125th Anniversary of Saint Boniface in Sublimity 1879 - 2004

Sublimity Historical Outline

This is a single long web page in chronological order. We suggest you first scroll down through the years to sample the color and character of both the town and the church. You can always go back with , but don't miss the wonderful old photos farther down!

You can also jump to "chapters" of this page by clicking on one of these: (Use to return here.)

Beginnings  College  Catholics  Benedictines  Fr. Ruettimann  Sisters  

Schools  Church  Fr. Lainck  Church_cont.  Frs. Scherbring  1955 on

Initially based on Alan McMahen's outline, it was revised and greatly expanded with photos and notes from parish records, state archives, local newspapers, and town historians - with special thanks to Vera Boedigheimer, shown here, and Evangeline Ripp.

Any history of Sublimity is heavily indebted to Sublimity, The Story of an Oregon Countryside 1951 by the late Mark Schmid OSB, PhD, Librarian at Mt. Angel College. Thanks also to Raymond Heuberger, Joseph Spenner, and others.

This scene would be typical for early settlers leaving for Sublimity from Missouri in the 1840s. They came by ox train from Indiana in the 50s and by rail from Minnesota in the 70s.

Sublimity Historical Outline - In The Beginning

Sublimity, Oregon is a rural residential community about 15 miles east of Salem. It is situated on the western low foothills of the Oregon Cascades, on a plateau, amid gently rolling hills dropping down all around into grassy vales.

The earliest inhabitants of the area came a few thousand years ago, perhaps descendants of Asiatic tribes that entered America by way of Alaska. Indians living in Oregon wandered far up and down the country in search of game or fish. Those who lived in and about the Santiam countryside were mostly of the Calapooia Tribe. Those who lived nearest to Sublimity on the south were known as Santiams, whereas the Mollalas often approached from the north, since the north-south Indian trail led through the Sublimity country.

The area was a mostly a vast forest before the 1840's, but the Sublimity area was bare because the Indians regularly burned it to provide feeding grounds for deer which they hunted for food. Government surveyors were among the first white men to look over the area. Josef Brohn was noted as a white man that surveyors encountered in the Sublimity area. He lived in a log cabin with a vegetable garden about 1/2 mile west of town on what was known as the Wm. Smith place in 1875.

1840- Sublimity had its beginnings as an Indian village and then a trading post.

1848- It was originally named "Hobson Corner" after Hadley Hobson, a brick contractor from North Carolina, who came to the area after inadvertently ending up in California instead of Oregon. Mr. Hobson made the best of the situation by gold mining until the fall of 1848 when he boarded a sailing vessel in San Francisco and arrived in the Columbia river after five weeks of seasickness. He took up a claim on Mill Creek north of Stayton, building his home on what has since become known as the Miller place, where he settled with sheep and cattle and raised a family of ten.

1850- James M. Denny received a Donation Land Claim grant of one quarter section as follows:

1852-

1852- Sublimity received its official name when a US Territorial post office, one of the first six in Oregon, six years before it became a state, was established. The name Sublimity was selected by James Denny because of the "fine vista and sublime scenery" in the hills around the town. Sublimity has the distinction of being the only place in the United States (or perhaps anywhere) with this name. Denny became the first postmaster and the post office was located in his store until the 1870s. It was then located in the Hobson store where Mr. Denny distributed mail from the office window. Mail from the East came by way of Hawaii, taking about six months. Subsequent post offices were in homes, stores, and a shoe repair shop.

(Note: Sublimity got its post office about twenty years before its larger neighbor Stayton. In fact, Drury S. Stayton was one of the original trustees of Sublimity College and Sublimity's second postmaster. Stayton was named for him only after he moved there.)

1853- The Hobson-Whitney cemetery was established east of Sublimity. Family members of Jeremiah Kenoyer and John F. Brewer, who were among the founders of Sublimity College, are buried there, along with other pioneers. Pioneer life was precarious. Salem Dixon, perhaps the first to be buried in the cemetery, died by "accidental" shooting. His epitaph: "Death is certain, the hour unseen."

According to May Neitling, local historian: "The last chief of the Santiam Indians was buried in the northwest corner of the cemetery near a large old maple tree that has been struck by lightning several times. . . the last remnants of the tribe were moved to Grand Ronde in 1906."

Sublimity Historical Outline - The College

1853- A group of 98 members of the United Brethren in Christ church, which opposed slavery and secret societies, made up a colony that came by ox train from Indiana, arriving in the Willamette valley near Albany in September. They established churches and schools there and later John F. Brewer, in search of more land for the members, came to the Sublimity area.

1854- The Sublimity School District was formed. The school constructed that year was a log cabin near the present west end of Division St. It cost $500.00 and served nearly until the end of the century, when it was replaced by a more modern building in town.

1854- Drury S. Stayton became postmaster.

1855- James M. Denny died. He was unmarried with no children. His parents, John and Sarah Denny, inherited his land.

1856- Charles H. Crawford became postmaster.
1856- Solomon Alberson became postmaster.

1857- After three years of growth the United Brethern settlement decided to establish a school in keeping with their ideals of education. Sublimity had become a natural center for settlers, and the United Brethren decided to locate their school here. On January 14, 1857 a bill was introduced in the legislative assembly at Salem:

James (John?) Denny had donated the land and the two-story, 18x35 foot frame building (with lumber from a saw mill near Jefferson), was constructed in record time on nearly the exact spot where the St. Boniface high school later stood. A panoramic view overlooks the valley to the south and east.

1858- In January the bill was granted and the college formally opened. Trustees named in the charter were "John Denny (father of James), Thomas J. Connor, Eli Hubbard, D. S. Stayton, Jesse Harritt, William Bishop, Jeremiah Kenoyer, David B.MacMillan, James M. Campbell, Allen J. Davie, Hadley Hobson, Solomon Alberson, G. W. Hunt, James M. Chandler, Morgan Rudolph, and their associates and successors." They held the college and its properties in trust for the United Brethren in Christ church, a branch of the Mennonite church in Indiana. It was empowered to "grant and confer degrees in the liberal arts and sciences to such pupils of the institution . . ." Algebra, geometry, English, ancient languages, music etc. were taught. This gave Sublimity the early distinction of being a "college town." The academic level ranged from the primary grades up, but did not much exceed high school level.

It became especially known for two things - its outstanding Latin department, and its baseball team, which had beaten Willamette University on its home field. The first teacher and headmaster at the college was Milton Wright, later to be made a bishop of the United Brethren church. Wright, who was a strict disciplinarian, stayed two years at Sublimity college, then was recalled to Indiana by his church, where he soon married and fathered Orville and Wilbur Wright, world famous for their invention of the airplane.

