Washington County Weekend Post e-edition
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/537183
7 - 5 - 1 5 • W a s h i n g t o n C o u n t y P o s t R e t a i l • 7 In Good Taste I n West Bend and Washington County, we are truly blessed with a great amount of historical resources. The Washington County Historical Society is quite exceptional in its atten- tion to historical records, documents, artifacts, and the means to explore all research avenues to visit the precise past places, or your past rela- tives and their lives. This could be because West Bend, incorporated in 1885, was early to be declared the coun- ty seat of Washington County (A fact that would be con- tentious between West Bend and Port Washington until the breakup of the greater county into the two counties of Washington and Ozaukee; but that is for a future In Good Taste). The history of West Bend and its population can be explained from many directions, but finds deep and firm roots in its faith and one extremely influential, tireless, and humble man. To cele- brate Washington County Historical Society's Open Admissions from June 24th to 28th where all of the Historical Society's properties were open for review, we'll look into the historical gem that we have. The Historical Society will have more dates and events that you'll want to attend, and we'll list them later in the article. The question that you have is "Who is this Humble Man?" Our story, although it will be fast and you'll want to get the deeper details, is about Father Caspar Rehrl. Fr Rehrl is the person responsible for the establishment of the Catholic Church in Washington County, and subsequently, Fond du Lac county. We'll save Caspar's journey from New Orleans to Milwaukee for other articles and pick up where he was assigned, by the bishop of the new dioceses of Milwaukee, Bishop Henni, to minister to the faithful between the regions of Lake Michigan and Lake Winnebago. Fr Rehrl traveled first to the town of Monches where he established St. John's Parish for the faithful of the area. That was the first Catholic Church in what would be Washington County and that was in 1842. Over the following six years, Fr Rehrl would add parishes to catholic citizens, eager to practice their faith, in places like Holy Hill, St. Lawrence, Hartford, Newburg and West Bend. Settling in West Bend, Fr Rehrl would make the next, and most dramatic change to Washington County history. When Fr Rehrl came to Barton, and the fledgling town of West Bend, he saw that the region was excep- tionally positioned as a cross- roads for the people of the greater area. He established his anchor parish in Barton and made it the center of his mission. St. Mary Immaculate Conception Parish was founded in 1857 and Fr Rehrl petitioned Rome for a commission of a sister- hood to administer to the population of pioneers in the remote Wisconsin wilderness. After several denials, Fr Rehrl was granted a patronage, under the honor of St. Agnes of Rome, and welcomed three women to his new society. These three pioneer women, under the guidance of Gertrude Rehberg, who became Sister Mary Agnes Clara, became the first Agnesian Sisters of the St. Agnes Convent in Barton. The Agnesian Sisters started St. Mary's School to teach the children of the pioneer region. Today, St. Mary's is the oldest continuously run- ning Catholic grade school in Wisconsin and the third old- est continuously running Catholic grade school in the United States. Fr Rehrl would continue his mission to empower the citizens of the region. His legacy is felt and heralded in every parish that he bolstered and helped flour- ish. Many parishes are proud to trace their roots to Caspar Rehrl. And St. Agnes Convent, moving to greater spaces in Fond du Lac County, in 1870, continues Fr Rehrl's mission and vision to educate and administer to the sick. After that extremely con- densed version of the history of the Catholic Church in Washington County, we'll jump into the current history and what the Washington County Historical Society is celebrating. I visited the Historical Society's Museums to revisit some of my favorite museums. The main muse- um, located at 320 S. 5th Avenue in West Bend, is the Old Courthouse Museum. On the same property is the Old Sheriff's Residence and Jail. These two properties are orig- inal municipal properties to West Bend and derive their prominence from their use in West Bend municipal history. You can see the availability to tour them and their extensive collections, as well as the his- torical archives, at their site HistoryIsFun.com. I could fill another couple articles with the great information you'll find at their web site, so you'll want to see what awaits you and what will inspire you there. The oldest, and quite possibly most secret, museum is the Fr Caspar Rehrl Rectory, Barn, and the St. Agnes Convent and School. This is where I went to see the newly renovated rectory of Fr Caspar Rehrl, a space in which I performed, as the blessed father himself, in a Historical Society opening eight years ago. Now the rec- tory is restored to the humble residence that Fr Rehrl called home. The barn was finishe d for the presentation eight years ago. And the convent is a rented residential space that is occupied by the grounds keeper, who is as dedicated to the memory of the past Agnesian sisters as the Historical Society is. The museum is located at 1386 Fond du Lac Street in West Bend at the top of the Barton Hill. Go to the Historical Society's web site for the hours of operation and to see photos of this unique site. The well-kept grounds are a quiet vista that opens up at the top of the city. The views are unmatched and the histo- ry goes back to the beginning of the europesn presence. This is a truly historical loca- tion for the state of Wisconsin, as well as Washington County. It's hard not to get enthusiastic about the importance of this place, especially since it's so close to us. Anyone reading In Good Taste Continued on page 8 History Is Fun, Because It's True Written By: John Sancomb Visiting with Cathy and Diana at the Fr Rehrl Rectory Museum BUYING: ALUMINUM CANS & ALUMINUM SCRAP COPPER • BRASS • IRON • STEEL BATTERIES • STAINLESS STEEL • ETC. 244600001 935 Schoenhaar Dr. West Bend 7651 Otten Dr. Kewaskum Hours: M-F 7am-4:45pm • Sat 7am-11:45am ALUMINUM CANS- 40¢/lb 262-334-9542 www.americanmprwi.com 262-338-4589 www.wittesvegmarket.com STAND NOW OPEN OPEN JULY 4TH 8-12 Witte's Vegetable Market, LLC BUY FRESH…BUY LOCAL 2313 Hwy NN, West Bend 244563001 Check out website to see what is available