On the rolling hills in the northeast corner of Marshall County,
Kansas stands St. Bridget Church. On a clear day, you can see
her gleaming roof line for miles. You can stand at her front
door and gaze eastward all the way to the town of Bern, Kansas.
The church proudly stands vigilant over this beautiful farmland
that once belonged to her Irish parish.
St. Bridget Church is in St. Bridget township, six and one-half miles north of Axtell, Kansas and six miles southeast of Summerfield, Kansas. It is accessible by all- weather rock roads.
It was the Mother Church of Marshall County and nourished the faith of those Catholic families who would, in the 1870's and 1880's, establish the Catholic parishes at Axtell, Beattie and Summerfield, Kansas. It was closed by the Archdiocese in 1967 because of a declining rural Catholic population. The current church building is actually the fifth church building erected by the people of St. Bridget.
The Parish of St. Bridget can trace its beginning to the disastrous Irish famines of 1846 - 1849. These catastrophes reduced the population of Ireland by two million, and sent thousands scurrying to America and other countries to escape starvation. Some of these immigrants traveled across half a continent and found their way to this part of the mid-west. The first known settlement at St. Bridget was established in 1857 when (listed alphabetically) Philip Coffey, Patrick Eagan, Elizabeth Hoffman, Patrick Hughes, Dennis Mulryan, Thomas J. Plunkett, Owen Reilly, Jacob Straub, and Eli Tripp, headed westward in search of a homestead. ( 1 )
Pioneers in those days, when looking for a place to live, searched for sites where there were trees and a running stream. The timber was essential for building their homes, sheltering their stock and providing fuel for cooking and winter warmth, and the streams provided water for drinking purposes.
Even though the area around St. Bridget had all the physical
enticements an immigrant could desire, these Irish settlers were
moving into a somewhat hostile area. There were many in Marshall
County that were not neighborly toward these new Catholic
Immigrants from Ireland. Marshall County was named after Frank
Marshall, who was the 1856 candidate for Governor of Kansas on
the pro-slavery side. Many in the county were in favor of
slavery and these Irish immigrants, who had experienced
subjection from the English in their homeland, were not in favor
of slavery or the subjection of a people by another people.
These new immigrants to Kansas were wholeheartedly
anti-slavery and their presence
here was not welcomed by Frank Marshall and his followers. The
first church, a log church, thirty feet by twenty feet, was
begun on land donated by Elizabeth Hoffman, but, before it was
completed, it was destroyed by fire. Arson was strongly suspected
because of the strong anti-Catholic bias in the county at that
time. This did not stop the new immigrants. They immediately set
about rebuilding and completing another church at the very same
location.
The Catholic Church had been present in Kansas since the 1500's
when the Spanish Priest Juan Padilla travelled with Coronado and
came to present day Kansas. He stood with Coronado when the
first Christian Cross was erected on Kansas soil. Father Padilla
stayed in Kansas and began ministering to the Plains Indians. He
devoted his life to the service of the cross and to the Indians
of Quivira and suffered a martyr's death in that service in the
year of Our Lord 1542. In 1836, the Jesuits came to Kansas and
established a Indian school among the Kickapoo tribe north of
Leavenworth. In the 1840's the Jesuits opened a Indian school at
Sugar Creek, near Mound City, Kansas. They invited an order of
nuns called the Religious of the Sacred Heart to open a girls
school at their mission. One of the sister who came to Kansas
was Rose Philippine Duchesne, whose life long dream was to serve
the Indians of North America. She was canonized in 1988. She is
Kansas' only canonized saint.
In 1850, Rome recognized the growing Catholic population of the
area and established the Indian Vicariate and appointed a young
Jesuit priest, of French descent, to be the First Bishop of the
Vicariate Apostolic East of the Rocky Mountains. His name was
John Baptist Miege. This new diocese was described by Father
Druyts, Father Miege's superior in the Jesuit Order, as:
"Probably one of the strangest dioceses in the Catholic world today.... It stretches 600 miles from the west bank of the Missouri River to the summit of the Rockies, and about three times that distance from the Canadian border to the Red River on the south. It's almost treeless, grassy plains country, so some call it the Great American Desert. And your subjects will be many thousands of Indians who live off the buffalo - Blackfeet, Sioux, Pawnee, and dozens of other tribes. Then, too, since the 1820's, the government has moved some 20 tribes, like the Shawnee, Wyandots, and Delawares, who used to own land east of the Mississippi, into the eastern part of the Territory.
"Aren't there any white people at all?" broke in Father Miege.
"Only those who have some connections with the Indians," answered Father Druyts.( 2 )
In 1854, the Federal Government passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which opened up these two states to an influx of white settlers. Over the next decade, many would either pass through this area or settle here.
Some say that nowhere in the world is the Roman Catholic faith more deeply rooted than in the hearts of the Irish. These pioneers longed for a place of worship, and a priest to preach the gospel of truth. In May of 1859, their dream was realized when Father Edmund Langenfelder, O.S.B., a newly ordained Benedictine missionary priest from Doniphan City, Kansas, arrived at the settlement. He offered the first Mass ever held in Marshall County at the John Coughlin home. ( 3 ) The John Coughlin homestead was 1/4 mile southwest of Edward Hasenkamp's present residence.
Between 1858 and 1861 (listed alphabetically), James Carroll, John Clark, John Coughlin, Sylvester Creevan, Bernard Gallagher, John Gossin, Thomas Loob, Peter Lynch, Michael Maddigan, Edward McCaffrey, Patrick McGrath, John Moriarty, Patrick Moriarty, Michael Murray, John O'Neil, Michael Shaughnessy, John Smith and their families arrived and joined the growing community at the St. Bridget settlement. ( 4 ) Father Patrick O'Sullivan, pastor from 1896 to 1907, describes these first parishioners:
"It was a grand generation of heroic mold who amidst hardships, privations and dangers, broke the prairies, built their homes, and brought religion and civilization to Northeast Kansas."
According to the records at St. Benedict Parish in Atchison,
Kansas, Father Augustine Wirth, O.S.B. of Atchison, traveled to
the new settlement of St. Bridget twice in 1860. The records
indicate he baptized two children on April 18, 1860: Margaret
Carroll, the daughter of James and Bridget Carroll and Patrick
McCaffrey, the son of Ed and Frances McCaffrey. Fr. Augustine
returned to the St. Bridget settlement in July of 1860 and
baptized four more infants: James Thomas, the son of Pat and
Margaret Moriarty; Frances, the daughter of John and Catharine
Moriarty; Margaret, daughter of Pat and Mary Hughes, and
finally, Mary Emily, daughter of John and Marie O'Neil. These
are the first recorded baptisms at the St. Bridget parish
settlement.
( 5 )
On one of his
visits in 1860, Father Augustine blessed the site of the future
church building and laid the cornerstone for the new church.
( 6 )
On Nov. 19, 1860, Father Phillip Vogg, O.S.B. visited St. Bridget and baptized three infants, William Coffey, Susanna Murray and Sabina McGrath. ( 7 )
On May 20 of the next year, Father Emmanuel Hartig, O.S.B. came
to the settlement and baptized six infants: Catharine Coughlin,
Rose McCaffrey, Thomas Moriarty, Marie Myer, Helen Shaughnessy
and Margaret Schmitt.
( 8 )
There was still no regular visits by a
priest until June 21, 1861, when the parish established at
Wildcat Creek, (St. Mary's Church at St. Benedict, KS with
Father Severin Rotter, O.S.B.) was ordered to attend to the
needs of the St. Bridget parishioners on the second Sunday of
every month.
( 9 )
This was the beginning of regularly
scheduled religious services at St. Bridget Parish.
As each new settler arrived, the homes of those who came before were thrown open to welcome the new immigrants. They were invited to move in with an established family until such time as the new immigrant could provide a shelter for his family, which was done by all the neighbors gathering together, cutting and hauling the logs and helping build the house. Another family, another home, was added to the little colony, and as one old settler remarked,
"How the people of St. Bridget should love each other for the kindness of those days."
