HOLY ROSARY CHURCH, IDAHO FALLS 1900-1955

For some years before any parish, mission or station existed in the Southeastern Deanery, a number of Catholic families had settled in and about Eagle Rock (now called Idaho Falls). They arrived about the time the Utah and Northern Railroad reached that locality in 1879. Father E. M. Nattini from Hailey baptized Elizabeth Donohue at Eagle Rock on March 5, 1884. He procured from the Anderson Bank lof s 5 and 6 in block 21 having in view the construction of a chapel, for there were a not able number of Catholic employees at the Utah Northern Railroad shops. However, there was a possibility of the shops being transferred to Pocatello and in view of this condition, the erection of the church was delayed. The two lof s were deeded to the Vicariate on July 29, 1885 and the shops were removed two years later. Father Nattini and Father Edward Morrissey used to make one or two visits a year until June of 1888. Bishop Glorieux also used to cal1 more or less regularly for a number of years subsequent to 1885. Father Van der Donckt was located at Pocatello around June 1888 and for 12 years used to make a missionary trip about every two months. When in Eagle Rock he used to say Mass in the home of Mr. Edward Fanning, who was a railroad employee. In 1891 he listed six families at Idaho Falls. It was in that year the name of the town was changed from Eagle Rock.
    The congregation, though small, decided to build a church in 1891. The ladies sought and obtained a concession at the County Fair that autumn and cleared the sum of $400.00. With these finances they had the foundations laid, but the panic of 1893 caused a delay in the superstructure for three years. Each year during that interval, the ladies conducted a concession at the County Fair, so that in 1896 they were financially able to begin the erection of the frame church, 22 feet by 36 feet, which was finished though not furnished some time during 1897.
    The Bishop appointed the Rev. James A. Mooney pastor on September 18, 1900. He celebrated Mass in the home of Mr. Ed Fanning because though there was an altar there were no pews or chairs in the church. Father Mooney had fifty folding chairs installed by mid-October and Sunday worship was transferred to the church. In February 1901 a large church supper was held at the Porter Hotel and enough money was realized to purchase pews. Bishop Glorieux dedicated the church under the title of the Holy Rosary, May 1901 and confirmed a class of 18 on the same day. The first High Mass in Idaho Falls was celebrated on Easter Sunday 1901. The solemnity was made possible by the Burgraff family of Roberts (then Market Lake), which consisted of a number of young men and women all musically inclined who had formerly been members of the choir in a Minnesota a parish. Early in 1902 another her church social netted sufficient funds with which to pay for an addition of two rooms to the church for residence quarters for the pastor. At that period Father Mooney had so many places to attend to that the two rooms were ample home accommodations for one so constantly on the road. He held divine services at Blackfoot , Rexburg, St. Anthony, Market Lake, Dubois, Medicine Lodge and Salmon City, together with many of her smaller places.
    According to the Intermountain and Colorado Catholic of Salt Lake City in it’s issue of June 27, 1903 a number of German Colonists, among whom were many Catholics, had settled in the new agricultural development around Idaho Falls. On August 1, 1903 the same paper reported that "some 35 Catholic farmers from Nebraska are coming out soon. The development around the Idaho Falls section in September 1903 necessitated the placing of a resident pastor at Rexburg, along with which went St. Anthony and Market Lake.
    Father Mooney was transferred to Moscow in the spring of 1904 and Father Martin Baerlocher was in charge of Idaho Falls until September 1904. Father Francis S. Hawelka came to Holy Rosary Church on September 25, 1904. Father Austin Bohn succeeded him as pastor in February 1905. Father Bohn had been transferred from Rexburg which was left without a resident priest. When returning from a sick call to Rexburg the team ran away with the buggy and he suffered a heart attack. He was going for medical help and as he was ready to take the train, he fell dead on March 31, 1905. The Rev. John Nolan followed as pastor of Idaho Falls May 3, 1905. Father Nicholas Fuchs arrived to succeed him on August 6, 1906. When Father Bohn came to Idaho Falls the care of all the former missions and stations came with him.
    Late in the fall after Father Nolan came, the church was destroyed by fire, and since the records of the past five years, September 1900 to December 1905, were in the pastor’s room, they were destroyed in the conflagration. The loss was covered by insurance and the parish had increased so much during the past two years that Father Nolan readily rebuilt the church in early 1906. Father Fuchs erected the two living rooms on the northeast side of the building. several years later he added four more rooms, so that he could have the comfort of a housekeeper and meals at home. About the same time, he had two side altars installed – gifts of the Coltman and Tautphaus families The parish received a not able increase when about 60 Catholic families were brought to farms within the limits of the Idaho Falls parish through the colonizing efforts of Mrs. John Niederkorn. It was a good sized parish when Father Fuchs left in January 1919.