Tuition was $5 for the first twelve weeks. Advancing students were charged an additional fifty cents a subject. Latin and ancient languages cost $9.00 per term, higher English $7.00.

Bishop Milton Wright

1859- Masonic Lodge #25 AF&AM was consecrated as Sublimity Lodge June14, 1859. Partial records list 18 petitions for the degrees of Masonry from 9 farmers, 4 carpenters, a miner, schoolteacher, merchant and mechanic. The first elected officers were: Willis Duningham, W. Fulbright, Peter Biliyew, Thomas Evans, F.B. Sprague, B. Hutton, Tyler. There were ten voting members. The Charter was surrendered Sept. 22, 1863. So many of the people returned to their home states to fight in the civil war that Sublimity was almost deserted. - Bob Brundage

1860s- Sublimity had been bustling when the Civil War broke out. It had a Chinese laundry, five stores, a gun maker's shop, public school, college, Methodist Church, United Brethren Church, hotel, post office, public well and a furniture shop. Some say Sublimity was as large then as it is now. The Civil War caused a severe decline in Sublimity's population as settlers returned to their native states to fight, dissension over slavery being intense. The town became deserted; the college closed but reopened in 1865 at the end of the war. It closed permanently in 1870.

1861- David Simpson became postmaster.
1862- Philemon Morris became postmaster.

1863- Sublimity elementary school officially became District No. 7, with 110 students. The term was extended from three months to five months, and teachers were paid $20.00 monthly.

1866- John W. Cusick became postmaster

1866- J. R. Sellwood, a graduate of Willamette University, assumed presidency of the college. He later became a prominent Portland businessman - the Sellwood district bears his name. The fourth and last president of Sublimity college was Prof. John W. Garrison. Through his efforts the enrollment reached l25 by the end of the 1860s. "We taught a little of everything." Local students lived at home; others boarded at the school or with local residents. However the withdrawal of the United Brethren church and the depression following the Civil war hastened its closure. Too, both the public school district, which itself had decreased to 50 students, and the college taught some of the same subjects and both depended on the available public money. Another reason suggested for its decline was competition from Philomath College, another United Brethern institution southwest of Corvallis, Oregon. It's building survives as a museum.

1867- Hadley Hobson became postmaster.

1870- Robert L. Swartz became postmaster

1870- Sublimity College closed suddenly and permanently.

Sublimity Historical Outline - The Catholics Move In

1870's- The first Catholic settlers, German immigrant farmers, came to Sublimity. They were an industrious and persistent lot, and their arrival eventually transformed the depressed hamlet into a busy rural village supplying trade to the area.

1872- Philemon Morris became postmaster.

1874- Nearly all the abandoned farms in the area were re-possessed by these new people and the town grew rapidly. Many of the new settlers came by rail from German colonies which had previously located in Minnesota or Wisconsin.

1874- M. Haupt became postmaster.
1875- Ernest Becker became postmaster. He had lost his left leg in the battle of Shiloh ("Hornet's Nest") in the Civil War in 1862.
1876- Nicholas LaCroix, a Sublimity storekeeper, became postmaster.

1877-1879 The first Catholic services were held in private homes, and later in a leased building (see below). There were only about five Catholic families in Sublimity at the time but they asked Archbishop Blanchet for a missionary priest, and in 1879 Father Peter Juvenal Stampfl arrived. He was a German via Minnesota and encouraged Midwesterners to immigrate. He wrote the first entry in the parish record on December 3, 1879, which marks the official beginning of Saint Boniface Church in Sublimity, Oregon:

A hotel and rooming house, the Parker House, stood on the Anton Van Handel place, marked by the circled "1" in Center St. in the map above. Across the street (now the Sublimity Building Supply), marked by the circled "2", there was a vacant building which was leased as the first St. Boniface church in 1877 and used for a couple of years. It collapsed in a heavy snow in 1880.

1880- Father Stampfl purchased the empty and run-down college buildings (just northeast of the present church) and 20 acres for the parish in January. One acre was designated the Cemetery of the Angels. The ground floor became the second St. Boniface church. Father Stampfl returned to Minnesota in 1881 (a few months before the Benedictines arrived in Gervais and took over the care of Sublimity) but returned later to visit.

Sublimity Historical Outline - The Swiss Benedictine Contribution

(Note: A lot of early short-term pastors are listed below. Most of these were Benedictine monks on non-resident assignment. Note too that assistant pastors or priests in residence as high school teachers are not, as a rule, listed below.)

1881- Father Adelhelm Odermatt OSB was the first of the Benedictine pastors, and visited on horseback once or twice a month.
". . . a native of Switzerland and a member of the 800-year-old Benedictine Abbey of Engelberg, Switzerland (he) came to the US in 1873 and arrived in Oregon in 1881. After an extensive search all over western Oregon, he picked the Mt. Angel butte for a new abbey. The town at the foot of the butte went through a variety of names - Fillmore (after the U.S. President), Frankfort, and Roy among them. But when Father Adelhelm decided to build the monastery there he asked the postmaster to change it to Mount Angel, the anglicized name of his Benedictine headquarters in Switzerland.

Father Odermatt served as pastor in Gervais, Fillmore and Sublimity while the abbey buildings were being built. He preached in English, French and German each week in Gervais, where a temporary monastery had been set up, then in German once a month in Fillmore and Sublimity. Sixty acres were donated as a building site at the base of the hill, and the abbey was formally dedicated in October of 1882. The monks moved from Gervais to the new abbey in 1884." (from Marion County History Vol. 15 1998)

1881-1882 Abbot Adelhelm Odermatt OSB, pastor

photo courtesy Ernie Shea

1882- Father Nicholas Frei OSB, pastor

1883- Father Barnabas Held OSB, pastor

1883-1884 Father Anselm Wachter OSB, pastor

1884- Father Bede Horat OSB, also from Switzerland, visited Sublimity once a month. He would arrive Saturday evening, celebrate Mass on Sunday, preach once or twice, teach the children catechism, and return to Gervais on Sunday. (from an 1883 letter of Abbot Odermatt published in Marion County History Vol. 4. 1958)

Sublimity Historical Outline - Good Father Werner

1884- Sublimity received its first resident pastor, the Swiss Father Werner Ruettimann OSB, aged 27, also arriving via Gervais. He had studied in Switzerland both at The abbey of Einsiedeln (which had founded St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana) and at the abbey of Engelberg (which founded Mt. Angel Abbey in Oregon).

