History of St. James Continued |
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The paper fails to mention the remarkable incident that occurred at the time of the cyclone. The members of the parish in those days, however, rejoiced in telling of this event with deep attachment and respect for the patron of the parish. The statue of St. James which Stood on the high altar was hurled from its pedestal but was not damaged. It was later replaced on the altar of the new church and regarded almost with the awe due a miraculous image. It appeared that the Lord had taken as good care of St. James as He had of the Blessed Virgin at Cold Spring.[3l] On this point the parishes were even. Under an entry of June 29, the St. Cloud paper, in the same issue quoted above, summarizes the events which followed the storm. Assurance is given that the first report was a little too pessimistic, at least as far as the injured were concerned. |
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The injured men of Jacobs Prairie will recover. Danzl the missing man found. Winkel and his son John who were first reported as not expected to live will recover. The Danzl boy was found in the forenoon yesterday, he had his face and neck besmeared with blood and could hardly talk. He asked people where Winkels' house was. He could not find it, and gave no account of himself whatever. Considerably over two thousand bushels of wheat were brought into town yesterday by teams which had gone out to aid the afflicted farmers. The road from town to St. James was lined all day. Some hauling wheat, the others loaded with people from town and neighboring places. All the farmers will build immediately. |
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No time was lost either in rebuilding the parish church. The Very Rev. Pancratius Maehren, O.S.B., at that time prior of St. John's, rebuilt the church that same year. It was a frame structure with brick veneer, thirty-five by sixty-five feet.[32] On December 2, Father Anthony Capser, O.S.B., held the first services and on the following October 17, when all had been completed, it was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Peter Engel, O.S.B., fourth Abbot of St. John's. The structure cost about $2,400. During the pastorate of the Rev. Bernard Kevenhoerster, O.S.B., in 1898 a transept and "spacious" sanctuary with two sacristies, as well as a full basement were added. The parishioners were zealous, however, and the complete bill, $1,618.75, was paid in full by the time the work was completed. The following year the Rev. Leonard Kapsner, O.S.B., had the entire interior of the church redecorated in a simple but neat style. He also put a carpet in the sanctuary, donated by William A. Boerger, who was then teaching at Jacobs Prairie and later to be the Stearns County Superintendent of Schools. The turn of the century saw the purchase of a new pulpit and the greatest celebration the parish had witnessed in its first fifty years, namely the First Solemn Mass of the Rev. James Hansen, O.S.B., the first native son of the parish to be raised to the priesthood. Everyone was on hand for the great occasion. Ten of his confreres joined in the festivities and Abbot Peter preached the sermon. At the end of the notice in the publication book of the parish the sentiments of all were recorded with deep Catholic feeling: "TE DEUM LAUDAMU S." The Rev. Agatho Gehret, O.S.B., was appointed pastor in July, 1901. He made his home in the one room building adjoining the church, and took his meals with the teacher. During his pastorate of three years, six stained-glass windows were placed in the church, and some vestments were purchased. During the Jubilee year of the parish (fifty years since the first Mass), the Rev. Bonaventure Hansen, O.S.B., attended to the needs of St. James. The celebration of the Golden Anniversary was postponed to the next year to coincide with Father Pius Meinz' First Solemn Mass. But the celebration was changed to St. Cloud, because the newly-ordained's mother was living there. The Prairie, however, did not let the milestone pass without a fitting celebration on July 25, 1905. The successor to Father Bonaventure, the Rev. Robert Wewers, O.S.B., came in August, 1905. He commuted to the parish from St. John's for all the services as all the pastors were to do until April, 1930. When Father Robert arrived on the first day, he found that the ten year old church still lacked a complete set of stainedglass windows. Within the period of his five years at the parish he saw the completion of the setting-in of the windows. It was also during this time that more vestments were bought as well as statues of the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Virgin which were placed on the side altars. To complete the artistic furnishings of the Prairie church he purchased a small composition Christmas crib. Even after the formation of the Cold Spring church, the people seemed determined to continue their parish life. They were supported in their endeavors by the pastors, although after the cyclone Abbot Peter had been reluctant to rebuild at St. James. Father Robert and his flock seemed determined to prove in 1908 that Jacobs Prairie was still a spot to be reckoned with. In that year the Most Rev. James Trobec, Bishop of St. Cloud, granted permission for the parish to be incorporated and a new parsonage built. The residence building was erected at the cost of $1,800, but it was not for Father Robert to make use of it. Two months before receiving a new assignment he brought his pastorate to a climax on June 26, 1910, with the First Mass celebration of the Rev. Polycarp Hansen, O.S.B. It was another great day for the parish, the greatest since his older brother, Father James, had been the happy celebrant nine years before. The labor and care with which the monks had worked to create a Catholic culture and community was now bearing fruit. Between August and November, 1910, the parish was served by various priests from St. John's. Abbot Peter then assigned the Rev. Julius Locnikar, O.S.B., to care for the parish. He did not live in the residence; since he served as assistant at Cold Spring during the week, he found it more convenient to stay there. He continued this policy even after he took on the additional burden of the Rockville mission in 1912. In the Fall of 1911 a grand bazaar was held on the church grounds of St. James to help cancel the $800 debt which remained on the parish