In 1862, Bishop Miege gave permission for a parish to be officially organized under the direction of Father John Meurs. ( 10 ) Father John was born in Prussia, Germany in 1837. He was the first priest to finish his theological studies at the newly founded St. Benedict's College in Atchison, Kansas. He said his First Mass there on March 21, 1862, and in September of 1862 was assigned to the Benedictine mission at Nebraska City, Nebraska. He soon made his way down to the St. Bridget area and established a residence in the Seneca - Wildcat area. The new parish began with some of the following as original members: James Carroll, John Clark, John Gossin, Peter Lynch, William P. Madden, Michael Maddigan and Michael Murray.
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| St. Bridget | St. Bridget Cross |
These early Irish settlers needed a name for their new parish. In honor of the Patroness of Ireland, the name Bridget was chosen for the newly-organized church. This revered Irish nun, known also as Mary of the Gael, was a close friend of St. Patrick. This was the saint the early pioneers admired and wanted as their model for Catholic life here in northeast Kansas. St. Bridget is often depicted in art with a dairy cow that accompanied her on her trips to bring mutton, milk and butter to her poor neighbors. She also is said to have wove a cross from "rushes" (thatch) from the river Shannon. Her pagan father saw the cross, and became a believer. Today, people place a "St. Brigid's cross" in their homes and believe God protects those homes from evil and deprivation. (Her life story)
Sometime in 1863 or early 1864, a frame church (the second church building) was built on the site where the cemetery now is located, but this church was later moved up the hill to its present site. The story of how this move happened is an interesting story of "Irish" ingenuity. As Oretha Ruetti writes in the October, 1976 issue of Kanhistique,
"... in 1864, a frame church was built on the same site [as the log cabin church] despite dissension in the parish over the selection of this site for the church building. The disapproving group favored locating the church a mile farther north. It was this disagreement among the parishioners that spawned the many legends of the 'Fighting Irish' of St. Bridget."
"The dissenting faction, with their Irish definitely 'up', gathered at the church one dark night with their lanterns, oxen teams, and skids. They were going to move the church up the hill to their chosen site! The oxen tired and the moving rig broke down. At daybreak they were discovered at a point midway between the two disputed sites. A compromise was reached which left the church at this spot, on a ten acre plot donated by Patrick McGrath. The original site became the parish cemetery and is still in use today." ( 11 )
There are a few former parishioners who question the validity of this story about moving the church in the middle of the night. They sincerely believe the logistics of such an endeavor make it impossible to bring about. To move such a large building with only a few oxen, skids and ropes, is impossible, they claim. They are of the opinion that this story was conceived by some parishioners as a joke, and it ended up being believed by many later-generation parishioners as the " truth." They also claim this story originated in the 1940's; "None of our ancestors ever told us this story," although Emma Forter's 1917 Marshall County History mentions
"... the first frame church was built on the site where the cemetery now is, but afterwards moved to where the present church stands." ( 12 )
They would like the story to be true but find it hard to believe as it has been told and retold over the years. Maybe we will never prove one way or another whether it happened or not, but it is now definitely a part of our parish history.
On February 19, 1867, Patrick and Catharine McGrath granted a warranty deed to Bishop John Baptist Miege, Bishop of the Leavenworth, Kansas diocese. The legal description of the ground donated by the McGrath's is as follows:
"10 acres square of the south East corner of the west half of the North east quarter of Section 14, Township 1, Range 11, lying and situate in the County of Marshall and State of Kansas." ( 13 )
The frame church building also served as a school house for many
years. In August of 1864, Fr. John Meurs left Wildcat.
( 14 )
He is
remembered by the people as the priest who would ride a horse to
death in order to reach a sick person in time to save his or her
soul. He would also tell his parishioners:
"In case of storm, don't worry. Just go into your house, close the doors, and rest assured that God will take care of you."
Father John eventually ended up at St. Mary Church in Lyndon Station, Wisconsin where he served for seventeen years. His health failing, he returned to Kansas around 1895 to live in retirement. He settled in Chetopa, near the Oklahoma-Kansas Border, where his sister lived. The founding pastor of St. Bridget parish died on Thursday, June 27, 1901, age 64. He is buried in St. Rose Cemetery in Chetopa. ( 15 )
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| Fr. Thomas Bartl, OSB | Fr. William Fitzgerald | Fr. Timothy Luber, OSB |
St. Bridget Parish was attended by Father Thomas Bartl, O.S.B., pastor at Bendena, Kansas during 1864 and part of 1865. It was late in 1865 or early in 1866 that St. Bridget's got its first resident pastor in the person of Father William Fitzgerald, a newly ordained priest, who was assisted by Father John Fogarty. ( 16 ) Both men were big and strong, well adapted to the hardships they would have to endure in those lean years following the Civil War. For several years they worked together at St. Bridget and in the surrounding missions, namely Wildcat (St. Benedict, Kansas), Irish Creek (Lillis, Kansas ) and Marysville. During their time at St. Bridget, they oversaw the construction of a parish house, which was later destroyed by fire in 1869. In 1867, Father Fogarty was reassigned to Junction City, Kansas, and later to Solomon City, but Father Fitzgerald stayed at St. Bridget until 1871, when he was then transferred to Irish Creek. ( 17 ) In 1870, Father Fitzgerald was responsible for the Catholics not only at St. Bridget but also at Coon Creek (Washington County), Coal Creek (Nemaha County), Waterville, Guittard's Station (Marshall County) and St. Joseph's Church in Wyoming, Kansas (now Lillis, KS). ( 18 ) There was no resident priest at St. Bridget's again until 1878, when Father Timothy Luber, O.S.B. would build a second parish house and reside there. ( 19 )
The Ft. Leavenworth - Ft. Kearney military road (formerly the Pony Express Route) crossed Marshall County a few miles south of St. Bridget. The Fairland post office ( 20 ) on this route closed with the death of Samuel Shockley in 1869. It was reestablished as the St. Bridget Post Office in a home near the church with Levi Henzel as the first postmaster. A post office was in operation at St. Bridget's from March 23, 1869, until February 1, 1902, ( 21 ) when rural mail service from Axtell was established. Frank Hoffman and Mike Minehan both served the St. Bridget community as postmasters.
A small town grew up around the church on the hill. Mrs. Ruetti writes:
"A trading post operated by Michael Murray was put up on the roadside near the church to serve the needs of the settlers in this far corner of the county. Murray ran his store from 1865 to 1877 and then moved to Axtell where he continued in the mercantile business for many years. Later Miss Minnie (Maggie) Minnehan ran the general store across from the churchyard and served as post mistress until the post office was discontinued in 1903 when a rural route from Axtell was established. In still later years, John Creevan had a general store and gasoline pumps at a site north of the current church. The trading center bowed to progress when more automobiles and better roads diminished the need for a rural store." ( 22 )
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| Fr. Suitbert Demarteau, OSB | The Rock Church and rectory |
In 1871, St. Bridget began a time where she was served by a number of Benedictine Priests from St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison. They were responsible for the sacramental needs of many of the Catholics in North-east Kansas. Father Suitbert Demarteau, O.S.B., from Atchison, was appointed pastor in 1871 and began the erection of a rock church, thirty by sixty feet, which could seat over 300 people. It was completed by January, 1874. (This was the third church building.) Patrick Hughes donated and quarried with his own hands, on his own farm, much of the stone used for this church. Each member of the parish was asked to haul one cord from the quarry to the building site. Philip Coffey donated the plastering. James Carroll and John Stohl did the mason work.
The settlement at St. Bridget continued to grow and prosper in the 1860's and early 70's. A news item in the Seneca Courier of February 10, 1871, gives these encouraging words about the people at St. Bridget, although they misspell the name Bridget.
This is the name of a post office in the northeast corner of Marshall County.
