USA > Maryland > A Century of Growth [electronic resource] or, the history of the Church in Western Maryland > Part 9
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Even after the discovery of "big vein " coal, and after the most skeptical had been convinced of the enormous quantities of it lying hid in the George's Creek Valley, the people asked one another, "What is the use of it?" There was little or no demand for the new commodity. When it had been clearly demonstrated that coal was useful for smelting iron ore, still no one for a moment supposed that it was capable of being used for fuel. It was the prevalent opinion that coal could not be burnt without a strong draft of cold air produced by artificial means. No doubt many experiments were made before it was applied to heating purposes. The next obstacle, which seemed almost insurmountable, was the total lack of means of transportation. At that time there was not
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one foot of railroad in existence in this section of the State; the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad did not even exist on paper. In 1853, the first rail- road was opened for traffic between Lonaconing and Piedmont. This road was built by the George's Creek Coal and Iron Company; it was purchased by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Company in 1863. Some years later, the "George's Creek," commonly called the " new road," was constructed between Lona- coning and Cumberland.
From these remarks we see that the slow growth of the parish need not surprise us. With time, bituminous coal, the great commodity of the George's Creek valley, was demanded, railroads were con- structed, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was open, inviting traffic, and Lonaconing began to grow. The growth was due solely to immigration. Of the immi- grants, the majority were Irish, and still very few of them were directly from Ireland. The Irish people, as a class, are not coal miners, and, accordingly, it is somewhat surprising to find so many of them " digging coal" in this valley. Our surprise ceases, ยท however, when we discover that the Irish miners who cast their lot in Lonaconing-or, at any rate, the vast majority of them-had previously been employed as coal miners in Nova Scotia, Scotland or England; hence, St. Mary's congregation, though practically an Irish congregation, can boast of very few members direct from "sweet Erin." With these explanations, we take up again the thread of our narrative.
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Towards the end of 1862, the Catholics of Lona- coning were sufficiently numerous and prosperous to go on with the work of their church. The Rev. Father Eberhardt, of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, assumed the responsibility of erecting it. Father Eberhardt was a man of energy, full of zeal, and as enthusiastic as his young congregation. Money came in plentifully, the walls were well under way, and "all went merry as a marriage bell," when the war clouds, which were hovering dark and gloomy over the land, were drawing strangely near to Lona- coning. Martial music filled the air. "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! the Boys Are Marching!" made its echoes heard in every home. Colonel Mulligan's men were encamped at New Creek, now Keyser.
The war fire burned fiercely in Lonaconing. When the news arrived that the Massachusetts troops, while passing through Baltimore, had been attacked, Dr. G. Ellis Porter, one of Lonaconing's most respected citi- zens, mounted a store-box, and spoke warmly to an immense throng of citizens, urging them to take up arms in defense of the "Stars and Stripes." Before two days a company was formed, with Dr. Porter as captain. While the war spirit raged, zeal for the new church languished.
July 8, 1863, Archbishop Kenrick died; and tradition tells us that "Father Eberhardt deemed it advisable to await the appointment of the new Archbishop of Baltimore before going on with the work." We can understand readily the wisdom of Father Eberhardt in
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" hastening slowly." He was a Redemptorist, and the Redemptorists were contemplating the removal of their "house of studies" from Cumberland to Ilchester. Archbishop Spalding, successor to Dr. Kenrick, was not appointed until May, 1864. In the meantime the walls stood unfinished, and the congregation experi- enced that " hope deferred which maketh the heart sad."
Whilst awaiting the coming of Archbishop Spalding to Baltimore, let us take a glance at Father Eberhardt. One who knew him well says: "If Father Eberhardt had any faults, none but God could find them. As a son of St. Alphonsus, he was naturally a benign con- fessor; as a judge, just; as a father, affectionate." He preached a great deal, though his discourses always took the form of simple instructions. He was fond of music, vocal and instrumental, and in order that hymns might be sung during Mass, he frequently brought seminarians and Redemptorist Brothers with him to Lonaconing. Father Eberhardt distributed much healthy literature among the people. We occa- sionally find a copy of Milner's End of Controversy or a prayer-book in which his name is inscribed. These were precious gifts in those days, as there was not a single newspaper received, and very few books pos- sessed by the people. We find the name of Francis Eberhardt after sixty-three baptisms in the register. He died June 27, 1888, in Philadelphia.
