The Compass

ALLOUEZ — Jamie Schuh of St. Nicholas Parish, Freedom, won national honors in the 2010 Catholic Daughters of the Americas' education contest. Schuh was awarded second place in essay and third place in art. She had previously placed first in both categories at the state level. The contest, which this year featured the themes "The Joys of God Surround Us" and "The Joys Life Brings Through Others," enables students and community members to compete in art, essay, poetry, computer art, photography and music.

"I've taken a couple classes in basic design and writing has always come naturally to me," said Schuh, a freshman at Concordia University in Mequon. "It's really nice to be a part of this. It gives you an opportunity to showcase your talents."

St. Bernadette built on cabbage farmland

APPLETON — You could call it the cabbage patch parish.

In September 1960, when Bishop Stanislaus Bona announced a new parish for Appleton's southeast side, the land for the church was farmland. Some of it was growing cabbages. There were no streets leading to it and no sewer, water or utilities at the site. None of that came for another three years.

So the new parish rented a Quonset hut a mile away and made their first church out of what had been a machine shop. Most of the remodeling was done by parish members and furnishings were provided by Sacred Heart Parish — St. Bernadette's mother parish — and Holy Rosary Parish in New Holstein. The first Mass was celebrated on Dec. 11, 1960.

Roots of St. Nicholas Parish actually trace back to 1851

FREEDOM — In 1860, Pope Pius IX opened the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States and a new parish was formed in the farming community of Freedom. A century and a half later, St. Nicholas Parish continues to serve the community's faithful. An anniversary Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. on Sept. 11 followed by dinner at the Colonial House Supper Club and Banquet Center in Freedom. Bishop Robert Morneau will preside at the Mass. Fr. William Rickert and Capuchin Fr. Daniel Kabat, native sons of the parish, will speak at the dinner.

The roots of St. Nicholas Parish actually trace back to 1851. The faith community was originally a mission of St. John Nepomucene Parish in Little Chute. Fr. Theodore Vanden Broek would regularly travel from Little Chute to Freedom to offer Mass.

Priest is happy with growth, vitality of St. Thomas More Parish

APPLETON — Although Fr. Gerald Falk, 80, has been a priest for 51 years and pastor at St. Thomas More Parish in Appleton for 40 of those years, he says that it has only been in the last 10 years that he really began to understand what being a priest means.

"When I came here (to St. Thomas More), I was 40 years old," he said. "I was young and didn't really grow in wisdom until I was 70. I say that honestly. I worked hard as a priest and tried to relate with people, but I really I don't think I got the feel and the sensitivity towards the people. I really didn't listen as much as I should to them. Since about (age) 70, that has changed."