"A Catholic Church, named after the Saint, and a store kept by Mr. Michael Murray, comprise this town. It is the center of an Irish settlement, a large portion of which is in this county [Nemaha County]. The settlement does most of its trading in Seneca. They are a very thrifty and industrious community, and though most of them came there poor, all are doing well, and some have become quite wealthy. They are among the largest and most successful stock growers in this vicinity." ( 23 )
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Between 1874 and 1876, the parish was attended twice a month by the following Benedictine priests living in Seneca: Eugene Bode, O.S.B., Theodosius Goth, O.S.B., Peter Kassens, O.S.B. and Boniface Moll, O.S.B..
In the fall of 1876, Father Timothy Luber, O.S.B. took charge of
the parish of sixty families
( 24 )
and for the first two years kept his
residence in Seneca. He and members of the church erected a
twelve-room parish house, located south of the church, at a cost
of $3,000.
( 25 )
In 1878, Fr. Luber moved his residence to St. Bridget. There had been available housing for the priests before, but nothing to compare with the new rectory replete with gingerbread trim and lightning rods. Too much could not be said in praise of this pious, zealous man who was ever striving for the moral and social uplift of his parish. Brother Lambert served as his housekeeper and spent much of his time in the care of the grounds, which he converted into a veritable flower garden.
During Fr. Luber's pastorate, a church bell was purchased from the "Struckleager Brothers" of St. Louis, Missouri. The bell has the inscription "In honor of St. Bridget, October 12, 1880," and is housed in the bell tower of the present church. Besides his duties at St. Bridget, Father Luber was also responsible for the Catholic parish at Axtell, the parish of St. Augustine in Capioma ( Nemaha County -- now Fidelity), and the parish at Sabetha. ( 26 )
In August of 1883 Father Luber was transferred to Wildcat and Father James P. Martin O.S.B. was appointed pastor. Fr. Martin was from the East and had great difficulty getting along with the people of the parish. According to The Axtell Anchor, on December 28, 1883, Father Martin was taken ill suddenly on returning from services in Axtell. ( 27 ) In February of 1884, Father Martin was transferred and for the next six months the parish was again attended by the Benedictine Fathers of the area. Father William Rettele, O.S.B. was appointed pastor "pro tempore" ( 28 ) in June of 1884 and served the parish until August of 1884. He was a very respected man, even though the local newspaper misspelled his last name when he first came to Axtell. But the announcement of his leaving three months later had his name spelled properly: Rettele. The Axtell Anchor carried this news article:
On Monday next, Father William Rettele, who for the past three months has presided over the parishes of Axtell and St. Bridget, leaves us, having been assigned to Capioma, Nemaha County. He will be succeeded in his charge here by Father Hurley, a young priest, who comes from Fort Leavenworth. We regret to see Father William leave us, for he is a christian gentleman, whom our people, irrespective of creed hold in the highest esteem. ( 29 )
The first mention of a parish school at St. Bridget occurred when The Axtell Anchor mentions in its August 30, 1884 edition that:
Father Hurley, of St. Bridget, is going to establish a parish school at St. Bridget. School to be held in the Murray building at that place. The work of arranging the building for a school house is being vigorously pushed. ( 30 )
Two weeks later The Axtell Anchor carried a follow-up story:
School started at St. Bridget, Monday [September 8], with an attendance of thirty-seven pupils, mostly girls, as the boys are too busy making hay to be spared. Still the abo(v)e number makes a good showing to start on. ( 31 )
One of the early teachers at St. Bridget School was Miss Mary McDonald, who left her duties at St. Bridget as a teacher and principal in December of 1886, after her father died and her widowed mother needed her back in Leavenworth. ( 32 ) Eulalia T. Guise interviewed Joe Carroll, St. Bridget born and raised, for a 1957 Marysville Advocate article. She confirms that the parish used the Murray general store at St. Bridget for a school after Murray moved to Axtell in November of 1875:
"After Murray moved to the new town site of Axtell, the store building was converted into a parochial school by the Rev. Father Hurley, which Carroll attended." ( 33 )
Father John A. Hurley, born and educated in Leavenworth, was ordained a priest in March of 1883. He came to the parish on August 20, 1884 and remained there until 1896, a period of twelve years. On November 9, 1885, Father Hurley met with an accident that could have been extremely serious. As The Axtell Anchor tells it:
Rev. Father Hurley met with quite an accident on Monday evening (Nov. 9). A little daughter of Mr. Menahan, Jr., at St. Bridget, was badly bitten by a vicious dog. Father Hurley ran into his house, got his gun and shot the dog. By some means or other a lot of the powder flew out through the tube of the gun and filled the upper part of his face with powder. Fortunately his eyes escaped. The injury was quite painful. Dr. Cole was called and succeeded in removing most of the grains from his face. ( 34 )
In March of 1891,
( 35 )
Fr. Hurley's pastoral responsibilities changed. A
resident pastor was assigned to Axtell and Father Hurley was
asked by Bishop Fink to begin a new parish at Summerfield.
It was during this same time that Father Hurley purchased the beautiful stain-glass windows that grace the present St. Bridget Church. It seems they were originally installed in the stone church and later moved into the new church. During his twelve years at St. Bridget, the young priest saw the parish develop in many ways. He built an addition on the west end of the stone church, ( 36 ) a sacristy. He also built a barn behind the rectory to house the pastor's horse and buggy. ( 37 ) When the parish outgrew the stone church, he oversaw the construction of a frame church to be used for church services. (This was the fourth church building.)
Approximately 70 families belonged to the parish during Father Hurley's pastorate. When the present brick church was completed in 1908, this frame structure, that was used as the temporary church, was then used as a Parish Hall for social activities. It was torn down in 1949. On January 25, 1896, Fr. Hurley was transferred to Emerald, Kansas, where he ministered until 1909, the year he died of throat cancer. Father Patrick O'Sullivan followed Fr. Hurley in February of 1896.
In March of 1897, when Father O'Sullivan was pastor, a terrible
tragedy struck the parish. There was a typical Midwest
thunderstorm on Saturday night, March 27. Manley Creek
(which ran at that time east of Jim & Kathy Fischer's
present day residence) was beginning to rise. It was about
2:00 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. Sarah McGrath was riding in a
wagon with six of her children. The eldest, Frank, 14, was
driving the wagon. They were traveling over to the John Hynes
farmstead to tell them good-bye. The Hynes were moving away.
When they came to a low water crossing point, Sarah was
hesitant. The water seemed high and the current looked swift.
The children insisted on crossing the creek so they could tell
their neighbors good-bye. Frank was also confident they could
cross the creek safely because earlier that morning several
other wagons crossed with little difficulty going to and from
church. And so Frank cracked the reigns and the horses entered
the swift current. It was deeper and running faster than they
thought. The horses began to swim and started turning around
trying to reach the safety of the creek's bank. As they turned,
it upset the wagon, tossing all into the water. The icy water
soon numbed those in it but somehow Sarah made it to the creek's
edge.
