The Hidden Treasure Of Calumet: A Biography 1n3f1p

Copyright © 2012 by Danna Schweitzer. Library of Congress Control Number: 2012911693

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4771-3584-6 Ebook 978-1-4771-3585-3

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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This work is dedicated to the memory of

Fr. David M. Lafferty Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary June 2009 – February 2011

Miss you, we will That quintessential you With gentle smile and quiet nod And heart that sought to understand That which made no sense to you

Miss you, we shall Each with our own memories Knowledge of some small part of you This is humanness to mourn And you knew it well

Miss you, we must For you left without a goodbye

Softly into the night that knows no end “Do not cling to me” Jesus warned Mary And so you might remind us all

Miss you, we do And yet if we are to believe That which we preach; we know You are not gone, but just away Where we must Miss you.

Contents

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PREFACE

This story, unlike most, begins at the end or perhaps the middle, because I cannot tell the future. This is a love story like many others, the difference being that it is the love between a people and their God as demonstrated through the heart and mind of one Catholic priest. It is the story of Lay Apostolate work in action as envisioned by that man, Monsignor Don J. Kanaly in the early 1940’s. The result we see today stands as monument to what might be. This book took twenty years to create, beginning with a few home movies of the people who had lived the creation of the buildings. Monsignor Kanaly himself is a part of that memory. The people of the parish had come together to dedicate the hall in his name along with Archbishop Charles Salatka and Rev. Manuel Magallenas, pastor in July 1992. I believe there was talk of a book or a small newspaper article at that time but I can find nothing that exists from that ceremony other than my films and some local newsprint announcements. About a year after the dedication I was allowed to visit with Msgr. Kanaly over a weekend at a cabin in Southern Oklahoma along with my husband and several other people including Fr. Bill Ross and Ms. Joan O’Neil, who worked for the Sooner Catholic newspaper. We talked of many things including the idea of a book about Monsignor’s life, but it never quite seemed to gel from those meetings. There were long stretches when no work was done and the photos and remembrances sat waiting patiently on the shelf. Then a new fact or a new voice would surface and reignite the fire to create. As the century turned from 19 to 20 I began to study for a degree in Pastoral Ministry offered through the Oklahoma Archdiocese, a degree that I really had not considered ‘using’ for any real purpose beyond my own enlightenment. As with any scholarly endeavor, I wrote papers, tons of papers and thousands of words. I graduated in 2006 and moved on to a Master’s degree in the same field. Again there were more papers. It was in the Master program that I met Fr. David Lafferty. He was the Spiritual Formation Director for the four years we spent studying. Once a month for those four years we would meet with him as a class and, as with all the classes, there

would be a paper to be written. About half way through the degree work Fr. Lafferty pointed out to me that most of my papers spoke about or referenced either Monsignor Kanaly or the parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Calumet. His words to me were, “Danna, do you think you have a theme going here?” I had not considered this because it had become my home parish and it felt natural to write about what I knew. In 2009, the last year in the Master program; Fr. Lafferty was assigned to the parish of Holy Trinity in Okarche with Immaculate Heart of Mary to become a mission of that parish. He would now be my pastor and I would be confronted and encouraged on a regular basis, to write the history that we both knew I understood. He was a few years younger than I but we had both lived as Catholics in places not in Calumet during the years when this story was forming. I believe we both knew how seminal this period in Catholic Oklahoma history was to the formation of the essence of the ‘Oklahoma spirit’ we see today. Most instrumental throughout the twenty years has been the gentle influence of Fr. Bill Ross. Although we have had only sporadic opportunities to talk about this work, he has remained a true believer in the need for a book about this remarkable man, Don Kanaly. Fr. Bill was responsible for organizing meetings between Msgr. Kanaly and me. He has been very willing to answer my questions and very encouraging in any effort to honor the memory of a man he calls his mentor and friend. Then there are the parishioners of Immaculate Heart. Some of them were even willing to go on film and talk to me about this time in their own lives. Kathleen Mansfield and Laureta Laub not only appeared on film but wrote much of the history of the parish that went into this book. Andy and Mildred Laub were willing to spend a very hot afternoon with me filming a segment for history. Marcellus Schweitzer and his wife Catherine, Herman and s Schweitzer, invited us into their homes; all of these people are sadly no longer living among us. A couple of very young people – Courtney Burns and Oran Smith who are now grown up; were also willing to commit themselves to history on film. Many more shared their words and I am indebted to them for gracing me with their knowledge. Although they declined appearing on film they were always eager to share the stories that touched on the life of Fr. Kanaly. Maxine Carnott, Mabel and John Gassen, Harold Blum each shared special moments of time with me. Mr. Bill Mansfield was especially helpful in identifying individuals in old

photos and providing me with written histories when he had them available. Jerry Meyer produced the one existing page of architectural drawings from the church which had been cherished by his father, Gerald and his grandfather, Everett. It was a remarkable eighteen years in the history of Calumet and an exciting time in the Catholic Church in Oklahoma. The Holy Spirit seemed to be alive and working in ways that would not be known in much of the rest of the Church in the United States until after Vatican Council II (1962 -1965). This could not be the whole story of Fr. Kanaly’s life but only the small parts that I have been able to unearth related to his eighteen years in Calumet. I asked him how he felt about a book being written about him, he chuckled and said, “Oh, I’m just a little cog in the big wheel but if it will help someone else then it’s alright.” We talk about the Church being the treasure of Calumet, and in some ways it is. Perhaps the true treasure was Monsignor Kanaly and the message he brought to Oklahoma.

CHAPTER 1

On the open prairie grasslands west of Oklahoma City in the North Canadian River valley, before one reaches the canyon area some miles further west; sits the town of Calumet. The simple directions today from your location detecting device would lead you west from Oklahoma City on Interstate 40 to exit 115, then north five miles. Named after a Native American word for peace pipe; it has always been a tiny town with never more than a population of 600 people. Additional numbers may be counted for census purposes in the several hundred families who live on farms and acreages in all directions from Calumet. Like any small town in the Central prairies, it has always depended upon the close proximity of larger cities such as El Reno, the county seat of Canadian County, to provide all the necessities of life. We may not easily think of great ideas coming from small places, but they do and many years ago great ideas were being honed and turned into working stuff that would change the way many Oklahomans operate in the world. Today this small unassuming town still has an internal economy even though most who live here, work elsewhere. Small diners and grocery stores, a post office and bank; keep the economy pumping. There is a town park and a wellkept baseball diamond tended by part time employees or volunteers. The little town hall, created from two old school buildings, is staffed most days by dedicated part time workers. The fire department consists only of trained volunteers, and the local police officers are known to all by their first names. There is one public school, educating youngsters from pre-school through twelfth grade, staffed by competent teachers and parent volunteers. This is a quiet place operating mainly on the activities of the public school; whether it is a ball game or a talent show; a majority of the people are likely to attend even if they have no youngsters enrolled in the school. Streets are mostly paved and sidewalks abound allowing folks to walk from their homes to other places in the town limits. These days walking is less likely to happen as most seem to get into a motorized means of transportation to go anywhere, although children still ride bicycles and stroll to their friends’ homes.

From time to time there has been a pool hall and a bar but there have also been long stretches of time when these amenities were absent. There are some two storey- brick front buildings that stretch along the main street for a couple of blocks, mostly empty now, standing as a testament to times past. They are of the type where the family might live above the business combining the space used much as we see in the large cities created at the turn of twentieth century. The working businesses today are housed in metal or cinder block buildings giving the town a mixed appearance on most days. In some decades the discovery of natural gas in the region has helped boost the mean income levels and added to the tax coffers. Young robust men may find work in the gas fields at the dangerous job of digging wells. This is not usually a type of work that one can sustain over a life time. The wells dug will produce for a few years and then dry up; therefore, moving on to the next well sites in another state is the norm. The main source of life-work is still farming although anyone involved in this industry will tell you it is not likely to be a major source of income for raising a family. Most farmers or their wives must work at some factory, manufacturing plant or the federal prisons in nearby towns and do their farming evenings and weekends. Families still work in partnership with one another even though there is a great deal of mechanization; it still takes a multi-generational team to be successful. The early summer harvest of wheat and spring and fall movement of cattle herds to market keep the economic rhythm consistent with the change of seasons which is tuned to the earth. The hum of life remains slow and casual. The citizenry is moderately well educated and deal with the same problems and troubles that surround any modern community, yet, there is a difference. It may not be one you will notice immediately as the friendliness and kindness of Oklahomans is well known and often spoken about. This is a kindness, a sense of equality that extends most immediately to strangers but flows from some greater source. It comes from a place of deep personal conviction and is tied to the religious teachings introduced to the state in the not too distant past. Like any small community in the central United States there are churches, Christian churches. Four major denominations of Christianity are represented in Calumet today in the Catholic, the Methodist, the First Christian and the Baptist Churches. In order to begin to understand this story, we must go to the small rock church on the corner of Main and Freehome just two blocks west of the four way stop at

