THE HISTORY OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW CONGREGATION, Mill Creek, Portage County, is most certainly the chronicle of Polish immigration to Central Wisconsin, and a century of fidelity of these immigrants and their descendants to the best of their ethnic and religious traditions. This is not to say that they refused to adapt to American opportunities in the last half of the nineteenth century. Arriving in the 1850’s and 1860’s, mainly as political refugees from the Bavarian Forests and the Poznan and Danzig districts of Prussia, they were a tested and hearty breed who responded well to the challenges of the Wisconsin lumbering industry and to the Land Grant options of the time.

MILL CREEK

Prior to their coming, and after Indian land was vested in the state, the major activity along the northern reaches of the Wisconsin River was lumbering in the pine forests. In those days, Mill Creek (originally called "Weepeet Seepee", Chippewa for Tooth River) was located west of the Wisconsin River and north of the Plover Portage.

It was an important artery of the Wisconsin River for lumbering, because its small "canyons" near the mouth of the stream could accommodate small dams to raise the water level for floating the newly harvested logs. Some of the first lumber and shingle mills were built along Mill Creek in the townships of Carson and Linwood. These town-lines presently define the territorial boundaries of St. Bartholomew Parish. In fact, early plat records show that in the early 1860’s a "Lester’s Mill" was situated not far from the present church, where modern County Trunk M crosses the stream.

EARLY LAND DEVELOPMENT

However, by the time St. Bartholomew’s was established in 1883, the virgin timber in the Pineries had been ravished, and Stevens Point had already developed into a thriving commercial center. The area residents had also responded to the invitation of the Homestead Act of 1862 to clear and cultivate the land for growing feed grains. In another fifty years, the agrarian skills of the Polish descendants would lead them to grow potatoes and root crops in the sandy area east of the Wisconsin River, and mainly to dairy farming in the heavier soils west of the river.

FIRST POLISH CATHOLIC PARISHES

Originally, the Poles in Portage County had settled in the more northern townships of Sharon and Alban. The main cultural bulwark for these Polish newcomers was the Catholic Church. The Church gave the people a sense of belonging to a continuous culture, which had been briefly interrupted by the transition to America, and helped to bridge the gap between the old and the new in their lives.

Catholics of Irish and German extraction had been living in the area prior to the Polish immigration. Records show that the first Holy Mass was offered in Stevens Point in 1853 in a schoolhouse on Clark Street. For several years Mass was celebrated in selected homes by a Father Godfrey from Green Lake County. In 1856, at the request of the Irish members of the community, Archbishop Henni of Milwaukee purchased land on Clark Street for the first Catholic Church in Portage County. It was dedicated to St. Stephen with a Father McGee as its first pastor.

The first Polish immigrants to the County attended St. Martin’s church established at Ellis in Sharon Township in the late 1850’s for a multilingual congregation of the Germans, French and Irish. Eventually wanting a church of their own, the Poles built St. Joseph’s in 1864 about one mile from St. Martin’s. An "unsavory" element made it impossible for the first pastors to function at the new parish. Added to this were the "frequent disturbances of the peace and rowdyism" in three saloons clustered at the infamous Poland Corner, which refused to close their doors during the hours of weekly Mass. A scism resulted in the establishment of a Polish National Church in the area, and the formation of the new Sacred Heart Parish at Polonia under the indomitable leadership of Fr. Joseph Dombrowski. Polonia rightly became the center of Polish culture, because the largest congregation of Polish Catholics gathered there; and it became the heart of Polish farming and folk community.

To accommodate an increasing number of Polish Catholics to the south and west of Ellis, St. Casimir’s Parish was started in 1869 in the Town of Hull. Growing Polish population made still another parish necessary in Stevens Point and resulted in the building of St. Peter’s church in 1876. St. Peter’s is the mother church of St. Bartholomew Congregation at Mill Creek.

ESTABLISHMENT OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S

The forces leading to the formation of St. Bartholomew Congregation are not totally clear. St. Joseph’s was started about the same time in Stevens Point for the German-speaking people, as was St. Michael’s, another Polish parish in Junction City. There is recorded evidence in 1881 of some "misunderstanding" between pastor and people at St. Peter’s. For the next year and a half they had no resident priest. With the assignment of a new pastor in 1883, the parishioners immediately embarked upon the new and controversial project of a parish rectory. Apprehension about the costly venture on the part of some outlying members was a probable factor in sparking the Mill Creek endeavor. There was also the circumstance of area farmers having to travel as far as nine miles to attend Sunday Mass, with the added inconvenience of being ferried across the Wisconsin River. A final factor relates to the ethnic confrontations, which harassed the Catholic Church in this country during the last half of the nineteenth century. Stories still persist about the hostile treatment accorded the Mill Creek people who attended St. Stephen’s. The Irish contingent would not allow the Polish "foreigners" to mix with the rest of the congregation. They were required to stand apart as a group at Mass; they did not qualify as Parish officers; and finally they were told to build their own church when they requested that the gospel might occasionally be read in Polish.