She began the search for her children. She found Frank, clinging to a limb but it was too dangerous for Sarah to try and reach him. Frank told his mother he could hold on and she should go for help. Reaching the home of Dan Calnan, rescuers soon arrived. But it was too late for all the children, including Frank, who lost his grip on the limb and was swept away in the fast current. A funeral Mass was held at St. Bridget Church on March 30, 1897. ( 38 ) Five children were buried in a common grave that day in St. Bridget Cemetery. On the day of the funeral, the sixth child was found and was buried later with the other children. The Mass that day mourned the loss of Frank; Mary, 11; Katie, 9; John, 5; Joseph, 3; and Tommy, 1 1/2. This was the tragedy of March 28, 1897. It was one of the saddest days in the life of the McGrath family, Father O'Sullivan and St. Bridget Parish.(See related story from the Axtell Anchor newspaper)
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| Father O'Sullivan | Bishop Louis Fink, OSB | Father Patrick McNamara |
Humor also played a part in Father O'Sullivan's life at St. Bridget. A story is told about Father O'Sullivan and the visit of the bishop (believed to be Bishop Fink). Fr. O'Sullivan was an avid hunter and raised greyhound dogs as a way to supplement the sometimes meager parish income. The bishop was scheduled to arrive at St. Bridget for a Confirmation service. Knowing bishops frowned on most commercial activities pastors sometimes employed to increase parish revenue, Fr. O'Sullivan needed a place to keep his dogs, away from the eyes of the bishop. On his way into Axtell, to pick up the bishop at the train station, he dropped all the dogs off at the Michael Shaughnessy farm where Melvin Kramer presently lives). The dogs were locked up in the barn and the arrangements were to let the dogs loose the next day, after the bishop boarded the train. Somehow when Pat Lynch, (the son-in-law of Mike Shaughnessy and uncle of Charlie Shaughnessy) opened the barn door, the dogs got out and returned to the rectory just as the bishop and Fr. O'Sullivan finished their evening meal. They were sitting on the porch enjoying the evening breeze when this pack of greyhounds suddenly appeared and began lounging around the porch. Father O'Sullivan tried to chase them away but they always kept coming back. Covering his tracks, Father said to the bishop: " Whose dogs are these? Whose dogs are these? I wish those neighbors of mine would keep their dogs at home." The bishop supposedly replied: "Father, I think the dogs are at home." ( 39 )
Before the church was quite complete, Father O'Sullivan was moved to Lillis, Kansas and the Rev. Patrick R. McNamara was sent to take up the work where Father O'Sullivan left off, including the plastering of the church, the transferring the exquisite stained glass windows from the old church to the new building, and completing the furnishing of the interior.
Father O'Sullivan was a zealous and faithful pastor. By his
efforts, he succeeded in building the present red brick church,
fifty by one hundred feet, at a cost between $25,000 - $30,000.
This was the fifth and last church building erected by
the parish.
( 40 )
Construction on the foundation actually began in April of 1902.
The project was started after Father O'Sullivan had successfully
raised $9,000.00 of the estimated $10,000 it would take to build
it.
( 41 )
Construction was start and stop, start again and stop again because of both financial considerations and weather conditions.
On Tuesday, June 20, 1905, the corner stone of the new church was laid by Bishop Lillis. A few months later on September 14, a terrible wind storm struck the church, now under construction. The Axtell Standard wrote about the damage it caused at St. Bridget:
All the scaffolding was blown down at the St. Bridget Church, in course of construction, the window and door frames blown out and the walls considerably damaged. ( 42 )
Parishioners furnished the labor and donated much of the materials and furnishings the new church building would need. The red brick used in the construction of the church and rectory was brought in by railroad flat cars to the Carney Siding (presently the farmstead of John and Sherri Meyer) on the old Kansas City, Wyandotte and Northwestern Railroad. It was transported by parishioners with buckboards or other types of wagons from the Carney siding to the construction site of the church and rectory.
A unique feature of the church construction is its high vaulted ceiling unsupported by pillars. The main altar contains three of Ireland's greatest saints. St. Bridget, standing at the very top, surrounded by St. Columba on the left side and St. Patrick on the right. Left of St. Columba, stands St. Joseph with the child Jesus, and to the right of Patrick stands St. Jude, apostle and the patron saint of "hopeless " causes. St. Jude is the statue that causes the most questions. Protruding from his head is a "tongue of fire " symbolizing the gift of the Holy Spirit he received at Pentecost, along with the other apostles. The statue of Our Lady of Grace, is on the south side altar and the statue of the Sacred Heart stands on the north side altar. At the base of the main altar is a plaster casting of the Last Supper. The church was completed in 1908 and it loomed large as the pride of the parish and a monument to the self-sacrificing pioneers of St. Bridget's Parish. The bell tower was never completed. It was to be added on when times got better for the St. Bridget farmers. Unfortunately, the times never got much better.
A most striking feature of the St. Bridget Church is its
stain-glass windows. Archbishop Strecker, visiting the church in
1992, commented: "These are some of the most beautiful
stain-glass windows I have ever seen in any church."
( 43 )
The four large windows on the south side depict (east to west):
The four large windows on the north side depict (east to west):
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| Fr. Francis Geinitz (in back) |
Fr. Michael McManus | Fr. Michael O'Leary |
The new church was dedicated by the
Rt. Rev. Bishop Lillis, on September 2, 1908.
( 44 )
Father McNamara was transferred in 1909 and Father Francis
Geinitz was appointed to a one year term. In 1910, Father
Michael J. McManus was appointed and stayed until 1913. In 1912,
the parish secured the services of two Benedictine Sisters as
teachers. Although it was a public school, two Benedictine
sisters from Atchison were hired as instructors as long as they
were available. Two well-trained educators for a one room rural
schoolhouse brought the best of education to the district. Also,
due to the musical abilities of the sisters, the children had
the opportunity for a musical education, which is not easily
obtained in a rural community. In 1912, there were fifty
students enrolled.
( 45 )
In the years 1917 - 1918, the school maintained an enrollment of
sixty-seven children.
( 46 )
( 47 )
In 1921, the enrollment dropped drastically to only twenty-five
students.
( 48 )
In August 1913, the Rev. Michael O'Leary was installed as
pastor.
During Father O'Leary's three years of service, he erected a
modern parish house, of red brick to match the church. It was
completed in 1916, at a cost of $4,000.00.
( 49 )
The original rectory
then became the Sister's house. A benefit from having the
Sisters was that every year, the two nuns would turn their
convent into a "Boarding school" for those children of
the parish preparing to make their First Holy Communion. Several
weeks before the big event, the sisters would teach the children
all they needed to know about the Holy Eucharist. A fire
destroyed the convent in 1935, but it was quickly replaced with
a new modern six-room house for the sisters.
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| Fr. Dan O'Reilly | Fr. William Nelligan (in back) |
In 1916, Father O'Leary was succeeded by the Rev. John A. Murphy who remained until February, 1917. Fr. Murphy, for health reasons, took a leave of absence from the diocese and for the next two years recuperated back in Troy, New York. The Rev. Daniel F. O'Reilly arrived in February of 1917. On Tuesday, March 25, 1919, a defective flue started a fire that completely destroyed the rectory. This was the new building erected by Father O'Leary less than three years before. The parishioners were sharply divided on the expediency of rebuilding the priest's house. ( 50 )
In June of 1919, Fr. O'Reilly was transferred as pastor to St. Cecilia's Parish in Perry, Kansas. Father William L. Nelligan was then chosen by Bishop Ward to take charge of the parish and settle the controversy. Much credit is due him for the tactful manner in which he smoothed ruffled feelings and reconciled opposing factions. He remained only two years, but in that short time he built and completely paid for the structure. In 1999, this building was torn down.
When Father Nelligan had the rectory rebuilt, he installed a hot
air furnace and a 32 volt
Delco Electric lighting system for the rectory and church.
In the basement of the rectory was a Delco generating unit,
consisting of a series of large batteries and a small motor that
would recharge the batteries when needed. This combination of
batteries and charging motor powered the electric lights.
( 51 )
Mr. Leo Eagan, who worshipped at St. Bridget as a boy, had these
comments on the system:
"Compared to the oil or the kerosene lamps we had at home, the lighting in the Church and parish house was pretty bright." ( 52 )
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| Rev. Michael J. O'Farrell | Rev. Jerome J. Twomey |
St. Bridget was far ahead of its time in bringing light to its buildings because electricity did not come to the rural area until twenty-eight years later in 1948. The rectory Nelligan built cost $5,600. While the new house was being constructed, Fr. Nelligan lived in the priest's sacristy in the church. Father Michael J. O'Farrell succeeded Fr. Nelligan and was pastor from April of 1921 to April of 1922. Next, Bishop Ward appointed Rev. Jerome J. Twomey pastor. He served the parish for ten years, from 1922 to 1932.