Of the pioneers who gave their time and energy to the affairs of the parish in its infancy, all have been summoned home by the angel of death. For many
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years summer suns have brightened their graves, and. winter snows have made them glitter through the various cemeteries of the George's Creek Valley. Amid the charms that nature loves to lend to mountain scenery, they rest in peace; whilst from those who survive, as a mark of gratitude for benefits received, continually ascend to the throne of mercy, in their behalf, the pious prayers of the Church : " Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let per- petual light shine upon them."
During these years Mass was celebrated at the residence of Mr. August Ricker, in Lonaconing. It may be an item of interest to the congregation to know that the old candlesticks used by the venerable Bishop Neumann when he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the old "stone house," are still in the possession of the Ricker family, and are very highly prized as souvenirs of the early days of Catholicity in the wilderness.
Archbishop Martin John Spalding took possession of the archiepiscopal See of Baltimore on July 31, 1864. He immediately began the visitation of his diocese. He visited Western Maryland probably in October, 1865. He confirmed a small number of adults and "a whole swarm of children." In his address, he spoke of the jubilee, then granted by Pope Pius IX, and explained the conditions required to gain the indulgences. He urged the people to take ad- vantage of the spiritual treasures thrown open to them. The Rev. Joseph Weist, C. SS. R., accompanied
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His Grace, the Archbishop, to Lonaconing. It has been said that Father Weist, at the suggestion of Archbishop Spalding, undertook to finish the church. The Redemptorist Fathers deny this. They say that he was too diffident a man to undertake such a work ; that, in fact, he neither planned nor erected a build- ing of any kind in his whole priesthood.
The work had been begun under the supervision of Father Kraus; it was taken up in 1865 by Rev. Nicholas Joeckel. During the summer the stone was cut and hauled, and the church walls-magnificent at least in the estimation of Lonaconing Catholics-began to mount upward. Brown sandstone, of a remarkable degree of hardness, was chosen for the walls; the blocks were carefully cut and cemented. Father Joeckel, it would seem, was the principal architect, and "he aimed at building strong." The walls are about three feet in thickness, and the impression pro- duced is pleasing. The architecture is what is known as " Romanesque." Father Joeckel, in his first plan, intended an arched ceiling and heavy stone steeple. The cruciform, which the church has at present, was not contemplated in the original design. This became a necessity when the congregation increased; the wings were constructed, and the original plan, to some extent, was marred.
While Father Joeckel attended to the building of the church, Father Weist attended to the spirituality of the congregation. He visited Lonaconing about one year and a half. He baptized forty-seven infants
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and eleven adults. Those who remember him de- scribe him "as small in stature, though not so short as his predecessor, Father Eberhardt." He was gentle almost to bashfulness, very kind and devoted to the poor
Gladly we hail the next great name to our humble page. No hand can consider itself anything but honored that inscribes his name. He was truly a great man. His glory, shining with the brightness of a magnificent luminary, will serve to light the history of the American Church for ages. William H. Gross!
" Heaven-like, he looked as human, - As supernal beauty can ; More compassionate than woman, Lordly, more than man."
Father Gross came to Lonaconing as a priest shortly before Christmas of the year 1865. He did not come as a stranger, however. Long before his ordination to the priesthood, as a Redemptorist student of Cum- berland, his bright, sunshiny character was known to nearly all the Catholics of the mining region. He had often visited Lonaconing with Father Eberhardt and Father Weist, and his coming was as the "coming of the flowers of May." "None knew him but to love him, none named him but to praise." His disposition was one of peculiar joyousness. We may, in all truth- fulness, say that it was like sweet bells, which ring out sweet music, and which, when touched even acci- dentally, resound sweetly.
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Father Gross took charge of St. Mary's parish about the middle of December, 1865. He began by hurrying on the work of the church building. He was anxious to have Mass in the new church on Christmas. He called the young and old of the parish ; early and late they worked. The doors were not yet swung on the hinges; this, however, could not dampen the zeal of young Father Gross. He opened a mission one week before Christmas. The congregation assembled to work until the hour for devotions, then Father Gross would preach and teach catechism. "On Christmas, 1865, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered for the first time in St. Mary's Church, Lonaconing, Md., the Rev. Wm. H. Gross, C. SS. R., celebrant."
