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2006 Historic Preservation Success Stories!
The Success Story Awards for 2006 were presented by Preservation North Dakota for outstanding accomplishments in historic preservation. Director of the State Historical Soceity of North Dakota, Merlan Paaverud, Jr., announced the award winners. The Eastern Catholic Diocese in North Dakota has been faced with a series of tough decisions over the last few years. The closure of a large number of rural churches has had a dramatic affect on local preservation efforts. Two buildings, both success stories from the Catholic Diocese of Eastern North Dakota will be recognized for their preservation efforts. St. Catherine's of Lomice - Walsh County The foundation for St. Catherine's Church was laid on July 17, 1934. Lomice was named after a town in Czechoslovakia and the church was built to model those in the old country so they might remember their "fatherland". They believe they could have an attractive church that could be built at no greater expense. In the spring of 1934, the congregation began gathering field rock from their own farm land. Father Mikolasek, the pastor at that time, drew the blueprints and pushed for an all stone church. Construction was completed after 3 years of labor, in 1936. The interior of the church is as beautiful as the exterior. It has hand-painted statues, stained glass windows, a balcony with angel statues watching over the sanctuary. The altar is simple but elegant, with religious carvings handmade by one of St. Catherine's former parishioners. Also constructed with the church were three stone grottos that adorn the lawn outside the church.  With all of the closings in the Eastern diocese this Catholic Church was on the list for possible demolition. By creating a business plan and working with the diocese the members of Preservation Lomice, an affiliate of Preservation North Dakota, were able to assume ownership of their building. They just completed a Preservation North Dakota grass roots grant replacing and re-staining their wooden shingles and doing necessary masonry work on the building. This is a true Prairie Church. St. Mary's Catholic Church of Dazey - Barnes County The early settlers held church services in a local home until 1904 when they built the first church. It was built on land donated by John Q. Wieland of Dazey, ND. The parish grew and in 1929, they built a larger church, which is still in use today. Every year on the Feast of Corpus Christi, St. Mary's parish holds a special celebration. Many who have grown up here and moved away come back to help us celebrate every year for this special day. 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of the unique Corpus Christi celebration.  Recently St. Mary's Catholic Church restored the stucco on the exterior of the building, as well as substantial maintenance to the wood frame windows. This was a huge undertaking for a small but dedicated congregation. The work was done with historically appropriate materials to the original specifications.
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