History of St. John the Baptist Church by Michael W
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History of St. John the Baptist Church by Michael W. Navrocki. St. John teh Baptist Church, Larksville, PA 1899-1999. CAP at Orchard Lake. Polish immigration to and settlement in America In the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century’s, a multitude of immigrants came to America from Eastern and Southern Europe with the hopes of making a better life for themselves. They left behind family and friends and embarked on passenger steamships, facing the unknown. Ahead of them was an extremely difficult, uncomfortable three-week voyage on the Atlantic seas, which they had to endure to reach their destination. They arrived in the port of New York at Ellis Island, and later in the ports of Baltimore, Boston and Philadelphia as well. Many of these immigrants were Poles who came to the United States in large numbers between 1870 and the eve of the First World War in 1914. Poland, at this time, did not exist in a political sense, for it was partitioned between the Empires of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Prussia. Poles left their homeland to escape the political and religious oppression of the partitioning powers, or the abject poverty caused by overpopulation and scarcity of land that was especially apparent in the peasant territory of Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian partition. Although one of the earliest Polish settlements in the United States was established in Panna Maria, Texas in 1854, most Poles did not begin arriving in the United States until after the Civil War. Stretching from this period, the largest ethnic group to immigrate to Luzerne County, Pennsyl- vania was Poles. As farmers, they were not skilled laborers. They began settling in this region because the anthracite coal mines provided a source of employment they could easily obtain. In the Wyoming Valley, Poles from the Prussian partition arrived first and settled in Nanticoke around 1870. As more "Prussian" Poles continued to arrive, and Poles from the Austro- Hungarian and Russian partitions began to immigrate here as well through the 1880's, the development of Polish enclaves continued north from Nanticoke and sprang up in Plymouth, and eventually in the part of Plymouth Township that was to become the borough of Larksville on November 10, 1909. At the turn of the century, this area was referred to by names of many small sections that would eventually comprise the borough. Some of these sections were Buttonwood, Welsh Hill, Polk Hollow, Pierce Hill, Snyders Corners, East Plymouth, Broadway, White Wash, Boston Hill, Lowertown, Larksville Corners, and Gregtown. Like most of the Wyoming Valley, it had been settled first by English and Welsh immigrants. Irish immigrants followed, and after them Lithuanians, Poles, and Slovaks. Most of the Polish immigrants who settled in these sections of 1 Plymouth Township came from the Galicia region of the Austro-Hungarian partition, with others coming from the Russian partition of Poland, known as the Congress Kingdom. Founding of St John the Baptist Parish The group of Poles who began settling in this area was similar to many immigrants who came to the United States at this time. They had a strong desire to worship as one flock, with others who shared their language, cultural and spiritual beliefs, and traditions. Their ability to contin- ue to practice their Roman Catholic faith was of utmost importance to them. The first Polish settlers in these sections of Plymouth Township attended services at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. Plymouth. Founded in June 1885, St. Mary's Nativity was the closest Polish Roman Catholic parish in existence at that time. Around the late summer of 1898, a group of Polish immigrants splintered from St. Mary's in Plymouth and formed a committee to erect a Polish National Catholic Church on a piece of land on the corner of Nesbitt and Third Streets in Larksville (then the East Plymouth section of Plymouth Township.) It was to be one of three mission parishes, (Edwardsville and Nanticoke were the planned sites for the other two), of a mother parish in Plymouth, which is known today as the Church of the Good Shepherd. This group dug the foundation, and bought some two by fours with the $75 they had to start the construction. However, they did not raise any more money, and the project came to a complete halt. Meanwhile, a group of Polish Roman Catholics, also living in the area, had a dream to erect a church of their own in the locale. When the project for the Polish National Catholic church was abandoned, a group of the Polish Ro- man Catholic men seized the opportunity that had presented itself and decided to make their dream a reality. Although it cannot be verified, it is believed by parishioners