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PARISH HISTORY
Beginnings |
The First Church |
The Second Church |
The Monastery
The Third Church | The Debt |
The Consecration of the Church |
Changing Times
Pastors
of St. Joseph
 After the war between the States, the
people of the United States again moved westward in vast numbers. It was
the age of transcontinental railroad building and new vistas were opened
to the gaze of young men who followed the injunction of Horace Greeley, "Go west
young man, go west".
From 1870 to 1890 the construction gangs
of the Kansas Pacific Railroad moved slowly across the State of Kansas. To
protect them from forays of the Indians, troops were sent on ahead to establish
posts from which soldiers could be sent against the indians. Such a post
was first established in 1865 at the confluence of Big Creek and Victoria Creek,
also known as Norfolk Fork Creek, south of the present town of Walker. The
post was given the name of Fort Fletcher. Later a disastrous flood made
the location untenable so the post was moved 15 miles up stream to high ground
along Big Creek, The new post was called Fort Hays and was officially
established June 21, 1867.
The year before, a party of men composed
of William E. Webb, W.J. Wells, James K. Knight and George W. Updike came to
this district from St. Louis, Missouri. They selected three sections of
land for the purpose of colonization. This land covered the present site
of Hays. The party returned to St. Louis. In June, 1867, Webb
returned to this district only to find a new town springing up on the south bank
of creek. This was the town of Rome sponsored by "Buffalo" Bill Cody.
Undeterred by this development he acquired the land from the Union Pacific
Railroad Company, Eastern Division, at $2.50 an acre and proceeded to have the
town site surveyed and platted. To his project he gave the name Hays City.
People flocked to the new town and the
railway reached it shortly afterward adding material to its growth. It
wasn't long therefore till its population was well beyond the 1,000 mark.
Rome, the rival town south of the creek, was eclipsed and gradually faded from
the picture.
Hays City, like so many frontier towns of
its day, quickly sprang into notoriety. Saloon and dance halls sprang up
and for a time the town was the center of bad characters. However, as the
railway moved westward and its new terminus was transferred to Sheridan, this
class of people was drawn to the town and Hays City was relieved of most of the
"wild" men and women.
The military, however, remained at Fort
Hays and a number of honest Irish workers made Hays City their home. Among
these were Catholics who needed the ministration of a priest. To care for
their spiritual needs, the pastor of the church of Solomon, Rev. F. Fogarty, and
the pastor of Salina, Rev. A A. Wibbert, made journeys to Hays City. Rev.
Martin Huhn, rector of Epiphany Church in Leavenworth, also made a visit as
early as 1876, to minister to the German-Russian settlers. Mass was said
in one of the barracks at the Fort and the Sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony
were administered. Entries are to be found in the records of both Salina
and Solomon.
In October, 1876, Rev. Valentine
Sommereisen took up his residence in Hays City, thus becoming its first resident
Catholic Priest. Father Sommereisen was born in Alsace in 1829, came to
America in 1854 and was ordained a priest. March 8, 1856. For a number of
years, he was a missionary among the Sioux Indians. He came to Hays in
1876. After two years spent in the herculean task of ministering to a
flock scattered all along the Union Pacific right of way from Hays to the
Colorado line, he retired to his vineyard northeast of Hays where he lived in
retirement till his death in 1897.
Fr. Sommereisen continued the work of Fr.
Wibbert. Besides ministering to the wants of the Catholics of Hays, he was
also busy with the care of the German-Russian settlements that sprang up from
1876-1878. In Hays he built himself a home made and made plans for a
little church. Shortly after his arrival in Hays (he said his first Mass
at the Fort on the First Sunday of Advent, 1876) he purchased from Martin Allen
and others Lots 1-3-7, Block 18. This property was deeded to Rt. Rev.
Louis Fink, O.S.B., Bishop of the Diocese of Leavenworth which comprised the
whole State of Kansas at the time. Fr. Sommereisen planned to build a
little stone church on this property. He had the foundation built and had
acquired the windows but his dream of a stone church never materialized.