the center of town. This is the Catholic Church, dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. There has been a Catholic Church in this spot since 1899; but it was not always made of rock and it was not always called by the present name. The quiet steeple topped building holds about 100 people, used mostly on Sundays where it may or may not be filled to capacity. Attached to it is a long low stone building which is the parish hall, now titled Kanaly Hall. Similarly attached to the south is a small two bedroom stone house intended for use as a residence for the presiding pastor. There is no one living in the home today as times have changed and the little parish of Immaculate Heart has once again become a mission to a larger neighboring parish of Holy Trinity in Okarche, 16 miles away. This means that they share the services of a single priest and no longer have a pastor all their own. This change is discomforting but not unlivable since the people seem to know that they retain their place in the universal Church whether there is a pastor in residence or not. They know, because they have long been fully and totally responsible for the little buildings and those edifices are a reminder of who they are in the eyes of their God. The stone church has a simply designed exterior which belies an almost majestic appearing interior with redwood arches that reach a tall peak in the center aisle. The wood benches and matching altar rail are of walnut and the stained glass windows color the very air as one enters. The floor of the sanctuary is made of polished pink stone rock, machine-sanded to a satin finish. The altar the same simple wood and stone echoing the worship space design. It is in many ways an unpretentious space but how it came to be and the stories behind it are the object of this narrative. This is now and was before a tiny town not given to raising great craftsmen or architects. Although farmers must be a jack of all trades they are not necessarily given to this form of creative expression. And yet, it did happen and most beautifully.

CHAPTER 2

This particular little church was actually built by the people of this parish and their neighbors who are not Catholic. I do not mean it was funded or planned by them, although those two things are true. No this building, this worship space, was physically created by the hip of the church led by a young first time pastor, Msgr. Don J. Kanaly. In words taken from an interview with him in 1992 “They created it with their own hands working evenings and Saturdays once they had completed their own grueling work for the day. Farmers and dairymen, carpenters and truck drivers gathered to erect these stone walls with little more than a crudely drawn plan and a straight edge, they didn’t even have a plumb bob between them. They were here in all sorts of weather raising these walls as straight as a string to the heavens. It was a magnificent testament to their love for their God.” The entire parish worked in teams first on the plans then on obtaining the materials needed to build floors, then walls and finally the roof. There was a detailed architectural plan drawn up by H. E. Williams of Oklahoma City but the only page still in existence of this plan concerns the building and placement of the arches. The parishioners brought in their own equipment in the form of tractors and loaders, ropes and pulleys erecting the arches; always coordinating the work in groups. The stones for the church were dug by the Cecil and Joe Schweitzer families as well as John Laub from land they farmed. Sand came from Raymond Schweitzer’s farm. They were hauled to the building site by the Schweitzer and McCabe families as well as many of the men who worked for them as laborers. The walnut used for the benches and the doors were taken from trees growing along the rivers and streams of Andy and Lawrence Laub, Arthur Leighton, C. R. Perkins and Jack Evans. These were trucked to a special mill in Texas by the parishioners and then returned to the site by a team led by Herman Carnott. Some items could not be created by the hands of the people such as the mighty church bell which was imported from Holland. Harold “Buss” Blum, Raymond Schweitzer, Barney McCabe, Pat Mansfield, Fred Tech, and Harland Schweitzer

created a system which will ring the bell electronically as a call to Mass. Rick Schweitzer re as a boy going down to the shop on his farm and watching with Father Kanaly as his Dad, Raymond welded odd parts from old machines together to create the mechanisms. Harold Blum and his team worked on a special electronics system and timer. With their ingenuity and devotion to the Church they had created this system to ring the bell at set hours through the day marking the times of the prayer of the Angelus. This part of the system is unfortunately no longer in working condition. The work was coordinated by Everett Meyer who, along with his crew took on the task of hand crafting the cabinets doors and woodwork. Although all reported on their progress to Monsignor, it was the families who created from their own bounty. They worked on each part of the building in groups where one craftsman might teach another his skills. According to Kanaly they were creating and bringing about change in the world around them with the Holy Spirit as their guide. There was work for many people and the toil, however difficult, was tended to with team effort and a sense of dignity for the work of human hands. Each man, woman and child in the parish was offered a memory of how they were a part of the building of the church. One Sunday, as the piles of rock were sitting waiting to become the west wall of the sanctuary; Msgr. Kanaly asked each person to go out into the stones in the yard and pick one that called to them or seemed by shape or color to have some meaning to them. Each stone was set in place by the stone masons, John Laub and his team. To this day families and individuals can find ‘their’ rock in the wall and . The elderly and small children might be handed a spoon to press the wet concrete into the cracks between the stones once they were put in place. Women brought meals and cleaned up areas as each portion of work was completed. Rick Schweitzer re coming to Mass as a boy in 1957 and seeing the huge arches drying in the sun, bent between the large trees in the yard near the parish hall, creating just the right curve in the massive beams. The arches are laminated redwood strips trucked in from California, the native woods were found to be too brittle for this use. The arches were created by applying resin glue to thin strips of wood. Then they had to be wetted, formed and worked for several weeks, each movement from straight to curve being painstakingly measured.

Vernon Gassen relates stories of his father, John, coming home with the sticky, gooey resin firmly affixed to tro legs and shirt sleeves. “No matter what Mother tried, sometimes that mark would never go away. I think Dad kind of wore them with a little pride.” Once the thin strips were placed together they had to be held in place by hands or legs until the resin would set. Each beam had to correctly match its brother in curvature and size in order to hold the pitched roof in place. It was the arches that Fr. Kanaly often spoke about with fondness comparing them metaphorically to the people. “Nothing happens quickly with God” he would say: but the people, like the arches, are formed slowly with gentle pressure and the glue of faith to become the people God has chosen to send His message out into the world. There were also learning moments that would be ed with fondness. Fr. Kanaly talked about the soft pink stone which lines the sanctuary floor. It is smooth and polished now but he chuckled as he said “what you see there was not quite our best.” The sanctuary floor was created from a formation called Calumet rock; it is more durable than and not as abundant as the limestone used in the rest of the buildings. They hand dug and placed the precious rock first and then realized that what they had laid was actually the foundation for the sanctuary. “As always” Monsignor smiled, “the best is buried inside.” There were many changes in store for those who worked and those who came to exercise their faith. The Church was named for St. Anthony of Padua in the beginning but by the time it was completed and the mighty bell was hung; the name of the parish would be changed to Immaculate Heart of Mary. This was a change that was too upsetting for some to endure. For others some of the ‘modern art’ used in the worship space felt uncomfortable. The original little wooden church had contained a choir loft with stairs winding up from one side. Although there had been talk of stairways and a place for the choir the use of the uneven stone for the walls did not permit a second story and an odd alcove beneath the bell tower became the spot for the piano and any future singers to stand. As always with the work of man, there were bumps in the road. The bumps will often cause a change in direction. Sometimes this work created change even within those in charge. Msgr. Kanaly relates the story of the beautiful stained glass windows. They are Picasso-like

depictions of the seven sacraments set in concrete and truly draw the eye to the depth within the glass itself. Not what we might expect in a small prairie town. When they were initially installed, they were a bit controversial. The change they created began with Fr. Kanaly himself. He tells the story of the glass: The sheets of stained glass had been ordered and brought in from Italy and the artist who would create the windows, Rev. Robert Jolliffe, was arriving from Nevada City, Nevada. The artist would visit the site, pick up the glass and create the windows in his studio in Nevada. Fr. Kanaly was expecting to be able to suggest the subject and design. Don was concerned that he would be able to come up with just exactly what artwork to put in the windows. He itted to being disappointed that the openings for the windows were small rectangular shapes just a shoulders width across, hardly enough for the grand portraits he had seen in the Cathedrals of Europe as he traveled as a young man. Mere slits compared to the arching windows of neighboring Churches in Okarche, El Reno, and Geary. Still this was all he had to work with, a small space and a grand design. The same trees which only months before had been so useful in forming the arches now held the precious, thick panes of color. After the workmen left for the evening, he paced before the glass and prayed that he might find the inspiration to know just what to create so that the windows might echo the teaching of Jesus Christ. Although he had listened to suggestions for the windows, it would be up to Kanaly to make the final choice. He thought of his parish family and how they were of the Body of Christ. He thought angrily of how he was going to be able to fit any true picture into those tiny openings. All this was so important to him, to his standing with the Bishop, to the donors who had given to the building of this church. As darkness descended he gave up for the night. The next morning he was still without an idea and his impatience was growing. He chose to look at the glass one more time. As he moved out into the yard to view the glass he was astonished to find that during the night they had all been broken. Whether by human vandals or some freak of nature with wind or storm; every sheet had been smashed. Fr. Kanaly was devastated as he viewed the splintered shards on the morning grass. He its to becoming very angry and then horribly embarrassed as his good friend and artist was due to arrive that afternoon. This was the late 1950’s; cell phones and instant messaging were

