Assumption's history is Dwight's history
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 10:23 am
The nomination form filed with the National Register of Historic Places tells the story of Assumption Catholic Church and the Dwight community that built it and remained committed to its development. The following is information provided by the Nebraska State Historical Society to The Banner-Press.
The first Czech settlers came to the southwestern section of Butler County before the town of Dwight existed. For almost two decades, Catholics in the area had to travel to Brainard, nine miles away, to celebrate mass. As the number of Catholics increased, an interest developed in establishing a parish in Dwight. By 1895, approximately thirty-five Catholic families had settled within a five mile radius of Dwight.
This group felt there was a need for a cemetery near Dwight to serve their population. On January 1, 1896, Dwight organized a new parish by the name of "Catholic Congregation of St. Mary of the Assumption."
The first St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church was a frame building, measuring sixty-eight feet long by thirty-two feet wide, and was constructed on land donated by the Chicago Northwestern Railroad Company.
The building was designed and built by Frank Sobotka, and completed at the end of August, 1899. The parish grew quickly. In 1910, the parish consisted of eighty families; four years later, the number of families had doubled. There was a need for a larger church facility.
At a special meeting in March, 1914, the congregation decided to build a new church. A committee was formed, and it immediately set out to solicit funds for the construction of the building.
They hired J. M. Nachtigal, an architect from Omaha, to design the building. Bids for construction were soon accepted, and Henry Olson of Loup City was given the contract, having bid $18,076.38.
The high spire houses a four faced clock which strikes every half hour and is illuminated at night. The clock cost $582 and was donated by Catholic and non-Catholic families in the area.
One of the bells in the tower came from the Methodist church in the defunct town of Ware, which was once located approximately four miles northwest of Dwight. Ware existed for only eight years, from 1895 to 1903.
For many years, the bells were rung ten minutes before Sunday Mass, for the Angelus at noon every day, and when a body was being brought into the church for a funeral. Before the clock and bells were converted to run electronically, it took 268 turns a week to keep the clock running and the bells ringing.
The stained glass windows cost $1,023.00, and were donated by families. They depict the following saints: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Cecilia, St. Wenceslaus, St. John the Baptist, St. John Vianney, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Joseph, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. John the Evangelist, and St. George.
The altars were purchased by the parish and the statue of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary which still stands above the main high altar was taken from the first church.
The final cost of the church, with the building and the furnishings, was $30,000.00. The new church was dedicated on September 22, 1915, and officially incorporated on October 14th. At the time of the dedication of the church, a debt of $6,000.00 remained on the church. It was completely paid by 1918.
Once the debt was paid, Father Michael Pazourek urged the people of Dwight to consider giving their children a Christian education. As the Dwight community was almost entirely Catholic, support for building a school was almost unanimous. At a 1920 meeting, parishioners agreed to finance the school's construction, and the first pledges from this meeting amounted to $20,000.00.
In studying other Catholic schools in Nebraska to determine a design suitable for Dwight, the committee found a school in Duncan that appealed to them, and hired that school's architect, Charles Wurdeman, to draw similar plans for Dwight.
The project soon ran into difficulties, however. Building materials and labor costs had increased greatly since they had built their church. For example, the yellow glazed bricks cost $27.00 per thousand in 1914, but cost $54.00 per thousand in 1920.
There were also difficulties in obtaining lots for the school near the church. In 1914, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad had sold lots on this block for $50.00. To obtain seven of the necessary ten lots for the school, the parish purchased them from Brainard banker A. K. Smith for $3,500.00, at ten times the cost they would have been six years earlier. The three remaining lots were owned by a retired farmer who had built a home and several outbuildings on the property.
After his death, the parish was able to obtain them for $3,005.00, and sell the buildings for $1500. Crop prices also dropped during this period, making parishioners incomes meager, and creating a challenge for collecting on promised pledges.
The construction stalled in the spring of 1921, and a lien was placed on the property, requiring all of the bills to be paid before more materials could be acquired and work could recommence. John Hotovy and Matthew Hotovy each donated $5000.00 toward the project to ensure its success.
The final cost of the school was $92,000.00. The new yellow glazed brick building measured 160 by 70 feet. The grade school had three classrooms and the high school had four. There was a library, science laboratory, a large auditorium, and a chapel. The east side served as a residence for the Sisters and the north side had a dormitory for boarding students.