In order to keep out the draughts, quilts, blankets and sheets were carefully hung in place of a door and windows; and "even with all these precautions, the candles went out at the altar." The church was not yet plastered; "there were no pews, and only two candlesticks and a crucifix at the altar."
Father Gross attended Lonaconing for nearly six months. He baptized twenty-three infants and three adults.
After leaving here he was attached to St. Alphonsus' Church, in New York City, for five years; from there he became Superior of the Redemptorist . Church of Boston, Mass In 1873, he was elected to the See of Savannah, Georgia, and was consecrated bishop April 27 of the same year. He labored earnestly among
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the colored people of the South. He went through two epidemics of yellow fever, contracted the fever himself, and was twice at the point of death.
MOST REV. WILLIAM H. GROSS, D. D.
He was an uncompromising advocate of Catholic education for Catholic children, and made heroic sacri- fices to establish schools in his diocese. February 1, 1885, His Holiness, Leo XIII, elevated Bishop Gross to the archiepiscopal See of Oregon. He died in Balti- more less than three years ago, aged sixty-two years.
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Archbishop Gross was born in Baltimore. On his father's side, he was descended from an Alsatian family; on his mother's side, he was of Irish descent. We may, with propriety, apply to this great high- priest the words of the Holy Spirit in Ecclesiasticus : "Simon, the high-priest, the son of Onias, who, in his life, propped up the house, and in his day fortified the temple. He shone in his day as the morning star in the midst of a cloud; and as the sun when it shineth, so did he shine in the temple of God."
It will be pleasing to the people of Lonaconing to know that Archbishop Gross, up to the time of his death, remembered the coal miners with a most affectionate interest. He always spoke of his visits to the mountains as the sweetest recollections of his priesthood. A few weeks before his death, when visited at the hospital by a priest, Archbishop Gross spoke of his long walks in Allegany County, inquired about the people, and as his beautiful countenance was lighted with a smile at thoughts of days gone by, he exclaimed :
" Oh for one hour of youthful joy ! Give back my twentieth spring ; I'd rather laugh a bright-haired boy Than reign a gray-haired king."
William H. Gross was a true soldier of Christ crucified; a true son of St. Alphonsus; in personal bearing, a knight of the knightliest mould; a prince
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of gentlemen. "And to add greater honor to his age than man could give him, he died fearing God."
Now, a word about the "great number of students " who visited Lonaconing in those halcyon days. At that time, the monastery of Cumberland, occupied by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, was also "the house of studies" for the seminarians who were preparing themselves for ordination to the holy priesthood. The students of philosophy and theology, as a general rule, took one holiday a week, and, when the weather permitted it, they "went on a long walk." In all colleges, one of the most agreeable pastimes that recreation affords is "the walk." This exercise is doubly fascinating and instructive, amid rural scenery, flowery gardens, fields waving with ripened harvest, towering forests, murmuring brooks, skirting the dusty turnpike.
Everyone in Lonaconing knows where "Dan's Rock " is situated. From the monastery to "Dan's Rock " was a favorite walk for all. Nothing can surpass the grandeur of that enchanting scene. Broad, deep and full rolls the valley beneath ; far away, one grand spectacle after another looms up in the distance. Onward and onward the eye can range; rugged cliffs, ragged rocks, sloping hills, green, smooth lowlands, forming one gorgeous panorama, strike the vision. Frostburg on the one side in the blue distance ; Cumberland can be seen, dim and hazy, far off in another direction. Overhead lovingly arches the heavens, banked with crimson clouds, of such varied
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hues as only a Divine Hand could paint; while down, away down below, the Potomac River shines like a winding thread of glittering silver, glistening through the black volume of smoke from a slow- puffing freight train; or the hills tremble, rattle, echo and re-echo, as the majestic sweep of Pullman coaches dash with cannon-ball speed along the smooth railroad below.
This rock, though inaccessible from the front, is easily approached from the sides, and on the top is formed a level, rugged plat, covered with moss, rude inscriptions and shrubbery. Here the students would rest and sing :
" Sweet Jesus, low before Thee, We bend in fear and love; Oh, grant we may adore Thee In Thy bright realms above!"
or they might give expression to their filial devotion in the majestic strains of the "Salve, Regina!"