things of the future. The great man would arrive and there would be nothing for him to work with. As is often the case, when dealing with the unexpected nature of artists, the arrival of his friend, Fr. Jolliffe, brought gasps not of despair but of joy. The artist-priest was delighted. He bent immediately to the bits of color and began to explain how he would take them and form them into depictions of the symbols of the sacraments. “At last,” he exclaimed, “I will not be bound by convention but will allow the Holy Spirit to guide me in this wonderful creation.” With seven openings and seven sacraments the question of subject was plain to see. Don stated that he was pleased but also very humbled as he realized that he was holding on too tightly and needed to “step out of the way” for God to work. He had not anticipated how far he would be asked to step away. Another major change came when Msgr. Kanaly was called upon to leave the parish of St. Anthony’s before the project was complete. In January of 1958, Rev. Victor Reed, friend and classmate, was ordained as fourth bishop of Oklahoma and by June of that year Kanaly was moved into Oklahoma City to begin the task of building the beautiful church at St. Patrick’s Parish. The dedication of the church in Calumet, which would change the name of the parish, did not occur until April 1, 1959 with Fr. Thomas Hoffman, as pastor.

CHAPTER 3

How could it be that a monument of this size could rise from simple red dirt and hard work? We begin with the story of the building of Calumet and St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in the years before the arrival of Fr. Kanaly. The land the town grew on was all part of the unassigned lands purchased from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian tribes. Some land was given to settlers under very specific guidelines by the United States government in the Allotment Act of 1892 in parcels of 160 acres. Other areas were awarded to veterans of the Spanish American or American Civil War for service to the country. Following the land run of April 19, 1892 homesteads were set up and families began to settle in hoping to make a life on the farmable areas of their claims. A post office was established in the home of Mrs. Anna Cowdrey in 1893. The name of the town, Calumet, thought to be Cheyenne for peace pipe, was said to be a reference Mrs. Cowdrey’s pipe smoking habit. Those first pioneers were often characters who might have had some difficulty fitting into other parts of society. Yet, they had vision and hope for the future. Mr. Rueben G. Shirk offered his allotment for the building of a town several miles north of the Cowdrey place, closer to the railroad depot built on Willie Tyler’s allotment. The post office was moved and the town was surveyed and platted in 1898. This was the beginning of the settling of this last part of the frontier and the people who came to take over the government offered land, were mostly immigrants from , Czechoslovakia, and Ireland or the sons and daughters of those early settlers; the new Americans who built the farm communities on the red clay earth. Most were hard working and inventive, able to see bounty in the dust and know that they must make it all happen. They were mostly Protestant with some Catholic and Jews although religious affiliation was not discussed. They brought with them missionary ministers according to their families of origin. Families lived rather far apart in those days, especially considering that they always traveled by wagon or foot. The first families lived in tents or houses built of sod and lumber until small frame homes could be built. The very first worship services were held in peoples’ homes by the circuit riding

ministers of the various faiths and the presider generally came by about once a month. The first Catholic missionaries were from European countries and had been ministering to the Indian tribes in the area before the new settlers began to arrive. In the vast new farming areas, it might be many miles and many weeks before one saw a fellow believer. The towns, especially like Calumet, were not privileged to have areas where one could survive without the help of a neighboring Lutheran or the Methodist storekeeper so all had to struggle together. If a barn needed razing or a man fell ill, it was hoped that neighbors would step in without asking about your faith. Those who came to settle the Indian Territories were looking for a way to better themselves and provide for their families; the land gave them an opportunity to own something of value. Being Catholic during this time in American history was not an advantage. Religious prejudice was a very real part of life. There were not large numbers of Catholic families such as one would find in the big cities on the East Coast. Even as the population grew and each small town had its Catholic church built, there were never enough priests to cover each place of worship so most were combined with neighboring churches by the Bishop so that one parish might include five to ten sites. The priest would ride on horseback between them offering Masses and sacraments on a fairly regular schedule. The names and number of priests who stopped by to offer Mass at Calumet are somewhat lost in time. They came from towns like Clinton, Hinton, El Reno, Geary and Weatherford where there were churches with homes where they might reside. Calumet, with only 20 ed Catholic families in 1904, expected no such luxury as a resident priest. Weddings and Baptisms would only rarely take place here as most families were told to bring the party to the church of the priests’ residence. If a priest were needed at the time of death, a trip was made to El Reno or Geary hoping desperately that the clergyman would be home. Even telephone service was a thing of the future. Charles Todd, son of the operator of an early stagecoach line, donated several parcels of land which he had been awarded for his service in the Civil War. He gave a parcel for each denomination present in the town at the time and each group built their church with the materials available. The building of edifices for the sole purpose of worship was not high on the list of things to be done in the new frontier but it was a part of becoming a formal community. For some who arrived from the East coast, buildings were best if purchased and assembled

from items shipped in by railroad. Others saw the raw products available in the land and created a simple wooden structure or a brick and mortar edifice used only for Sunday and Holy day services or perhaps a wedding. The Catholic Church building in Calumet was begun in 1899 and made of wood but not dedicated, in honor of St. Anthony of Padua, until February of 1904. The infamous tornadoes of 1912, which decimated the town and killed 3, destroyed the building but a wooden structure was rebuilt with the help of $1,000.00 from the Catholic Extension Society of Chicago. Both of these structures were built by the people of the parish, working together. The pastor of the church in 1912 was Father Peter Monnett residing in Clinton. He had a brother named John, who was an architect. John drew the plans for the new church not long before he went to study with Frank Lloyd Wright. The structure was again dedicated in just a little over one year by Rt Rev Theophile Merschaeert, Bishop of Oklahoma. In 1928 there were 12 families counted in the church rolls at St Anthony’s. Some of the priests, who came to say Mass, would look at the parish and report that the Catholic families were “mixing with the Protestants”. This was considered sinful and grounds for excommunication from the Church during this time period. The young people often fell in love with a neighbor or school mate and just as it is today, the heart will usually win over reason when choosing a life companion. Families were large and essential to the running of farms. A steady hand on the plow was necessary to keep the economy growing. Theological lessons were important but not as important as hungry children. If your child married one of another faith you could either try to bring the new member into your church or turn your back on your own offspring; to argue or disagree openly with the “Good Father” was considered sinful. He was educated and often, they were not. Their education would have come from simple one room school houses and caring family ; many did not have the opportunity to graduate from high school. Lay people did not study the Catholic faith as they are allowed to today. The priests might be missionaries from other countries; sometimes they had little better English speaking skills than the people but the Mass and sacraments were in Latin so the needs of the people were being met even though communication in other areas was difficult. Life went on and civilization advanced. In the years between World Wars, Oklahoma sometimes prospered and sometimes failed. Although not in the

designated Dust Bowl region, Canadian county received its share of dusty days and soil eroding winds that damaged the wheat and sent residents scurrying for safety in the darkened afternoon sun. In the mid-thirties the weather began to improve and the planting of tree rows to slow the soil loss took hold. Most farmers had changed from horse and mule farming to working with tractors, trucks, and gasoline powered harvesting machines. The Great Depression would continue with depressed wheat and livestock prices. Life was hard and some people moved on west to seek their fortune. By 1932 when a priest was assigned to work at the newly created federal prison in El Reno, the number of families counted had grown again to 20. Sometimes one of the priests assigned to the parish of St. John’s in Geary would travel to the prison to say Mass. Calumet’s little wooden church continued as a mission to Geary in its own quiet way. Then in 1940, on a Sunday, no one seems to the exact date, a young priest by the name of Don Kanaly arrived to say Mass. He was personable and plain - spoken, something many of the priests who worked in area were not. The spiritual formation of the people, which was often left to chance, taught that the priest was someone sacred, that he held a place closer to God. Many priests were distant, sometimes aloof men by nature and certainly unapproachable. Their seminary training had not prepared them to be friend and counselor to their flocks. The priest was the CEO in the eyes of the people and many individuals who held this position accepted that role easily. But this priest was different, he not only talked to them as individuals, he took time to go around town and visit the merchants and conduct business with them as any average citizen. The town of Calumet had reached a low population point with only 300 people being counted in the area in the year of his arrival. He was not from another country but was born in Oklahoma near present day Edmond and had grown up not so far from this place they called home. He seemed to understand farming, fishing, hunting, and all the things it takes to make a life on the plains. This was no longer the wild pioneer days and their way of farming was becoming more mechanized but the people still worked long and hard for what they had. Where ever he went, he seemed to exude a positive attitude and an interest in the person he was addressing. A charismatic person, he became well loved by all the town residents no matter what their faith affiliation. In the beginning he was just “ing through” on his way to his job as Chaplin at the Federal prison but each time he ed he spent a little more time in the