1884-1889 Father Werner Ruettimann OSB, pastor

The old college building had been purchased in 1880. Being divided into small rooms it did not make an ideal parish church, but the first floor was being used as the second St. Boniface church. The upper story, with its broken windows, was still the domain of bats and pigeons. Father Ruettimann took up lodging on the first floor near the front door.

Father Ruettimann was also responsible for the communities of Jordan and Scio. Several young women were living a semi-religious life in the Jordan colony, southeast of Sublimity, when Archbishop William Gross visited and invited them to become a formal religious community. (For the full and fascinating story read These Valiant Women by Wilfrid P. Schoenberg SJ. The settlement of Sublimity by midwestern Germans is connected with that of Jordan, but is hardly as bizarre.)

Note: Centennial History 1885-1985 Our Lady of Lourdes, Jordan, Oregon, editors Barbara Bentz, Linda Duman, and Fr. Gregory Moys, covers the Jordan settlement and its background.

1885- Because of a disagreement with their trustees the Jordan sisters left to live for a few months with the Benedictine sisters in Mt. Angel as they planned to move to Sublimity and begin their new life as the Sisters of the Precious Blood, later to be known as the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon. Father Ruettimann arranged for the upper floor of the college building to be used for the sisters' convent, and also built a two-story addition onto the back of it.

1885- Meanwhile, Ditters' store, shown here in 1910, was started by John Ditter from Wisconsin in partnership with George Bell. The crossroads site was a popular one for the purpose, having been the scene of the early Hobson Corner store, and near that established by Nicolas LaCroix, a French-Canadian trader from Gervais in the 70s. Ditter's began as a drugstore and tobacco shop, later selling gereral merchandise - buggy oil, kerosene lamps, barrels of pickles. . . The pump on the right was for thirsty horses.

Sublimity Historical Outline - The Sisters of St. Mary

1886- When the old college building was nearly ready it became the first convent of the newly founded religious order. The building was decorated with evergreen boughs for the occasion by the nine sisters, and the two Boedigheimer brothers, who had moved to Sublimity from Jordan. (Taking photographs was a rather stiff process in those days.) Father Ruettimann called the new convent "Mariazell" after a favorite shrine to Our Lady in Austria. But it was very primitive, and the sisters had little in the way of furnishings or even food starting out.

Above, the interior of the chapel of the convent, formerly a study hall in the college.

Later, after the erection of a new convent for the sisters, the old college building was used as a parish hall. Many German Catholics arrived from the middle west and more adequate space was needed.

Sublimity Historical Outline - Schools, Public and Parish

1887- Sublimity Public School District No. 7
Left to right, back row: Engel Schott, Perry Smith, August Klinger, Ed Gilbert, Tom Davey, Alvah Smith, Henry Smith, Bill Cooper, Bert Veal, Will Ledgerwood.
Second row, left to right: Ethel Stanton, Olga Hobson, Jessie Hobson, Rhoda Hobson, Belle Stanton, Mamie Legderwood, Mr. E.A. Bennett (teacher), Ella Glover, Fannie Lee, Emma Udell, Nellie Lee, Hattie Clark, Celine Klinger, Lena Lee, Emma Miller, Otilla Becker.
Front row, left to right: Roy Miller, Alfred Klinger, Jim Udell, Art Gilbert, George Glover, Frank Hobson, George Pritchet, Dan Stanton, Price, unidentified, Joe Becker, Nona Lee, Amanda Becker. (Courtesy Oregon State Library)

1888- A substantial new rectory was built to replace the tiny two room house Fr. Ruettimann had been living in. It was replaced in 1957.

1888- The Sisters of St. Mary opened the first parochial school in Marion County, in a new one room schoolhouse built by Joseph Spenner. Below we see the first school with the first resident pastor, the Rev. Werner Ruettimann. Half the day classes were taught in German, half in English, as many of the settlers spoke German. In the distance we see the parish rectory to the left, and in the middle the former Sublimity College building with the "addition" on its right side. (It was later salvaged from the 1910 fire that destroyed the original college building. It was moved north, used as a convent, and later moved again onto the M. Hassler place, and became the start of the future Marian Home.)

1888- The same St. Boniface grade school, with the first teacher, Sister M. DeSales, a Franciscan from Wisconsin, who came for a year to also instruct the new nuns.

So then there were two school systems, public and Catholic, working together. For many years following, Catholic nuns also taught in the public schools, after passing the state certification exams. (At that time not many attended school beyond the fifth grade.)

1889- Friends from back east had sent the Sisters a bell that rang for the first time on New Year's day. Sadly its first peals announced the death of young Father Ruettimann at age 32 of tuberculosis. He was buried in the hilltop cemetery at Mount Angel Abbey. (On a recent Sunday afternoon I visited his grave. I also saw the headstones there of Abbot Odermatt 1844-1220, Fr. Bucholzer, Fr. Wachter, and even of Fr. Schmid, the historian of Sublimity, d. 1971.)

1889- Father Anselm Wachter was Vicar, and for a few months there was no pastor until Prior Odermatt at Mt. Angel could first send Father Eugene Bolla OSB and then Father Joseph Bucholzer OSB, natives of Switzerland.

Sublimity Historical Outline - Sublimity Builds a Proper Church

1889- Father Joseph Fessler arrived from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, took over the parish duties, and built the third (the present) St. Boniface church. It is still in continuous use and very much in its original condition. The heavy hand-hewn timbers came from the farm of William Schmidt. I.J. Boedigheimer provided the sawn lumber. The contractor was from Gervais. In 1889, Fr. Fessler wrote in German cursive in the parish record book (I translate):

etc.

"John Weiss was here on August 15th and we negotiated the building of the church concluding that he would complete the exterior for the sum of $500. At this time the timber had already been cut by the parish members.

On Sunday September 1st the cornerstone of the church was laid by the Reverend Father Prior of Mount Angel, who had also donated it.

On September 29th the committee decided to borrow $300.00 from Frank Miller to defray the running expenses of the sawmill, for which already $530.00 had been paid by the reverend Pastor from the collected money. Now too the window and door moldings etc. had to be ordered at the planing mill. John Weiss ordered these, and the total bill amounted to $400.00.

October 12th. In this meeting it was decided to accept a further $400.00 from Mrs. Celine Miller in Turner in order to give the few people that were here a better chance to pay, especially the recent arrivals who had to make new beginnings. Mr. John Weiss the contractor offered to lend the church $200.00 for a year, interest free. With that the borrowed money amounted to $900. This $200.00 was recorded on the 16th of November 1889 and signed by the committee like the rest of the borrowed money.