    Father Thomas J. Purcell next came to Idaho Falls. The first spring he decided that Holy Rosary parish needed a church-plant commensurate with the phenomenal growth of the past few years, He purchased lof s in the eastern residential section of the city. On the southeast corner of the block at the intersection of 9th and Lee streets, he built a large two-story brick school. On the two lots across the alley from the northwest corner of the school property, he built a rectory. The old property and church building stood on the east side of the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad. This he rented and used the large auditorium, which was the first floor of the school, for church purposes. The school cost $55,000.00.
    The Boise Catholic Monthly of March 1920 carried the following communication from Idaho Falls:
    "The dedication services of the new church were held Sunday, February 15. The building which is intended for a school, has been fixed on the lower floor to house the church as well. The auditorium of the church is extremely well-arranged and will seat 500 adults comfortably. The interior walls are very neat and tastily finished in brown and tan, the altars pure white with a touch of gold, the wood-work and seats in golden oak. The parish is very proud of its new place of worship. It has out- grown the old church since Rev. Purcell came to Idaho Falls a year ago, and much credit is due him for our new church and school and its comfortable arrangement. Bishop D. M. Gorman of Boise officiated at the dedication services and preached an interesting sermon on the necessity of education. Following the dedication services, solemn high Mass was observed, with Father Purcell of Idaho Falls as Celebrant; Rev. Joseph Beusmans of Twin Falls, deacon; Father McGowan of Pocatello, sub-deacon."
    In the November 1920 issue of the Monthly we read: "Work has begun on the new parochial residence which is being erected on Eighth Street near our new church and school building. It is hoped the work will progress rapidly so our pastor may be located near the church, as he now has several blocks to travel, which is very disagreeable in bad weather. Some of the work is being donated by those who have time to spare, which helps to lessen the cost."
    The cost was $8,000.00. The parish house was occupied before the first of the year and the Sisters of the Holy Cross opened the school on September 6, 1921. The Sisters resided for four months in the old parish rectory on Eastern Avenue then they moved to a house on the block between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets.
    The whole building program cost $63,000.00. Father Purcell raised $20,000.00 and borrowed $45,000.00 to do the job. All during the progress of the construction, it was noticed that Father Purcell’s health had been failing. He had even been unable to attend the celebration of his Silver Jubilee. On June 17, 1922 illness forced him to leave Idaho Falls. Father A. J. Markham took care of the parish for the next year and succeeded in paying some of the debt. He was not a well man either, and resigned at the end of September 1923. Father Louis G. Buechler served the parish temporarily until Father Francis Lobell arrived on January 1, 1924. One of Father Lobell’s first accomplishments was the purchase of the present Sisters’ Convent for $5,200.00. He also acquired Faber Hall in the very heart of the business district(Faber Hall was the old telephone building and most recently "The Labor Temple" on Broadway.) In twelve years he paid off the debt with the diligent cooperation of a willing parish. Then the parish started a fund for the erection of a church. In 1930 Holy Rosary was a parish of 119 families in which there were 491 souls.
    On June 13, 1933 Father John J. Creegan was appointed curate in Idaho Falls with the title of Country Assistant. Although Father Joseph duPont had been pastor of St. Anthony, Idaho, for some years, in 1933 the Bishop judged it necessary, because of the situation during the depression, for the priest in St. Anthony to move his residence to Idaho Falls. Father duPont was transferred to Pot latch as pastor and Father Creegan came to Idaho Falls as a curate to take over his duties. St. Anthony retained its parochial status but was taken care of from Idaho Falls. The rest of the fifteen curates of Idaho Falls from Father Creegan to Father O’Sullivan who took care of this mission are listed under St. Anthony so they will not be listed here. The only of her curates in Idaho Falls during that period were Father Henry L. Ackerman who was curate from July 30, 1942 to March 1, 1943 and Father Thomas C. Halpin from June 2, 1943 to October 14, 1943.
    Many things happened in Idaho Falls in the middle 1940’s. In 1942 the Congregation Of the Sisters of the third Order of St. Francis or the Perpetual Adoration bought the old Spencer Hospital which had been in Idaho Falls for many years. The hospital was dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Some remodeling was done on the rectory in 1942. On June 13, 1943 Father Lobell took a year’s sick leave. Father John B. Kunkel, pastor of Burley, was appointed administrator. He remodeled the attic, building a nice room up there for the assistant. Father Lobell returned on June 13, 1944, only to go on sick leave again on the 18th; his curates – Father Urban H. Schmidt, Father William F. McQuaid and Father Patrick J. O’Sullivan, – took care of the parish. In September Father Lobell wired the Bishop: "Heart condition clearing up expect to leave hospital Oct first will report for active duty in Idaho Falls first part of October." He was in Idaho Falls on the thirteenth of October On March 14, 1946 he was transferred to St. Anthony’s parish in Pocatello, and Father John A. Jentges was appointed pastor at Idaho Falls.