Father Twomey, an amateur Golden Gloves boxer, introduced the western rodeo concept to the people at St. Bridget's. Advertised in the Marysville Advocate as the "St. Bridget Big Fair," it made its first appearance on Tuesday, September 26, 1922. Contest events included horse races, foot races, tug of war contests, and an eight-round boxing match with "Red" Latta from Marysville. Other contests included steer riding, bull riding, and kicking horses. Prizes were given to the winners of the various contests. The evening events included: a generous chicken dinner; an auction; and, concluding the evening festivities was a platform dance. The Fair was open to all. Many a tale is told and retold about the exciting times of the annual St. Bridget Fair. Besides the normal rodeo events of calf roping and bronco-riding, they had, over the years, wrestling matches, livestock auctions, trick roping, baseball games between various city teams, political speeches in election years, clowns, and a simulated Indian attack on a covered wagon train. Possibly the greatest attraction was in 1928, when it was advertised that a new Chevrolet Touring car would be given away. It was actually, a new Chevy roadster that was given to the winner, Frank McBride. Everyone in the parish was supposed to sell at least one book of tickets. It was said that Frank McBride sold only one ticket in his book, sold it to himself, and won the automobile.
The Bands that played for the dances following the rodeos were a "Who's Who" of the area bands. Mitchell's Orchestra played in 1923; the Seneca town band in 1926; both the Axtell and Summerfield town bands played in 1928, when the fair was expanded into a two day affair. In 1933, it was the "Rhythm Kings of Wymore, Neb." and in 1935, Paul Kennedy and his Orchestra entertained the dancers.
Father Leo V. Ahern was appointed by Bishop Johannes to replace
Father Twomey in 1932. In July of 1935, commerce between Axtell
and St. Bridget was improved when the road between the two
communities was upgraded to an "all-weather" road with
a smooth, wide ribbon of white, crushed rock. That was the high
point of 1935 for Fr. Ahern. A low point occurred on Sunday,
April 14, about 4:00 p.m. Following the afternoon services, Fr.
Ahern ...
"was standing on the walk in front of the church visiting with some of the parishioners, when a gust of wind lifted the manhole lid in the belfry and tumbled it outside, striking Rev. Ahern on the head and shoulders. He was knocked down and rendered unconscious, the lid being of heavy lumber, re-enforced by metal. Rev. Ahern sustained a severe scalp wound, a broken collar bone and was otherwise badly bruised. ...if the lid had struck him squarely on the head, it could have been fatal. " ( 53 )
This was the story carried in the April 18 edition of The Axtell Standard. The Summerfield ambulance arrived with Fr. Charles J. Williams of Summerfield and took Fr. Ahern to the Sabetha hospital where he was hospitalized. A later story in The Standard tells us that his injuries kept him away from the parish for three months, until July of 1935.
Another "low point" of 1935 was reported in the October 24, 1935 issue of The Axtell Standard. On Monday, October 21, 1935, about 6:00 p.m., a fire was discovered at the convent. The Summerfield Township Fire Department was called but with the muddy roads arrived too late to save the convent, but kept the fire from spreading to the Church and other buildings. ( 54 )
A handsome new convent was quickly erected and was free of debt
on the day the sisters took possession in July of 1936. The new
convent had a small chapel that was often used for weekday
Masses and even Sunday Mass when the weather was bad. The Rev.
Stanislaus Loncaric, who replaced Father Ahern on July 1, 1938,
served the parish until 1941. Father Loncaric's dream was to dig
out under the church and make the area into a parish hall. He
saw the possibility of expanding out from the furnaces and
converting that space into a hall for meetings and other events.
But other more important needs of the parish prevented Fr.
Loncaric from fulfilling his dream. There were approximately
forty-five families belonging to the parish during Fr.
Loncaric's pastorate. (Fr.
Loncaric reflects on his days at St. Bridget).
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| Fr. Maurus Kennedy, OSB | Fr. Phil O'Connor, OSB |
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| Fr. Odilo Otott, OSB | Fr. Vincent Kongs |
From 1941 - 1943 three Benedictine priests, Father Maurus Kennedy, O.S.B., (September, 1941-July, 1942), Father Philip O'Connor, O.S.B. (July, 1942 - May, 1943), and Fr. Odilo Otott, O.S.B. (May - July, 1943) served as Administrators (interim pastors) until the Diocese could appoint a permanent pastor. Father O'Connor left this assignment in May 1943, and joined the Armed Forces and served out the rest of the Second World War as a military chaplain. In August, 1943, the Rev. Vincent Kongs, a priest of the Diocese, was appointed pastor and he stayed until 1949.
The May 6, 1948, Axtell Standard carried a small note that Sister Ita, O.S.B. and Sister Mary Mark, O.S.B. had returned to Atchison after a very successful year at St. Bridget School. Two weeks later, in the May 20 issue of The Standard came this sad notice:
"Mother M. Lucy, (O.S.B.), superior at the sister's convent in Atchison, notified the school board of Dist. 52 that the (Benedictine) Sisters will not return to St. Bridget school because of the small number of pupils enrolled." ( 55 )
On September 6, 1948, St. Bridget School opened, but without the
Sisters. The District hired Mrs. Elsie (William) Powers who
began the year teaching just eight students. Another reason
expressed for the Sisters leaving was the shortage of nuns
throughout the Benedictine order that forced the Mother Superior
to discontinue sending two teaching sisters to St. Bridget's
School. Many former students were saddened by their leaving, but
recalled with gratitude the many years of valuable religious
training they had received from the nuns' thirty-five year
tenure at St. Bridget's. Since nuns were no longer available for
the school, the convent was sold in the late 1950's and moved to
a farm southwest of the town of Summerfield. Eventually the
school was closed when District #52 became part of a larger
unified district. The schoolhouse was also sold and moved away.
An often expressed fear of the St. Bridget's people was that their church would one day become a mission parish. The rapidly declining population of the parish, as well as a shortage of priests, contributed to this fear. This was realized in 1949, when it was announced by Bishop Donnelly that St. Bridget's Church would become a mission parish to Holy Family parish in Summerfield.
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| Bishop Donnelly | Father Paul Miller | Storm Damage to Church |
On June 1, Father Paul W. Miller was appointed pastor of both parishes. He had been pastor at Holy Family for a year already and he proved to be a most zealous and impartial pastor, dividing his attention and care equally between the two parishes. Mass continued to be offered as regularly as it had been when St. Bridget had a resident pastor. Thus, the transition was not nearly as disastrous as had been anticipated. In August of 1949, because of the deteriorating condition of the Hall (Church # 4), it was torn down. At the time, the parish was hopeful of replacing it with a new modern hall. In August of 1951, a concrete platform was poured north and east of the parish house. It was to be used for dances and other gatherings until the new hall could be built.
While Father Miller was pastor, a strong south wind, possibly a tornado, damaged the steeple and corner of the church roof. The "St. Bridget News" section of the May 11, 1950 issue of The Axtell Standard carried this notation:
"A wind storm of hurricane velocity destroyed part of the roof on St. Bridget Church (on Friday, May 5, 1950). The damage is estimated at $1,500." ( 56 )
The parish contracted with the Droge Brothers of St. Benedict to repair the damage.
On September 17, 1951, contractors began painting the church. This was the first time the church was ever painted since the walls were plastered back in 1908. The cost was approximately $4,800.00. A contract to paint and decorate the church was given to the Mulich Brothers of Kansas City, Kansas. The Mulich brothers lived at the old convent while the church was being painted, and often ate their meals with the Barney Runnebaum family, who lived a short distance from the church. The painting was completed about November 22, 1951.
First Holy Communion on June 22, 1952 was a very difficult day
for Father Miller. His mother had been his housekeeper and she
was diagnosed with cancer earlier that year. He had been at her
bedside at the rectory all through the night and the early
morning hours of June 22. She passed away about 6:00 a.m. that
morning. Within a few hours, he had to also celebrate First Holy
Communion with the children. Despite his personal grief, he was
able to make it a joyful
day for the three children. The people of St. Bridget took
up a collection to help with burial expenses for Fr. Miller's
mother. He was deeply touched by the parishioners compassion and
love. He never forgot the kindness they showed him.