company of the Calumet families. The other priests at Geary were likely to come for Mass also and some of them were very personable but Fr. Kanaly seemed even then to be special. He began to talk to them in his sermons as well as during family visits, about equality and encouraged them to form groups under the guidelines of the Catholic Youth Movement and the Christian Workers Movement. These were rallying points being taught in the seminaries in Belgium in the 1930’s by Joseph Cardinal Cardijn and spread throughout the United States by a new wave of priestly men. This teaching was endorsed by the Bishop of Oklahoma, Rt. Rev. Francis Clement Kelley. In the fall of 1941, according to Andy Laub, he and Bill Jordan and Barney McCabe had gone to see a gentleman by the name of Poarch who owned a large old two-story house at the south end of the block from the little church of St. Anthony’s. They were of the church board and had been told that Mr. Poarch was in need of finding a buyer for his house. It was in much need of repair and he thought the parish would be the perfect new owners for it. They agreed that it would be a good investment and the house was purchased for the possible future use of a pastor. It still seems up for debate whether the original suggestion came before or after Fr. Kanaly began to spend some of his free hours in town. It has often been said that Don Kanaly could talk to any person on any subject but he was a man with a vision. He was particularly fond of talking with you until you agreed with his vision. The house was in need of paint and cleaning as well as some carpentry work, all items that could easily be put to rights by the of the parish. Several of the ladies interviewed the evening they gathered to clean up the house to prepare for his moving in; it was December 7, 1941. One of them had a radio which was turned to a local station. They how they were all moved when President Franklin D. Roosevelt came on the radio to make his famous speech about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many of their sons and neighbors had already enlisted and were fighting the war in Europe. The world was becoming an even more dangerous place. By the spring of 1942 the house had been made a livable place and Fr. Kanaly had managed to convince the Bishop that it would be a much greater asset to the diocese if he were to live closer to the federal prison and allowed to work from the small community of Calumet. He had been living in Geary with Fr. Neville

who was pastor, but now he felt a need to be more in charge of his own comings and goings. The circuit riding would be over and he could begin to concentrate on the community he was growing to love. In a 1992 interview, Msgr. Kanaly shared that he ired the hard work ethic of the people but he could easily see that they had no way to exercise their faith. His training in the teachings of the Belgian Canon, Joseph Cardijn, gave him a way to help the community grow in spirit and confidence. The small rural communities with their close family ties were considered ideal settings for creating the Catholic Action movement which he had brought to the parish in Ponca City, his first assignment as associate priest. Just as he had done in Ponca City and at the El Reno prison, Kanaly began to create small groups among the parishioners. They would meet on a regular basis, first at the Church but eventually in their homes to talk about their work lives. They would begin discuss how they could bring the teachings of the Church into their work places. The youth of the parish were encouraged to gather for meetings and to with like youth groups in neighboring parishes for socials and study. In the spring of 1944 as the war continued Fr. Kanaly began to talk about creating a meeting place. He had been living in the community for three years and with his caring attitude and willingness to be present to the people he had indeed won their hearts. He knew that the best way to draw the people together was to give them a project, a work that they could do for themselves. In an interview with Laureta Laub, retired school teacher, taken in 1992 we learn about the training of the man who actually did the masonry work on the buildings. “My husband, John Laub, had been the stone mason on the work of the hall and for Father’s house. He wasn’t trained or anything but Father used to come and visit us, like he did all the farm families, and one day John was telling him about building me a wash house for doing my laundry. He made it out of the stones he dug from our land. It was kind of red and grey colored stone, just a little box of a building but it worked pretty well. John was really handy at building things. After that Father Kanaly started in and convinced him he could create buildings, all different kinds of buildings. You could disagree with Father but somehow he always got you to come around to his way of thinking. My husband made a pretty fair livelihood around here after he built those places.”

He had his builder and the material for the building would come out of the farmers own ground. As he moved from work place to farm to be with his parishioners in their place of business he modeled the work of his mentor, Canon Cardijn. Soon they gathered in community to plan the actual work following one remarkable Sunday ed by Marcellus Schweitzer, retired farmer, in this way. “We were in a meeting with Fr. Kanaly after Sunday Mass not too long after he moved into the old house and he began to speak to us about the real need for this meeting hall. He went on for few minutes about how the town needed the place for all of us to come together not for worship but for community. Well, I don’t know if this was planned before or not, Father did things that way sometimes, you know. There were meetings that were real casual and ideas discussed and then a decision would sort of come out of that. Well, all of a sudden my Grandpa Fred jumped up and pledged $500 dollars toward the building of the hall. That was a lot of money in them days; me and Grandma looked at him like he lost his mind. Then Grandpa challenged Bill Jordan and Barney McCabe to match the $500.00 and they did. I tell you, Father Kanaly was good at getting what was needed. Even in those hard times.” The meetings to create the building were held in the old two story house now used as the rectory. The farmers in the area were accustomed to removing the limestone rock from their land to create clean and useable fields for planting their crops. This work had uncovered large deposits of rock which were useful as building material. Cecil Schweitzer and his crew would blast and dig and the younger men would haul the stones to town for John Laub to create the doublerock walls. There were still supplies that had to be purchased, wood for framing and windows and roofing materials. It was war time and some of the items were rationed so the work was slow. By the next year the funds began to run out and Fr. Kanaly set to soliciting funds from those he knew outside the community. The Bishop of Oklahoma during those days was Rt. Rev. Eugene McGuiness, a man who could strike fear into the heart of this young priest. He was also the ‘brick and mortar’ Bishop; proud of the buildings he would furnish for later generations. Funds from the Bishop’s friends with the Extension Society in Chicago were more often used for the building of churches but like his predecessor, Bishop Kelley, he ed the work being done by his rural priests. $1,000.00 was sent and the work slowly continued.

Don Kanaly turned to the community for their input. Soon the idea of a community bazaar was presented and the entire parish set to work. Bazaars had been accomplished during the early growing days of the town but after the Great Depression and the move into wartime shortages it had fallen in to disuse. It was the women who brought the idea forward and worked to make it happen. Interview with Kathleene Mansfield, retired teacher and home maker, taken in 1992 “The women of the parish were considered by Father Kanaly to be vital to the work at hand. That was the thing with Father, women were not looked upon as being equal in those years but he did not agree. He always told us that our work was every bit as important as the men’s to the raising of the Church. I guess he was a bit ahead of his time. We loved him, you know. He was an immensely impressive speaker talking about equality and the dignity of the worker. It was so stirring to listen to him.” That first bazaar took in $2,000.00 from the sale of homemade goods and the auctioning of precious farm stock. Every man, woman, and child had a hand in the building of this community hall. What they soon realized was that along with the hall, they were building a fine two bedroom stone house for a new rectory. In an interview with Msgr. Kanaly, he smilingly itted that he was really hoping for “an indoor privy” when he convinced them to add the expense of the little house on to the building of the hall. In reality, it became a true labor of love and the bazaars would continue to bring money into the church bank for many years to come. What happened along with the increased income was an increase in camaraderie and fellowship among the townspeople. Committees of people came together to plan and then to create. As they created they were able to teach one another the skills they had learned. What occurred was the flowering of the things Don Kanaly preached about – Catholic Action and the equality of the worker, and an outward sign of hip in the Mystical Body of Christ. Where we see a stone building, Fr. Kanaly saw the True Church. In the first years of his time living in Calumet, Fr. Kanaly worked at the prison in El Reno as well as traveling across the United States speaking on behalf of the Lay Apostolate Movement in the form of Young Christian Students, Young Christian Workers and eventually the Christian Family Movement. He would