For the first several years, the school was staffed by the Ursuline Sisters of York, Nebraska. In 1930, the Ursulines were replaced by the Notre Dame Sisters of Omaha. The school was very successful in fine arts and athletics until 1961, when Bishop James V. Casey decided to close Assumption High School and consolidate it with Aquinas Central Catholic School near David City.
Assumption School continued to operate the grade school until 1974, when the Notre Dame Sisters announced they would cease staffing the school. Since then, the school has become apartments. A total of 5,846 students attended school at Assumption school, and 432 high school students received their diplomas there.
The grottoes and the small chapel between the church and the school were the idea of Father Benedict Bauer O.S.B., pastor at Dwight from 1931 through 1943. During his years at seminary, Father Bauer had vowed that if Mary, the Mother of God would help him become a priest, he would build a shrine in her honor. Shortly after his arrival in Dwight, he approached the parishioners with his wish to fulfill his promise on the grounds between the church and school.
At the center of the grotto garden is the shrine to the Mother of Grace, fabricated in Carrera marble. She stands in an elevated and central position, leaving no question as to whom this garden is dedicated.
The small chapel is one of the smallest complete and functional churches in the world. It will seat four, and appeals to the Mother of Perpetual Help. The altar, which was donated by J. Krenk and his family, is finished in white marble with columns in onyx and red Verone marble. An indulgence of one hundred days is granted to those who pray before the painting of the Mother of Perpetual Help, a reproduction of an ancient Grecian painting that was blessed by Pope Pius XI, who was the head of the church from 1922 to 1939.
The largest grotto is the Grotto of the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, in which Christ sweats drops like blood and was betrayed by Judas. The grotto contains five figures, an angel, Jesus Christ, and three sleeping disciples, within a cave-like structure. Nearby, a second grotto of tufa rock houses a life size statue of St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless or lost causes. In addition to these major shrines, there are plantings around smaller statues and shrines to other saints throughout the garden, in addition to countless angels that seem to be either praying or standing guard over the saints.
The parish embraced the project, and nearly every family helped furnish the 175 tons of stones used in the construction of the grottoes. Since Dwight had reached the apex of its population with the 1930 census, with a population of 323, the contribution of so many families to such a project at this time is not insignificant.
The design and landscaping of the garden was done by Father Bauer himself, and the work was done by some of the men of the parish. The grottoes were blessed and dedicated on October 28, 1934 by Bishop Louis Kucera. Nearly five hundred cars were parked around Assumption Church to witness the ceremony, and they seemed to have come from all over the state to be present for the occasion.
Architecture
St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and School are architecturally significant buildings. The church itself is a striking example of the Late Gothic Revival style, featuring Gothic arched doors and window openings with Gothic windows within. The arches are repeated in the features of the high altar, the pews, and the shape of the ceiling itself. Other Gothic motifs are found as well, such as the quatrefoils in the light fixtures, and the tracery and quatrefoils in the carving of the altar.
The school is architecturally significant as well, featuring additional Gothic elements in its embellishments, as well as limestone crosses in the brickwork under the parapet. The doorways feature the most elaborate ornamentation, with a limited amount of tracery in the masonry, and a Gothic or a Tudor arch over the doorway.
The grottoes themselves are likewise significant, creating a striking visual landscape that captures the eye more forcefully than either the church or the school, regardless of their architectural distinction.
The size of the grottoes and their varied themes and appearances make this area unique in Nebraska. According to the Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey database, there are very few grottoes found in Nebraska at all, and most are very small in scale and feature a small statue of one saint.
In this case, the collection of the scene in Gethsemane, St. Jude in the tufa rock cave, the Mother of Grace in the center of the garden, and the diminutive, yet striking chapel have made Dwight a regional Catholic destination for tourism and worship.
Criteria Evaluation
Dwight was established by Czechoslovakian immigrants 140 years ago, and continues to be a community united by their common heritage and their faith.
St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, School and Grottoes are eligible for the National Register due to their architectural value.
The church meets the requirements established under criterion consideration A in that it derives its primary significance from its architectural distinction. The scale of the church and school show the importance this community placed on its religion.
The church has always been the spiritual and social center of Dwight, and the edifices that they built to house these functions reflect this well. Assumption Church is massive compared to the size of Dwight itself.
It was built in this scale in order to better serve the entire Catholic community of the surrounding vicinity. Its architectural distinction illustrates the importance placed on its planning and design.
Photo courtesy of Assumption Catholic Church