From "Dan's Rock " the more robust would wander on down through "Paradise " to the "stone house." Often they remained for days around Lonaconing ; this, however, would occur only in vacation time.
There are men who imagine that the religious mind dwells in a continual cloud of moroseness and melan- choly ; nothing could be farther from the truth. Parish traditions tell us that a company of happier faces than those Redemptorist students were never brought together.
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Here ends the history of the good Redemptorist Fathers in Lonaconing. They did their work well. Nearly all of the pioneer priests are now numbered with the dead, but their memory lives and their work lives; and in the name of the parish so well organized by their labors; in the name of the little ones kindly instructed; in the name of the sorrowful consoled; in the name of the souls saved through their self-sacri- ficing zeal, we "waft to them in heaven our soul's tribute of respect and admiration."
Father Lewis Morgan attended Lonaconing as a mission of Frostburg until 1868, when he turned over the parish to the Rev. Carmelite Fathers of the Cum- berland monastery. The two years of the Carmelite Fathers' administration were without any noticeable incidents. The best-remembered priests of this Order, who administered to the spiritual wants of the Lona- coning people, were Father Philipp and Father Thomas Mahar. During the Carmelite administration the church was plastered, the pews were made and put in position, with sundry minor improvements.
Father Philipp was a devotee of the natural sciences. He loved flowers, and found much pleasure in wander- ing over the mountains in quest of rare specimens. He would travel, we are told, for hours alone, going at times as far as the Savage River, pursuing his botanical studies. During his visits he made a com- plete catalogue of the names and a very valuable col- lection of specimens of the various flora in Western Maryland; he gave some attention, at the same time,
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to ornithology, or bird study. Nothing is more as- tonishing to those who have not studied the subject than the great variety of birds that visit at different seasons the mountains of Western Maryland. It seems that that noisy, fussy pest, the English sparrow, is fast driving our birds away. Father Philipp was also a geologist, and studied diligently the strata of the earth in and around Lonaconing. Mining regions are the geologists' paradise on account of the oppor- tunities afforded for collecting "coal fossils." Coal, according to geology, is the result of partial decom- position of plants which covered the earth during a geological period of immense duration. In coal mines it is not unusual to find fossilized plants, ferns, trees even, imbedded in the coal banks. Besides being a scientist of some reputation, Father Philipp was an excellent priest, and his memory is still held in esteem by many Lonaconing Catholics.
Father Thomas Mahar, the other Carmelite priest who attended Lonaconing, was bright, witty, an ex- cellent preacher, and very popular with the congre- gation. He visited Lonaconing only a few months ; his memory is held in benediction among the people. The Carmelite Fathers baptized fifty-four children.
Towards the beginning of 1869, we find the names of a great number of diocesan clergymen in the church records. Among others, Very Rev. Edward Brennan, pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Cumberland ; Rev. Val- entine F. Schmitt, at that time pastor of St. Michael's Church, Frostburg, now pastor of St. Joseph's flourish-
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ing congregation, Washington, D. C. Father Schmitt baptized thirteen infants.
Lonaconing was also honored at this time by the poetic genius, Father James P. Carey, who baptized eleven infants.
Rev. Father D. C. De Wulf had the Lonaconing parish in his charge during four months-from May to the end of August of this year. Father De Wulf is one of the best known and most highly respected priests of the archdiocese of Baltimore. He is now one of the old priests, but time has treated him so kindly that he still has all the vigor and zeal of a young man. Father De Wulf is at present pastor of St. Bernard's Church, Baltimore.
From September, 1869, to December, 1870, the Rev. Jeremiah O'Sullivan had charge of the parish. As we wish to speak at length of this great man in connection with his work at Westernport, we shall here simply remark that Father O'Sullivan erected the priests' house and school building during his brief administration. He baptized thirty-five infants at Lonaconing. It is not necessary to state that he was respected and loved by all classes of people. He was consecrated Bishop of Mobile, Alabama, September 20, 1885, and died August 10, 1896.
Turn we now from Rt. Rev. J. O'Sullivan, the most venerated of Lonaconing's dead pastors, to Rev. James M. O'Brien, the most beloved of her living ones.