spend as many days as possible with his parish but the call to advance the teachings of Canon Cardijn along with his brother priests Reynold Hillenbrand in Detroit and Louis Putz at Notre Dame was important. The new parish hall was used for meetings and social gatherings as well as dances for the young people. It was here in the hall that the young people in particular would be gathered in groups to talk and study their Catholic faith. It was here that Kanaly would continue to teach them the tenants of Joseph Cardinal Cardijn’s ‘See, Judge, Act’. It was important for them to grow to realize that they were in charge of their actions; and that they learn to participate in their own development as of the Mystical Body of Christ. Another innovation by Fr. Kanaly was to meet with the pastors of the other churches in the town in one of the early Ministerial Alliances. He spoke to them as equals, planning activities to meet the needs of the entire community. There were always families or individuals who required the help of others and this was a direct way of living out the Gospel Message. From this alliance grew a community Christmas Pageant which is still celebrated today. The management of the Pageant has changed from group to group but it has always continued as a community affair with a re-enactment of the Nativity, an extremely large Christmas tree, and the presence of Santa Claus. The building of the new little rectory not only gave Fr. Kanaly a better place to live but also vacated the old wooden house for another use. The pastor soon set into motion plans to bring a group of teaching sisters into tiny Calumet from Stillwater to help with education. At the urging of the Bishop, he helped them set up and operate a correspondence school as well as teaching CCD and summer Bible Classes for St. Anthony’s children. The Bishops of Oklahoma had long been concerned that children in the thinly populated farm belt receive a reasonable Catholic education. The correspondence school was established to provide rural parents a way to instruct their children within the home. Papers and booklets were mailed out on a regular basis and the Sisters were tasked to grade and return paperwork with recommendations on a regular basis. At one time, according Sr. Julia, there were almost two thousand children enrolled in the program run through St. Anthony’s Sister Adorers of the Precious Blood of Jesus and the Calumet post office. About the time that the hall was completed, Fr. Kanaly ended his association

with the prison and became a full time pastor for the people of St. Anthony’s Parish. He also took on the responsibility of overseeing the youth programs for the diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa. He was made chaplain for this organization and was coordinator of some of the largest youth rallies ever staged in the state of Oklahoma. One such parade and rally in 1949, was reported to have gathered over 10,000 high school and young adult persons at the state capital just to hear Kanaly speak. This fact is astonishing considering that the Catholic population of Oklahoma has never exceeded 3 percent of the total population of the state. It was his work with the youth that garnered him the title of Monsignor. The youth rallies were especially dear to Fr. Kanaly. He felt it was vital that young Catholic people be shown just how extensive the Church was, that they see and experience the pageantry and communion that exists among young people of faith. He enjoyed sharing his love of travel with his parish and trips to Oklahoma shrines or special places of interest were always on the calendar. This was all with the blessing of Bishop McGuinness who opened the doors of the church in Oklahoma in the mid-1950’s to further evangelize the people of all faiths in the state. When the time came a decade later, the move to build a new church building was relatively simple. The old wooden church, drafty and in desperate need of repair; would be torn down, Mass would be celebrated in the parish hall, and the people of the parish would provide all that was needed.

CHAPTER 4

What was the theology that Father Kanaly was following that allowed him to call forth this sort of determination from his congregation? They were used to hard work, adjusted to making their own way in the world; but their love and iration for him continued until well after his death in 1995 As a young man, Kanaly was sent along with several other Oklahoma men, to study in the Catholic University at Louvain, Belgium. The Bishop of Oklahoma, Rt. Rev. Francis Kelley believed in sending his seminarians to study in places where they would learn of many things. He was especially intent upon training those who came from the rural parts of his diocese; believing that they might learn of a wider world. Most if not all the clergy up until that time had been from Europe; Kelley’s vision for the Church in America was to provide native clerical leadership especially in the newly settled areas. Don would travel and study with Steven Leven, Raymond Harkin, and Victor Reed, who would one day replace Eugene McGuinness as the Bishop of Oklahoma. There he was fortunate to encounter Canon Joseph Cardijn and learn the principles of the Young Christian Workers organization, also known as the Jocists. He learned about the motto “See, Judge, Act,” and how to teach this new sort of lay apostolate formation which was an attempt to re-Christianize the world. Joseph Cardijn was a Belgian priest in the early 1900’s. He was distressed by the economic misery and moral indigence of the growing masses of young industrial workers he found in his congregation. He was even more upset by an apathetic clergy who seemed to him to be more interested in being part of the wealthy elite than tending to the poor. Cardijn had been a worker in the coal industry before entering the seminary and so was well aware of the hardships the worker faced. While he was imprisoned during World War I he began to see how the message of Jesus Christ was being lost and he began to formulate a way to deal with the fact. After his release from prison in 1912 he began to work with the young people on the streets, not waiting for them to come to him in the church. He would look for them at the factory entrances and befriend them as an equal.

He was an eloquent speaker and believed deeply in the need to bring young people back to the Church so that God could use them to bring the message of the love Jesus Christ to the rest of the world. He would use organizational ideas from the other groups being created during this time in Europe such as communism and socialism. The difference very clearly being that God was the center of everything rather than governments or human dictators. By the time Don Kanaly met him in the 1930’s he had refined his teachings to a rather clear blueprint for creating the small action groups and putting the message of Christ to work in the world. Cardijn’s teachings would eventually weave their way into the documents promulgated during Vatican Council II in the early 1960’s. An example of this form of teaching is illustrated in an interview with Mabel Gassen of Calumet. “Father Kanaly loved to have Bible study in our homes. He loved to meet with us as often as he could. Well I one year Anita was a baby then and she had double pneumonia so I could not take her out and I sure wasn’t going to leave her with anyone else. He said that we should all come to my house for class that night so folks did. When we were all sitting there he looked at Anita and then at all of us. We knew a question was coming by the look on his face.” “Look at this lovely child” he said, “Would you let a sinner touch your baby?” “We all knew what should be said and we told him ‘no, never’.” “He looked around the circle at each one and then said quietly ‘we are all sinners’. Well, that just took our breath away. Of course we were. None of us were pure and sinless; it was the way he taught things like forgiveness. He would look at a regular situation and show you how God saw it. It was better for us to forgive the sinner than to judge someone else. It was just that important.” The ‘Bible study’ Mabel refers to is actually a study circle when it is reworked in the words of Cardinal Cardijn. It is here that groups of people with like occupations or similar backgrounds gather together to discuss ages from the Bible and then apply them to their own everyday lives. They were to look at ordinary situations and consider if they fell short of Christian teaching. From there the individuals were expected to go back out to their places of

business and be able to put into action what they had learned. The study circle was expected to teach faith, a faith that was enthused about social, moral, and religious action. The of the study circle were expected to learn their lessons about social and moral action slowly. It was not a coming together of persons to simply hear the words but a drawing together of people who would observe where they were and be ready to judge how Jesus would act or react to the situation at hand. The teaching of Cardijn was pivotal for Don as was his visit with Dorothy Day in those early years. He spent two weeks working with Ms. Day at her rescue mission in New York on his way back from Belgium in 1938. He was able to see in real time how the love of Jesus Christ could flow from an ordinary human being. Dorothy, a convert to the Catholic Church, was not a member of a religious order but her work with the needy has indeed put her in place for sainthood in the Church. Her acquaintance with Fr. Kanaly allowed Ms. Day to visit him at the Federal Prison in El Reno in 1942 while on a lecture tour. She noted quite happily that he had already created cell groups of Young Christian Workers within the prison. She also wrote that community gardens were being talked about in the parishes of Fr. Neville (Geary) and Fr. Kanaly (Calumet)¹. We know that a part of his ability to see the face of Christ in the people he met came from his own deep and abiding respect for other human beings. This is a character trait that seemed to be a part of Don Kanaly, the man. As a young chaplain he gained the love and respect of even the hardened criminals he worked with at the Federal prison in El Reno. The record books are filled with the names of men, convicted of crime and yet, called to Baptism in the Catholic Church once they had spent time conversing with Father Kanaly. One particular story is told of a young prisoner by the name of Francis ‘Smokey’ McCown who was a guest of the Federal prison system and was visiting Oklahoma while being transferred from Arkansas to California. Fr. Kanaly first met McCown when he came upon him in the holding area where he was threatening one of the prison guards with his own gun. Kanaly began immediately to talk to Francis to try and prevent any violence. Eventually, he challenged Smokey to a boxing match in the prison gym. Francis thought how funny it would be to whip a chaplain so he agreed. Little did he know that Fr. Kanaly had spent time in college boxing and was still young and agile in spite of his prematurely grey hair. The two men squared off and boxed for a good while but Smokey never laid a glove on Kanaly. Finally Don asked the prisoner to give