The spiritual work
in western Kansas was evidently too much for one man. The number of
priests in Kansas was small. But divine providence took care of the
situation. A few years before a community of Capuchins, migrating from
Germany had made its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the Father
Commissary,
Very Rev. Hyacinth Epp,
O.F.M. Cap., was intent upon extending the field of labor of the Capuchins in
the United States. The German-Russian in the settlements around Hays
needed the ministrations of German speaking priests. The Bishop therefore
called upon the Capuchins. He invited father Hyacinth to send his friars
into this part of the Lord's vineyard. Fr. Hyacinth accepted the
invitation, and although the number of his friars was small, he sent two of his
most energetic men into the new field.
It was a beautiful day in May, 1878, when
two friars, Fr. Matthew Hau and Fr. Anastasius Mueller, stepped off the train in
Victoria where they set up their headquarters. The two men had to "rough
it" for some time. The first residence of the Friars was in the home of
Aloysius Dreiling. In September of 1878 the built a residence-an annex to
the stone church which was built in the same year. F. Matthew took over
the pastorate at Herzog (Victoria) and some of the other German-Russian
settlements in the County.
Fr. Anastasius looked after Hays and the
other stations along the railway to the Colorado line. He made his first
visit to Hays City, May 16, 1878. So it happened that Fr. Anastasius
became the first Capuchin pastor of Hays. He found there a hole which had
been dug in the ground for a foundation, the windows for the church and a debt
of $200.00. The windows were sold to the parish at Herzog (Victoria) when
the Maxwell brothers built their church. In that way he cleared the debt
and was free to go ahead with his own plans.
At first Father Anastasius followed the custom of Father
Sommereisen of saying Mass in one of the buildings at Fort Hays. But he
soon found it more convenient both for the faithful and himself to hold services
in the public school house located in town. Later he found it more
practical to have the services in the new court house. But this had its
drawbacks, so he again used the school until his little church was ready for
use. Since Fr. Anastasius had a number of souls scattered along the
railroad right of way he could give his services to the people from Hays City
only on the fourth Sunday of each month. During these pioneer days he
found board and lodging with Andreas Meier, one of the first German-Russians to
settle in Hays City.
By 1879 he had built up his little
congregation to the point where they could help along to complete the little
church projected by Fr. Sommereisen. It was rather an unpretentious frame
building forty-two feet long and twenty-two feet wide. A little room
behind the sanctuary served as home for the priest. Like Fr. Matteo de
Bassi, the founder of the Capuchin Reform, Fr. Anastasius shared his adobe with
a flock of pigeons.
The little frame church had the
distinction of being the first church of any kind in Hays City that was used
exclusively for divine service. The church was placed under the patronage
of St. Joseph, the Foster-Father of Christ. Here services were conducted
as regularly as it was possible for Fr. Anastasius to do so. His records
show that during the first two years he spent in Hays he had twelve baptisms,
one wedding and one funeral. The first child baptized by the new pastor
was Mary Emma Barner, daughter of Ernest Barner, a soldier at the Fort, and his
wife Gertrude Clancy, August 24, 1878. The first wedding, October 25,
1879, was that of George Ingenthrone and Dorothy Schmitt. The first
funeral was that of Patrick Magrane, who died July 4, 1879, and was buried at
Munjor the next day. In November, 1880, Fr. Anastasius purchased two
acres of land from K. H. Lebold and Fannie Lebold to be used as a cemetery.
The title to the land was vested in the Bishop of Leavenworth. The first
person to be buried in the new plot was an infant, William Hannifird, who died
July 16, 1879, and was buried two days later.
In August, 1879, two Sisters of St. Agnes,
Sister Agatha and Aurea, came to Victoria from Fon du Lac, Wisconsin, to open a
parochial school. The following year these same two sisters were asked to
come to Hays during the summer vacation to help Fr. Anastasius to prepare the
First Communion class. They came to Hays, August 15, 1880. But one
of them, Sister Aurea, took sick soon after and died September 7, 1880.
She is buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Hays. Her loss was keenly felt by
her struggling community; yet, Mother Agnes found another Sister to take her
place. On September 15, 1880, Sister Prudentiana arrived to help in Fr.
Anastasius' religion school. The Sisters rented a house in the town and
used the church for a classroom. They divided their time between Herzog
(Victoria) and Hays.