In 1953, Father Frank Krul, a Philadelphia native, was appointed pastor and served until 1957. He was ordained on June 8, 1946, and had been an assistant in parishes at Topeka and Kansas City. This was to be his first parish assignment as pastor. With the help of the men of the parish, Father Krul was able to fulfill Fr. Loncaric's dream and had the basement under the church dug out and then remodeled into a parish hall.
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| Fr. Frank Krul | Fr. Leonard Moran | Fr. Dennis Pickert |
In 1958, Father Leonard Moran was appointed pastor. Father Moran was a native of Blaine, Kansas. Under his direction, two projects were completed: a new organ was purchased; and the main aisle of the church, covered with old rubber mats, was replaced with linoleum. Father Denis Pickert replaced Father Moran in 1963 and he instigated many of the liturgical changes during his tenure. In keeping with the changes made by Vatican II, he installed a new altar that faced the parishioners. He also moved the organ from the choir loft to the front of the church in order to foster community singing.
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| Father Robert Pflumm | Archbishop Hunkeler |
In March of 1967, Father Robert Pflumm replaced Father Pickert. He was at the parish only six months when on September 3, he was authorized by Archbishop Hunkeler to announce the closing of St. Bridget Parish. The last parish Sunday Mass was scheduled to be offered on September 10, 1967. At the time of the parish's closing, there were about 25 families belonging to the parish.
According to the church records, the last wedding before the closure of the parish was the marriage of John Golay from Fredonia, Kansas to Margaret McGeeney, daughter of Francis and Adelaide McGeeney of St. Bridget. Fr. Denis Pickert witnessed this marriage on October 16, 1965. The last baby baptized at St. Bridget's was Jackie Koch, the daughter of Rock & Gladys Koch on February 5, 1967. She was baptized by Fr. Denis Pickert. ( 57 ) Sharing the Faith and honoring the Lord was what the parish of St. Bridget was all about.
When the parish closed an estimated 1007 children or converts had been baptized. 212 couples pronounced their wedding vows before her altar, and 465 funerals were conducted from the church or at the cemetery. The official records indicate 537 persons received the Sacrament of Confirmation and only 53 made their First Holy Communions, but we know these last two numbers are inaccurate. The Confirmation book, that was started in 1892, is missing the pages between the years 1906 and 1928. No one knows for sure how many Confirmation services were held at St. Bridget between those years. Also, one of the pastors in the early 1940's was suffering from " hardening of the arteries" or senility. As Galen Runnebaum recounts,
"It was evening and my mother noticed the glow of a fire coming from St. Bridget and asked me to go make sure everything was okay. When I got over there, Father was standing by the bonfire and said he was burning 'some records we don't need anymore.'" ( 58 )
What he burned we are not sure. Missing from the records is the registry of First Holy Communions from 1870 to 1929. That is the only sacramental record book known missing. According to the remaining records, we can conclude that St. Bridget did a fine job of sharing the Faith with the people of Northeast Kansas and Southeast Nebraska. But little did we know St. Bridget was not to be counted out yet!
The ultimate fate of the church building was not disclosed when they announced the closing of the parish, but it was made very clear that all religious services would cease after September 10, 1967. News of the closing led some parishioners and pastors to begin scavenging the church furnishings. Some families who donated religious items wanted them back now that the Church was closing. Fr. Pickert ordered the church locked up until this dilemma could be resolved. In years past, some religious items were simply tossed away when no longer used. The metal holy water fonts, for example, now mounted to the wall next to the front entrance doors, were found in the early 1970's buried in the ground near the foundation wall of the church. These fonts were retrieved, cleaned and returned to the church by Vince and Tillie Buessing. Some other items were picked up by neighboring parishes for use there. A few of these items have been retrieved.
At the news of the impending closure, parishioners could choose to join one of the three adjoining parishes most convenient to them. The choices were: Sacred Heart Church in Baileyville, St. Michael Church in Axtell or Holy Family Church in Summerfield. The transition to the new parishes was made on schedule. There was little overt protest from the parishioners, although they were saddened at having to give up their church and parish.
In July of 1969, a persistent rumor was heard in the St. Bridget Community concerning a plan to demolish the church. The rumor proved to be true for Archbishop Hunkeler announced that he had decided to demolish the church since it was a "closed" parish. Many bishops, rather than see closed churches deteriorate, waste away, become an eyesore or an insurance liability, choose to tear down their "closed church" buildings. This was the decision Archbishop Hunkeler made. The St. Bridget people had given in without much protest on the two previous occasions. They had accepted their mission status in 1949 and later in 1967, the official closing. However, this new diocesan directive was just too much for these strong-minded Irish individuals to accept.
A meeting was scheduled to consider what could be done to avert the impending catastrophe. A group met on the steps of the church on July 13, 1969. Thirty-one former parishioners and a former pastor, Father Nelligan, were present. A plan to incorporate the church into a Historical Society was discussed and explored. Twenty-seven of those present signed a petition to save their church. Leo Eagan, Vincent Buessing and Nell Glynn were elected to study the legal aspects of the proposed plan. ( 59 )
The newly-formed committee was not able to talk directly with Archbishop Hunkeler, in spite of repeated attempts to do so. Father Pickert was asked to intercede with the Archbishop to reconsider his decision to demolish the church. Archbishop Hunkeler refused to reconsider his decision. The committee did not receive any more word for some time and was unaware of what to expect. Through it all, the people kept praying for a way to save the St. Bridget Church building from the wrecking ball.
After a long silence, word was finally received that Archbishop
Hunkeler was retiring because of ill health. The fate of St.
Bridget's would rest in the hands of the next Archbishop,
Ignatius J. Strecker.
On March 24, 1970, at 7:30 a.m., the new Archbishop met with the steering committee at St. Bridget's Church. He approved the plan to incorporate the church into the Historical Society, and agreed to transfer title to the church, its contents and surrounding acreage (6-1/2 acres) when they were legally organized. ( 60 ) St. Bridget Church was now saved from destruction, thanks to Archbishop Strecker.
The Archbishop also agreed to allow some religious services at St. Bridget with strict conditions. But Archbishop Strecker wavered on this issue. At first, he said weddings and funerals could be conducted from St. Bridget for those families who had been members of the parish. A few years later, he changed his mind and refused permission. Then years later, he again agreed to allow weddings and funerals at the former parish church. When Archbishop James Keleher came to the diocese, he went on record approving marriages and funerals at the former parish if the family had a previous connection with the parish. Also, he continues to allow the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the church twice a year for members of the Historical Society, provided it does not overload the duties of the Axtell pastor, since St. Bridget is now within the parish jurisdiction of St. Michael Parish. If the Axtell pastor is not willing to have the Mass, the Society can ask his permission to have another priest celebrate the Mass.
The process of incorporation was a lengthy and tedious one, lasting several years. Much correspondence and many meetings with state officials were necessary. The Archbishop added a condition to the transfer that stated, that any time the church is not maintained in a respectful manner, the property will revert back to the Archdiocese.
When all the legal aspects were completed and St. Bridget's was officially incorporated into the Historical Society, the committee was free to turn their attention to other matters. Plans were made and carried out for a St. Bridget's Day celebration on June 7, 1970. Ninety-four families came to worship in their old church and spent the day rejoicing together.
So successful was the first St. Bridget's Day, that the committee decided to hold a St. Bridget's Day each year on the Sunday closest to Memorial Day. This resolution was faithfully carried out from 1970 through 1987. The annual chicken dinner and dance was eventually dropped because of dwindling crowds and the rains that always seemed to fall on the day chosen to have St. Bridget Day. The Sunday before Memorial day is still celebrated as "St. Bridget Day" with the annual meeting followed by Mass and a potluck dinner in the church basement. As the years pass, time and death thin the ranks of the surviving parishioners, and the number in attendance slowly declines.