up and be his friend. For once McCown accepted and the two created a strong bond. Smokey became a group leader within the prison teaching his fellow prisoners under Fr. Kanaly’s care. Before leaving for California, Fr. Kanaly baptized young Francis McCown who went on to become the western movie actor Rory Calhoun. In his autobiography he speaks of a “little Irishman of a priest” who turned his life around. That was Fr. Don Kanaly, chaplain and pastor. At all times he really seemed to be able to see the person standing before him as the Child of God; that same child we are called to be in the stories of Jesus. The teachings of the Church in the early 1900’s separated the clergy and the laity. The ideology of Catholic Action taught that there was equality there and that one group could not function without the other. The work of one group was not more important than the other in the eyes of God. An example of this is from an interview with Maxine Carnott, homemaker and mother in Calumet. “I one Sunday Father Kanaly was giving a sermon about how important it was to attend daily Mass. Well, I certainly believed him but the only time there was daily Mass here was at 7:30AM and all my kids were little then. You know I had four at that time and they had to be got ready for school and all. Well, I went up to Father after Mass and told him my problem and he said that the work of the Mother in the home was far more important than seeing to a daily Mass schedule. He made me feel like being a Mother was the most important job there was, I loved him for that. You know most folks didn’t much appreciate the work women did in those days but boy, he did.” Mrs. Carnott’s story also demonstrates how accessible Fr. Kanaly was to his parishioners. He knew everyone by name as well as their family . He was always quick to inquire about the families and the business of the lives of each person he encountered. He also taught the people of the parish to go out among their neighbors and talk about the Church and their own faith. He encouraged the men to go out in groups of two and engage other families in conversation and even perhaps ask for a small donation. If there was a particularly difficult case then Father himself might be inclined to stop by on a Sunday afternoon just to enquire about the welfare of the family. He was not serious in demeanor but always telling a good joke or offering a story to entertain. As mentioned previously, he loved to talk and share his vision of the world with other people.

CHAPTER 5

The early life of Donald Kanaly was fraught with things that can go wrong. He was the second youngest of thirteen children born to Matthew and Margaret (Murphy) Kanaly near the city of Edmond Oklahoma in the beginning of the twentieth century. He was only twelve years old when his mother died. He was a friendly and social person but even in the earliest days he was known to be rather stubborn. It was perhaps this stubborn streak along with youthful exuberance that convinced him to leave home and school behind to go with his older brother Tom to seek his fortune in the world. They were said to have taken to riding the rails where they experienced poverty and hunger; they were even jailed a few times. It was the persistence of one of his teachers, Katherine Delahanty, who convinced him to come back and finish some years later, graduating from Central High School at age 22. He would go on to college with two good friends George Miskovsky and Wendell George and there find friendships among the priests and religious who worked around the campus of the University of Oklahoma. Eventually he would be accepted at the Benedictine College St. Gregory’s located in Shawnee, Oklahoma and then on to seminary in Indiana and Belgium. Although his family was Catholic and he was baptized as an infant there was no real connection for him with the church in his youth. He said he was a teenager before he really saw a priest and had never had the opportunity to serve at Mass until he was in the seminary. He was like many of the young people that the Oklahoma Bishops prayed for; born into a faith they could not see or understand. This early experience allowed Don to identify with the young people he would be serving as a priest. He was definitely influenced by the suave and personable Rt. Rev. Francis C. Kelley, Bishop of Oklahoma (1924 – 1948). He was a builder of the Church particularly concerned for the rural areas and was founder of the Catholic Extension Society in Chicago. This was a very successful fundraising effort that would be responsible for helping build over 10,000 Catholic churches in the

rural United States by the end of the century. Bishop Kelley was also responsible for seeing to it that many of the young men who studied for the priesthood had the opportunity to travel to Europe and learn first- hand of the Universal Church. Traveling and seeing things for himself was also a part of Don Kanaly. He once spoke of traveling with a couple of other young men on what he ed as a tour of architectural interests, looking at lovely buildings and seeing how they were built in different cities. One day one of his friends mentioned to him that Don ought to investigate becoming a priest. Astounded, Don asked why. His friend said “Well, every town we come to, the first place you want to see is the church. Maybe that’s where you really belong.” At the time of the telling of this story Fr. Kanaly alleged that he had not thought much about that before. This was another characteristic of Don Kanaly that grew with each ing year; he was an excellent story teller. He ed thousands of them and was able to embellish them with growing nuances each time he repeated them. This was also a part of his ability as an excellent homilist. As far as the author has been able to determine, he never wrote anything down. He spoke from his heart when he preached and anyone who heard him seems to have been very deeply moved. As time advanced; the number of priests who were beginning to know the teachings of Canon Cardijn grew. Father Kanaly continued to train his little parish as well as traveling to further the cause of the Lay Apostolate. He gave seminars to his fellow priests around the United States and taught the Benedictine Sisters at Guthrie the tenets of ‘See, Judge, Act’, all with the blessing of the Bishop Eugene McGuinness. Fr. Kanaly, in interview, itted to being intimidated by the presence of this particular Bishop. Where Bishop Kelley was charming, Bishop McGuinness was said to be a bit rough around the edges. One story Don shared was when the Bishop and his secretary Fr. Harkin were traveling west through Calumet and a storm blew up. They decided to visit his new rectory for the night. The Bishop was accustomed to ending the evening with a bit of scotch only Don didn’t have anything but some old bourbon available. When they checked the kitchen they found half a bottle of milk and the Bishop instructed them to mix the bourbon and the milk. The puzzled look on Don’s face caused McGuinness to exclaim, “Well, you drink eggnog, don’t you!” Don laughed in relating the story. Both his superiors appear to have believed deeply in Fr. Kanaly and his message.

He was building the Church and increasing the number of Catholics in Oklahoma. His message about the equality of people was clear and concise. He related easily to the poor and overworked farmers in the area as well as to those who might have a little more to give. Personable, well-spoken and quick to find those places in the words of Jesus Christ that could illustrate the trouble the person was facing. If we are to look for a Biblical comparison for Msgr. Kanaly, it would perhaps be the prophet Amos. This was the prophet of Israel who is believed to have lived in the 8th century BCE. He was a man called by God from a life as a simple farmer or laborer to show the people of God that it is equality of life that God desires. For Amos, as for Don Kanaly, the rich and prosperous are called upon constantly to care for the poor and marginalized. Amos is often called the Social Action prophet and the same could easily be said of Kanaly. There was also a part of Don Kanaly that perhaps fewer people may know about. We have referred to him as a man of vision, and he was, but he was also a man who had beheld a vision. He has shared with some that as a young seminarian he was visited by a vision of the Blessed Virgin on several occasions while studying in his room in Belgium. He said that she was small, not more than four feet in height and did not speak at all. She was beautiful and radiated a bright light. He was very emotional when sharing this memory and yet it seems to have filled him with a great sense of peace. Don was known to pray often in his later years by simply sitting before the tabernacle in silence. When asked what he was thinking when he did that he said simply, “I see God and God sees me.” This is contemplative prayer at a very deep level.

CHAPTER 6

The people of Calumet would remain as a source of great joy for Monsignor Kanaly for the rest of his life. He often spoke of how their spirit resonated with him as he continued honing his knowledge about how to lift the spirit of the people. Kanaly heard the words of Cardijn but then implemented them in such a way that they would have a positive impact on the lives of those he touched. Perhaps we can demonstrate the essence of the people Father first met when he came to Calumet. Life was very harsh, in the beginning, this was the era of the eighty hour work week and the only day off was Sunday afternoon. Yet their willingness to work and their faith in God seemed to sustain them in spite of the difficult life. The reality is that a harsh life often creates a hardened personality. If one must fight and claw for basic sustenance, the average human being will become protective of what he has and fearful of those they don’t know well. The teachings handed down in most churches of that era were about separating oneself from those who held to a differing belief system. Along the East coast of the country where most of the families began their journeys; certain areas of the big cities would be dominated by immigrants from one country or area within that country. They could easily gather together to create Catholic enclaves where the vast majority of people they encountered in social and business affairs would also accompany them to worship. In Oklahoma very few were Catholic and those who were often did not it their faith for fear of retaliation by their fellow settlers. Stories are still told of the pioneer days when a sign in the window of an establishment seeking workers would state “Irish and Catholic need not apply”. In our modern age of equality this seems absurd but it was the way. Public schooling was allowed to last longer when children were a little less essential on the mechanized farm. Fewer youngsters were told they could not continue after the fourth or fifth grade. The state of Oklahoma had tried to provide for the public education of children by enacting laws requiring that each child be allowed to attend until their sixteenth birthday but in the rural areas this

