at the hotel started to tutor younger students, and that is how PCYC formed.

Since the Luther Seminary people were only students and didn’t have money, they started to go out asking for funding and recruiting to help their tutoring mission.  “People who believe recruit people who believe,” said Bob Nervig.

Now, more than 50 years later, PCYC has grown up from its small beginnings.

“We decided that we wanted to come and see what happened to Plymouth from our dreams 50 years ago,” said Bob Nervig.

According to Oz Anderson, one of the Luther Seminary Alumni, he was the one who made all the big decisions.

Other students interested in creating a group to meet the needs of teenagers included Ham Muus and Bob Evans.  Ham was the first director in 1954.

They fixed up the place by doing a lot of work during years 1954-56.  1956 was the first time they paid staff and had full-time people working.

The seminary students believed that there wasn’t enough socializing in the community.  The building, which was an old hotel at Plymouth and Washington Avenues North, was given to them to start off with.

There were no charges and the budget was modest.  “The vision captured other students,” Muus said.