A PARISH CHARTER

In any event, the only extant document relative to St. Bartholomew’s origin certainly indicates some measure of dissatisfaction with the Stevens Point connection. It is a charter document, which was placed in the cornerstone of the first church building. It is in Polish script and translates as follows:

During the Pontificate of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII, and the Episcopacy of Killian C. Flasch, Diocese of LaCrosse;

By the will of our bishop, and not yet having our own shepherd of souls, we were separated from St. Peter’s Congregation, Stevens Point, with the arrival of Father August Krogulski.

After having experienced many worries and troubles from shallow and perverse people, who did not see fit to obey their own bishop, nor to undertake the building of their own church, WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, by the help of God and hopeful of his grace, and in the measure of our fidelity to God and his glory, have built this church.

We have named it in honor of St. Bartholomew, whose feast falls on August 24, in this year of our Lord, 1883.

After the dedication, this document will be signed and placed in the cornerstone, begging that at some later time when we are no longer living, those who see it will pray for our souls.

Mill Creek, Portage County, Wisconsin (signed) Father August Krogulski

The following parishioners signed as charter members: Michael Worzala, Anton Aron, Sylvester Pawlowski, John Peszka, Michael Wnuk, Casmir Klys, John Silka, Adalbert Sroda, Michael Szymkowski, Francis Zdrojewski, Adolf Belka, Thomas Niemczyk, Francis Janowski, Michael Pliska, Michael Gurba, Thomas Winkler, Joseph Skupniewicz, Francis Trzinski, Joseph Levendoski, Adam Flatof, Matthew Kwilpiski and Adalbert Makurat.

The first church was built from local pine and hardwoods at the cost of $3000. It was most probably built exclusively with local labor. County records in 1883 indicate that the church was built on a three acre tract of land just west of the present rectory. It was purchased from or donated by the John Peszka (Peskie) family and Adalbert Makurat - part of which involved a trade of acreage with Thomas Winkler. A warranty deed dated ten years later on January 12, 1893 awards an additional three acres to the parish by Frank and Agnes Janowski in consideration of $1.00. This land was to be the eventual site of the present church and rectory. A final parcel of land was acquired in 1968 from a good neighbor and volunteer caretaker, Leo Slowinski for $1.00. It has been used as a parking area across the highway and adjacent to the church.

EARLY DEVELOPMENT

From its beginning in 1883 until 1891, the congregation at Mill Creek was attended as a mission from Junction City which had a resident pastor who visited St. Bartholomew’s once a month. The first of these was Father August Krogulski (who signed the charter document) and whose pastorate continued until 1887. He was followed by Father August Babinski until 1889 and Father T.O. Lugowski until 1891. In that year, Bishop Schwebach gave a resident pastor to Mill Creek in the person of Father Constantine Frydrychowisz. He built the first parsonage and acquired the land from the Janowski’s. He was succeeded in 1893 by Father Francis Jachimiak, during whose administration a sacristy was added to the church and two side altars to the interior furnishings throughout. He also furnished the parsonage

Being augmented and strengthened by the constant arrival of Polish families, the parish experienced its most dramatic growth during Father Jachimiak’s ministry. By 1900 there were one hundred and fifteen families, or an individual membership of about six hundred and fifty souls. A parochial school was considered at this time, but because the Polish population did not continue the rapid increase of the previous decade, the project never materialized. A Rosary Society was established in 1894, with Mary Hylewski, president; and a Sacred Heart Society for men was formed the following year.

PARISH MISSIONS

One other interesting dimension of St. Bartholomew Parish between 1890 and 1910 is that a number of missions were attended by the pastor of Mill Creek. The unlikely distances to some of them was apparently made possible by the proliferation of railroads at the time, i.e. six lines out of Stevens Point by 1903. St. Hedwig Parish at Posen Township, Clark County was attended until 1897 when Father Frydrychowicz became its resident pastor. The Wisconsin Central Railroad (purchased by the Soo Line in 1909) had five passenger trains moving west to Colby, Wisconsin and then north to Superior. It enabled the Mill Creek pastor to visit St. Boniface parish, Chetek, and the now abandoned parishes at Barron and Cameron, as well as Dallas in Dunn County.