was not always possible. School rooms improved from mere shacks to insulated buildings and were maintained better, but the circumstances of the family still had to be considered when making educational choices. At one time there was even a law providing that if a widow could show that the labor of her child under sixteen was needed for her , the child would be allowed to attend school and the county would pay the child what he or she would have earned for working. This law appears not to have been enforced very often in Oklahoma. There were Catholic schools in El Reno and in Okarche but the travel from Calumet or from the farm was still prohibitive. The first schools built in 1904, had been boarding schools and were free to Catholic families but within the first decade tuition needed to be charged. Some families might send one or two or their children to live with other families in the towns during the week while school was in session but sending young ones away and paying for them to attend school was a tough decision for caring, hard-working parents to make. Okarche grew and prospered becoming known as the most Catholic town in Oklahoma. Residents were almost exclusively from and professed allegiance to either the Lutheran or the Catholic Church. The pastor for over forty years in Okarche was Msgr. Zenon Steber, a missionary priest from Alsace. He was tough and willing to ask that his parishioners follow strictly the laws of the Church. For some, this strict teaching would create a wedge between them and the Catholic Church. One example of this was that Msgr. Steber would not marry a couple unless both parties were Catholic. This was a part of Canon Law but he might be inclined to excommunicate a person who disagreed. Rather than follow the law, some people would choose to quietly leave. A Catholic School had been established 5 miles west of Okarche in 1905, dedicated to St. John the Apostle; it was run by the Sisters of Charity for almost 10 years. In the lean years after the First World War, the money to operate the school dried up and Msgr. Steber, in an effort to maintain a source of Catholic education for his young people had the school moved into Okarche next to Holy Trinity Church. A new group of nuns were found in the Sister Adorers of the Precious Blood allowing for a Catholic education to continue to be offered in the town. Steber cared deeply for his congregation but would have had difficulty understanding the ‘new’ teachings that were coming to the Church after his death in 1948.

El Reno expanded with the building of a Federal Prison between the military Ft. Reno and the city. Sacred Heart parish had been founded in the early years of that town and the school was built in 1899. Sisters of Mercy were called upon to teach but were later replaced by Sisters of Divine Providence. This also began as a boarding school but was soon changed to a day school because of the economy. The people who lived in the area of Calumet were often the remnants of Catholic families in other areas. In a part of our interview, Fr. Kanaly spoke of the people he met with great love and emotion. He referred to them as “the cast offs”, those who were from Catholic families but for different reasons had ceased to exercise their faith. They often did not attend Mass on a weekly basis or educate their children in the Church because they may not have been educated themselves. His Parish in 1941 would be defined by the names of families. There was Barney McCabe and Fred Schweitzer to the north and Pat and Katie Murphy to the south. In between were all sorts of wonderful people. They had not been afforded regular Masses; they might go a whole month before anyone could show up at St. Anthony’s to offer a service. The town itself consisted of very few folks in 1940. Chuck Corrigan ran a little café and his wife, according to Fr. Kanaly, was a very good cook. Don would go there to eat and while he ate he would engage them in conversation. Who might like a visit with a priest? Would any family be in need of prayers or encouragement for difficulties they might be enduring? Then he would simply follow-up on the suggestion. “What Father Kanaly did for the people of our church could never be adequately stated. At the time he was in Calumet the mass was said in Latin. Father Kanaly not only taught us how to say the mass in Latin but also the meaning of each word we spoke. He got people going back to church who hadn’t been there in years.” Catherine ‘Katie’ Murphy was quoted as saying in a 1974 interview for the El Reno Tribune. “He was the kind of man who could speak with anyone and they would listen. It didn’t matter if the person was a farmer, merchant or even a bootlegger, he loved Father Kanaly.”² Father Kanaly was allowed to move to the tiny parish based on several factors which were impacting the Church in Oklahoma. The Bishop in that year was Rt. Rev. Francis Clement Kelley, the same man who had been responsible for sending Don to study in Louvain. The same person who had welcomed him back into the diocese along with the teachings of Cardijn concerned with

reinvigorating the spirit of the laity. His original assignment had been to the federal prison in El Reno where there was an apartment provided on the compound grounds. To live in the prison as a priest was not a good situation so he was sent to live in Geary with Fr. Neville. The trip from one point to the other always ed through Calumet so it was simple to begin offering Mass at St. Anthony’s on a regular basis. When asked about the early attendance he said it was difficult because they had not been used to regular Masses being offered, so for some it was a new experience. A question about the amount of the collection at those services brought a roar of laughter. “Oh my, I could hardly carry it all to the bank,” he laughed. “Why it was a crushing time for the people and if I got a dollar for the whole collection it would be wonderful. On a Christmas or Easter I might get five dollars; that was something. There was no money to be had, the people had nothing but what they could scratch from the ground. They all farmed and traded among themselves or did without mostly.” Father knew and understood the people he saw; he was one of them in so many ways. He had lived a life without benefit of the Church. He knew how it was to live desperately from day to day and pray for rain to a cloudless sky. He knew the joy he found in sharing his faith in the Mystical Body of Christ with these people so like himself. He lovingly shared the story of one such parishioner. “Joe Schweitzer, he was a fine man. He didn’t come to church much when I came but we talked and I listened and he had his reasons but when they built the little shrine he began to carry flowers to Our Lady every day. Then when the hall was built he wanted a cross on the top. He took limestone rock and worked at it for days but it had to be submerged in water at some point in the process and each time he did so the thing would crack and melt. Well, he came to me so upset and I told him we would pray about it together at the shrine. So, the next time – the third time he tried – it worked. That’s his gift to the Blessed Virgin up there.” Monsignor pointed his cane toward the little white cross above the window, bowed his head and looked away. At the mention of the name Schweitzer he ed Julia, the wife of Cecil Schweitzer. “She was like many of the women, a convert. It was the women really that brought the men back most often. They would come to me for instruction to learn the faith for their children and then eventually the men would come with them. But Julia, now, she was great. She would drive all around the

countryside gathering up the children and bring them in to town in the back of a buggy or a pick-up. She had three boys as I and she saw them growing up with no religion so she brought them in for us to teach and she was so wonderful about that. Always having them there and not just her own but all the neighbors too.” Fr. Kanaly showed his love for his parish by his presence in their daily lives. He shared the Eucharist with them and participated in home meetings but he also had fun with them. He would be there if invited to go hunting or fishing with the men. He was said to have been an excellent fly fisherman. He ed families for holiday meals and was known to stop in and simply knock on a waiting door. Of course, there was usually someone home in those days, a trip to town was an ordeal and keeping a home going took lots of elbow grease. Families did visit one another, probably much more often than we do today. One special treat he seems to have enjoyed a time or two was coyote hunting with a man named Henry “Heine” Bomhoff. Mr. Bomhoff was an early day small plane pilot. One of his areas of expertise was hunting coyotes from the air. Coyotes in the 1950’s were a scourge to the Oklahoma farmer and a bounty was paid for bringing in the pelts. Flying with Heine was a thrill and an adventure; probably because he had impaired vision and wore extremely thick lenses in his glasses. Perhaps that was also a very safe place for him in the uncrowded airways over Calumet. The people he spent time with were not just of the parish. This was very different for of the clergy in the 1940’s. Father Kanaly knew that there were many people who had been baptized as infants but who had never been given instruction in the faith for any number of reasons. He never assumed that he was not speaking to a member or potential member of his congregation. He approached all people with the same courtesy and kindness that he found in the scriptures when studying the life of Jesus Christ. He did not accuse or reprimand them for their past life but listened with understanding and then tried to give them an alternative choice. To say that the men and women of Calumet fell in love with Fr. Kanaly is a fact. They loved him for his open-handed kindness and his generosity of spirit. They also respected him, not just for his station in life but for whom he was as a person and that respect was mutual. He was the pastor of St. Anthony’s the Catholic Church but he was also a deeply loved member of the community at

large. In the mid 1950’s Bishop McGuinness encouraged the opening of Catholic Churches in Oklahoma to all the people. Tours were given of churches and lay people were encouraged to invite their neighbors to attend a Mass with them. A large outdoor Mass was offered at the fairgrounds in Oklahoma City preceded by a parade of young people which brought the Church a great deal of attention. Fr. Kanaly saw to it that his Calumet parish was part of that movement. The spirit that Fr. Kanaly brought to Oklahoma was a large part of what has come to make them a unique group of people. When disaster strikes, the people of Oklahoma rise to the occasion and lend a helping hand without question or request for recompense. Did the work of Kanaly and his fellow priests affect that spirit?

