Posted: 9/12/06
People say good bye to St. Nicholas
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Memories and tears flowed one last time at St. Nicholas Church in Freeburg on September 9.
The Diocese of Winona plans to dismantle and then raze the building, which was built in 1868. It closed in 1978.
Opinions are split on that decision, which stems from the cost of repairing and maintaining the structure.
ìKind of sad, kind of makes you cry almost,î Rita Noel of Caledonia said.
She recalled many good things as she scanned the dark interior of the church last Saturday. All of her kids were baptized there, including Carol (Hauser) on a very chilly Sunday in January of 1961.
The Noels sat in the fifth pew, and Minnie Stadtler always sat ahead of them. Rita said.
The harvest dinners were something, she said, sometimes serving 500 people, and lots of fun bingo games too.
Rita pointed to a beautiful stained glass window that said, ìDonated by St. Anneís Society 1920, Organized 1973.î Her mother-in-law, Clara Noel, was a member of that group.
ìCarve Jugís name on that one,î she said, referring to her husband and the fact that they would like the window.
Father Gregory Lief said the Diocese would try to accommodate requests like that. A nursing home in Rochester also may take some of the windows. Some items will be sold at an auction, and the altars are going to St. Joseph Church in Good Thunder, Minnesota. (Three men from the church took them away after the open house ended.)
Father Lief visited with many of the people, and heard more than one comment that the church should be saved. Jean Kinneberg was of that opinion. She pointed to the Colsch pew. It got a lot of use ñ her parents, Mary and Carl Colsch, had 14 children.
Jean cried as she recalled her religious background in the church. She attended Mass with her dad. He repaired the steeple, she said.
ìHe was a good carpenter. I just donít understand why it has to go,î she said.
ìWe throw it away, just like an old shoe,î Bob Standish said, his eyes also moist. ìItíd be a sin to tear it down.î
Mary Colsch pointed out the Bruening pew on the right side. ìHow many pews did they have?î she asked with a laugh, referring to another huge Freeburg family.
ìJust one,î her daughter answered.
Those were the kinds of things that were shared. A catechism book with the name of a daughter. A name lightly carved on a pew. A steady flow from a steady stream of visitors, taking pictures and paying their respects to a 138-year-old friend who will soon be gone.
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