PASTORS AT MILL CREEK

The subsequent chronology of the parish can be gleaned mainly from the parish baptismal, matrimonial and burial records which began in 1891. All previous registrations are at St. Michael’s church in Junction City. Primarily, they reveal the sequence of pastors after the productive years of Father Jachimiack (1893 - July, 1901), They are: the return of Father Frydrychowicz (1901 - 1903); Fr. T. Lugowski (1903 - 1909); Fr. August Forysiak (1909- 1916); Fr. M. Klosowski (1916); Fr. Stan Lapinski (1916 - 1921); Fr. Leo Jankowski 1921 - 1928); temporary administration by Frs. W. Pruc, F.A. Novak and S. Lapinski (1928); Fr. Ignatius Grad (1929 - 1931); Fr. P.J. Novitski (1931 - 1934); Fr. Victor Hoppa (1934 - 1938); Fr. Bernard Hoppa (1938 - 1947); Fr. Joseph Shulist (1947); Fr. F.S. Szymczak (1948 - 1962); Fr. Peter Rombalski (1962 - 1969); Fr. Stanley Chilicki (1969 - 1973); Fr. James Shafer (1973); Fr. Raymond Rucki (1973 - 1981); Fr. John Mauel 1981 -).

DIOCESAN AFFILIATION

Collateral histories of the area, recollections of parishioners and hearsay flesh out the bones of St. Bartholomew’s parish history. When the parish was founded, it was done so with the authority of the Bishop of La Crosse. Although the Stevens Point parishes were in Green Bay Diocese in 1883, Mill Creek was included in the territories of La Crosse Diocese, which encompassed all of Wisconsin west of the Wisconsin River. With the establishment of Superior Diocese in 1905, all of Portage County, including the Townships of Carson and Linwood became part of Green Bay Diocese. In December of 1945, the Diocese of Madison was established, and the diocesan boundaries in Wisconsin were again changed, this time assigning all of Portage County to LaCrosse Diocese, to which it is affiliated at this writing.

PARISH BUILDING

The evolution of parish building begins with the first church in 1883. Although only a wooden structure, a $3000 building erected at that time with local materials and donated labor, must have been an edifice in its rural setting for the original twenty-five families. There is the recollection of 1" x 12" basswood ceiling panels, which, much to the consternation of the parishioners were shredded to pieces when the building was dismantled in 1911.

The first rectory was a frame building constructed in 1891 for use by the first resident pastor Father Frydrychowicz. In 1910, the original church was already considered too small for the fast growing congregation. During the pastorate of Father Forysiak, a fine new modified gothic church was built of stone and brick at the cost of $9000. The architect and major contractor was Frank Spalenka of Stevens Point, with most of the labor being done by parishioners under the supervision of Joseph Demski, a contractor from the parish. The bells from the original church were transferred to the new steeple. The larger of the two survived a fire in 1931 and is used to this day. The new church was dedicated on November 21, 1910 by Bishop J. J. Fox of Green Bay with many area clergy present.

Several years later, lumber which could be salvaged from the old church was used in constructing a hall across the road from the original site. It has been used for a variety of parish activities and recreations and served as a temporary chapel during the 1931 rebuilding of the church. In recent times, it has been used for storage and will be removed during the centennial year to be replaced by a metal storage building and picnic shelter near the location of the original church.

The next major improvement was the building of the present rectory during the pastorate of Father Grad in 1929. Its coming into being constitutes a story in itself. In 1928, the old rectory was much in need of repair and renovation. The recommendation of a parish board simply to renew the ailing structure was interpreted by Father Pruc, the temporary administrator of the time, as a mandate to tear the building down - which he summarily and privately arranged to have done. With no priest’s residence, the next two successors lived in Stevens Point until a new rectory could be build on the ruins of the old. The main carpenter was James Fogarty from the vicinity, with Peter Peskie the initial supervisor and Ramczak Construction overseeing the final stages of building. The plans were also unique, in that they had been drawn for another parish, but could not be used since the intended foundation was not the proper size. Furthermore, the blueprints were so exact that no brick had to be cut to match the door and window frames.

