Humboldt, St. Augustine Parish

The determining factor for the move eastward was the railway's need to have its central depot in a low lying area to prevent the escape of railroad cars down the track.

Fr. Rudolph Palm was the first pastor at the new parish of St. Augustine's begun in 1905. The first trustees were John Schaeffer, Michael Flory and Clement Kohle. The first episcopal visit was in 1909 when Bishop Pascal celebrated confirmation for 80 members of the parish.

Fr. Rudolph Palm ran the first private Catholic school in the winter of 1906 07. Instruction was in the German language. In 1906, the first elected board of Fred Heidgerken, F.I. Hauser, Albert Ecker, Godfrey Schaeffer, Michael Flory and Joe Wigbers hired Miss Scanlon as the first teacher. In 1907 and later, Mr. Reinhardt taught and became principal of a two room school with Miss Barry as the other teacher.

The Ursuline sisters joined the staff in 1927 and continued as teachers until June 1985. They held administrative positions from 1927 to 1962. From then on, lay administrators took charge. Since the opening of the first parochial school in 1906 there have been a number of changes in facilities to meet growing student population and new programs.

In 1936 a new St. Augustine's School was built, a six room two storey brick facility. Fifteen years later (1951) the building was expanded to 10 rooms. Then in 1964 an updated academic west wing and gym were built. Disaster struck in 1976 when fire destroyed the 10 room brick building. Rebuilding began and by 1978 a new set of classrooms and art areas had been completed.

St. Dominic Separate School was built in 1959 as a five room structure on 2nd Avenue. Only current revenue was used with no debentures issued. In 1968 a new west wing was built, with a gym and chapel complex added in 1972. Then in 1979 a band and music wing was added. St. Dominic's had the proud distinction of being one of the first energy efficient buildings in the province.

While many events could be recorded as history, we have selected a few interesting highlights.

In the late 1950s, legislation was passed allowing teacher collective bargaining with their boards. In 1959 the lay teachers, who attempted to negotiate a contract with the Humboldt Separate School Board, were all fired from their positions. It was only after being placed in dispute by the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, that the local board agreed to collectively negotiate with its lay teachers.

The Ursuline sisters, who were the majority of teachers at that time, were not part of the collective bargaining process nor were they placed on the salary scale. Instead, negotiations continued with the board and the superior. It wasn't until the 1960s that the sisters in the Humboldt Separate School District were placed on full salary scale, the first in the. province of Saskatchewan.

The entire board, with the exception of one member, resigned.

In the time frame of 1965 1990 an innovative approach to school programming and cohesive relationship between north and south was tried with Grades K 4 in each school, St. Dominic enrolling all Grade 5-6 students and St. Augustine's teaching all Grades 7 8 students. This allowed for specialization in subject areas like music, French, and physical education.

The construction of St. Dominic gymnasium in 1971 72, undertaken as a joint venture of the Separate School Board and St. Augustine's Parish, was of great benefit to the school, the parish and the people it served. The arrangement continued until July 1995, when due to the shortage of priests, Sunday masses at St. Dominic gym were discontinued.

In 1990 a six year program entitled Understanding Your Faith was implemented in all Catholic schools in the province. Humboldt Catholic teachers attend a three day institute yearly offered by wellknown theologians and specialists in their field. Topics covered scripture, Christology, church, Christian morality, social justice and sacraments, prayer and liturgy provide a great opportunity for teachers to grow in their faith.

Over the years, the separate schools have worked closely with the abbot in such matters as liturgical celebrations and retreats. Students knew him in a very personal way and had a genuine sense of belonging to the abbacy.

In July 1993, the Humboldt Catholic school board office was relocated from the Humboldt Rural Municipal Office to the new St. Augustine Church. The move came about when the Board of Education hired its own director of education and its own secretary treasurer, after having shared services with the other town school boards.

The move to St. Augustine Parish Centre has offered a number of advantages for the Board of Education and its central office staff, including new, brighter office space, a large room for board meetings, a more suitable location for visitors to the office, and a more distinct identity for the school division.

Most important, however, has been the ease of communication with the parish team and other church agencies, resulting in an improved spirit of understanding, sharing and co operation.

Though not part of the Separate School system, the Humboldt Collegiate has in some ways also been part of the story of St. Augustine's Parish. Members of the teaching faculty have over the years played key roles in various ministries, and have been an important part of the life of the parish.

Fr. Francis, parish priest, gives an interesting insight into the role of the church at that time in influencing provincial government policy regarding religious education in the high school. Following a practice established by Fr. Francis, joint requests from all the church ministers in Humboldt and from the high school board (Carl Schenn was chairman) were forwarded to the department of education requesting a change in the act to allow religious instruction at 3:00 p.m., as was the case in other district schools. The minister of education responded by saying that he was not sure he could "push it through."

At this point Fr. Francis adds, "Oh, and by the way, we did a little political work here too." They approached Judge Mary Batten who promised she would get the Liberals to vote for it if it came up in the legislature (the CCF was the governing party).

The minister of education said he would do his best; in the end the necessary change to the act was introduced and passed before that particular session of the legislature was prorogued.

Tony Saretsky, principal of Humboldt Collegiate from 1971 to 1986, comments on the high school and religious education:
"In the 15 year period from 1955 to 1970, religious education, as an extension of elementary education, was carried on in the high school by volunteer teacher catechists and the local pastor. Classes were held after school for about 45 minutes once a week in each grade (9 to 12) and twice a week for bus (rural) students from 12:30-1:00 (during noon hour). While the names of the texts used often changed, the basis of instruction remained the Baltimore Catechism. All Catholic students were expected to attend these classes. Needless to say, other activities took priority over after school religious instruction. Part time jobs, school sports, music lessons, etc., all caused attendance to fluctuate. The parish priest would teach a lesson to every grade at least once through the year; this way he had a chance to meet all the students.

"In 1967, religion as a credit class in Grade 12 was put on the timetable. Fr. Florian was the teacher and as I recall, this arrangement lasted for two years. While teacher volunteer work continued in other grades, it marked the beginning of the end in the volunteer realm.

"In 1972 Christian ethics was introduced as a credit class in Grades 10, 11 and 12. As the demands for an expanded curriculum increased, Christian ethics as an option became less appealing and attractive. The Grade 10 offering was finally dropped as was the Grade 11. Today Christian ethics is offered as a credit a the 11/12 level.

The building of a new church for St. Augustine Parish was the culmination of several years of struggle and discernment. Parish councils since the 1970s had looked at this alternative to provide a more desirable arrangement for enhancing liturgical services.

The structure in place was built in 1911 12, and expanded in 1949 51. It was still in reasonably sound shape, even though the lay out left much to be desired. There was also considerable nostalgia for the old building, especially the tower. Ironically, tests showed this to be the weakest part of the structure.

Extensive renovations were necessary by the early 1980s. A new structure then looked more viable.