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HISTORY OF ST. JAMES AT MAINE, MINNESOTA The First Catholic settlers came from Wisconsin and Canada between the years of 1875 and 1882. During that time , the community was visited two or three times a year by neighboring priests. The first recorded mass celebrated in Maine was on October 19, 1881 at the home of John Barry Sr. It was a funeral mass for his daughter, Bridget. In the early days, the parish was 75% Irish. The rest were German, Bohemian, and English. When Fr. Joseph Boever became pastor, mass became more frequent. Services were moved from the Barry's to Patrick Moore's home because his farm was centrally located. In 1882 Fr. Boever listed 26 families on the parish register; by 1949 the number had grown to 30. In these early years , the parish was administered by priests from Fergus Falls, Perham, St. Lawrence at Rush Lake, Wadena, and Blue Grass. As the years passed, sentiment was growing that a church should be built. Since Round Lake was considered the center of Maine township, parishioners wanted the church built in that area. Two brothers, Patrick and Daniel Moore, each donated five acres of land for the church and cemetery. The church, including the bell tower, was built out of lumber in 1891 at a cost of $1,000. Rev. Otto Zardetti blessed the church on November 3, 1893, and called it St. James at the suggestion of Patrick Moore. On the day of the dedication, John Barry Jr. took up a collection to pay for the pews. In 1896 , all necessary items for saying mass were purchased including an organ. Up to this time, the priest would carry all of these items with them. (Except, I think, the organ) The bell for the bell tower was purchased in 1911. St. James was legally incorporated on February 22, 1900. It became necessary to enlarge the church to twice its former size in 1913. a sacristy was included in this addition. A small basement was dug to install a hot air furnace. In 1919, Bishop Joseph Bush considered the parish large enough to support a resident priest. He appointed Rev. John Widenborg as the first resident pastor and instructed him to build a parish house. Father also had Foxhome as a mission. Rev. James Mohm was appointed pastor in 1930. During his fifteen year stay, the church yard and cemetery were cleaned up and beautified. The church and rectory were wired for electricity in 1938, and a parking lot was purchased west of the parish house. Fr. Mohn did not drive, so various parishioners would drive him to the mission in Foxhome. When Rev. William Kloeckner came in 1945 with his car a garage was built for him. In 1953, the people of Battle Lake wanted a church, so property overlooking West Battle Lake was purchased. On January 1, 1954 mass was said there for the first time. Foxhome was taken away as a mission of St. James, and since then, our priest has taken care of both Maine and Battle Lake congregations. Parish councils were established in both parishes by Rev. Richard Steinemann in 1970. With the parish growing , an addition to the church was built in 1975 adding an over flow area to the church proper, a basement with CCD classrooms, a social hall and a kitchen. In September 1985 the old church was torn down in order to build a larger structure on the site with the intention of saving the 1975 addition. On September 24th, a fire destroyed the 1975 addition. That left St. James completely without a church. The Presbyterians at Maine offered St. James the use of their church until a new building could be completed. A new church and social hall were built, and the old basement was remodeled into classrooms. The first mass in the new church was celebrated on Holy Thursday in 1986. Bishop George Speltz dedicated the church on August 17, 1986. In 1988, the pastor's residence was changed from Maine to Battle Lake, and the former rectory was occupied for a time by a parishioner. The church was remodeled in 1999-2000 moving the sacristy and confessional to the rear of the church and redesigning the front of the church. New pews and alter furnishings were also purchased and installed at this time. In 2002 the parish house was given away and moved a short distance north of the church along county road 115. Pastors of Saint James Catholic Church
1875-1877 James Hilbert (St. Joseph Church at Richville) 1878-1879 Othmar Erren, OSB 1879-1883 Joseph Buh (St. Joseph Church at Richville) 1883-1885 Joseph Boever 1886 Francis Vatry 1887-1889 Sebastian Schels 1889-1892 William Lange 1892 William Wilkins (St. Joseph Church at Richville) 1893-1897 Ignatius Tomazin 1897-1898 Charles Pfeiffer 1898 Anton Arzt 1899 Emil J. Steinach 1899-1902 Francis Britcher 1903 Mathias Butala 1904 Francis Welp 1904-1905 Vincent Weigand 1905-1914 Joseph Ambauen 1914-1915 William Van Dinter, OSC 1915-1919 Hildebrand Zoeller 1919-1925 John Wildenborg 1925-1930 Nicholas P. Junker 1930-1945 James Mohm 1945-1949 William Kloeckner 1950-1952 Henry Hirsch 1953 Louis A. Telegdy C.PP.S. 1954 Evaristus B. Olberding C.PP.S. 1954-1960 Heman B. Herbst C.PP.S. 1960-1962 Leo Weigel C.PP.S. 1962-1965 Daniel E. Schaefer C.PP.S. 1965-1970 David Dougherty C.PP.S. 1970-1985 Richard Steinemann C.PP.S. 1985-1990 David Maciej 1990- 1993 Robert Kieffer 1993- Paul Folsom
Religious Vocations from St. James Catholic Church
Sister Juetta Barry, OSB (Gertrude) Born 1900 Died 1975 Sisters of Saint Benedict, Bismarck, North Dakota
Father John Kaiser, Born 1932 Died 2000 Mill Hill Fathers, Kenya, East Africa
Father Nicholas Brown, Born 1942 Sacred Heart Fathers and Brothers, San Antonio, Texas
Beth Budke, Born Legionnaires of Christ/Regnam Cristi
Father John Budke, Born 1971 Legionnaires of Christ, San Jose, California
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