In 1882 Father Anastasius built a small
frame dwelling for the Sisters and since then the parish of St. Joseph has had
its own parochial school taught by the Sisters of St. Agnes. Until 1884,
the church continued to serve as a class room. In that year a school house was
built. In March, 1884, Lots 6-8, block 17 were bought from Mr. Motz for
$100.00 and in May the adjoining Lot 12 in the same block was purchased from
Mr. Allen for $25.00. The title to this property was placed in the
name of the Bishop of Leavenworth. It was on these lots that the new two
story frame school house was built. The Sisters moved from their little
cabin on the north side of Sheridan Avenue (now 13th street) to the second floor
of the school building. This new building was scarcely a model of beauty
or comfort, but it was a step forward.
The parish was growing and the little
frame church was entirely too small. It had been the dream of the pastor
and people to erect a stone church that would be an honor to God and in keeping
with the architecture of the town. The members of the parish had grown a
little in wealth so they began in 1884 to haul stones from the quarried along
the Smoky Hill River. The parish, however, was still poor as is evidenced
by the entries in the account books. The salary of the pastor was $20.00 a
month; very often he did not receive that much. In one year, 1887, he
received $60.00 for the entire year. The Sisters depended on the
generosity of the people. Besides his duties at Hays, Father, Anastasius
took care of the people at Catherine and Russell every week and found time to
visit all the stations westward on the U.P. Railroad as far as Colorado at least
once a year.
In 1886 the
pastor and people found it possible to go ahead with the building of the new
church. About $2,400.00 was raised for this purpose and building
operations got under way. On the 15th of August, father Anastasius
solemnly blessed the cornerstone of the new building. Fathers Maurus and
Godhard, O.F.M. Cap., assisted at the service. By Christmas the church was
complete except for the installation of the windows. The style of the new
building was Roman. It was 72 feet long, 32 feet wide and 21 feet high.
A two story addition 26ft. by 16 ft. was added to the east side of the church.
Later a side chapel in honor of the Blessed Mother was added. On March 6,
1887, Father Anastasius was delegated by the Bishop to dedicate the new church
and open it for services. The Rt. Rev. Louis Fink, Bishop of Leavenworth,
came to Hays in September and on the 4th of that month he solemnly consecrated
the new St. Joseph's church. The parish at the time numbered about 60
families. Father Martin Muelders, O.F.M. Cap., was pastor at that time.
Now that the brick and mortar was over for a time,
attention could be given to spiritual developments. Father Anthony Berger,
O.F.M. Cap., who succeeded father Martin, introduced the Arch-Confraternity of
Christian Mothers and the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary in September, 1888.
In the year 1889 two lots (2-4, Block 17) were bought from
John Leahy for $350.00. Another (Lot 11, Block 18) was bought from Elisa
Williams for $550; and still another (Lot 9, Block 18) from Samuel B. Reed for
$350.00. The title to all this real estate was placed in the name of the
Rt. Rev. Richard Scannell, D.D. the first Bishop of Concordia, Kansas. The
year 1892 is noteworthy for the first Confirmation ever conferred in Hays.
The Rt. Rev. John F. Henneddy, Bishop of Wichita and Administrator of the
Diocese of Concordia, confirmed a class of 48 persons on October 6, 1892.
In the same year Rev. P. Distler, C.S.R., conducted a
popular mission during the Christmas season. Some 286 people received the
sacraments during this time. As the parish at the time numbered 64
families (11 Irish and 53 German-Russian), the results of the mission seemed
gratifying.
In 1895 the parish in Hays joined the other parishes in
Ellis County in making a vow to observe St. Joseph's Day, March 19 as a Holy
day. The purpose of this vow was to draw God's blessing upon the wheat
crop. Since such a vow could not be made without the permission of the
Bishop of the diocese, Bishop Hennessy gave the necessary permission but decided
that the vow was to be only temporary and that it should not bind under mortal
sin. As the years followed each other, the idea of March 19th as a Holy
day grew dim. As the patronal feast of the Church, however, it was
celebrated with a solemn high Mass and a festive sermon.
The fire that broke out in Hays on March 1895, did no
damage to the parish buildings but it nearly ruined the Catholic business men of
the town. The fire, riding the wings of a gale, destroyed most of Main
street, the street fronting the railroad. Sixty-five buildings were
destroyed. Many people ran to church to pray for aid from God. Some
made promises to do this or that. Father Lawrence exposed the Blessed
Sacrament and it was during this time that the faithful were on their knees that
the wind suddenly shifted to the opposite direction and the fire died out.
The Capuchin Province
of St. Augustine was growing in number. It was found possible to send
greater numbers of priests into Kansas to provide abundant service to the
people. The parish at Hays was also growing and an assistant pastor was
necessary. But the monastery acquired in 1893 was old and unsafe.