As the construction of the church began there were necessarily only a few members, and so I told the committee that if you want to have a new church you have to act just as if you have to build it yourself, otherwise don't think about building, with which I don't mean that you have to pay for it all by yourself or the underwritten notes. I only mean to ask that you help your pastor and stand at his side, that every time a member go along with the pastor on a collection, and that the committee especially should lead by good example.

Thus it was, thank God, agreed to put the church under the protection of God and the most holy Virgin Mary, under whom we have also placed the whole matter of church building, from the beginning and with full trust in their help, and so with these few people the exterior was happily completed, if yet with the debts from above. Now indeed we had a church, but you could not yet use it for Mass, its interior still being completely unfinished. Indeed some wanted to use the church as it was but others did not, and the reverend pastor told the committee that in the first place it would not be appropriate to celebrate Mass in a church in such rough condition, and secondly, if we let things stop, . . ."

Here is a charming letter (in its entirety) to the editor of the Catholic Sentinel from an anonymous Sublimity farmer, published Sept. 26, 1889.
"We are building a handsome frame church, 36 x 72 feet, if I am not mistaken. I expected that someone else, who knows all about it, would post our esteemed Catholic newspaper, but as everyone is silent about it, I, although only a common farmer, undertake to let you know what is going on in Sublimity.
"Our most beloved Archbishop has sent us an excellent parish priest in the person of Rev. Joseph Fessler, who is by the way, also a rustler in the best sense of the word. He makes things go ahead in spiritual and temporal matters.
"The first Sunday of September was quite a feast for our congregation. The Benedictine Prior of Mt. Angel blessed the beautiful cornerstone, and preached on the text: "No one can lay another foundation but that whish is laid: which is Christ Jesus." The Rev. speaker congratulated the new pastor upon his great success in building this new church. He praised the solid, well done rock foundation, and admonished the faithful of the congregation of Sublimity, as true sons of St. Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans, to be one heart and soul with their good shepherd in erecting the house of God, this most beautiful monument of the Catholic faith. He thanked all those who contributed towards the new church in cash or in hauling building material, and encouraged all to rival each other in the noble work. Our dear, beloved pastor then sang High Mass with deacons from Mt. Angel.
"The lovely feast concluded in the afternoon with solemn Vespers and Benediction.
"Mr. John Weiss, of Gervais, has the contract for the new church, now in course of erection, and whoever knows John Weiss as church builder, already knows beforehand, what a handsome church we folks of Sublimity are going to have. We are happy. A fine priest, a fine church, fine farming land, and all we need yet is a few more good Catholic farmers."

Note in the picture the old college building (second church and convent) just visible behind the trees at the left.

The church was dedicated by Archbishop H. Gross of Oregon City in honor of St. Boniface on October 26, 1889. On this same day the bell that had been meant for the convent was blessed for the new church. Ten persons were confirmed, and four women were welcomed into the Sisters of the Precious Blood.

Interestingly, Father Fessler, of independent means, also had established his own dairy, sheep farm, and extensive orchards. He also promoted the Sublimity area in eastern newspapers.
1889-1891 Father Joseph Fessler, pastor
Achbishop Gross of Oregon City. (In 1928 the archdiocese changed to Portland.)

About this time, the addition Fr. Ruettimann had made to the college building was removed to the present location of the convent building for use by the sisters:

1890- Here's the main street (Center Street, looking south) about 1890. The rooming house or hotel is at the right; the stores are farther along. (ref: Sublimity, Story of an Oregon Countryside by Mark Schmid)

1891- The Sisters were asked to move their convent to Beaverton to provide teachers for an orphanage. There too they had better buildings and 600 acres of land. Father Fessler left with them to help manage. They soon had a barn built, and two Sublimity men volunteered to drive their cows to Beaverton. In 1894, the Sisters began the construction of a new Motherhouse in Beaverton, and in 1905 changed their name to the Sisters of St. Mary, known today as the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon. (The St. Boniface convent continued to house the local teaching sisters.)

Thanks to Joe Spenner, who thinks this fine logging scene is at Cedar Creek near Forest Grove, Oregon with Wm. VanHandel on the right, before settling in Sublimity, after perhaps traveling with these oxen to Oregon.

1891-1892 Father Joseph Kempker, pastor

1892- Augusta H. LaCroix (Mrs. Nicholas LaCroix) became postmistress.

1892-1893 Father Peter Beutgen OSB, pastor

1894-1895 Father Joseph Bucholzer OSB returned as pastor.

1894- John A. Ditter became postmaster.

Sublimity Historical Outline - The Golden Era of Father Lainck

1895- Father Anthony Lainck arrived as pastor via Gervais. He was born in 1865 of noble parentage in Graes, Westphalia, Germany. His early home training and gifted personality fitted him well for his future task. He studied theology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and was ordained there in 1891. His kindness and sociability soon won for him many friends among Catholics and non-Catholics alike in Sublimity and Stayton.
(Anthony Hall, home of the local Knights of Columbus, is named for him.)

1895-1927 Father Anthony Lainck, pastor

1896- After a series of small farm fires, a group of farmers organized the "Farmers Relief Association" to provide mutual insurance, later known as Sublimity Insurance Company.

1898- Meanwhile, back to the Hobsons! The photo below is from Dorothy Graham, whose grandfather Lemuel Hobson, father of Henry H. Hobson b. 1894, owned this old family home on the east side of the Stayton-Sublimity road, now the Miller (century farm) and Hottinger property.

1898- The building on the left, the second St. Boniface grade school, was built to supplement the first one in the right rear, that built by Joseph Spenner ten years earlier.

1902- Sublimity was incorporated and granted its own charter through the efforts of Senator Wm. M. Hobson.

1903- The first city officials were elected: John Kintz, mayor; J.A. Ditter, treasurer; Theodore Odenthal, recorder; Philip Meier, marshal; and J. Hassler, H. Hunke, B. Prange, and A. Riesterer councilmen. Salaries ranged from $25.00 for marshal to $5.00 for the treasurer. The city had no income and very little business to transact. Its first ordinance, adopted in June of 1903 read, "It shall be unlawful to allow sheep, goats, hogs, or horses to run loose about the streets of the corporate limits of the city of Sublimity. Failure to heed this ordinance shall endanger the transgressor for a fine of five dollars, or imprisonment in jail from two to ten days...." The city fathers were faced with their first real problem when the marshal apprehended the first transgressor - the fellow would not pay the fine, but they had no jail. The sentence was suspended until a "cooler" could be built. (ref: Sublimity, Story of an Oregon Countryside, Mark Schmid, 1951)

1903- Edwin Mckinney became postmaster.