house. When the last debris was cleared away, it was found that St. James was free of the financial burden. During the next ten years under Father Julius' care there were several improvements made. A steam heating plant was installed in the church. The church was redecorated; a chime of three bells was placed in the tower; two side altars were constructed and the high altar was renovated, as were all the statues. A new set of stations was erected, and a number of new statues were purchased, among them a sepulchre and resurrection group. Some copes were obtained for the parish, in Europe, and by 1919 there was a new organ. It was during Father Julius' pastorate also that the iron fence was placed around the cemetery, and in 1918 the basement was cleaned, painted, and prepared as a meeting place for the various parish societies. To Father Julius goes the credit of organizing the Jacobs Prairie Harmonia Band under the leadership of John Huss. The staging of the home talent plays also began about this time. The peace of the Prairie was somewhat disturbed with the onset of World War I; but the trouble did not come so close to home as it had during the Civil War and the Indian uprisings. St. James, however, did have her men who gustily sang "The Yanks Are Coming" across the plains of France. August Winkel, Michael Mueller, Albert Kresbach, Victor Taufen, Peter M. Theisen, and John H. Theisen were among those who went to settle the strife in the land their ancestors had left. The third division of the parish of St. James had come in 1911, when Bishop James Trobec, of St. Cloud, had placed fifty families under the jurisdiction of the newly founded Rockville parish. This reduced the mother parish of Wakefield township and vicinity to about fortyfive families, where it has remained for the most part to the present day. Concerning the state of affairs after this division, Father Julius commented: |
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The parish was never very large. It has always existed under adverse conditions . . . . Evidently there are enough churches in this section of the country, and no new parishes will be founded to the detriment of the 'Jacobs Prairiers'.[33] |
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Life remained quite normal on the Prairie for the next fifteen years.[34] The Rev. Celestine Kapsuer, O.S.B., began coming to St. James from Cold Spring, where he had been appointed assistant pastor in September, 1921. But the work in Cold Spring was increasing so that just two years later he was relieved by the Rev. Paul Neussendorfer, O.S.B., who made his weekly trips from the abbey at Collegeville. Father Paul continued his work until September, 1926, when Father Hilary Doerfler, O.S.B., took over his job. The Reverends Odilo Kohler, O.S.B., and Sebastian Sis, O.S.B., followed Father Hilary as pastors in 1928 and 1929, respectively. The pioneer parish on the Prairie had not seen the end of its troubles as yet. Disaster once more struck the small church on March 31, 1930. On this day the church, which had served the parish since the cyclone of 1894, was completely destroyed by fire of unknown origin. A great burden was thus placed upon the members of the parish. Were they to rebuild their church? The people responded with the faith and determination which had become synonymous with the name of Jacobs Prairie. During the early part of April they received permission from the Most Rev. Joseph F. Busch, Bishop of St. Cloud, to go ahead with their proposed plans. Father Sebastian, wishing to be on the scene during the construction, took up residence on the Prairie in the same month. In the work that followed the parishioners gave not only their money to the extent of $13,000, plus $10,000 of insurance, but their labor as well. During that spring and summer they erected the strikingly beautiful church which today serves the parish. It was built with stones and boulders, seamfaced granite, taken from the region, as Catholics had done for centuries in Europe. On July 28, 1931, Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, O.S.B., dedicated the new building. By the time Father Sebastian left in September, 1932, the parish with its resident pastor had regained its full prestige and self-respect. Not only was Jacobs Prairie the mother parish of St. Nicholas, Cold Spring, and Rockville, but it now had a stone church of its own which ranked with any in the Northwest for beauty of line and use of materials. No sooner had Father Sebastian left than the Rev. Eugene Woerdehoff, O.S.B., came to take up residence in his place. He remained for a comparatively quiet seven years. In January, 1939, the Rev. Wendelin Luetmer, O.S.B., took over the reins. During the ten months of his pastorate he supervised John Pueringer, John DeWenter, and Edmund DeWenter in the repointing of the walls of the church and the waterproofing of the roof on the nine year old building. Father Wendelin also modernized the parish house by installing running water and a septic tank. Toward the end of that year Father Robert Wewers returned to his old parish to guide its people during his last days. After a few years death claimed him, and in January, 1943, the Rev. Meinrad Seifermann, O.S.B., became resident pastor. It was Father Meinrad who erected the cross on the church tower and installed an oil burner to heat the building. The parish joined with the aging monk in the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of his ordination in the summer of 1949. He retired to the abbey the following year because of ill health and died there in 1952. The Rev. Anthony Ronellenfitsch, O.S.B., replaced Father Meinrad in 1950 and began to make preparations for the approaching centennial. Under his guidance the land in the cemetery was leveled, grass was planted, and the oil burner was restored to working condition. He also began the redecoration of the interior of the church. In 1952 he was replaced because of his declining health by the Rev. Michael Marx, O.S.B., Father Michael served the parish from St. John's where he taught Dogmatic theology in the St. John's Seminary. The Rev. Matthew Kiess, O.S.B., was named to the parish in the summer of 1953. It was left to Father Matthew to make the final arrangements for the celebration of the centennial and to guide the oldest parish of the St. Cloud diocese, this side of the Mississippi, through its one hundreth year. |
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