The Church of St. Albert at Four Corners

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
With Leonard Cash 
 
After finishing his series on the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Newcastle, historian Leonard Cash wanted to spend one week on the St. Albert’s church in Four Corners. 
“The Church of St. Albert at Four Corners, having had a stormy but interesting history, deserves special consideration,” wrote Elizabeth Thorpe in “A History of Corpus Christi And Its Missions.”  
According to the Rev. Joseph DeNicola, about 32 Catholic families resided on the prairie (as well as in the Boyd and Horton area) during his time. 
“He had obviously known these people well as he held services for them regularly,” the booklet says. 
On the Nov. 27, 1908, the News Letter Journal announced that a meeting at the Rockwell hall near Soldier Creek on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 10 a.m. was held to select a site for a new church building. A “full attendance” was hoped for. 
An article from Dec. 25 (another record says Dec. 18), 1908, reported that the Charles Miller homestead was chosen on Dec. 13 and that a decision would be made on the approximate size and cost for the building at the Jan. 3, 1909 meeting. Even after the lot for the new building was selected, the booklet says that not all members were on board because some of the families did not want their dead to be buried there.
A year later, Ora Mayberry came to town and gave an update, according to the Nov. 12, 1909. He said the two churches and three schoolhouses were being pushed to completion and would be ready soon. Cash said the other church was a Protestant church being built in Boyd, but it later burned down and was moved to Four Corners. 
On Dec. 3, 1909, the paper reported that Father Lynch was asking all Catholic members to meet at Charles Miller’s home on Dec. 12 because the “final step will be taken for the new church building.” 
The Rev. DeNicola visited the Catholics on the prairie at a meeting at Charles Miller’s house, according to the July 28, 1911, newspaper. There were to be services every third Sunday at the Pzinski hall (Cash called it the “on the prairie” dance hall). A committee of three people was also elected for the purpose of raising funds for the church. Sunday Mass was held at 2 p.m. every week at the Rockwell building, reported the Aug. 18, 1911, issue. 
Years later, the July 16, 1914, issue reported that following the celebration of Mass at the Rockwell school house, Father Tomiak became the president of the organization that was started to head up the building project, and S. Pzinski was the secretary, with Charles Miller serving as the treasurer. Martin Rockwell and John Taylor were the trustees. The building was to be next to the cemetery connected to the home of Albert Novak (son of Charles Miller, according to Cash), and the church was to be named St. Albert’s. 
“The members of the Catholic Church of the Prairie are fixing up a building donated by one of the members which will be used for a meeting place until next year when a new church building will be erected,” reported the Aug. 25, 1911, issue.  
The donated building, which would serve as a temporary meeting place until the church building was completed, was to be blessed after the third Sunday in September, following the Father DeNichols’ regular services. Cash is unsure of where this building was but said it was some sort of hall.
In another article from the same issue, it was reported that a social and a dance was scheduled for Sept. 2 at the Mike Koski hall near Horton to raise money  for the new church. 
According to the booklet, Bishop McGovern authorized Casimir Tomiak to build a church in Horton, but the booklet says McGovern must have made a mistake and meant Four Corners because a church was never built in Horton.
The April 1, 1915, paper said that Albert Novak donated 1.5 acres of land for the church site and cemetery. A committee was appointed for the overseeing of the construction: John Taylor, Martin Rockwell, Marin Dominske, and Michael Mahalski. 
“No finer location for this purpose can be found in the country,” the article says. “Work will begin as soon as the weather will permit of laying the foundation.”
The booklet says the deed was signed on Nov. 6, 1914, and if the land was no longer to be used for the church, it was to go back to the grantor. 
According to the May 13, 1915, issue, those interested in placing a bid for the contract of the building could see the plan and specifications at the News Letter Journal office.
The booklet says that the members of the prairie were mainly Europeans who came to work in the Cambria coal mines. They settled on homesteads, often walking 10 to 15 miles each week, working furiously for a few days and then having a few days off to rest. 
The church members came together to construct the church, dedicating their time, money and resources. The men helped with building and supplying lumber, and the women held social functions such as bake sales, lunches and dances to raise money. 
“When completed, St. Albert’s was a simple, beautiful church put together by old world craftsmen in a community of love. Understandably, the people who built it considered it theirs,” the booklet says. 
The worship style was traditional, with men sitting on one side and women on the other. In 1915, the long-awaited building was finally dedicated. 
Bishop McGovern encouraged the parishioners to incorporate the church as part of the diocese of Cheyenne, as according to Wyoming law, but the members of the small prairie church did not want that because they viewed it as personal property. The bishop understood how they felt but “could not legally ignore it.” After 10 years and threats of excommunication, he finally sent Father Schneiders to Newcastle in 1924, “which was like putting oil in a pot about to boil over.” 
“In his own way Father Schneiders succeeded in calming the tumult and restoring good feeling,” the booklet says. The church was incorporated on May 19, 1925. 
In 1944, McGovern wrote a letter to Father Foster, which states: “For your information, it may be mentioned that in the early years of the Four Corners church there was much turmoil and contention but Father Schneiders finally succeeded in restoring peace and there has been no trouble since his day.” 
In 1936, an organ was purchased (today it can be seen at the Anna Miller Museum). That same year, the church also bought a bell, and John Bandura was the bell ringer. In 1939, new varnish hob and a new rubber runner for aisle were installed, and a cross was added to the cemetery the following year. The funding of these items came from special collections and donations. 
In 1942, the interior was repaired, the roof re-shingled and the exterior repainted. 
However, eventually the building ceased being a church when members started attending Mass elsewhere.  
“When people began driving to nearby towns to Mass, the visits from the parish priest were discontinued,” the booklet says. “After that, the corporation was allowed to lapse by not filing the papers for two years.” 
In the 1960s, the church was sold and moved to the property of Ed and Margaret Miller (who were from the Novak family). This is confirmed by the Oct. 20, 1966, issue of the paper. It was a granary for a while and then a cabin for hunters. 
“The bell which once called Prairie folk to worship is now used to call summer camp people to dinner at Mallo Recreation Camp,” the booklet says. 
To this day the bell is still used at Mallo. And that concludes Cash’s series on the Catholic Church. Next week, he will begin a series on the Smith building, and the mysterious disappearance of Peter Smith’s daughter.