For thirteen years Father O'Brien remained pastor of Lonaconing. We occasionally hear the remark
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that thirteen is an unlucky number; not the slightest shadow of that foolish superstition can find a place in the minds of Lonaconing Catholics when they call to memory the thirteen lucky years of Father O'Brien's
REV. JAMES M. O'BRIEN.
benign administration. We may, with propriety, apply to this excellent priest the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, " If you have ten thousand teachers in Christ, yet not many fathers." During his very suc- cessful pastorate, Father O'Brien enlarged the church 11
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by the addition of "the wings;" he built also the tower and purchased the church-bell. We learn from the church records that he administered nearly one thousand baptisms and solemnized more than two hundred marriages. For several years he attended Barton as a mission of Lonaconing.
Father O'Brien had organized a school in Lona- coning, along lines very original in its way. It was undertaken as an experiment, and worked excellently for its time. His school system might properly be called a "middle way" between the public and parochial schools. The parish school-house was rented to the Public School Board; Catholic teachers taught in the school, received their salary through the Public School Board, and the priest was granted the right to teach catechism after school hours. The school was remarkably successful, and its success was in a great manner due to the untiring zeal of Father O'Brien and the sleepless energy of Mr. Dennis O'Sullivan. It graduated a number of pupils, who have since earned enviable reputations as public school teachers. Mr. O'Sullivan was a born pedagogue ;
"And if severe in aught, The love he bore to learning was in fault."
In those days the parish began to enjoy an excellent collection of literature, known as the " Parish Library." It consisted of historical works, books of fiction, in prose and poetry, and especially religious works of instruction and piety.
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During this period the parish enjoyed a constant, healthy growth. As a pastor, Father O'Brien .was active, zealous, devoted to his people; he enjoyed a high degree of popularity, deserved, and to the end sustained.
Rev. James M. O'Brien entered St. Charles' College from Washington County, Maryland, April 3, 1861. After finishing a thorough course of classical studies, he graduated in June, 1866. He at once entered St. Mary's Seminary, where he was ordained priest by Rt. Rev. Dr. Foley, Bishop of Chicago, in 1870. Lonaconing was Father O'Brien's first pastorate; after leaving here he was pastor of the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas of Baltimore. He is now pastor of St. Peter's Church, on Capitol Hill, Washington City. He is still a comparatively young man, strong, earnest, successful. His priesthood has been fruitful in good works in the past, and the future has probably awaiting him 'even higher honors.
Early in 1884, we find Rev. Peter M. Manning in charge of St. Mary's parish. Father Manning visited Lonaconing occasionally, from Barton, before he as- sumed charge of the congregation. He came here a young priest ; he had been ordained about six years ; had served as assistant at St. Joseph's Church, Balti- more, and afterwards as pastor of St. Gabriel's Church, Barton. Father Manning came filled with zeal and enthusiastic earnestness. He moved quietly and pru- dently, until he fully realized the strength and weak- ness of his parish. He saw that Lonaconing was a
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growing parish, that the school system in vogue, though good, was not the best, and he immediately, and very wisely, resolved on a parochial school. At once he began the new convent.
REV. PETER M. MANNING.
In order that we may accurately estimate Father Manning's character and work, we must call to mind certain circumstances in which he found himself. The parochial school movement was not deemed opportune by many members of the congregation; they did not see the necessity of the new departure. "The old," they argued, "was good enough for them." It re-
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quired much determination on the part of the young pastor to overcome the opposition; he overcame it, however, and in the struggle proved himself a man of remarkable strength of character. A contract was signed between Rev. P. M. Manning and Mother Mary John, Superioress of the Sisters of St. Joseph, of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and in accordance with the stipulated conditions, five Sisters of St. Joseph came to Lonaconing and opened a parochial school in the autumn of 1885. The convent was solemnly blessed in October of that memorable year by our own Bishop O'Sullivan ; this was his first solemn pontifical ceremony after his consecration. Bishop O'Sullivan preached the sermon on the occasion, and, among other profound truths, he asserted " that he considered no parish com- plete without a parish school." It was a great con- solation to the heart of the holy bishop to see that the school was intrusted to the care of the good Sisters of St. Joseph, whose excellent work had for ten years been speaking their ability from the neighbor- ing school of Westernport. The Rt. Rev. Doctor might have remembered, too, that it was at his own invitation the good Sisters of St. Joseph first visited the green hills of Western Maryland. The school was a success from the very beginning.
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