The Capuchin Superiors therefore decided in 1879 to build a substantial building
that should serve as a friary or monastery. For this purpose, they bought
some ten cords of native stone from the County Clerk in November, 1897.
Some weeks later the Capuchins also bought the flour mill of Andreas Meier and
had the stones hauled to the location of the monastery. Parishioners aided
by hauling the material but the total expense of the building operations was
borne by the Capuchins.
In January, 1898, the foundation was dug.
Work progressed so fast that on March 25th, the corner stone was laid with
appropriate ceremonies by the Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Anthony, O.F.M. Cap., the
Minister Provincial of the Capuchins. By September of that year the
building was complete and ready for occupation. On September 25th, the new
building was opened to the general inspection . The next day the friars
moved into their new quarters and the monastic enclosure was established.
The new building was 72 feet long, 40 feet wide and two stories high. The
third story was added in 1915. The cost of the original building was about
$5,675.00. While the monastery was being built, the lot east of the
monastery property was bought by the Capuchins.
June 19th, 1898, saw a unique celebration
in St. Joseph's Church. Fr. Fidelis Meier, O.F.M. Cap., son of Andreas
Meier of Hays celebrated his first solemn Mass. He was the first son of
the parish to reach this goal. The little church was filled to overflowing
and the aisles were so packed that the "Asperges" was given from the altar
rail. As many of the friars as could, attended the service. Fr.
Fidelis became one of the outstanding members of St. Augustine's Province.
He died suddenly December 8, 1938. He is one of the few friars buried in
St. Joseph's Cemetery.
Towards the end of the year 1898, it was
found imperative to purchase additional ground for the cemetery.
Accordingly, three acres adjoining the cemetery were bought December 12, 1898.
Title for the new holdings were placed in the name of the Bishop of Concordia.
The custom of the people going to the cemetery in procession on All Souls Day
was introduced in November, 1900.
In 1887, when the second church was built
and consecrated, the official census of the parish showed 60 families. Ten
years later, the parish numbered 116 families. The second church,
considerably larger than its predecessor, was now becoming too small. A
larger church was becoming a necessity. Pastor and people began to make
arrangements for the larger church.
Fr. Mark Haas, O.F.M. Cap., the pastor in
1900 engaged Joseph Marshall, a catholic architect in Topeka, to draw up plans
for the new church. These were finished in the spring of 1901. The
Rt. Rev. Bishop Cunningham inspected them and, on April 25, 1901, gave
permission to make a loan of $10,000.00 to being building operations. On
June3, after a solemn Mass in honor of St. Joseph, pastor and people went in
procession to the new location and solemnly broke the ground for the new church.
Work was pushed energetically. Forty men finished the excavating in about
a week. Work could now begin on the foundation, but the terrific heat,
registering at times 110 degrees, put a stop to the labor. Work was
resumed later, and the cornerstone was laid November 28, 1901.
The Right Rev. Bishop of Concordia
presided at the cornerstone laying. Fifteen priests were present.
Rev Rudolph Stollenwer of Liebenthal preached the German sermon. He was
followed by Rev. B. Hayden of Solomon, who spoke in English. A great mass
of people had gathered for the occasion. The cornerstone is of Vermont
granite and was supplied by Hubert Gretten of Beloit. While building
operations were in progress the pastor and people were not idle. Fairs and
suppers were held to raise money to meet the cost. Even the Hays Military
Band help along! They gave a concert at which articles were chanced off.
On this occasion a tidy sum of over $800.00 was realized.
But it was easier to pay out money than to gather it, and so
we find that building operations were suspended for a time because of lack of
money. Permission was granted to make another loan and then building
operations resumed. Poor harvests were the cause of the lack of money.
Father Mark did not witness the completion of the church. In August 1903,
he was transferred to Dover, Ohio. His place at Hays was taken by Fr.
Richard Dei, O.F.M. Cap. Ten days later Rev. Bishop solemnly blessed the new
bells. At this time the exterior of the church was completed.
Plastering was not undertaken until March, 1904, and the work dragged on slowly
because of the rather unskilled labor at the disposal of the pastor.
Finally in June,
 1904, the church was completed and reached dedication.
June 12, 1904, was dedication day.
