ST. LAWRENCE BEGINS SESQUICENTENNIAL

"This is 12:45 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 1948, a final hurried check before this box is to be locked and wrapped. The katydids are singing just outside the open door. It is cool but pleasant; a beautiful day is anticipated."

NEW HAMBURG -- Those words were found in a hand-written letter penned by Fr. Melies 50 years ago as a part of a time capsule sealed behind the altar of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg. The words, capsule and celebration surrounding the opening were all a journey back in time for the 200 visitors to the church Sunday.

The opening was the kick-off to a year-long celebration commemorating the church's 150th anniversary.

The time capsule was a metal lockbox wrapped with brown paper tied with red ribbon. On top of the package was an ornament that looked like a 3-inch bolt covered with a green ribbon and a red string.

"We have no idea what this bolt is for, what it means or what the significance of it is," said Frank Glueck, a member of the sesquicentennial committee who opened the time capsule.

Luckily, the rest of the capsule was easier to understand. Secured to the lockbox was the key. Inside were financial records, correspondence and a sermon from 1948.

The statements included an $87.11 bill for the complete wiring of the church. "Labor was $1 an hour," Glueck said.

A portion of the sermon, which was given by the Rev. Theon Schoen during a similar celebration in 1948, reads: "Little did they realize, at this time, that the seed of faith that they planted 100 years ago would be like the mustard seed and grow into a giant tree whose branches would spread afar."

Glueck said New Hamburg was the mother parish which produced St. Augustine in Kelso, Guardian Angel in Oran, St. Denis in Benton and St. Ambrose in Chaffee.

Glueck said St. Lawrence began between August 1847 and August 1848 as a small log church that is still in limited use today. In 1857 a larger stone church was started, completed in 1859 and burned down during the Civil War. The church was rebuilt and has been standing since 1871.

Because no one is certain when the original church was actually built, St. Lawrence parish will celebrate for an entire year with activities every month until Aug. 10, 1998.

Surrounding Sunday's kick-off event was a celebration that featured a parade, picnic, period costumes, craft exhibits, a kangaroo court and the burial of Diamond Jim Razor.

Mary Glastetter, one of the organizers for the kick-off event, said Diamond Jim Razor was a shaving tool that was buried to begin a beard-growing contest. "They had a little casket and a funeral procession. There was a grave dug in front of our parish center, and there's a wooden tombstone sitting there for him, too," Glastetter said.

All of the men in the parish signed up for the contest, which is to see who can grow the best beard by winter.

Also, Glastetter said, St. Lawrence's pastor, the Rev. Ralph J. Duffner, was locked in a mock jail by special sheriff Dale Kern and deputy Doug Kern. The reverend was locked up for being longwinded and fined 100 pennies. Mrs. Duffner was ready with bond in hand at the time of his arrest, which made the Kerns suspicious. They threw her in jail as an accomplice.

St. Lawrence's celebration continues next month, Glastetter said, with a reunion of anyone who attended St. Lawrence School or the Catholic Education Program.

At the end of the year-long celebration, a new time capsule will be made and sealed in place behind the altar.