What with the dark, muddy streets, many lacking sidewalks, the disorderly saloons, and the unavailability of electric power, the council bought six kerosene street lamps. These were lighted by hand evenings and extinguished in the morning. Perhaps one of these can be seen in this 1907 photo near the right wooden sidewalk on Main St.

1903- In Stayton the Catholic community built themselves a church. It is said that the steeple was made a foot higher than Sublimity's! Immaculate Conception was dedicated in 1904 (photo below courtesy Vera Boedigheimer), but it was not until 1931 that they had a resident pastor. Father Lainck drove his horse and buggy to Stayton to say mass there on alternate Sundays.

1903/4- Hottinger-Ditter clans:
Center: Grandpa Hottinger
Far Back Row l-r: 3rd Joseph Ditter, 5th Anna (Hottinger) Ditter
On Grandfather Hottinger's lap, l-r: Marie (Ditter) Roeser, Fred Hottinger
Front Row: Isabella Ditter and Genevieve (Ditter) Hendricks

1903- St. Boniface church received minor additions in the sanctuary and sacristy.

1903- The National Catholic Order of Foresters fraternal organization was organized, and sponsored this celebration in 1904.

1904- Look at the detail in this 4th of July scene. The old college building in the background had served as a church and convent before the new (present) church on the right was built. On the float reigns Rosey (Becker) Riesterer, 16, Goddess of Liberty.

1904- A new rural postal route began from Sublimity to Silver Creek Falls.
1905- In the Stayton Mail: Rural mail carrier B.S. Branch went to the fair and brought back a wife.

1906- The first crushed stone paved roads and by 1913 nine miles of road were completed, for a cost of $18,000.

1906- Mary J. Prange became postmistress.

1907- Here is a class of public school district No. 7, Sublimity with its teacher, Sister Imelda.
Top row: Chas. Schmitt, Henry Boedigheimer, George Boedigmeimer, Joe Ripp, Philip Albus, Felix Steinkamp, Joe Pieser
Second Row: George Prange, Sister Imelda, Rose Kintz, Christine Ripp, Emma Peters, Tillie Levermann, Dean Miller, Bertha Hendricks, Tony Steinkamp
Third Row: Theresa Hottinger, Joe Steinkamp, Ida Doerfler, Dora Smith, Theresa Rauscher, Marie Odenthal, Mary Benedict, Lena Fassler, Pauline Heuberger, Hattie Hendricks
Bottom Row: Mary Lulay, Lena Hermens, Gertrude Lulay, Grace Hottinger, Dora Albus, Arvilla Wagner

1907- The Women's Catholic Order of Foresters was organized, and the hall was erected. (1915 photo, it was razed in 1980.)

Sublimity Historical Outline - Finishing Touches

St. Boniface Church, 1910

1908- The present historic St. Boniface church, built in 1889, is the second oldest original church in the archdiocese of Portland. It was in 1908, under Father Lainck, that the present fine bells and altars were added. The altars were built by Engelbert Gier, all handmade and decorated with gold leaf.

The three large bells in the bell tower in front of the church were cast by the "Henry Stuckstede Bell Fdy Co, St.Louis Mo 1909." They bear this notice and the following legends in Latin:

Larger bell: BONIFACIUS VOCAT POPULUM SUUM (Boniface calls his people)
Medium bell: SANCTA MARIA, ORA PRO NOBIS (Saint Mary, Pray for us)
Smaller bell: SANCTA BARBARA, PROTEGE NOS IN HORA MORTIS (Saint Barbara, protect us in the hour of death)

The smallest bell (only 350 pounds) is in the 110 foot steeple, and it is the one that had been donated to the new convent in 1888. It is inscribed G. Campbell and Sons, Centennial Bell Foundry Milwaukee Wisconsin 1888 (top), MariaZell Convent of the Precious Blood, Jesus Mary Joseph (bottom).

A Happy Note: While many churches have now silenced their bells out of deference to the "heathen," Saint Boniface' bells are loud and clear, and herald the Angelus daily now as in the Middle Ages.

(Above is the interior in 1908, below before 1908.)

1910- The old college building burned to the ground in an accidental fire.

1910- The Sublimity Telephone Company was incorporated.

1910- Here are a couple of photos from the "horse and buggy" days.

Above, left to right: Lena Hermens, Mary VanHandel, Jesse (the horse).

Bill Van Handel had purchased property northeast of Sublimity near Triumph road. His oldest daughter, Mary, stayed with relatives in Verboort while the new home place was prepared for the family. Early one summer morning, all by herself, Mary left for Sublimity in the buggy shown with Jesse, who was a fast walker. After about 75 miles they arrived at the crossroads of the Sublimity/Silverton Silver Creek roads. Jesse balked and refused to continue straight east. It was near sunset and Mary was very concerned, then remembered her dad saying if Jesse ever gave any trouble, to "let him have his head." She loosened the reins and he turned south to Sublimity and they soon arrived safely, after dark at the new homesite. (Photo and story thanks to Joe Spenner.)

Above: Joseph Zimmerman. Photo thanks to Vera Boedigheimer.

1911- Mr. and Mrs. Arnold VanHandel celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, here with 8 of their 12 children.

1912- The Sublimity Dairy Association was incorporated.

Hermens Creamery: Pete, Bill, and Adrian hermens, Nick Gehlen with team.

1912- October, after several large fires, the City of Sublimity formed the Sublimity Fire Department. The fire department acquired one A.G. Long #10 chemical fire engine that had a 45 gallon tank, two wagon style wheels, two kerosene lanterns, an axe and a crowbar. Information as to the leadership of the department is sketchy, however G.H. Bell was president at its formation. Many names still common to current Sublimity appear on the early rosters, such as Zuber, Ditter, Etzel, Ripp, Susbauer, Kintz, Riesterer, and Welter.

1912- The first public well was dug.

1913-1914 Through Father Lainck's efforts a new two-story parish school was completed north of the church and west of the convent. The Sisters of St. Mary taught the 9th and 10th grades (under Sister Imelda in 1916), as well as the 7th and 8th in the old public school building, north of the creamery. Father Lainck was energetic and effective in helping both nuns and youth.

1914-1915 Sublimity installed electric street lights from the Stayton Light Company, paid for by a special city tax.

1915- Another July 4th.On the float, standing from left: Edith Highberger, Lena Hermens (Goddess of Liberty), Grace Hottinger. Driver: Pete Hermens, Creamery horses, from left: Duke and Don. Center: Baribeau house. (Joe Spenner's photo)

1915- The town square, 103 Main St. looking north. From left on the Ditter, Bell & Co. porch: the Doctor, George Bell, Mrs. Nick Zimmerman and two boys, John A. Ditter.

