St. Gregor, St. Gregory Parish

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He celebrated mass in the store of Mr. J. Ries. Despite the cold weather a meeting was held after mass at which about 50 people were present. The following trustees were elected: A.J. Ries, Zacharias Trueby and John Binsfeld. It was decided to erect a church as soon as possible which would serve as a school during the week. The sum of $250 was subscribed immediately and Prior Bruno promised there would be mass once a month. A priest driving from Muenster, Fr. Peter Windschiegl, was appointed first pastor of the mission.

Early in spring the parishioners began to erect a frame church and until its completion mass was celebrated in Mr. Ries' store, the last time on June 23, 1907. On that day Fr. Peter urged the little flock to ready the church sufficiently so that next morning a wedding could take place in it.

His appeals were not in vain. At 5 o'clock on the morning of June 24, 16 men, equipped with hammers, saws and brooms came to the unfinished church. They laid the floor, cleaned up and built a primitive altar in time for the service. The bridal couple, Killian Stollenbeck and Catherine Fouhse, had received their prenuptial instructions from Fr. Peter in Mr. Ries' home, a few miles northeast of the present town, on the afternoon of June 23. The church was filled as the settlers from the surrounding country attended this first service in their new church. Fr. Peter spoke to the congregation about the blessings that Holy Mother Church had in store for them.

During this time the church finances grew to $9,861.92. Fr. Joseph and the parishioners believed the time had come to erect a new church. They wanted construction material to be brick. It was to be large, beautiful and a credit to the community and the colony. In November 1922, Fr. Joseph Wickel was appointed pastor of St. Ann's Church, Annaheim, but he remained in charge of St. Gregory as well. The cornerstone of the new church was laid and blessed by Abbot Michel Ott, OSB, on July 15, 1923.

At the parish festivities that followed, the sum of $1,250 was realized and added to the building fund. Anton Stadelman of Englefeld was the contractor. Construction proceeded smoothly and without mishap that summer until Aug. 24, when August Hogg of Annaheim, who was working on the roof, was struck on the head by a brick falling from the tower. He fell from the roof unconscious but, fortunately, fell into a ditch filled with water. He was rushed to the hospital where he remained unconscious for several days. He recovered and in three weeks was home again.

The size of the church was 86 ft x 40 ft with a 12 foot high basement and an 86 foot high tower. The stained glass windows costing $1,000 were donated by the parishioners. A family of the parish, Adolf and Mary Zimmerman, donated a bell weighing 1,800 pounds. Not counting these donations, the cost of the church, complete with two furnaces and interior furnishings, came to $18, 000.

Fr. Gregory Gasser, OSB, was appointed pastor in 1947. Through the years of his pastorale he had as assistants: Frs. Alfred Engele, Leander Dosch, Werner Renneberg, Anselm Gerwing, Richard Koob, Maurice Weber, Joseph Ackerman and Lawrence DeMong.

In 1976, a parish council was established. There were five parish committees set up, each headed by a councillor. The first five councillors were: Werner Yungmann, Vicki Zurburg, David Zimmerman, Bernard Gerspacher and Martin Kiefer. The church building was updated with a new altar, curtains and carpet. With Fr. Rudolph's encouragement, rows of Manchurian Elms and Colorado Spruce were planted. Today they are a beautiful shelterbelt.

1977 brought lay communion distributors, both male and female. Unfortunately it was in November 1977 that Fr. Rudolph suffered his hunting accident. The parish rallied to his support. His recovery took many years but with God's help and his own persistence he regained his ability to serve as pastor.

In 1981, a church entrance was added complete with sacristies, chair lift and central vacuum system. Other improvements included the refinishing of the tables in the basement (1984) and insulating of the church (1985). In 1980, Mrs. Elsie Frank was recognized for her 37 years of service as sacristan. After serving our parish for about 15 years, Fr. Rudolph moved to Annaheim. Fr. Florian Renneberg, OSB, became our parish priest.

One day in the summer of 1994, a stranger came to town driving a white Nissan truck. He wanted to speak to someone in charge of the church. He said that the trim on the church needed painting and volunteered to do it. He was told that the paint had already been purchased and that eventually local volunteers would do it. He insisted, saying there would be no charge. Some of the parish council discussed this proposal and decided that "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" and so his offer was declined. But he wouldn't take no for an answer. He looked at our paint, said it was not up to par and went to Saskatoon to buy paint he thought suitable. He painted the trim, only asking for help when it came to the bell tower. He had tied two long extension ladders together to enable him to reach the top. Monte and Jadah Taphorn each spent a day helping by holding the ladder. The trim got painted and our good samaritan left town as quietly as he had come. He had told our caretaker that he had painted churches from Ontario to Alberta. He needed no pay because the Lord had paid him in full. All one can say is that this incident fits in the strange but true category!

Since 1994 Fr. Rudolph has once more been in charge of St. Gregory Parish. There are 103 families, 295 parishioners in our parish. The industries in St. Gregor have helped us retain our people. However, our seniors are choosing Humboldt for their place of retirement. Their loss is felt in our community. The closure of the school in 1994 also had a negative impact on the church community. We intend to do our best and let God look after the rest.

Pastors and assistants to the present (some dates are approximate):
Prior Bruno, founder, 1907; Fr. Peter Windschiegl, first pastor, 1908; Fr. Bernard Schaeffler, 1909; Fr. Leo Ojdowski, 1911; Fr. Bernard Schaeffler, assistant; Fr. Joseph Wickel, 1922; Fr. Marcellus Mayer, assistant in 1931; Fr. Matthew Michel, 1923; Fr. Matthew Michel, 1935; Fr. Marcellus Mayer, 1939; Fr. Gregory Gasser, 1947; Fr. Leo Hinz, 1964 ; Fr. Joseph Ackerman, 1967; Fr. Werner Renneberg, 1970; Fr. Leo Hinz, 1977; Fr. Rudolph Novecosky, 1979; Fr. Florian Renneberg, 1988; Abbot Peter Novecosky, 1991; Fr. Harvey Wingfield, 1992; Fr. Rudolph Novecosky, 1994.