 |
St. Lawrence Church of Duelm claims to be one of the oldest parishes
in the Diocese. The Diocese is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in the year 1989 and St. Lawrence Parish looks back
to the year 1863 when Mass was first celebrated in the Duelm area. The Duelm Church was started by early pioneer settlers 25 years
before the Diocese was established. The Church of St. Lawrence is named after the Patron Saint and the Feast of
St. Lawrence is celebrated in the Parish annually on August 10th. St. Lawrence is honored by the church as a
glorious Martyr of the third century serving under Pope Sixtus II. The Centennial Jubilee, 100 years of Parish
History was celebrated at Duelm August 1963 with a solemn Field High Mass, with
Bishop Peter Bartholome presiding.
Celebrant of the Mass was Rt. Rev. Henry Frank, assisted by Father Bialka,
Father First and Father Zylla.
Some of the first settlers in Benton County took up homesteads in
St. George Township, where St. Lawrence Church was located. One of the first settlers was Peter Abfalter
who took up a homestead in Section 24 in the year 1852. He was soon followed by Godfrey Attermor and
Vincent Schindler. The first Mass in the Duelm area was offered at the Vincent Schindler home by
Father Pierz, the Missionary Priest who travelled through Central Minnesota. The Schindler home was in the southeast
quarter of Section 26, east and north of present Duelm. The Schindler home continued to be a place of worship as
Missionary Priests Father Pierz and Father Buh came to the area regularly to serve the growing number of German
Catholic families who had settled there. Mass was offered at the Schindler home until the log church was built in 1863.
Henry Voerding donated an
eight acre tract of land for the church. It was located east of the old cemetery and close to the old Duelm to Foley road.
The log building served as the parish until 1890 when a new church, 40 feet by 60 feet, was built on the site of
the present church grounds. The land had been bought for little or nothing from Ludwig Jurek. The log church was raffled off and won by Gus Balder who converted it into a grainery.
Fire destroyed the second church of St. Lawrence on March 23, 1899 and the heat of the blaze melted the bells.
The fire is recalled by the old settlers. It began from an over-heated stove on the east side of the church.
Barney Voerding had brought some cord wood and first saw the smoke. He rang the bell for help, but
the fire was already out of hand, and nothing was saved. Father Urbanke was the pastor at the time.
Plans were immediately made to rebuild the church and the new building was 20 feet longer than the old church. The
new church was built by Carl Krupp of St. Cloud, and remains the church in use today.
A parish picnic has always
been a primary means of raising funds. As far back as 1892, the parish held a Festival or Fourth of July Celebration.
In 1892, the first year, the profit from the festival amounted to $71.33. In the year 1962, the profit from the July
Fourth Celebration amounted to $6,000. The parish continued to grow and now (25 years later) has its fourth church, a large
new building, large new parish house and is making plans to build a large, modern hall for its future July 4th
Celebrations and parish functions.
Many of the early settlers in the Duelm area came from Germany, Prussia and Austria.
Father Francis Pierz and Father Joseph Buh, Missionary Priests from Germany and Austria were glad to
serve the pioneer families from their home land. The early settlers traveled long distances to attend Mass, receive the
Sacraments, have infants baptized, the children receive First Communion and have marriages performed with God's blessing.
The pioneers found great comfort and solice in their faith and blessings received through the clergy of their native land of Europe.
In the year 1925 the parish decided that lots in the cemetery would cost $3 for parishioners and $10 for non-parishioners.
This policy continued for many years when a new cemetery policy was adopted. Each parishioner would pay $2 annually for
cemetery upkeep and then would be entitled to burial with no further fee. A furnace was installed in the third church
building in 1935 at a cost of $725. Wood and coal continued to be used as fuel for many years. In 1955 under
Msgr. Frank the parish
opened a parochial school that later continued with St. John's School at Foley. The parish hall started in 1945 with the
building of a large double garage and later additions developed it into the present parish hall. Thirty-one pastors including
3 Missionary Priests have served St. Lawrence Parish. Since 1923 four priests have served the Parish for 66 years.
They are Father Frank J. First (1923-1942),
Msgr. Henry Frank (1942-1958),
Father Val Klimek (about 1958), Father Robert Harren.
The present pastor Rev. Daniel Taufen was assigned to the parish in June this year. The growing parish looks forward to
a bright future with dedicated parishioners.
-- photographed by Ed Chmielewski Family
Sankt Laurentius Kirche Duelm MN, älter als die Diözese St. Cloud in deutscher Sprache
(translated by Friedrich Fister) |
ChronologicalBy Relationship
Family StoriesFamily PhotographsOrphan Photographs
MapsContact UsResourcesWhat's New