1915- Roy E. King of Sublimity (courtesy Santiam Historical Society)

1916- The St. Joseph's Verein was organized in Sublimity. It was a Catholic organization founded at Klagenfurt, Germany in 1893 for the advancement/preservation of relgion, social and cultural ideals, and good literature. The local group is seen here in front of St. Boniface church, with Fr. Lainck in the front row, second from the right. The Verein merged into the Holy Name Society 1n 1929.

1919- I. J. Boedigheimer and Helen Frances (Smith)'s 25th wedding anniversary in 1919, taken on their front porch in Sublimity.

1919- Young Mary VanHandel holds a panful of freshly cleaned trout.

1920s - Tony Van Handel's Harness Shop. Jim Ripp worked here. It is now the site of Dr. Heuberger's veterinary office. A leather horse collar rests on the plank sidewalk.

1920 or so- Barney Ditter, Leo Susbauer, and Ernie Riesterer. Video games had not yet arrived.

The Paris Woolen Mill was in Stayton, but Sublimity provided a some managers and many workers, including these ladies:
Standing right front, Hilda (Starr) Schumacher; Anne VanHandel to Hilda's right; and probably Ida and Angeline Hartman's mother; and __Albus in the center back.

1920- Father Lainck's 25th Anniversary as pastor. He had built the school and rectory, remodeled the church, and built the church at Stayton as a mission.

1923- Oregon passed the "garb bill," which prohibited public school teachers from wearing religious dress. This cooperative arrangement was followed: Grades 1, 2, and 3 were taught by the sisters in the Catholic school; grades 4, 5, and 6 were taught by district teachers in the public school, and grades 7 and 8 were taught by the sisters in the Catholic school. The district also rented a classroom in the Catholic school.

1923 Frank Bell became postmaster.

1923- The Knights of Columbus organized St. Anthony's council #2439 in Sublimity.

Like other Sublimity families, Mathies and Bernadine Schmid shared sons and daughters with the church. In the front row, left to right, are Sisters Rosaria and Thecla, and Fathers Mark and Leo. Mark wrote the history Sublimity, Story of an Oregon Countryside in 1951.

1924- Mrs. Antoinette Hermens became postmistress for 18 years.

1926-1927 Father Charles Seroski was pastor.

1926- Philip Steffes of Sublimity discovered a native thornless blackberry otherwise identical to the thorny evergreen blackberry, and as productive. It quickly became the most popular blackberry in the country, and was grown extensively in Oregon. It was later hybridized into the aromatic and intensely flavorful Marionberry.

1927- Father Lainck died after a first vacation trip to his German birthplace, having served St. Boniface parish for 32 years. The Stayton Mail of June 16th, 1927, echoing the sentiment of all who knew Father Lainck, wrote, "During his long residence in this community he made for himself hosts of friends, both inside and outside the church. He was a constant and conscientious worker for the temporal as well as the spiritual welfare of his people. His sound advice and counsel were frequently sought and found beneficial. He was intelligent and broad-minded, and his death is a distinct loss to this section of the State . . . His loss will be keenly felt not only by members of his Church, but by many to whom he had endeared himself by his genial manner, his cheerful and kindly disposition, and his strength of character. His was a life full of helpfulness and kindly feelings, so that while serving his Master he also served his fellow men."

This bronze sculpture was placed by Father Siroski in Father Lainck's memory. Eventually the Scherbring brothers were added.

Sublimity Historical Outline - The Scherbring Years

1927- Rev. Francis Scherbring was appointed to minister to the Sublimity and Stayton parishes. He had served previously at Salem and Shaw. He organized the Young People's Club. Noting the growth in the sublimity area he made plans to build a new Gothic church; these were near the final stage when he unexpectedly died in 1935.

1927-1935 Father Francis Scherbring, pastor

Women's Catholic Order of Foresters Drill Team.
Standing, left to right: Cecilia (VanHandel) Maertz, Pearl (Doerfler) Zuber, Grace (hottinger) Ditter,Nettie (VanHandel) Gries, Clara Zuber, Julia (Boedigheimer) Gries, Angeline (Kintz) Hassler, Effie Gescher, Aurelia (Kintz) Podrabsky, Edna Ditter, Angie (Zimmerman) Jungwirth, Ilsabette Ditter.
Seated: Marie (Ditter) Roeser, Theresa (Starr) Silbernagel, Emma (Smith) Doerfler, Florence Schmitt, Jeannie (Highberger) Hermens.

About 1928- Below, back row, left to right: Mary Hendricks, Gus Hendricks, Genvieve Hendricks, Anna Ditter.
Front row, left to right: Joe Ditter, Herman Hendricks (on lap), Mary Ditter, Anna Hendricks, Leonard Hendricks, John A. Ditter, Catherine Ditter.

1920's and 30's- In these years many sawmills were established in the area. Their operators had names very familiar in Sublimity today: Breitenbusch Bros.; VanHandel Brothers; John Frank & A. Minden; A. & B. Minden; Stuckart & Minden; Frank Etzel; Ted Freres; Amandus Frank; J.B. VanHandel; Sim Etzel; Peter Gries; Lulay Brothers.

Below, left to right: Joe Susbauer, Dan Kintz, Frank Etzel, Isidore Bell, Ed Etzel, Paul Zuber, Bill Hermens, Charlie Schmitt, Engel Schott, Bill Odenthal, George Doerfler, Tony Schindler, Joe Benedict, Nick Lulay.

Above, left to right: Joe Schulte, Carl Schultebein, Gus Hendricks

The Sublimity Fire fighters sponsored an annual talent show to build individual interest in the arts, music, theater as well as baseball and basketball. The basketball team was known as the "Hawks" and frequently won trophies among the seven Santiam Valley teams. East of town on the Zimmerman place a baseball field with bleachers was built by Wm. Lulay in 1932. Mr Lulay organized and managed a team in season.

1932- The WWI memorial was dedicated in the city park, a cannon and brass plaque with the names of 54 local servicemen and women.

1933- The nearby Silver Creek Falls Park was dedicated with 1030 acres and nine waterfalls ranging from 25 to 198 feet tall.

1934- The Confectionary in Sublimity, Ben Toepfer proprietor. (Courtesy Santiam Historical Society) This building and bar served as Meier's Sublimity Saloon early in the century.

1935- Following the death of Father Francis Scherbring, his brother, Father Joseph Scherbring, who had served as pastor of the Stayton parish 1931-1935, was appointed his successor. A building program was soon outlined, beginning with the hall and gymnasium.