    Father Schmidt was transferred from Idaho Falls on October 30, 1944 and both h Fathers O’Sullivan and McQuaid on August 29, 1945. The of her curates have been as follows: Father Thomas J. Ryan, August 29, 1945-June 14, 1946, Father John J. Casby, August 29, 1945-March 14, 1946, Father Thomas A. Heeran, March 14, 1946- February 14, 1948, Father Francis A. Peterson, June 15, 1946-September 13, 1946, Father Malachy McNeill, July 11, 1946-September 13, 1946, Father Thomas J. Ryan, September 13, 1946.
    Father William F. McQuaid, February 14, 1948- June 7, 1950, Father Patrick J. O’Sullivan, July 6, 1950-November 7, 1950, Father Ryan is at the present time, the fall or 1955, still curate in Idaho Falls.
    On August 30, 1944 the Bishop judged that St. Anthony, Idaho, could again support a resident pastor so he appointed Father James T. Hallissey. Father Hallissey had St Anthony and its former missions except Dubois which Idaho Falls retained. The Bishop added Mackay to Idaho Falls on October 14, 1948. Because Father Ryan went to the Sacred Head Hospital with arthritis of the spine, 1t became impossible for Father Jentges alone to care for the missions so on June 5, 1950 the Bishop removed Mackay and Dubois from the care of Idaho Falls. In the 1950’s the town of Palisades sprang up beyond Irwin in Swan Valley. The rise of this town is due to the government building a large earth-filled dam there. A number of Catholics moved into the vicinity. Mrs. Dan Kelly of Swan Valley Irwin e to the Bishop: "I am writing in the interest of the Catholics of the Swan Valley, Idaho area. We are located 63 miles from Idaho Falls and 82 miles from St. Anthony...As you no doubt know the Palisade Dam is being built here and of course there are many new people in this area. As I have received so many inquiries about the possibility oi getting a missionary priest into the area 1 took it upon myself to find out how many catholic (sic) families there are here...the list I am enclosing is permanent personnel who are here the year around... (She lists the names of 68 people of wham she said all but 14 were in the Palisades Dam project work)... We would be so happy to make all arrangements if a missionary could come only once in awhile..."
    So in the late fall of 1953 the Bishop attached the new town of Palisades to Idaho Falls as a mission. According to the Annual Reports there are 50 Catholics in the place and Mass is held twice monthly.
    1948 saw the beginning of a series of the most ambitious building projects in Idaho Falls. Not to mention the building of the new Sacred Heart Hospital, which was finished in 1949, the parish plant was almost comple1ely rebuilt. Since the days when the church was moved from its location by the railroad tracks, the first floor of the school had been used for the church. It was large and could seat 500 people, but with the low ceiling, a very narrow sanctuary, and only decorative paper pasted over the school windows, it was Not exactly what a thriving parish like Idaho Falls could hope to have. So a new church was begun cater-cornered from the school. It is an imposing Tudor Gothic building of red brick trimmed in white cast stone. Over the door is the inscription, "Introibo ad altare Dei," and a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary. The side entrance on Ninth Street, next to the sacristy, is through the bell tower. Mr. Joseph Faber gave the Angelus Carillons, which are in this tower, in memory of Anna Marie Faber and Emma Yost Faber.
    The Sanctuary Lamp hanging in the church was donated by Elizabeth Brinkmann and family widow of Anton Brinkmann, Sr., in 1947. It was imported from ltaly, made of filigreed brass upon which figures of the twelve apostles are imposed in pewter.
    The interior of the church is simple. The ceiling is paneled wood and the walls are painted tan except for the sanctuary which is green-gray. The floor of the nave is red and green asphalt tile. The new church was first used on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1949. The Most Reverend Bishop Kelly dedicated it on May 1. Father Jentges used the Extension altar from the old church but in 1952 the Brady Estate gave a new marble altar, The Post Register describes it, the altar is made of Italian, French and Portuguese marble which was designed and cut in ltaly by the Daprato Studios...the 22 foot high altar is distinctively emphasized by a life-size crucifix The corpus, which weighs one ton alone, is made of flesh colored Portuguese onyx... (the) base of the altar is made of Rosso Bellantico marble – a purple marble with white veins. Center of the altar, forming the background for the crucifix, had been constructed of Juane deBrignoles marble – a light French marble with red veins or streaks. The remainder of the altar, including statues besides the crucifix and crowning the side spires of the altar, is made of Bot marble – a light cream colored marble. Venetian mosaic inlays have been formed at the base of the altar, underneath the altar table...Side statues represent the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John. The tabernacle of the altar is in Repousse bronze while the canopy over the altar is of bronze colored carved wood. The canopy has a symbol of the Holy Ghost at its frontal and symbol of the Trinity on its ceiling." Father Jentges, as delegate of the Bishop, consecrated the altar on August 9, enclosing in the mensa the relics of Sts. Ouctus and Prosperus The old altar was given to the St. Louise Church in Challis. This church with its altar cost in the neighborhood of $210,000.00. It seats 600 people.
