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Highlights of the History of
St. Caspar Catholic Church |
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Mass said monthly in homes by area
priests; about 10 Catholic families in 1865
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1872 |
Became mission to Edgerton; 1 1/2
lots were purchased at the corner of Clinton and Jefferson streets for
$300
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About
1873 |
Old
Methodist church purchased and moved to the corner of Clinton and
Jefferson streets; the $600 to renovate it was paid off the same year by
15 families |
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1875-1909 |
Archbold
priests served the Wauseon mission |
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1888 |
Church
extensively repaired |
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1895 |
Church
completely destroyed by fire; Mass said in Town Hall; after fundraising
(to which many Protestant families contributed) cornerstones for new
church laid in August |
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1896 |
Mass
said for the first time in new church in February; interior completed in
August; dedicated in September by Bishop of Cleveland |
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1909 |
Became
mission of Swanton; new location for cemetery purchased for $860; 49
bodies transferred |
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1913 |
Old
parsonage purchased |
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1915 |
Pipe
organ installed in church |
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1919 |
Received
first pastor (on Thanksgiving Day); by 1921 a parish hall had been
secured and church and parsonage improved |
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1923 |
Subscription
of $6,000 taken up to build a new parsonage since old one had been sold |
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Late
1920s |
Church
choir organized |
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1943 |
Congregation
of 116 families (about 380 people); Father Louis Walter began longest
pastorate in our history (16 years); during his pastorate, sanctuary
enlarged and the basement renovated to include fellowship hall, two
classrooms, and a kitchen; Father Walter also hired Notre Dame Sisters
from Napoleon to teach elementary children once per week, which
continued until 1973; house adjoining church was purchased and rented
out |
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1953 |
Feather
parties began |
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1959 |
First
steps toward developing outreach program for migrants and settled-out
migrants |
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1961 |
Congregation
of 225 families; 650 people attended Sunday Masses |
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1963 |
Forty
acres purchased at $700 per acre for new church |
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1965 |
Cornerstone
laid in June for $450,000 church--of which $132,000 had been pledged |
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1966 |
Church
dedicated December 18 by Bishop Rehring |
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1968 |
Congregation
of 320 families (1,382 people); parish had doubled in past 10 years |
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1971 |
Parish
rectory and administration center completed in January at a cost of
$70,000; old rectory sold for $20,000 |
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About
1970 |
First
full-time religious education coordinator hired (Sister Noella Finn);
summer schools held for Spanish with classes sometimes led by local
seminarians and several Franciscan nuns and sometimes had Spanish priest |
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1975 |
First
lay deacon for the parish, Juan Rodriguez was ordained, followed
by James Dominique in 1976; parish garage used for religious education
classes |
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1980 |
Church
mortgage burned |
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1984 |
Dedication
of basement classroom expansion (cost $96,400) |
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1988 |
Parking
lot expanded and church air conditioned |
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1992 |
Memorial
tree program begun |
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Scripture
study group formed |
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New
sound system installed in the Church |
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1993 |
"Over
55" Club was formed |
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Knights
of Columbus energized as main men's group of the parish, though they are
independent. |
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1994 |
Adult
parish retreats on annual basis - along with Parish Missions |
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1995 |
"Couple
Power" - married couples enrichment |
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Reactivated
Cemetery Board |
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"Sacred
Heart" Shrine destroyed by fire |
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1996 |
Adult
discussion groups formed |
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Y.E.S.
(Youth Engaged in Service) formed for high school youth group |
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Encountered
the computer age |
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1997 |
Developed
new cemetery section |
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Hired
1st youth minister |
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Committee
to study building expansion formed |
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1998 |
Paved
cemetery roads |
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New
Shrine storage building built to replace other one that was destroyed by
arsonist |
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Involved
with deanery parish collaborations |
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1999 |
450
youth in religious education program |
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Added
new granite pillars and signs to cemetery |
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Installed
new telephone system |
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Relocated
parish offices |
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Hired
a part-time bookkeeper |
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New
choir director attained |
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New
contemporary musical group "The Spirit Seekers" |
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Evangelization
team formed |
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Guadalupe
Society formed |
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Rosary/Alter
Society restructured into 3 "circles" |
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2000 |
Sesquicentennial
year |
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January 8 Kickoff |
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March 26 Mission |
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June 25 Main celebration |
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December 17 Toledo Symphony Orchestra |
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New
church roof installed |
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New
church boiler installed |
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Parish
Council restructured their by-laws (Now called Pastoral Council) |
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Parish
website online |
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Click here to view history of pastors
at St. Caspar Catholic Church |