History of St. Joseph Parish in Kansas City. Diamond Jubilee of St
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History of St. Joseph Parish in Kansas City. Diamond Jubilee of St. Joseph's Parish, Kansas City, KA, p. 6-13. CAP at Orchard Lake. A chronological survey of St. Joseph's Parish reveals with a definite certainty that in 1880, Valentine Lewandowski and John Purul settled near the present Polish locality of Kansas City, Kansas. Following them came the families of John Paradowski, Anton Wypychowski, Martin Napiecek, Michael Lawkowski, August Gnaboch, Martin Paradowski, Joseph Jeżewski, Mic¬hael Markiewicz, and Stanislaus and Ladislaus Markiewicz. They worshipped in St. Mary's Church, the mother parish of all Catholic churches in the city. At that time the late Monsignor Anton Kuhls was pastor. In 1887 when the Polish families numbered 37, John Paradowski pioneered a petition for a church in the present vicinity of St. Joseph's church. In the fall of the same year a preliminary meeting to this effect was held in the home of Joseph Jeżewski, who resided at the northeast corner of Mill and Vermont streets. Here they discussed the plan by which a contract for the purchase of the neces-sary property on which to build a new church could be procured. A subscription brought an immediate response from the interested and zealous future parishioners in the amount of $870. On circulation of the petition, signatures of about 65 families were secured. The census at this time shows that 37 families were Polish, 15 Slovak, one Bohemian, with a sprinkling of Irish, Croation, Ruthenian, Krianer (Slovene), and Lithuanian families. The Most Rev. Louis Mary Fink, O.S.B., when presented this petition, appointed a newly ordained priest, the Rev. Peter P. Klos, as pastor. At once Father Klos set out to solicit contributions nec- essary for the erection of the church. Six lots, three facing Vermont, and from 8th street west toward Mill street were purchased for $3,000. John Paradowski bought the lot nearest to Mill Street, leaving the parish five lots. These lots constitute the present site of the parochial rectory and the new school house. During the erection of the church, services for the new parish, through the co-operation of Monsignor Kuhls, were held in the basement of St. Mary's church. The organization of the parish progressed, but matters were in a very uncertain state. The blending of the many diffe- rent nationalities into one parish implied doubts in the minds of many, hence, each nationality endeavored to put across its claims and ideas, causing discord in the new parish. 1 The Rev. Joseph Gujdusik, in January, 1888, replaced Father Klos. He began the construction of the new church, and in the spring the ground was broken for the laying of the foundation. A two story combination building was started on the present location of the eastern half of the school house. The exact date of the laying of the cornerstone is not recorded. The church was completed about Oct. 14, 1888. The upstairs consisted of the church and the first floor of the rear section was the residence of the pastor. It was dedicated by the Most Rev. Louis Mary Fink, O.S.B., on October 21,1888, and that date also marked the first services held in the parish. About May 1, 1890, the Rev. Francis Zwaczek replaced the Rev. Joseph Gajdusik. He died within six months, and in November, 1890, the late Rev. F. J. Kulisek was appointed pastor. He was able to secure the co-operation of his parishioners and restore harmony. In the years 1896-97 he built the parochial rectory at a cost of $4,000. Later this building was converted into the residence of the sisters, and still later dismantled to make way for the present school. He started the pa- rochial school with an initial enrollment of about 40 pupils. The classes were conducted in the English language on account of the mixture of nationalities attending. The first teachers were the Benedictine Sisters from Atchison, Kansas, from 1898- 1902. The first floor of the church housed the sisters in four rooms, and the front two served as classrooms. As the parish grew larger, the struggle for supremacy among the different nationalities were more intense. The climax came with the withdrawal and organization of new parishes. Now St. Joseph's was left mostly a Polish parish, but the mother parish of St. Benedict's, Sts. Cyril and Methodius', St. John the Baptist's, Holy Family, and St. Casimir's. During the 12 years that Father Kulisek retained his pastorate, he worked zealously for its better- ment. He secured additional equipment, obtaining the money from competitive fairs. The Polish parishioners donated the stations of the cross and the pulpit, and