    The first celebration in the new church, even before the new altar was installed, was the Silver Jubilee of Father Jentges ordination to the priesthood on June 14, 1949. Father Jentges brother, Father Damian Jentges, O.S.B., now Abbot of Mount Angel Seminary, was deacon and gave the sermon; Father C. M. Verhoeven, Ph.D.,D.D. was subdeacon, and Father Thomas Ryan was master of ceremonies. Monsignors E. R. Cody, J. F. Gresl and F. Bonora together with twenty of the clergy and a vast number of the faithful came to honor Father Jentges. Father’s two brothers, John and Carl Jentges, and his two sisters, Mrs. John Duclos and Mrs. Henry Schmidt, were also able to attend this important celebration.
    The building of a church was only a beginning. The school, since the church had been removed, needed to be remodeled. The old first floor was made into two new classrooms, an excellently equipped kitchen, and a large general purpose room to be used for school assemblies and as a parish hall. New rest rooms were added and the entire floor was adequately equipped. The second floor had been cut up into six small classrooms and a little assembly room with a stage. The walls were re-arranged to make four large classrooms. The old stage was made into a music room and part of the hall into an office. Perhaps the worst feature of the old school had been the entrance stairs. The only inside stairway was narrow and came up into a classroom and not into the hall. The principal stairway came up the main facade into the halt, but it was a steel stair, outside and uncovered. In the winter it was iced and dangerous, and at times it looked horrid. The old steel stair was taken around back and made into a fire-escape, and a new broad inside stairway was built in the hall at the east entrance. The old inside stairway was removed and the classroom into which it had come was enlarged to take up the space it had occupied. This work was finished for the school year in 1951 and cost over $33,000.00. It is indeed a school of which to be proud.
    The old rectory had been built in 1920 and was quite adequate tor the needs of one priest. Various additions and alterations were necessary to accommodate the curates; walls were put in and rooms chopped up till at last the priest’s dining room was five feet wide and twelve feet long and it also served as an entry hall. 1954 saw the workers beginning a new house joined to the church. The house is in a style matching the church. It is built of solid brick and trimmed with cast stone. The entry way is a nice feature – a double arch of cast stone making a little porch. There are three parlors, a dining room (15’ by 14’ this time), kitchen and housekeeper’s suite on the first floor. On the second floor there are the pastor’s suite and curate’s suite, and two other bedrooms. The basement, besides the usual storage, furnace and fruit rooms, has a clubroom and a kitchen.
    At the present time ( 1955 ) plans are being made to build a new convent to accommodate twelve Sisters.
    On May 14, 1955, Morse Later was ordained a priest. Father Later is the first son of the parish raised to God’s altar. He was born in Idaho Falls and raised in the Idaho Falls parish at Ririe, Idaho. Father, a convert in 1944, celebrated his First Solemn Mass on Sunday, May 15, 1955, in Idaho Falls. Father Jentges was archpriest, Father L. M. Dougherty was deacon, and Father Thomas Ryan was subdeacon. Monsignor J. F. Gresl was present in the sanctuary. Father Dougherty preached the sermon.
    Pius XII elevated Mr. Edward W. Fanning, mayor of Idaho Falls, to knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Sir E. W. Fanning, a native son, was the first resident of Idaho to receive this high honor. The knighthood was formally conferred at a High Mass in Holy Rosary Church on Sunday. February 12, 1956 at 8:00 A.M. Sir Edward was knighted because of his singular service to the Diocese of Boise. However, Sir Edward did not live long to enjoy his high honor for on Thursday, March 29, 1956 at 6:45 A.M. he died in Salt Lake City where he had undergone a lung operation.
    As may be well imagined Idaho Falls is an active and large parish and the people are very generous. As an example of this generosity, Mr. Joseph Faber gave a farm to help pay for the church. In 1954 there were about 1,375 Catholics in the parish. There were 231 children in Holy Rosary School. All of the 41 Catholic children in public grade schools were in catechism class and of the 65 Catholic high school students 49 attended De Sales Club meetings.

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