The weather was most beautiful. The people flocked to Hays from all
directions so that the church was not large enough to hold them all. The
Rt. Rev. John F. Cunningham, D. D. Bishop of Concordia, himself conducted the
services. He was assisted by Fr. Richard as arch-priest; Fathers Rudolph
Stollenwer and Maurus Schebler, O.F.M. Cap., as deacons of honor. Frs.
Celestine Oswald, O.F.M. Cap., and Titus Rumpelhardt, O.F.M. Cap, as deacon and
sub deacon of the Mass; and Fr. Edward Heyl and Father Julius Becker, O.F.M.
Cap., master of ceremonies. Following the Roman Ritual closely, the bishop
blessed the walls inside and out, after which the Litany of the Saints was
chanted solemnly. Only then were the church doors open to the faithful.
At the Gospel, the Rev. John Maher of Salina preached an inspiring sermon in
English. After communion, the Very Rev. Hyacinth Epp, O.F.M. Cap., founder
of the Capuchin Province of St. Augustine, delivered an eloquent sermon in
German. The afternoon was given to general rejoicing. The day was
brought to a fitting close as solemn Vespers were conducted by Father Maher,
assisted by Frs. Celestine and Richard.
All the usable furniture was transferred
from the old church. New pews were purchased for $576.76 from the Catholic
School Supply Co., Milwaukee, in November, 1904. The Stations of the Cross
were canonically erected the next year. Owing to the lack of funds no
heating facilities were put into the church at first. The winter from
1904-1905 was an exceptionally hard one. Only the essential services could
be held in the church. When the winter was about over the steam heat
fixtures arrived and they were installed in March, 1905.
The high altar in the church was a
donation of Mrs. Mary Murphy Morrell. The side altars, set up in November
1904, were also donations. The Sacred Heart altar with the statue was a
donation of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Penny and Mrs. Magrane. The Blessed
Mother's altar with the statue was the gift of the John Schlyer family.
The following year the altars in the transept were donated. Mr. Jacob
Brull gave one altar with the statue of the Sorrowful Mother, Mr. A.A. Wiesner
gave the St. Anthony altar. The statue of St. Anthony was a donation of
John Miller of St. Joseph, Missouri. Altar and wall brackets for the
sanctuary were a donation of John Gross, Jose Basgall, Peter Staab Jr., and John
Schlyer. In 1908 the Misses Haffameier and Mrs. Jordan gave the
chandeliers. In the same year more pews had to be set up to take care of
the growing congregation. In November 1917, work was begun by Edward Paine
to fresco the church. The job was completed in February, 1918. The
decorating cost $1,400.00. The renovation of the altars cost $75.00 and
painting of the pews cost another $300.00. The church was now a worthy
house of God.
When the Capuchins came to Hays in 1878,
they found about twenty families that were practicing Catholics. The
parish grew and grew so that by 1943 the number of families belonging to St.
Joseph's Parish reached 800, in 2001 the amount reached 1060 families. But
while the parish grew in numbers, it was not growing in wealth. Located in
a strictly agricultural district, its members were either farmers or depended on
the farmers for livelihood. Consequently, prosperity reigns and there is
no want when there is a bountiful crop and a good price for it. But the
experience of the farmers has been that the bountiful crop and the good price do
not often come together. One or the other is generally missing; therefore
income of the parish for many a year did not quiet meet the expenses. The
parishioners just did not have the money to give. It was the knowledge of
this fact that prompted the Bishop and pastors to move slowly when there was a
question of building a new church or school. There aren't many parishes in
the country that had to build three churches in twenty years; nor are there many
that have their schools spread over two city blocks with separate buildings for
some of the grades.
The pastors, with their consulters, made
the necessary improvements with the means at their disposal. Their chief
difficulty was that they never quiet collected enough money to meet the
expenses. The records show that many a year $2000 to $4000 had to be
borrowed to meet running expenses. When such a thing must be repeated over
and over again debts pile up.
The priests and sisters did their share in
keeping down expenses even to the extent of repeatedly foregoing their hard
earned salaries. Various means were employed to reduce the debt and to
make the parish self-supporting. For a time it was the custom of the
farmers to set aside an acre or two as "God's acre". The produce realized
from such a plot of land was given to the church In some years the numbers
of acres set aside for this purpose reached well over a hundred. But when
the price of wheat was low, there wasn't much money realized from such a method.