and local residents that Jan Burnatt, Adam Orzech, Jakub Piatkiewicz, Leo Przybylowski, Charles Saraczewski, and Stanley Yarmakowicz were part of the original komitet (committee) that founded the church, and members of the Jakubowski, Karszinski, Polkladowski, Zawadzki, and Zielinski families may have been part of it as well. They acquired the land and spearheaded a move to erect a Polish Roman Catholic Church on the site's foundation. The desired location, in East Plymouth, would be closer to their homes than St. Mary's in Plymouth, and it would allow them to continue to wor¬ship God with their fellow Poles. They felt the site was more than ideal, situated on a hill in the midst of the coal mines in the area. The bell in the church tower would be heard from one end of the town to the other, calling the faithful to worship. These men formed a committee to go to Scranton to meet with His Excellency, Bishop William O'Hara. At the meeting, they hoped to receive his approval and assistance to build a Polish Roman Catholic Church on the site they acquired and ask His Excellency to assign a Polish speaking priest to minister to the congregation. As the men spoke to the Bishop, they convinced him of their earnestness and determination, and he granted them permission to complete a Polish Roman Catholic Church on the site. However, as insurance of their commitment, the Bishop proposed that if the men mortgaged their homes for a downpayment, he in turn would finance the balance needed. 2 After the meeting, the men decided that the burden this financial risk would place on their families was too great to bear. They agreed that there must be another way to accomplish their goal. Forming what could be compared to a mutual benefit society, the founders worked diligently to solicit the necessary funds. Through their perseverance, and the donations they received from the area's Polish miners, they raised the money needed to complete the church. While it was being built, the parish was informally orga¬nized and Mass was celebrated on the second floor of the Zawadzki Building on the corner of Marcy and Fourth Streets. The original church, a wooden structure, was finally completed around December of 1898. Katherine Piatkiewicz-Krescanko, whose father Jacob was one of the founders of the parish, remembered the original church and described it as the "size of a country school house . wooden, white, [with] plain glass windows." A surviving picture of the original interior shows that above the center of the main altar, prominently positioned, were statues of Jesus and St. John the Baptist, emphasizing the parish's dedication to its patron saint. They were flanked by statues of SS. Peter and Paul. Above them all was a crucifixion scene, similar to the one that exists above the main altar of the current edifice. The original church also con- tained side altars dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Joseph. Many framed religious paintings adorned the walls (there was one above each window), and a small chandelier hung from the center of the church ceiling. The Early Years (1899-1919) The dedication of St. John the Baptist Church in the East Plymouth section of Plymouth Town- ship occurred on February 3, 1899. Bishop O'Hara assigned Reverend R.A. Nowicki as the first pas¬tor, who served from December 1898 to August 1899. Reverend Thaddeus Lugowski served next from August 1899 to November 1899. From November 1899 to December 1901, Reverend Leopold Suchowski ministered at St. John's. Reverend Joseph Karpinski succeeded him from January 1902 until April 1902. From May 1902 until December 1902, Reverend E. Gratza was pastor. Reverend Joseph Kloss then served the flock of St. John's from January 1903 until August 1903. Of all the priests mentioned above, only Father Suchowski and Father Kloss are listed by the Diocese of Scranton as diocesan priests with record of their deaths on August 4, 1913 and July 12, 1929, respectively. The others may have continued their priestly careers in other diocese or, as was common at the time, may have returned to Poland after having served some time in the United States. In September 1903, the Bishop sent Reverend John Malarz to minister to the flock at St. John's, and he was the first priest to serve a lengthy pastorate there. His name is often the first of the former pastors recognized by the oldest members of today's parish. The pastorate of Father Malarz lasted for eight and a half years until March 1912. It is unknown if Father Malarz died at this time or if he was reassigned to another parish and died sometime later. Regardless, he was the first pastor of St. John's to be buried in the parish cemetery. As our Polish immigrant parishioners adopted America as their new country, with most eventu- ally becoming United States citizens, they nevertheless did not forget their homeland.