The Rev. Carroll Luther Hinderlie (1913 – 1992) was a disturber of the peace and a rocker of boats wherever he went. Born in Minnesota, he attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and Luther Theological seminary in St. Paul. He was ordained in 1939 and married Mary Elizabeth Aasgaard.
Carroll and Mary were studying at the University of Oslo when the Germans attached the Norwegian capital in 1940. They escaped through Germany and returned to the United States later that year. A short time later, they landed in the Philippines on their way to become missionaries in China. In December 1941, they and their 3-week-old daughter were captured in the Philippines by the Japanese. The Hinderlies survived more than three years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during World War II by building a sense of community among their fellow prisoners.
After being liberated by U.S. forces in 1945, Carroll served a number of parishes in the Midwest and went on to become youth director for the former Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC), where he organized thousands of students to rebuild war torn Europe. Carroll lectured on the New Testament at Luther Seminary from 1961 to 1963, when he became director of Holden Village.
Carroll served as director from 1963 until 1977. During that time, he helped to shape the Village into what it is today. Luvern Rieke, chair of the board during that time, describes Carroll’s time this way: “Carroll came to us with tremendous enthusiasm and energy, and a well-developed set of ideas for the Village. He had a great strength as a communicator of the Gospel. He was also able to stimulate financial support from private sources. It is impossible to imagine the Village as we know it today without the gifts and the service of Carroll Hinderlie.”
(Bio from Star Tribune 3/21/92, and Surprising Gift by Charles P. Lutz)