“When we see a spire from the road, that sight ought to make our hearts beat like the heart of a lover at the sight of the roof under which his lover dwells. We ought to be unable to take our eyes off it.”
I recently had the chance to attended the annual Camp Creek Threshing Show near Waverly on July 19. It was hotter than blazes, but it was a great time! This was the first time I'd been to this particular show, and the thing I was most impressed by was the wide variety of demonstrations as well as the fact that the organization maintains a permanent exhibition grounds with several restored buildings. The demonstrations included threshing, corn shelling, baling, a steam shovel, vintage combines, and many more that I didn't get a chance to see.
I was very fascinated by the combines - both the self-propelled and pull-type. Tractor restorations are pretty common, but it's rare to see fully restored combines. I can't imagine the labor and the parts hunting that had to have gone into a project like this. I'm glad that people are starting to preserve this area of farm equipment as well.
I would highly suggest attending this show next year, as they will be featuring the large steam and prairie tractors. The Camp Creek Threshers must be commended for organizing an excellent show and for their hard work and dedication in preserving our rural heritage.
My hometown of Exeter, Nebraska will no doubt be the subject of numerous posts here at The Steeplechase. I became fascinated by Exeter's history at a very young age. I have very destinct memories of pouring over the thick, green cover Exeter history book from 1976 that my parents had. I was going through some family photos this afternoon and ran across these two the caught my attention. What an image! Two wagon loads of corn are visible and pens are set up in the middle of the dirt street for livestock. There's no identification on the back of the photo, but perhaps an auction is taking place? Or a market or show of some type? If you have any suggestions, let me know! In any case, whatever was going on attracted a pretty good-sized group of people. You're looking at downtown Exeter facing west. The building on the upper left is Smith's Tag Factory (they produced organizational items, mainly for banks), the lower left is where the Public Library and Storybook Park now reside. The building on the upper right is currently part of Greg's Grocery Store (it was a bank at the time when this photo was taken), and the building at the lower right is now part of Murphy's Plumbing. Another photo give a nice close-up of the livestock pens and gathered crowd, but still gives no hint as to what the event is.
The congregation Bluffs Trinity Church north of Fremont was first organized on June 2, 1879 and consisted of a large number of Dutch immigrants.
The church's second pastor, the Rev. A.M. Anderson was a rather zealous man and also began missions in Oakland, Kennard-Orum, Blair, and Fremont.
The present church was built in 1882 and was completed, furnished, and decorated at the cost of $299.54. The bell tower was a later addition.
Some interesting statistics on the current congregation can be found here. The "Guidelines for Ringing Church Bells" hangs near the church's bell rope.
I've recently begun the massive project of researching Nebraska's former breweries. I came across this dandy of a book, which lists every brewery that existed in the United States up to 1995. I now finally have a comprehensive list of Nebraska's breweries and the names under which they operated. Fremont had brewery as early as 1874 and the Fremont Brewing Co. came to be in 1891.
As one can see from these historic photos, the Fremont Brewing Co. was a massive operation. According to the book 100 Years of Brewing, this brewery produced 30,000 barrels of beer in 1902. A barrel is a measurement of 31 gallons, so nearly a million gallons of beer were produced here on a yearly basis. This is more beer than all the breweries in Nebraska combined presently make.
900 East Factory St. was the address listed for the Fremont Beverage Co. in the 1918 Fremont City Directory. (Note the company's name change from "Brewing" to "Beverage" to reflect the new law of prohibition.)
900 E. Factory is an empty lot, however, this is the building that resides at 700 E. Factory. Obviously, the former brewery was a huge complex... could this building have been a part of it? The place is for sale and I've contacted the realtor, who is in the process of putting me in touch with someone who knows more about the history of the building. Until then, I will anxiously await a response!
This building is also close by. Could it have had a place with the former brewery too?
I always enjoy reading the historical snippets that appear weekly in the West Point News. There was one entry from July 10, 1908 that particularly caught my imagination:
Anton Psota, ingenious man, skillfully constructed a water wheel, adjusted it properly in the current of the stream and connected the turning wheel with a musical instrument on the bank which played "Marching Through Georgia" for the Fourth
I have no idea what sort of "musical instrument" this must have been but in any case, here's a clip from YouTube of the song it played:
Grace is a simple wood frame church built in 1915 in rural Swedeburg. Some interesting statistics about the parish can be found here. When I visited, the church was undergoing a renovation which included new paint, carpet, and refinished pews. Of note is the large painting of Jesus in Gethsemane which hangs above the altar. It was painted in 1904 (11 years before the present church) by the Swedish-American painter Olaf Grafstrom. More information about this artist can be found here. The pipe organ is an electric-action instrument built by Estey. The sanctuary furniture waits to be returned to its rightful place.
In thinking about the litany of my patron saints, it seems that I gravitate towards those of the lesser known variety and even the obscure.