The most singly dramatic event in the parish history took place a year after the hectic rectory episode. It was a devastating church fire on March 30, 193 1 as the women were preparing to clean the building for Easter. John Krupka, the janitor had started the furnace to warm the church and fire was discovered a short time later in the attic or roof. Nearby parishioners were able to remove the Blessed Sacrament and save the pews and other furnishings. They were removed to nearby Peskie Hall (now Vince’s Bar), but the church was essentially destroyed except for the brickwork in the walls and steeple tower. With the encouragement of a newly appointed pastor, Father Novitski, with $20,000 in insurance money and, again, much local labor supervised by Lukaszevig and Sons, contractors, the church was rebuilt by year’s end. It was rededicated by Bishop Paul Peter Rhode of Green Bay on Sunday, December 13, 1931.

Altars, a Communion rail and Stations of the Cross were acquired from St. Adalbert’s Parish, Milwaukee, as was the unique, but well preserved tracker pipe organ which was originally and appropriately built when St. Bartholomew’s was founded. The most recent renovation of the church and liturgical adaptation was in 1979 under the leadership of Father Raymond Rucki. Also during this time the original hardwood pews were refinished, carpeting was added to the entire church floor, and an additional electronic organ was placed near the sanctuary for greater parish participation in the sung liturgy.

At the start, there were few improvements in the church basement; mainly a concrete floor and a small kitchen area with wood-burning stoves to prepare occasional, but well attended parish picnics and games held to the south and west of the church. With the coming of Father Szymczak and especially with Father Rombalski in the 1960’s, the basement received major renovation, primarily with donated parish labor to install restrooms, new kitchen cabinets and stoves as well as dividers for C.C.D. classes. The sanitary sewer system received major improvement in 1980.

PARISH SOCIETIES

Almost from the start, Pious Societies have been at the center of parish life and activity at St. Bartholomew’s. The first and most continuous of these has been the Women’s Rosary Society established in 1894. It is still functioning and consists of fifteen "roses" dedicated principally to Marian devotion and the Rosary. It is affiliated with the local women’s deanery, the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, and is active in parish liturgical, social and benevolent activities. From the 1930’s until the 1960’s the Young Ladies Sodality was very viable and socially active. In recent years it has been incorporated into the Rosary Society.

The first men’s organization was the Sacred Heart Society established in 1895. The Holy Name Society began in 1930 and in 1932 absorbed the earlier men’s group. Presently, it is active in promoting reverence for the Name of Jesus and in effecting a variety of physical improvements to the buildings and grounds.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Over the years, a Christian congregation remains as strong as its education program is effective. Although its rural character and size never really warranted a parochial school, there has always been a deep concern about communicating Catholic Doctrine and moral values to the young people at Mill Creek. Being a strong family oriented and close-knit parish, Catholic belief and practice were first shared through communication and piety at home. With the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine movement being developed in the United States and in the diocese in the early 1920’s, CCD resources were immediately utilized at St. Bartholomew’s, originally in the use and application of the Baltimore Catechism. Through the years, CCD classes have provided the young people at Mill Creek with a systematic exposure to the teaching of the Church through the volunteer efforts of qualified lay teachers from the parish. Classes meet on a weekly basis and the teachers are involved in a diocesan program of certification and updating. Presently, there is virtually 100% participation from pre-school through grade 12, with about one hundred and fifty students under the direction of the pastor, twelve teachers, six assistants, with Mrs. Ben (Patricia) Lehman as coordinator of education.

RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS

Despite the absence of a parochial school at Mill Creek, the parish is not without vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Four girls entered the convent and remained professed sisters. They are Martha Zakowski (deceased), Sister Vitolda Scornia, Sister Mary Bernard Kampschoer, and Sister Mary Jeanine Raykowski. Three native sons are ordained priests: Father Alexander Bombera, TOSF, professed in 1945, Father James Logan (Lodzinski) ordained for LaCrosse Diocese in 1959, and Father Richard Fliss (Flisakowski), who, although he was not a resident from the parish at the time of his ordination to LaCrosse Diocese in 1966, was born in Carson Township and spent his first years in the area.

CEMETERY

An important measure of the Faith of any Catholic Congregation is its regard for the memory of its beloved dead. The southern half of the original parish property was immediately designated for cemetery. One hundred years ago, most rural cemetery plats were casual arrangements, with graves dug at random by sympathetic neighbors and with crude wooden crosses begin used to mark graves sites. The original one-third of St. Bartholomew’s Cemetery bears witness to this early limitation. However, written records of the burials are relatively intact from the beginning. With the coming of Father Bernard Hoppa, an area east of the original cemetery was plotted, and during the tenure of Father Szymczak a third area was developed and filled with soil laboriously hauled in by parishioners. Much landscaping was also done to the cemetery and parish grounds generally by Father Szymczak himself. More recently, under the guidance of parishioner Peter Jazdzewski, new order and direction have been brought to the cemetery management and it is a well maintained part of the parish complex, consisting of three acres, or half of the parish property.

