By A.M. Kelley
Catholic Herald

Closing of Iron County churches brings sadness

HURLEY -- The history of a church is also the history of its land and its people. When the Diocese of Superior closed two small parishes in Iron County this November -- Sacred Heart of Jesus, Montreal, and Holy Redeemer, Pence -- history changed in a big way for a handful of people.

Some parishioners took the closures in stride; they had seen it coming for a long time. But others felt heartbroken as church doors, which they had entered all their lives, were locked.

The priest who oversaw the closings, Fr. Michael Hayden, is now the pastor of St. Mary of the Seven Dolors, Hurley, and the smaller St. Ann, Saxon. Before the Pence and Montreal closures he had the significant challenge of caring for four parishes. The population in these once hard-working mining towns had dwindled decades ago. At the same time the number of priests declined in the diocese and the entire country. This combination did not ensure much of a future for Sacred Heart and Holy Redeemer. It was really a matter of time before someone took on the task of initiating closures. The job fell to Hayden and he accepted it pragmatically.

"You can't buy a quart of milk or a gallon of gas in Pence or Montreal," he said. "(The residents) have to come to Hurley for everything else. Now they come for church too."

Downsizing began years ago

The downsizing began several years ago. Because Pence and Montreal are only a mile apart, arrangements were made to alternate Saturday afternoon masses at the two churches.

"There was absolutely nothing going on in those parishes," Hayden said. "It was time for them to close. We as church administrators must detach ourselves. They are just buildings -- bricks and mortar."

But those bricks and mortar were hand-placed by the original settlers of the area, according to Virginia Giacomino of Pence. She knew the people who helped build Holy Redeemer and the carpenter who drew up the blueprints, her father, Peter Smee.

"Everybody in town helped," she said. "I'm having a harder time than I thought I would (closing the church). It feels like the town has lost everything."

She lives just a few blocks from the building which up until a few weeks ago was cornerstone of her life. She was a member of Holy Redeemer since her birth 76 years ago. Her father worked for the Montreal Mining Co. Her mother, Madeline, ran a neighborhood grocery store in Pence. Customers knew they'd get no service one hour every week.

"The store was closed Sunday morning from nine to 10 for church," Giacomino said. "As a family we went there together. We always sat second or third pew from the front on the Blessed Virgin's side."

She married Dominic Giacomino at Holy Redeemer's altar. Their five children received the sacraments there. Their four sons became altar boys and their daughter sang in the choir.

"I buried my husband there and my parents," she said, "So much of my life went into the church."

Giacomino knew for years that the shortage of priests placed her small church in jeopardy and she thought she was ready for the closure announcement, but the routines of a lifetime keep stirring her emotions.

"There was a key (to the church)," Giacomino said. "It hung in an arch by the door. Everyone knew where the key was. Now we're not allowed in there."

Losing church like losing friend

Hayden understands the array of feelings a church closing causes. He said it's like losing a friend or family member and grief is predictable.

"This was not a sudden death," Hayden said. "These parishes had been in the nursing home for a long, long time."

Giacomino's cousin, Jean Vandervoorde, was also born and raised in Pence and still lives there with her husband, Lawrence.

"In your heart you're sad. It's a loss," she said. "But in your head you know that this one priest can't serve all these parishes. He's run ragged."

Her husband, now 79, was also born and raised in the area. After he was discharged from the Navy in 1948 he went to work in one of the local mines as a driller/blaster. When the mine closed in 1965 he found employment with the state as an assessor and appraiser. But many miners were not so lucky and left the area for jobs elsewhere.

Montreal and Pence are in Iron County. Its northern border embraces Michigan's Upper Peninsula and a few miles of Lake Superior coast. The county covers less than 1,000 square miles. One-third is county forest and more than 17 percent is water. On its southern border are the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation and national forest. It's a beautiful, clean area with 214 lakes, just as many rivers, and 450 miles of snowmobile trails. Snow is probably its main asset. In fact, Iron County claims it has "the most reliable snow in the Midwest." But there's little industry to sustain life there.