The standard method of raising money by
pew rent was in vogue till the parish became so large that there were not enough
pews to rent. Then the "communicant money" was tried. This
meant that
every member of the parish who had his or her first Communion (at the age of
twelve or fourteen) was to pay a certain sum annually towards the support of the
parish. There was no set day on which this money was to be paid, so it was
often forgotten or postponed till there was no ready cash. Since the
individual couldn't pay the full amount, he didn't pay anything.
Finally in 1933 the envelope system was
introduced. The parishioners had a continual reminder of their obligation
to the parish. It was found to be less painful to pay off one's obligation
by smaller donation over a period of a year than to pay it all in one lump sum.
During the first year when this was tried $22,000.00 was repaid off the
staggering debt of over $89,000.00. Within a period of ten years the
entire debt was wiped out and a $20,000 diocesan assessment was paid to help
clear the bonded indebtedness on the Diocese of Concordia. The annual
report made to the parish in January 1944 showed that there was a surplus of
$15,000.00 in the church treasury.
As the debt on the
parish was being reduced thoughtful parishioners began noticing how badly the
church needed redecorating. As long as the shadow of the auctioneer's
hammer rested on the building only the most essential repairs had been made.
Edward Paine, an interior decorator, had painted the church and had renewed the
altars and the pews at a cost of $1,750.00 That was in the autumn of 1918.
In the years that followed ugly marks had appeared on the ceiling and walls,
attesting where the roof had sprung leaks at one time or another. The
leaks were stopped but there had just been no money for new decorations.
The Altar Society, always an active group in the parish, began to collect money
to meet the cost of new painting. They sponsored various many-making
affairs which brought together the sum of $2,800.00. At the same time they
made a canvass of the parish and collected almost $2,000.00 more to meet the
cost of painting the church, the pews, and the statues. This together with
many additional contributions from the various societies such as the D. of I.,
the C.Y.C., and individuals, made it possible to engage Mr. Alex Linenberger, a
member of the parish and a church decorator, to redecorate St. Joseph's Church.
The contract price for the decoration was $4,500.00. The cost of painting
the pews was $275.00 and of the statues, confessionals, pulpit, baptismal font
and various smaller articles $304.50. He and his assistant toiled over and
did a job that is very beautiful. The walls and ceiling were given new
coats of paint, the pews were refinished and the statues renewed. All this
was done without creating a new debt.
Before the painting could be started, it was necessary to
reshingle the roof of the sanctuary. This work was supervised by Mr. John
Rohr of the parish. Help was scarce, so the aid of the German prisoners,
living at the Agriculture Station, was enlisted.
The parish was not free of debt. Never again should a
mortgage hang over the house of God that is St. Joseph's Church.
Accordingly the members of the congregation voted at a parish meeting, December
5, 1943, to petition the Most Rev. Bishop of Concordia, Frank A. Thill, to
consecrate the church. The Most Rev. Bishop gladly acceded to the wish of
the people.
According to church law, in consecrated churches at least one
altar, especially the main altar, must be immovable. An altar of this kind
consists of a table of a single slab of natural and solid stone affixed to stone
supports. The altar which stood in the church at the time and which had
served so well for forty years did not fulfill these requirements.
Therefore it was decided to make a change in at least the high altar. But
a stone or marble altar is very expensive, and there was no intention of placing
another debt on the parish. The good Lord came to the rescue and moved one
of the parishioners, Mr. A.A. Wiesner, to present a marble high altar to the
church. To have one marble altar and two wooden one in the sanctuary would
not harmonize. Therefore two other men of the parish, Mr. Joseph Wiesner and Mr.
Leo Wiesner, sons of the donor mentioned above, gladly gave the money for the
additional two side altars. When the parish heard about this, there was a
scramble to give the money necessary for two side altars outside the sanctuary.
Since A. A. Wiesner had given the original St. Anthony's altar, he also gave the
new St. Anthony's altar and dedicated it to Alfred and Anthony Wiesner families.
Mr. Clarence Grabbe paid for the St. Francis altar. So the church now had
five altars of marble of which the parish could be justly proud. The
wainscots of these altars were of Alabama marble, the basses of Vermont green,
and the top slabs of Ozark Tavernelle. The marble crosses and the candle
brackets for the walls of the church were a donation of Dr. G.C. Unrein, M.D.