1935-1955 Father Joseph Scherbring, pastor

1936- Here we have a "side trip." According to historian Mark Schmid Fr. Francis Scherbring had wanted to build a larger church. We still have the architectural drawings and specifications "Complete Church Plans by E. J. Gier, Proposed 1937, Estimated by Barrett And Logan." According to the Stayton Mail of March 5 construction was to start immediately and the church with full basement and faced with light Willamina brick was to be debt-free when completed. The foundations had been laid before the project was abandoned, for whatever reason, during Fr. Joseph Scherbring's time. Here are photos of two of the blueprints and an architectural rendering:

You may note a similarity in style with St. Mary's church in nearby Mt. Angel. Its architect too was Engelbert Gier, who with his builder brother Emil had come from Germany via Texas.

1937- Eugene Ditter was appointed Fire Chief after Chief Tom Reuf dies of Pneumonia. "Gene" served until the mid 1970's.

1937- Sublimity Fire Department acquired a 1931 International pumper. This pumper was the first motorized fire equipment in East Marion county and is still on display.

Top row: Tony Schrewe, Barney Ditter, Ernie Riesterer, Dan Meier, Bill Riesterer, Lawrence Boedigheimer
Bottom row: Eugene Ditter, Ben Toepfer, Hermann Hassler, Bud Ditter, Vincent Lulay, Leo Susbauer, Bill Duchateau, Pete Boedigheimer.

1940s- Sublimity got a new municipal water system, a new grade school, two general stores, a building supply store, and a tavern. Wheat, oats, and barley were major crops.

1940- The "activity hall" (in 1888 the first parish grade school) was converted into the first St. Boniface High School. Four years of high school were taught in its three rooms by the Sisters of St. Mary. The first graduating class included Camilla Lulay, Bernice Ruettgers, Dolores Bentz, Loretta Etzel, and Joe Spenner.

1941- The St. Boniface Hall and Gymnasium building was built for $7500.

1942- Clara Neal became postmistress.

1942- Wartime graduation photos:

Above: Saint Boniface Grade and High Schools combined graduation of 1942.
Below: Just the High School graduating class of 1942 with Fr. Joseph Scherbring.

Courtesy of Vera Boedigheimer (front center)

1945- A new brick St. Boniface High School was constructed west of the gym with a capacity of 7 teachers and 100 students. Sisters of St. Mary and priests in residence at St. Boniface taught. The athletic program thrived.

1946-47 - Sublimity Hawks town team. Won 19, lost 1. Front l-r: Kenneth Bentz, Orville Lulay, Tony Gerspacher, Bernard Bentz, Arlyn Birkholz, Back l-r: Billy Luly, Leonard Frank, Eugene Heuberger, Matt Gerspacher. Missing: Leonard Neal, Eugene Russell, Richard Schumacher, Lawrence Ripp, Stan Russell, Harold Etzel.

1947- Sublimity built its water system including a 370 ft. well and a 50,00 gallon water tower with asbestos pipes - how times have changed!

1948- A modern convent (below) was built across the street from the new High School, replacing the old college "addition", which was moved south to the Hassler place.

1949- A new district 7C grade school was built on the current site, finally for all eight grades.

1949- The Rural Fire District was formed. One engine was purchased, equipped, housed and manned in the Sublimity Station.

ca 1950- Lively Saturday nights were provided by local musicians, many from Sublimity, at the Aumsville Pavilion. (Aumsville Historical Society photo)

Front row from left: MaryJo Hendricks, Larry and Rose Hendricks, Ron Bentz. Back row right: Another Sublimite, Al Etzel. MaryJo directed the St. Boniface choir for many years, and performs in her own popular band.

1955- With the parish proper being cared for, Father Scherbring began the unfolding of a long cherished dream - a home for the sick and aged in the peaceful setting of Sublimity. In failing health, he lived long enough to officiate at the blessing of the Marian Home on August 7. But on August 25 he suddenly passed to his eternal reward, sorely missed by all for his piety and kindness.

The Marian Home had its roots in Minnie Hassler, a kindly single lady who had been looking after elderly folks in the old convent building that had been moved onto her eight Church Street acres, which she later donated for Father Scherbring's Marian Home. It was originally run by a staff of six Servite nuns from Austria, two of whom are seen here in the kitchen. From the beginning it was non-sectarian. Marian Auxiliary, Inc. was incorporated in 1957 as a non-profit and was dissolved in 1975. It is privately operated now, with about 400 residents.

Sublimity Historical Outline - Further Growth and Change

1955-1969 Father Robert Neugebauer, pastor

1957- A new brick rectory was built, including a parish hall.

1959- There was more room in the cemetery then. (Salem Library photo)

1960- After 108 years Sublimity finally got a real post office building. Postmistress Clara Neal received many requests from afar for first day cancellations from the only post office in the world named Sublimity. (A letter arrived from London, England simply addressed to "Sublimity.") It replaced the post office in Mrs. Neal's home, below.

1962- The Columbus Day storm, Oct 12, "blew out" the new Post Office. (Salem Library photo)

1962- With the opening of the shared Regis Catholic High School in nearby Stayton, St. Boniface High became vacant, and St. Boniface grade school moved in. The 1913 grade school was razed in 1963.

1962- Ed Hassler next to a field of orchard grass. (Oregon State Archives) Doerfler Farms of Sublimity is the largest grass seed producer in the world. Christmas trees are also a major crop in the Sublimity area, and are shipped worldwide.

Folklore - According to the late Gene Ditter, there was a time when wheat and oats were the main crops and the grass was considered a nuisance. "It was commonly known as the "Damn Ditter Grass." For a number of years they (farmers) tried to kill it because it got mixed up in their grain. But it spread all over the valley here." How did it get here?
Well, it seems his great uncle John who started the store had a hand in (accidentally) bringing the crop to Oregon. The grass came to Ditters' Store as packing material to cushion crockery from Europe, Gene says. "I remember some of them barrels were marked Dresden, Germany, I think. l was just a kid, 7 or 8, at the time. "When John unloaded the grass, he just shoved it out the back door and it started to grow."
"Grass seed is the main crop now. It's used for lawns and pastures and it's shipped all over the world. It takes this kind of climate - cool and wet - for the grass to produce the seed." Gene says he can't recall crockery being packed in grass any later than 1915. Farming the stuff didn't become popular until the 1940s. (Al Riske, staff writer, date?)

1968- Lanny L.Fredricks was postmaster from 1968-1973.

1972- The Sublimity Harvest Festival began. The largest show of its kind west of the Mississippi, it draws over 30,000 visitors on the weekend following Labor Day. The emphasis has shifted through the years from grass seed farming to tractor, draft horse, and truck pulls to "monster trucks," etc. Originally in town it now has permanent competition fairgrounds adjacent to the local Chemeketa Community College.