There are about 235 members who now belong to the organization. The annual family fee is $5.00. The present members of the committee in 2003 - 2004 are: Bill Sunneberg, president; Terry Stallbaumer, vice-president and Leo Glynn, Secretary-Treasurer. Each year, at the annual meeting, a report is made on the finances and what work projects need to be considered or completed. In 1972, a new roof was discussed for the Church. Plans were then made to put a new metal roof over the existing shingles. In 1977, a major project of releading the stained-glass windows was completed. Over the years many projects have been completed involving the church, the cemetery or both. (Highlights of Historical Society projects)
The members of the committee certainly deserve our gratitude for the many hours of discussion, planning and meetings necessary to secure the success of the organization and the maintenance and upkeep of the church and cemetery. The late Nell Glynn will always be remembered for her valiant effort to save St. Bridget's Church.
With the safety of the church finally assured, the committee
turned their attention to the parish cemetery. Archbishop
Strecker placed the jurisdiction and responsibility of the
cemetery in the hands of the St. Bridget Historical Society in
1970. A drive was begun to raise a sum of money large enough to
be invested profitably. The annual interest derived from this
amount would be used to pay for the upkeep of the cemetery. The
cemetery funds would be kept in a separate account from the
regular fund and could be used only for the stated purpose. This
was the equivalent to establishing perpetual care.
The cemetery has been kept in excellent condition since the organization was formed in 1970. Many have remarked that the gently sloping terrain of St. Bridget's cemetery, with its naturally wooded surroundings, make it one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the country. In 1999, a former parish family, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Glynn, remembered the cemetery in their will. Their generosity to the cemetery will help keep it a beautiful memorial to our deceased families and former parishioners.
Over the last several years, the Historical Society
has been able to make numerous improvements to the cemetery, thanks in
part to a generous donation from Leonard and Tillie Glynn, long-time
parishioners. Leonard and Tillie, both now deceased, wanted the place
of their ancestors maintained well into this new millenium.
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| Cemetery Entrance 2003 | Statues at top of Drive |
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| Cemetery Entrance 2004 |
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Parade of Flags - Memorial day, 2003 |
Arrangements have been made with the Terry Stallbaumer family whereby former parish members or interested individuals may have the privilege of visiting this historic landmark. Now, one can again glory in the majestic simplicity of the high-vaulted ceilings, the stained-glass windows of varied size, and the dark oak pews, some still bearing the names of former occupants. And, towering above all, the familiar statue of St. Bridget still crowns the main altar. In this familiar setting, important religious events took place. Some were sad, like the funerals of loved ones, but many were joyful, like the baptism or the wedding of a son or daughter. Parishioners gathered each Sunday to celebrate their faith in God through the Sacrifice of the Mass. The sanctuary looks similar to a long-ago First Communion Day. Faces of former parishioners, now long since departed, can be remembered as they looked when attending Sunday or weekday Mass so many years ago. Time has really changed St. Bridget's very little.
At the May, 1993 annual meeting, the Committee members expressed
a hope that the Statue of St. Bridget, atop the main altar,
could be cleaned and repainted. The many years of having a wood-
fired furnace left the interior of the church with a dingy, gray
film of soot, covering everything in the church. At the Mass
following the annual meeting, mention was made of the desire to
refurbish the St. Bridget statue. Enough former parishioners in
attendance expressed an interest in cleaning, repairing, and
repainting not just the statue of St. Bridget, but all the
statues. Eight different donors offered to financially fund the
project. An official contract was let on June 8, 1993 with
Johnson Restoration of Vermillion, Kansas for the restoration of
the seven statues in the sanctuary of the church for $ 2,800.00.
Work started in mid-June by Chari Johnson-Reynolds. This
restoration sparked an interest to clean the soot residue on the
main altar. At the July workday at St. Bridget, over 30 men and
women showed up with ladders, brushes, buckets, gloves and
washcloths to begin cleaning the main altar and other parts of
the interior walls of the church. The statue restoration was
completed by the time of the annual Mass near All Souls Day. St.
Bridget shines again from her place on top of the main altar.
The Stallbaumer family, in memory of their son Nicholas, had the
baptismal font renovated. Johnson Restoration was able to
complete this important piece of St. Bridget history by the
November date for the All Soul's Mass.
In October of 1993, the St. Bridget Historical Society began a new venture: publishing, twice a year, a newsletter. The first newsletter was sent to 207 names on our database. It is our attempt to keep society members updated to events and happenings around old St. Bridget Church and Cemetery. Publishing times have been set for April - May and again in October.
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| Archbishop Keleher | 90" x 104" Ohio Rose design Quilt |
June 4, 1995 was a very special day at St. Bridget's. This was the first time in over 30 years a prelate of the church graced the altar of St. Bridget Church. The occasion was the 25th anniversary of the founding of the St. Bridget Day by the St. Bridget Historical Society. To mark the occasion, the Society made plans for a good old-fashioned "St. Bridget Day." With the assistance of the officers and their wives and the Axtell Knights of Columbus, Council #1163, plans were made to have a barbecue chicken dinner (or ham), with all the normal trimmings of the old days. But the highlight of the day was the arrival of Archbishop James P. Keleher, Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas. He was to be the principal celebrant with nine other priests. Among the concelebrating priests were Father Paul Miller, former pastor (1949-1952), and Father Jim Shaughnessy, whose grandfather helped establish St. Bridget Church in the very early days. After the annual meeting at 12:30 pm, Mass began at 3:30 pm. Some of the finest Irish music to echo off the pews and walls of the church was heard that day thanks to Judy Glynn, Cheryl Reinecke, Norma Stallbaumer and Dawn Bailey, plus many others singers and musicians. Following the Mass, there was a quilt auction, a 90" x 104" Ohio Rose design. It was handmade by a former parishioner and auctioned on the front steps. At 5:00 pm the barbecue Chicken or ham dinner began. All during Mass, the delicious aroma of the cooking chicken drifted in and out of the open church windows, wetting the appetites of all in the church. But the wait was worth it. The chicken and ham was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!!! The only real disappointment that day was that one of our former pastors, Father Stanley Loncaric, (1938-1941), was not able to make it as planned. His many friends were disappointed. (See related article that appeared in The Marysville Advocate, written by LeNore Stumpf)
In the fall of 1995, the Kansas State Historical Society nominated St. Bridget Church to nomination on the State and national registry of Historic sites. Members of the St. Bridget Historical society were invited to attend the quarterly meeting on Saturday, October 12. It was accepted as a Kansas State Historical Site and their recommendation to be placed on the National list of historic sites was forwarded to Washington, D.C. In September of 1996, the officers of the Historical Society received word that our nomination was accepted by the National Registry of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. The Society is extremely grateful to Chari Johnson-Reynolds for her dedication and perseverance in having St. Bridget nominated and accepted by both groups. (See related stories by LeNore Stumpf from the Marysville Advocate and from Kanhistique, November, 1996)
August 30, 1998 was a special day in the life of the St. Bridget Historical Society. Archbishop Keleher returned to St. Bridget to help us rededicate our church as we approached the Third Millenium. On September 2, 1908, Bishop Lillis dedicated the Church in an all-day affair. Sunday, August 30, 1998 Archbishop Keleher helped us celebrate our 90th anniversary. The day began with a jubilee Mass at 2:00 pm followed by an old fashioned Chicken Bar-B-Que. The weather was threatening, by the Archbishop commented that St. Bridget was keeping this five mile area around the church free of rain and bad weather. Flying into Marysville that day, the Archbishop encountered rough, rainy weather. He was delighted as he approached the St. Bridget area that the weather was very favorable. He attributed it to St. Bridget's ability to ask the Lord for good weather.
In 1908, when the present St. Bridget Church was dedicated, it cost approximately $30,000 to build. In 1998, as the St. Bridget Historical Society seek grants to help us repoint the brickwork and replace some of the flashing around the bricks, we are looking at price tag of $92,200.00, approximately three times the original construction costs. This caused us to calculate what the original cost in 1908 would have been, using 1998 dollars.
The 1908 dollar would be equal to $22.60 (1997 dollars)
In 1908 the common laborer might have earned $1.00 for a 12 hour day, making his hourly wage at 8 cents per hour. So $30,000 in 1908 would be equal in May of 1998 to approximately $684,780. ( 61 )
Thanks to Dr. Lynn H. Nelson of the University of Kansas History Department, who used various charts (including the Consumer Price Index (CPI)), to come to the above calculations.