Today's feast of St. Odilia probably falls into the obscure category - her feast day isn't even on the liturgical calender and is only celebrated in a handful of places around the United States. St. Odilia, British by birth, was one of eleven virgins martyred in Cologne around the year 300 - and then forgotten about for roughly one thousand years. In 1287 a Crosier brother, John Novelan discovered her relics in a field near Cologne. Thus, St. Odilia became the patroness of the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosiers).
Because of various wars and revolutions, her relics were moved to a number of different churches throughout Europe until 1949 when they were returned to the Crosier Monastery in Diest, Belgium. In 1952 a major relic was brought to the Crosier's United States Motherhouse in Onamia, Minnesota. There, a shrine was built in her honer. The windows in the shrine depict the long and storied history of St. Odilia and her order. Letters testifying to prayers answered through her intercession fill the area around her relic. She is especially invoked by those suffering from vision problems.
It was in Onamia that I first encountered St. Odilia. For a time the Crosiers had a monastery in Hastings, Nebraska. (The monastery has been redeveloped into a business park and the chapel is now used by the Hispanic and Vietnamese Catholic communities of Hastings.) My grandparents had become good friends with a number of the priests there, so I wanted to see their American headquarters. Though the shine is quite simple, there is definitely an aura about it. I didn't have any sort of "religious" or emotional experience there, but I did feel drawn to the place. I said a prayer, grabbed a few pieces of literature and headed off. Once I got home and started reading through the pamphlets, I realized that St. Odilia's feastday is July 18 - my birthday.
All powerful Father, you alone are Holy; without you nothing is good. I come before you, trusting in your love for me and praying to you through the intercession of St. Odilia, Virgin and Martyr. I ask you to help me become the person you have called me to be. I ask this with the same trust that inspired St. Odilia to leave her home in order to follow Christ more closely. Father, increase my confidence in your love for me. I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
FINALLY! The last church from my Minnesota trip... 15 churches in all. Not too bad for four days! St. Anthony's is a contemporary church that makes great use of natural light. This results in a pleasant atmosphere inside of this simple, dignified church.
Another very historic parish in the Diocese of St. Cloud. The parish dates from 1859 and is named in honer of St. Wendelin. A rather obscure saint, Wendelin was man of Scottish descent who was once a shepherd and who later founded the Benedictine Abbey of Tholey. He died around the year 617. St. Wendelin is the patron saint of "country folk and herdsmen," according to the History of St. Wendelin's Parish (1934).
The cornerstone for the present church was laid in 1872 and later dedicated on July 3, 1875 by Bishop Rupert Seidenbusch, O.S.B..The structure is built from granite and is 50 x 114 feet. Its main walls are 1.5 feet thick and 28 feet high.
There is a small pipe organ from an unknown builder in the gallery.
St. Wendelin himself - with a sheep from his earlier shepherding days and mitre from his time as abbot.
Though the paint scheme is rather plain, vivid colors do abound in this church - note especially the angel reliefs around the tabernacle and the art glass windows.
Interestingly, the Elmdale Lutheran Church, now apparently abandoned, sits just across the yard from St. Edward's. It was built one year earlier in 1919. I do wonder what the relationship (if any) was like between these two churches in their heydays. I'll occasionally see when two "competing" churches are in such close proximity, there will be somewhat of a competition to see who can build bigger and better, however this does not seem the case here in Elmdale. I would put the two building on roughly the same plane.
I am very aware of the changes in rural demographics, however, it's still a shame to see these religious and cultural icons languish.
St. Joseph is another area parish founded by Fr. Francis Xavier Pierz (the town bears his name) and is rich in history as well. I won't go into that history too much here, as I have a whole book Pierzana II by Robert Voigt to read about the subject!
Both architecturally and artistically, this is an interesting building. This is the only church I've ever seen that has wood floors throughout the entire space. Note the images of (I think) Popes Pius XI and Pius XII painted on the high altar. Another window of my patron, St. Isidore the Farmer.
This is the first time I've seen a window of the Annunciation that involves Joseph.
A Wicks pipe organ is found in the loft beneath a stained glass skylight - another feature that I've only seen in this church.
The exterior sports some very intricate brickwork. Benedictine crosses line the sidewalls, clearly marking this church as Benedictine territory!
And the bell tower proudly states that this church was built in 1888.
St. Stanislaus is a neo-gothic church built in 1909. While relatively simple, the interior has an inviting feel to it.
A peek into the tower revels the skeleton of a former bell ringing mechanism as well as the fascinating construction techniques used in building the church - note the raw timbers used as beams.
I recently had the chance to attended the annual Camp Creek Threshing Show near Waverly on July 19. It was hotter than blazes, but it was a great time! This was the first time I'd been to this particular show, and the thing I was most impressed by was the wide variety of demonstrations as well as the fact that the organization maintains a permanent exhibition grounds with several restored buildings. The demonstrations included threshing, corn shelling, baling, a steam shovel, vintage combines, and many more that I didn't get a chance to see.
The featured tractors this year were Olivers and their close relatives Hart-Parr and Cockshutt.
Corn shelling in progress.