Lumbermen and miners came to the area from Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland. There was work, a strong economy and an active church community in every town until the mines closed.

Town's population spirals downward

In 1930, Pence's population was 418, now it's less than half of that. Montreal's 1920 census reported a population of 1,890. In 1990 there were only 838 residents.

The Diocese of Superior had 180 parishes and 130 priests in the mid-1950s. Now there are 105 parishes served by 80 priests.

Another notable change is the age of Iron County's residents. The county ranks highest in the state for percentage of people 65 years and older -- 23.2 percent of the population.

"The towns were once prosperous," Hayden said. "The mining companies contributed a great deal to the churches. Since the mines closed (in the late 1960s) those two parishes -- Sacred Heart and Holy Redeemer -- have been decimated. For the last 10 years they have not been parishes, simply weekend chapels of convenience."

Bonnie Nemacheck, 89, and Dottie Flateau, 81, are two friends who both live within a block of Sacred Heart in Montreal. They're proud of the way they and the other members maintained the church and reminisce about the bazaars, bingos and raffles held over the years. The proceeds paid to keep the furnace in good repair, to buy candles, new doors and lawnmowers and snow blowers.

Since Sacred Heart closed they go to Mass in Hurley. Hayden plans to move the statues from the closed churches into St. Mary of the Seven Dolors. Nemacheck and Flateau look forward to this.

"It will feel more like home," Nemacheck said.

Adjusting to a new church

Joining a new church has not been a simple matter for the women. They even worry about where to sit. Used to the same pew every week, Nemacheck wonders if she unknowingly will take someone's pew.

"Should I sit in the front?" she asked her friend.

She'd like to sit in the first row on the right side; that's her usual spot.

Hayden would like them to blend in.

"The people from Pence and Montreal are not foreigners," he said. "They're family."

He arranged for the altar stones from both Pence and Montreal to be removed. They will be preserved and on display in the parish hall in Hurley. The sacred objects will be taken out, but Hayden hopes that the transplanted parishioners will feel good about the church buildings they're leaving behind. The plans are not finalized, but it is a probability that the city of Montreal will use Sacred Heart as a community center, and as for Holy Redeemer, there is office and meeting space available.

"Those buildings will continue to be of use," he said. "Those communities have supported us. We have an obligation to give back."

Bishop to decide on buildings' disposal

The final disposal of the buildings is up to Bishop Raphael M. Fliss.

"It's the bishop's decision," Hayden said. "But I would not want the buildings to be used as a church of another denomination. I think that would be scandalous."

Pragmatic or not, even Hayden has strong feelings about the churches. But everyone is adjusting and trying to keep open minds.

"We could never have continued to support our church unless we used our savings," Jean Vandevoorde said. "Sometimes you have to change how you think about things. We have a priest. We have a warm and beautiful church (St. Mary). Thank the Lord for all we have."

Hayden says its "a whole new era of the Catholic Church in Iron County," and he's confident that faith will hold the community together.

Through tears, Giacomino agrees.

"You stay with God no matter what," she said.

Since 1949, 45 diocesan churches have closed

Beginning with the most recent, these are the14 which closed in the last 10 years:

* November 2005 - Sacred Heart of Jesus, Montreal

* November 2005 - Holy Redeemer, Pence

* May 2005 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Chelsea

* May 2005 - St. John the Baptist, Rib Lake

* May 2005 - St. Theresa, Westboro

* December 2004 - Immaculate Conception, Rhinelander

* December 2004 - St. Joseph, Rhinelander

* December 2003 - St. John Vianney, Lake Tomahawk

* December 2003 - St. Patrick, Minocqua

* December 2003 - Our Lady Queen of the Universe, Woodruff

* September 2002 - St. Bridget, Stanton

* July 2001 - St. Patrick, Centuria

* June 1998 - Our Lady of the Pines, Balsam Lake

* June 1998 - Our Lady of the Rosary, Georgetown

From 1990 to 1995, 22 churches closed and half of those closures occurred in 1991. There were six closures in the 1980s, none in the 1970s, two in the 1960s, none in the 1950s, and one in 1949.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003