1969-1975 Father Thomas Gadbois, pastor

1973- Carol Moll became postmaster for about 28 years.

1975-1986 Father Daniel Hurley, pastor

1979- St. Boniface Church celebrated its centennial with an outdoor Mass concelebrated by an Archbishop, three Bishops, an Abbot, its pastor Fr. Hurley and numerous other priests! Left to right are Bishop Steiner (who was to celebrate the 125th anniversary mass - see the 2004 photo below) Bishop Leipzig, Archbishop Power, Bishop Waldschmidt, and Abbot Anselm OSB.

1986-91 Father Edward Altstock, pastor

1987- the Rural Fire District annexed the City Fire Department to become the current Sublimity Fire District.

1989- A new Headquarters Station was built on Parker St.

Great-grandfather was First Sublimity Settler by Carl Hobson, Keizer, Oregon (a letter to the editor, date?)

"I have been following with interest the possibility of the town of Sublimity merging with Stayton. I am opposed based upon a personal interest.
"My great-grandfather, Hadley Hobson, was the first settler in that area. Hadley and his family left St. Joseph, Missouri. in April 1847 and headed for Oregon. However, they joined up with a California-bound wagon train and settled near Sutter's Mill, where gold was discovered in January 1848.
"After the gold rush, he and his family sailed from San Francisco to Portland and planned to settle in Salem but heard of new country developing east of Salem. He purchased 1,500 acres and built a log cabin on the site. Other settlers followed. Several small stores were built, and the place unofficially was known as Hobson Corner.
"In 1852, the settlers hoped for better mail service and requested the government "to establish a post office. The Postal Department declined the name of Hobson Corner. Another resident, James Denny, had built in the foothills just east of town and often remarked what a "sublime view" he had to the west and suggested the name Sublimity.
"I hope that the residents of Sublimity retain their little town with the unique name and not merge with Stayton."

1991- Fire chief Kevin Hendricks moved to Woodburn, replaced by Jerry Heater. The district acquired more pumpers, medic/rescue units and other equipment and a second station on Drift Creek Road.

1991-1994 Father Glenn Dare, pastor

1993-1996 Father William O'Malley SJ, pastoral vicar

1993- The school district purchased the St. Boniface school property for $650,000.

1993- Sublimity gets its first motel!

1993- A Catholic Sentinel photo. The caption states "St. Boniface Church is the only one in the archdiocese to have its reredos (altar wall) still intact."

1994-1997 Father Galdino Monteiro SFX, pastor

1995- Alan W. McMahen became Sublimity's first career fire chief.

1995- Delbert and Yvonne Ditter retire and sell the 105 year old family grocery.

1996- On July 1, Sublimity School District No. 7 became part of the North Santiam School District.

1997- The Santiam Canyon Stampede was established as an annual PRCA Rodeo at the Sublimity Harvest Festival grounds in early August.

1997 - (August) George Strobel, Fr. Bill, Fr. Dino, and Katie Etzel (Sentinel photo by Gerry Lewin)

1997-2001 Father Arthur Dernbach, pastor

1999-2000 The church was structurally reinforced, prompted by concerns from the 1993 "spring break" quake.

2000- The old Ditter grocery building was razed, replaced by the brick Ditter Town Square.

2001-2002 Father Michael Sprauer, pastor

Colorful new mural on the old 1960 post office building reflecting its new use as a telephone office. Sublimity now has a large new post office, below, 2002.

2002-2005 Father Patrick Donoghue, pastor

(2002- In December I registered the domain name www.saintboniface.net for the parish. In November 2003, with Fr. Donoghue's blessing, I put it "on line" with the Sunday bulletin and have added other features since then, as this history.)

2003- Sublimity's superfluous water tower failed to sell on Ebay!

2004- Sublimity's mayor (for the second time) is Ray Heuberger DVM. Heubergers have been part of the church and town from the early days.

2004- June 5 was the 125th anniversary of our parish and the 1250th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bishop Boniface. Mass with Bishop Steiner. German sausage picnic and music in a huge tent welcome to the community. Display of historical artifacts.

Photos in the choir loft and afterwards in front of church.

(On Dec. 5, 2004 Archbishop Vlazny came to celebrate the beginning of our church register on Dec. 3, 1879 by the first pastor, Fr. Peter Stampfl. (see 1879 above)

2005 (July-September) Fr. Irudayaraj Amalanathan, administrator

Tim Bielenberg barbeques famously for a Choir picnic at Strobels', July 2005

Annual Parish Picnic, August 2005.

Our new priest, Fr. M. Jeyamani Paul, gives his first Sunday homily, October 2, 2005

2005 - Your webmaster was appointed to the twelve member Archdiocesan Historical Commission.

2005 - Our website caught the attention of the BBC, who sent a television crew to interview parish members, including local historian Vera Boedigheimer.

2006 - In February the Parish Archives Committee was reestablished with a new location in the Convent building and a renewed committment to collect, preserve, organize and share heritage resources.

The parish archives group were given a tour of the Santiam Historical Musem, which includes Sublimity historical items, by Carol Zolkoske, center. A few of those present were, from the left, Henry Strobel Jr, Ralph Lulay, Carol, Vangie Ripp, Francis Hendricks,

2006 - Six months later, in August, there was an "Open House" for the new archives facility. For lots more about this program, see Parish Archives.

You'll also read there about the past and present St. Boniface Annual BBQ Chicken Dinner, serving over two thousand this year. Carol Rambousek provided PR, including even an interview of both archives and dinner representatives on Albany radio station KGAL.

2007 In November the St. Boniface Archives Office and Museum moved from its modest earlier facility to prime space in the southwest quadrant of the old convent building opposite the church. There's lots more about the Archives at St. Boniface Archives

2007 The state of Oregon is giving Jim and Shirley Heater a Sesquicentennial award. The Heater family has been working the same Sublimity area farm since 1852 (156 years). It's grown to about 5000 acres, of which 3500 produce Christmas trees for worldwide export. Lorenzo Dow Heater arrived here in 1851 from Iowa, returned and brought his family by wagon train over the the Oregon Trail in 1852. (Photo and history thanks to the Stayton Mail for December 26.)

A lot is changing in this unique and vital community. But more important are the good things that remain the same - the principles, purpose, and moral fiber that have so closely bound family and church and town. Presenting this history has fascinated and inspired me as I continue to learn about the community that we chose twenty-three years ago.

Compiled and edited by Henry Strobel © 2004-8. Your additions and corrections are welcome!

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