Adalbert Makurat, a charter member of the parish, is the first known burial in early 1884. Since then, over three hundred and fifty parishioners have been put to rest in its consecrated ground. Of these, at least thirty are honored military veterans who served their country in five wars since the parish began. Most impressive is the almost daily visitation to St. Bartholowmew’s Cemetery as an expression of devotion and pious remembrance of departed loved ones.

LAY LEADERSHIP

Lay leaders have assisted in parish affairs over the years, especially in the first decade when there was no resident pastor. They functioned mainly as financial trustees and advisors in building and maintenance. Officers and society personnel have always directed parish socials and fund raising functions. With the convening of Vatican Council II in the 1960’s, greater lay involvement was mandated for all areas of parish life. As a result, a Parish Council has been established in recent years with its own constitution and official committees in finance, maintenance, education, social concerns, youth and liturgy. The Council is composed of the pastor and nine lay members. Of these, six are elected by the parish membership and three represent the educational program and the parish societies. Ralph Hurrish is currently Council President.

Also, since Vatican II there has been the addition of lectors and lay distributors of the Eucharist, augmenting the one hundred year ministry of altar boys and ushers. A host of others have also been of service to their parish in teaching, altar care, housekeeping, clerical work and in maintaining the buildings and grounds. The vast majority of this has been a voluntary service.

PARISH MUSIC AND CHOIRS

A vital, but much taken-for-granted aspect of parish life and worship is that of the choirs and musicians. Music is an integral part of Polish culture and quite naturally carries over into their expressions of Faith. Song and dance are as natural as breathing at Mill Creek, and prayer without music would be no prayer at all. Early choirs were mixed, adult groups, singing in both Polish and Latin. With the introduction of the English vernacular in the 1 960’s, they have adapted well to the requirements of greater congregational participation and to the sometimes less than adequate new musical compositions. At times they will indulge their nostalgia for the old Gregorian Chant, or, on special occasions, favorite Polish hymns, accompanied by violins, drums and concertinas.

The tracker pipe organ acquired from St. Adalbert Parish in 1931 is a proud acquisition for a small rural parish. There has always been someone with courage and skill to play the various organs -frequently the pastors’ housekeeper at High Masses in pre-Vatican Council days. As can best be remembered, the following are some of the organist directors over the years: Anna and Clara Phillip after the present church was originally built, Elizabeth Shuda in the 1920’s; Stella Raflik during the 1930’s and 1940’s; Marge Simkowski in the late 1960’s; and Anne Klesmith continuously since about 1950 with occasion assistance from high school girls. In recent years since the guitar has become a popular instrument to accompany sacred song, various youth groups have provided music for worship at Mill Creek.

PARISH POPULATION

The original congregation consisted of twenty-five families and about one hundred souls. With the immigration and settlement of more Polish people, the fledgling parish grew to about one hundred and fifteen families in 1900 with a total membership of six hundred and fifty. The parish membership has stabilized since then, with some evidence of new growth in the past decade. Although the average size of the families has diminished since the hearty pioneer days, the present parish membership is about seven hundred from one hundred and fifty five households. A genetic rarity in the parish is the high incidence of multiple births over the years. In the centennial year alone, there are seventeen known pairs of twins and one set of triplets.

The original families were involved almost exclusively in farming. Currently with fewer and larger family farms and greater mechanization in agriculture, less than one-third of the parishioners are farmers. Most members are employed in the area paper mills, woodworking and furniture factories, and financial and commercial enterprises in the county. The ethnic character of the congregation is still closely allied with its Polish heritage, but it is truly identified with the realities of our time and country.

EPILOGUE

As nostalgic and curious as we might be about the one hundred year chronology of a Catholic Parish, even in a relatively small congregation, few things are more awesome than the shared Faith of hundreds of men, women and children for four consecutive generations. Despite many internal conflicts, human foibles and challenges to the good faith of its people, a fundamental Catholic conviction is still an undiminished force at St. Bartholomew’s. It is a conviction which characteristically shares, suffers with, heals and which continues to give special meaning to life and death as no other human institution nor ideology can. In an age of materialism, human fragmentation and cynicism, the enduring values of belief in God, family unity, love of neighbor and parish pride still prevail at Mill Creek as vigorously as they did ten decades ago. In this year of our Lord, 1983, at St. Bartholomew Parish at Mill Creek, it is wonderful to behold!