All marble was purchased from the Carthage Marble Corporation of Carthage,
Missouri. The setter was Mr. Joseph Rausch of Kansas City, Kansas.
 To erect
altars of this kind required a very firm support. The weight of the high
altar, for instance, was approximately seven tons; that of the top slap alone
was 1700 pounds. It was therefore found necessary to build a support in
the basement on which the high altar would stand and build supports in the floor
of the church for the side altars. A masonry of brick had also to be built
to form the core to which the marble was attached. This work was ably
undertaken by Mr. John Eberle, a member of the parish. He and his helpers
had built a support that should always prove adequate fro the weight of the
altars. To complete the high altar it was necessary to erect a canopy or
ciborium over it. A ciborium is beyond doubt the most correct manner of
covering an altar and, at the same time, by far the most beautiful. The
work of constructing this covering for the high altar was given to Mr. Herman
Dreiling, a member of the parish and an altar builder of experience. It was
decided to build this covering of unfinished oak. After several months of
hard work, this beautiful canopy was completed and installed in time for the
consecration. Mr. A. A. Wiesner also donated the canopy. Since one
of the main ceremonies of the consecration of a church consists in anointing the
doors,  it was thought
proper to install new doors for the occasion. Mr. Peter J. Jacobs, a
member of the parish, contributed the money for the doors. They were built
by Mr. Herman Dreiling; the hand wrought iron straps and hinges are the work of
Mr. George Kubitschek of Salina. The doors were hung by Sigmund Leiker,
Mr. Peter Spies, Mr. Joseph Gerstner, and Mr. T.J. Schreiner, all members of the
parish. Bishop Frank Thill solemnly consecrated St. Joseph's Church on May
30, 1944.
In 1952 a Wicks pipe organ was purchased for $11,500 as a
gift from one family. Rich Dreiling was the organist and choir director at
the time the organ was installed and he served the parish until his death in
1953. In 1954 Raymond E. Wicher came to Hays in response to an
advertisement placed in "Our Sunday Visitor" by Fr. Alfred Carney. He
served St. Joseph's Parish faithfully under seven pastors. Ray faced the
challenges of helping the parish adapt to the changes in the liturgy brought
about by Vatican Council II, always blending what was musically artistic, from
the German hymns that the Volga Germans brought with them from Russia to the
polyphonic chat of Rome with what was liturgically proper. Ray retired in
1988 for health reasons and died in 1994. His death marked an end to an
era in the parish of St. Joseph.
During the summer months of 1958, St. Joseph's Church
received a new concrete floor, heating system, bathroom facilities, and a
complete new set of pews at a cost of around $25,000.
Fr. Thomas Haywood took office in July of 1969. Before
long, he became aware of the unfunctional parish office situation. At
first, plans were considered for remodeling the lower area of the old monastery,
but eventually it was decided to dismantle the old building and replace it with
a modern building which would serve the needs of the present large parish.
It was completed in January, 1972. The entire contour of the area north
and east of the new building was revamped thus providing more needed parking
space. The church grounds were beautified by ornamental bushes and grass.
Many other repairs and improvements were made, which also included the
replacement of the church steeple and the reshingling of the church roof.
1976 would also bring many repairs and improvements. The main altar was
moved and the church underwent extensive renovations including: the Blessed
Sacrament Chapel, cry room, new confessionals, exterior repairs and
sandblasting, refurbished stations, replacement of lights, painting and
redecorating.
For over 16 years, the parish did not have any special
projects outside of ongoing maintenance and repairs. By 1992, it was
necessary to repair and clean the limestone and weatherproof the exterior
of the building. Cracks and other defects on the interior of the church
were also repaired and cleaned. New flooring and paint put the finishing
touches on the interior.
The most dramatic evidence of this project was the repair and
enhancement of the Wicks pipe organ in the choir loft. The organ was
refurbished at the factory in Highlands, Illinois. When it was returned to
the church, its location in the loft was moved. The pipes, which had been
concealed at the back of the loft, were brought into the open, resulting in an
impressive sound and appearance for the remodeled church. An added bonus:
when the pipes were relocated, a stained glass window, which had been concealed
since 1952 when the organ was first installed, was uncovered. The
acoustics of the church were improved with the addition of carpeting and a new
sound system. The cost of the improvements came to $350,000.000, almost
nine times the cost to build the church in 1901-1904.
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St.
Joseph's Catholic Church