What is impressive is that a parish of approximately sixty families in 1908 were able to raise $30,000 to build this magnificent church building. A grateful people of 1998 say thank you to those parishioners of 1908 who sacrificed so much.
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| Archbishop Jim | Archbishop Jim after the Mass |
The following is reprinted from The Leaven, the Archdiocesan Newspaper. It appeared in the September 11, 1998 issue on the front page. It was written by Joe Bollig, of the Leaven staff.
AXTELL - Can a church that has been closed for 30 years be called dead? Not if it's St. Bridget, the "little church on the hill" located between Axtell and Summerfield in rural Marshall County.
On Aug. 30, approximately 400 friends and former parishioners gathered in the sweltering heat for the 90th anniversary of the building's dedication. The celebration began with a Mass and concluded with a barbecue chicken dinner provided by the Knights of Columbus, Council No. 1163.
Archbishop James P. Keleher (who brought his mother, Rita Keleher, to the event) was the principal celebrant at the Mass. Concelebrants were: Father Dennis Schmitz, a native of the area; Father Albert Fey, CPpS, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Baileyville; and Father Thomas Dolezal, pastor of St. Michael Parish, Axtell. Master of Ceremonies was Michael Rebout, member of St. Peter Cathedral Parish, Kansas City, Kan.
In his homily, Archbishop Keleher noted that many people have fond memories of this, the "Mother church of Marshall County," that was founded in 1858 by Irish immigrants. But fond memories alone were not what brought so many people to the celebration.
"It is the power of your faith that invited you here," he said. "Without that faith, today would mean little or nothing, only a historical memory to be relished. "
This truth about the power of faith certainly held true for Alice F. Carroll, 99, now a resident of Omaha, Neb. She lived on the family farm three-quarters of a mile west of the church, and attended the now-gone parish school. Carroll, who was brought to the event by her niece, Marilyn Carroll, was possibly the oldest member of St. Bridget at the anniversary celebration and perhaps the only one present who attended the church's dedication on Sept. 2, 1908.
The present church is the fifth for the parish, the original being located at the present cemetery, to the south. At one time the parish had a school, convent and rectory. It was a thriving country parish for decades, but even by the 1940s there were signs of change.
In 1949, the parish was relegated to mission status. Archbishop Edward J. Hunkeler decided to close the parish, and the last Mass was on Sept. 10, 1967. Word came that the archdiocese intended to demolish the church, and a group of parishioners met on the church steps on July 13, 1969, to find a way to prevent this act.
The church was saved by Archbishop Ignatius J. Strecker when he gave his approval on March 24, 1970, to transfer the title of the property to the St. Bridget Historical Society.
Archbishop James P. Keleher approved the use of the church for weddings and funerals for families with ties to the parish, and the celebration of the Mass there twice a year.
The St. Bridget Historical Society recognizes its responsibility
in preserving for posterity the old records of the parish. The
original books of these records remain with St. Michael Church
in Axtell. The records of St. Bridget parish date back to 1870.
Many of the earlier records
(1860 through 1870) can be found in neighboring parishes
where the pastor resided: St. Mary's Church in St. Benedict;
Sts. Peter and Paul in Seneca; St. Benedict parish in Atchison.
The earliest record book that we have access to contains the
Sacramental records between 1870 and 1892 is in a very
deteriorating condition. Half of the book is actually missing,
thanks to the ravages of some hungry church mice who have gnawed
on it over the years. The brittle condition of the paper means
that every time the book is opened, the edges of the page flake
away. The second book, (the
Sacramental records from 1892 - 1952), is in a little
better shape. The binding is gone, the pages are loose, but
mostly intact, except for the Confirmation section. The final
book contains the Sacramental records from 1952 through its
closing in 1967. It is in good condition. The only record book
that needs to be continually updated is the Cemetery book. In
1991, with the help of Terry Stallbaumer, who oversees cemetery
concerns, an effort was made to update the cemetery records to
include all the burials made after the parish officially closed
in 1967. No official entries had been made to the cemetery
records since 1967. These interments were recorded and the
information transferred to a computer database program for
safekeeping and easier accessibility. The St. Bridget Historical Society
has a computer copy of all the official records of baptisms,
confirmations, marriages, deaths and burials that were
originally recorded in the parish sacramental books.
During a routine workday in the Fall of 1998, it was discovered
that the top-most layers of brick on the belltower were ready to
tumble down. It was a dangerous situation for anyone entering or
exiting the main doors. After the officers and other workers made
temporary repairs, ensuring that the bricks would stay in place,
the St. Bridget Historical Society contacted several companies
to give us bids on tuckpointing the upper part of the bell tower.
Mid-Continent from Ft. Scott offered the most favorable bid and
a contract was let with them to repair and tuckpoint the upper
part of the bell tower. It was to cost us approximately $14,000.
But the work is done and people can enter and exit the church
without worrying about a brick falling down and striking them.
This sketch of St. Bridget would be incomplete without mention of several early parishioners. First is Thomas Hynes, who came to St. Bridget about 1865. Mr. Hynes was a graduate of St. Benedict College in Atchison and served as a teacher in our schools for several years. He was foremost in every public enterprise and had charge of the mail route in this section of the country for several years. About 1875, he moved to Axtell and engaged in the drug business.
Secondly, we mention Michael Murray, one of the original members of the church, who conducted a general store in St. Bridget from 1865 to 1877. He then moved to Axtell to continue the business there. Murray township is named for this Michael Murray.
The generosity of the Irish is unquestionable. We mention just a few examples of the early Irish generosity of our pioneers: Michael Maddigan, who donated 160 acres of land to benefit the church; Elizabeth Hoffman, who donated the cemetery site; and Patrick McGrath, who donated ten acres for the church site. There are countless other instances much less publicized. The faithfulness of the people in attendance at Holy Mass was an inspiration to everyone who knew them. It led one man to remark,
"God never played to an empty house in St. Bridget's."
One of the earliest published histories of Marshall County, published in 1889, acknowledges two other early pioneers: Thomas J. Plunkett and Patrick Hughes. In the words of the 1889 Portrait and Biographical Album, it says:
"Thomas J. Plunkett was one of the original founders of this church organized in 1859. An honored old pioneer, he ventured into the wilds of Kansas as early as the spring of 1857." ( 62 )
"Patrick Hughes was another pioneer who assisted in the organization of St. Bridget's church and also in the erection of the rock church in 1873. Much of the stone, of which the church is built, he quarried with his own hands on his own farm.
"... He came to this region in 1857 locating first on section 11 and later on section 16, this becoming now his homestead. He paid $1.25 an acre for his first land." ( 63 )
Two other former parishioners are mentioned in other histories of the parish. They are: Mrs. Teresa McBride who served as organist for forty-eight years, and William F. Mitchell who did not miss a Sunday Mass for thirty-five consecutive years despite the many winter and summer storms. The dedication of the St. Bridget people to their faith can, in part, be traced to the time in the late seventeenth century when the Irish were cruelly deprived of human rights by their English invaders. People at that time could only attend Mass at their own peril or the priest's peril. Masses were secretly held in homes, ditches, or at a " Mass Rock" out in an open area. Having often heard from their parents of the dangers their grandparents faced in practicing their faith, it is understandable that attendance at Holy Mass was regarded as a sacred privilege by these early St. Bridget pioneers.
The memory of these pioneers should always be revered for the heritage they left us. The examples they set by their respect and devotion to the aged and infirmed; their willing assistance in times of illness or misfortune; and, their deep love for their homeland with its colorful legends and quaint Gaelic expressions. This heritage is well-known to all of us, their descendants. We gratefully say,
"May they be rewarded with eternal happiness,"
and may
St. Bridget lead them through the heavenly gates to enjoy the kingdom of the Lord.
A favorite saying of the Irish is "May the saints be praised." We would add to that phrase and say
"May the saints be praised and so may all our St. Bridget pioneers!"