the Slovaks furnished the bell, which had to be housed in a separate tower, owing to the weakness of the church edifice. On March 20, 1901, the wooden structure was demolished by fire. The parish failing to have the church insured, a complete loss was suffered. This paved the way for new misunderstandings, with the sad result that the church remained in ashes for eight months. Bishop Fink, on August 6, 1902, ap¬pointed the Rev. Alexander Smietana to the pastorate of the parish. The parish was immediately reorganized as purely Polish, with a scattering of Lith- uanian families. On the old foundation he rebuilt the church of brick at a cost of about $7,000. It was completed in the winter of 1902, and dedicated on Christmas Eve by Bishop Fink at the Midnight Mass. With the aid of his parishioners, he bought in 1913 the remaining lots facing Vermont avenue and those adjoining on Mill street, comprising five lots, for $5,700. In order to better the parochial school and to carry on the spirit of the Polish parish, he obtained the services of the Franciscan Sisters from St. Louis, Mo., in 1906. Since that date they have served the parish continuously. Their residence was in the rear section of the first floor of the rebuilt church with the two classrooms in the front section of the same floor. 2 The present rectory, built originally as the home for the sisters in 1913, cost $4,600. It is a two-story brick building kept modern by alterations and improvements. The residence of the sisters was then transferred to this new building. The basement of the church was remodeled into classrooms to accommodate the increase in at-tendance of the school children. On April 20, 1915, death terminated the career of Father Śmietana as pastor. The parish was now served temporarily by several priests. The present pastor, the Rev. John C. Grudziński, was appointed by the Most Rev. John Ward, on September 15, 1915. The new pastor was gladly welcomed, his reputation having acquired its renown in St. Casimir's parish, Leavenworth, where he served for 16 years prior to his taking the pastor ship at St. Joseph's. With a sincere and quick zeal, he immediately set about to pay off the $12,300 debt on the parish, and within a year the incredible was accomplished. The parish grew so rapidly, that the old church was no longer adequate and the classrooms, even enlarged were overcrowded. Father Grudzinski interested his parishioners in the erection of a new church, and the remodeling of the old church into a more spacious school building. The lowest bid of $78,000 for construction of the new church seemed too high, so Father Grudzins- ki eliminated the middleman by supervising the construction himself, saving the parish in the neighborhood of $15,000. The parishioners are trades people or industrial workers in packing plants, and claim no mil- lionaires on the membership list. Not wishing to plunge his parish into too great a debt, Father Grudzinski decided to build the basement first and use it as the temporary place of worship, making the old church serve as a schoolhouse. The work on the basement was superintended by him, and represented an investment of $10,000. The year 1916 found the old church remod- eled into classrooms and the cornerstone laid for the new church. Old brick walls were torn up, and were replaced by concrete. The parish, sensing the spirit of development, co-operated with the pastor in every respect. In the meantime a voluntary collection was introduced, which took place, and still does, every first Sunday of the month. The pastor also interested the parishioners in picnics and fairs, as he did in his former parish. All this tended to hold the confidence of the people and to swell the parish funds for the new church. There have been two traditional ways to raise funds for the building of a new church, one to borrow money from the bank at a six per cent rate, and the other— contributions from willing givers. Father Grudzinski, however, presented a better plan to his parishioners. He would give one-half per cent interest for the church fund, and at the same time save one-half interest for the church in the rates demanded by the bank. It was a novel offer and he wondered at its re- sults. Immediately after services he was literally swamped with offers. For those who did not trust the banks and those who kept their money out of banks found it an attractive offer. By the end of the week, his parishioners contributed $22,500. Father Grudzinski decided that amount sufficient to begin construction on the new church. He held off other contributors until the time when additional funds were necessary. The first subscriptions represented the investments of 3 19 families.