CHAPTER 7

The treasure that hides in the little town of Calumet is partly a small rock church because it is quite beautiful. It is also the spirit and faith that made that building exist. All of the church buildings in Calumet were put together by the families who worship in each one. The difference in this building may be the story and the leader who stood behind the construction. It is hoped that the reader understands that the building of this church was very much like the creation of any other object. There were teams of people who came to put the creation together. This elicits lots of stories that endear or make one laugh but things were not perfect at all times. The committees spent their share of time discussing and there were probably a few personal agendas that were put forth occasionally. Like any story of the past, the harshest parts are often pushed to the side when the resulting work is beautiful. I heard only a few ing remarks of possible dissent but no mention of any permanent disputes. Msgr. Don Kanaly taught that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ and includes the people both clergy and laity. They cannot be separated nor can one operate well without the other. The young people in particular were of much concern to Fr. Kanaly; he always referred to them as the “hope of the Church for tomorrow.” He began with work in the prison where there were many young men to teach and comfort. He moved into parish work where he was always part of a group going somewhere or meeting for some purpose. History does not happen in isolated events within a given area, there is always a larger connection to the world that must be taken into when telling the whole story. It was also a dynamic and moving time for the Catholic Church in Oklahoma with Bishops who were willing to uphold the work of Kanaly and the other priests who followed him. The spirit that included the lay people of the Church was accepted and studied openly. It was a time in the 1950’s when the Catholic Church had a presence on national television in the form of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen of New York City. The time and the man had come together for the good of Calumet, the people of Oklahoma, and the Church. Don was charming and persuasive, the people hard

working and loyal; they combined to create a treasure. He would go on to lead the creation of other more famous places of worship and Oklahoma would become a new place. Yet, he would always profess that Calumet would hold a very special place in his heart. This same scenario would not be played out in the same way today. We are now hard pressed to find a day and a time when more than two or three are willing to gather together. We do not visit and spend time with neighbors the way it was done in the past. The future will be something to visit. If one is ever in Calumet, the little Church on the corner is worth a visit, also.

St. Anthony’s Church in Calumet Oklahoma as it appeared in 1950. The building, designed by John Monnett, is made of wood and held about 75 people. A choir loft with stairways takes up the entrance.

Parish Hall and Rectory as it appeared at the dedication in 1947. The wooden structure of the Church of St. Anthony’s sits a few yards to the right outside the frame of this photo.

Fr. Don J Kanaly 1947 at the dedication of the new parish hall for St. Anthony’s. He had left his position as chaplain and would soon be given the title Monsignor for his work with Oklahoma youth.

St. Anthony’s Summer Bible School about 1954 – First row: Rick Schweitzer, Dan Mansfield, s Laub, Susan Thompson, Margaret Laub, T. C. Schweitzer, Larry Laub Second row: Sandra Teufel, Tommy Schweitzer, Betty Laub, Dorothy Baca, Patricia Laub, Mike Thompson Third row: Sharon Stas, Mary Lou Hanneman, Earl Meyers, Tom Stangl Fourth row: Barbara Laub,? Stangl, Virginia Meyers, Kay Schweitzer,?, Bob Laub Last row: Doyle Schweitzer, Joe Laub, Jackie Schweitzer, Bill Mansfield, Roy Schweitzer, Don Mansfield

Interior of the parish hall as it stands today. This wall is where the Mass was offered beneath the Crucifix, for the two years the church was under construction. This structure became Kanaly Hall in 1992.

Living area of the little two bedroom rectory attached to the Parish Hall. Today the space may be used at a classroom or extra seating for a community event.

Plaque from the dedication by Archbishop Charles Salatka in 1992.

Fr. Kanaly and Fr. Bill Ross on the day of the dedication of the hall, July 28, 1992.

Dedication ceremony with Archbishop Salatka, Herman Carnott, President of the parish council, Fr. Manuel Magallenas are the four main individuals shown.

Exterior of the Church of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Calumet Oklahoma 2011

Cutting trees to build the pews for the new church in 1958, left to right are John Laub, John Gassen, Andy Laub, and Donald Stangl. This would be somewhere on the North Canadian River as it runs through the farmlands.

The interior of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, in 1959, at the time of the dedication. Note the ‘modern art’ look of the Corpus above the altar. This was a style being popularized at the time although it was not particularly attractive to some of the parishioners. Matching figures of metal were placed in the side alcoves which were later replaced with more traditional carved statues.

Close up of controversial modern art work which made up the crucifix and tabernacle as part of the original design. This was changed to a more conventional look within the first year after the dedication. When the time came to move the altar to the center of the sanctuary, following the directives of Vatican Council II, the detached table like design was relatively simple to move.

Interior of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in 1960 at the wedding of Thomas Laub and Corky Bornnemann, this was the second marriage to be performed in the new building. Here we see the beautifully hand carved wooden Corpus which still hangs on the cross today.

Entrance to the Church of Immaculate Heart of Mary

An intricate wood lattice work door was created by the cabinet maker’s team. The hinges were created with the tools of a local blacksmith.

The bell imported from Holland. This was a gift from the Catholic Extension Society.

In this view one can clearly see the old cultivator wheel used to move the bell as part of the electronically operated system.

Inside stained glass colors the air. What is missing here is the True Church – the people.

Sanctuary made of wood and polished stone. Some of the best stone lie beneath this floor.

The mighty arches of Immaculate Heart of Mary, symbol of the people of God who worship together at the table of the Lord.

The hand carved corpus which hangs above the sanctuary. This was done by an Italian POW being held at El Reno Federal Prison in 1960. The cross is pecan wood and the corpus is walnut.

Facing the altar from the back of the church we see the walls filled with the stones chosen by the of the parish. The tabernacle, a later addition following the dictates of Vatican Council II, sits to the right of the altar carved into the stone.

View toward the back of the church from the altar. The Icons were a gift from recent former pastor, Gerald Ucker.

Small limestone cross carved by Joe Schweitzer which sits atop Kanaly Hall.

Small shrine was the first rock formation built by John Laub. The same small shrine where Father Kanaly encouraged people to pray especially when the church was not open or available for special needs.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Baum, Gregory Ed. The Twentieth Century a Theological Overview Orbis Boos Maryknoll NY 1999

Block, Peter Community the Structure of Belonging Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco CA 2008

Bonner, Jeremy The road to Renewal the Catholic University of America Press Washington, D.C.

Comiskey, Joel How to Lead a Great Cell Group Meeting Cell Group Resources, a division of TOUCH Outreach Ministries Houston TX 2001

Congar, Yves M. J., O.P., Lay People in the Church Newman Press Westminster MD 1959

Bedoyere, Michael de la The Cardijn Story the Bruce Publishing Co Milwaukee, WS 1959

Hanley, Boniface, O.F.M. Ten Christians by Their Deeds You Shall Know Them the Cardijn Story by Michael de Le Bedoyere Ave Maria Press Notre Dame, IN 1958

Law, Eric H.F., the Bush Was Blazing But Not Consumed Chalice Press St. Louis MO 1996

Tate, Judith O.S. B., Sisters for the World Herder and Herder New York, NY 1966

White, James D., Roman and Oklahoman; A Centennial History of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City Editions du Signe Strasbourg 2004

REFERENCE

History of Canadian County Oklahoma – Canadian County History Book Association, Inc. El Reno Oklahoma 1991

Archives of Sooner Catholic newspaper and Cara Koening for reference photos

Canadian County Historical Society El Reno Oklahoma – newspaper articles

Carnegie Public Library El Reno Oklahoma – newspaper articles

OTHER MEDIA

Video tapes created by the author during an interview process in preparation for the 1992 dedication of Kanaly Hall at Calumet Oklahoma. Contributors to these interviews:

Andy and Mildred Laub Marcellus Schweitzer Herman and s Schweitzer Sr. Julia, A.P.B Laureta Laub Kathleen Mansfield Msgr. Don J. Kanaly

Audio tapes created by the author during interview processes in 2010 preparing for this book. Personal interviews beginning in 1992 through 2011

Carnott, Maxine Gassen, John Gassen, Mabel Gassen, Steve Laub, Andy Sr. Laub, Laureta Laub, Mildred Mansfield, J. William Mansfield, Kathleene Ross, Rev. William Schweitzer, s Schweitzer, Kathleen Schweitzer, Marcellus Schweitzer, Rick Schweitzer, Herman

PHOTOGRAPHY

Black and white photos of the parish hall and Fr. Kanaly were taken in 1947 and published with permission by the Sooner Catholic

Black and white photos of the Church interior were taken in 1959 at the time of the dedication and published with permission by the Sooner Catholic

Black and white photo of the original St. Anthony’s church, the men loading trees, and the wedding ceremony in 1960 were provided by Corky Laub Rohwer and published with permission

Black and white photo of summer Bible class students submitted and published with permission by Sandra Tuefel Estep

All other photos were taken and are published by the author

(ENDNOTES)

• Dorothy Day a Journal 1942 • El Reno Tribune “ The Big, Little Church of Calumet” 1972