"Our" Churches

This tiny chapel is in Dolni Z'dar, Bohemia...it's probably the exact place where Johann Hesch and Maria Schlinz were married, and where they brought their newborn sons Paul, Mathias, Anton and Bartholomeus to be baptized.

When they arrived in Pierz in about 1885, they found

a church being built on a rise in the middle of town

...which, when finished, looked like it does now:

St. Josephs Catholic Church in Pierz, on the left, and Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Royalton to the right.
These were OUR churches.

Six miles south, in Buckman, 1887 was a good year, too. They built this church on the corner where the school is now.

...but before long, it was inadequate for the parish. The priest decided to build a new larger brick church where the school was.

A postcard of St Michaels in about 1910.

And now, St Michaels has a Community Center with an elevator just off the right side of the picture, above, but the altar hasn't changed at all. It's still a beautiful church, just like our (great) grandparents wanted.

.......

BTW, from Sherri Messerschmidt's online family tree, this:

Anton (Otremba) donated the first church bell to St. Michaels Catholic church at Buckman and it rang it's first death toll for him on February 5, 1883. Catherine (Schalwig) Otremba (his wife) donated the large bell to the church when the new church was being built and it rang it's first death toll for her on January 13, 1902.

These were the parents of Mary Otremba, who married Paul Hesch.