Church was in the future for Cambria

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
With Leonard Cash 
 
Local historian Leonard Cash continues his discussion on Corpus Christi Catholic Church. 
According to the local newspaper from Feb. 18, 1898, the Rev. John Aherne was coming to visit and hold services
on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 10:30 in the morning. 
The July 18, 1902, issue announced that a church building was in the foreseeable future for Catholics in Cambria.
“A fine, large church, the largest and costliest structure of its kind in the county will be built at Cambria by the Catholics in the near future,” the article says. 
After attending services from different visiting priests for several years, Newcastle finally received its first resident priest in 1898: Julius Bigaouette. “A History of Corpus Christi and Its Missions” by Elizabeth Thorpe states that Bigaouette loved Latin, and “whenever he could Latinize a name, he did.” An example is when he performed the marriage of Peter Kinney and Ethel Catherine Bailey. 
“Peter was written Petrum and Catherine, Catherniam. He gave up on Ethel, Kinney, and Bailey,” the booklet says. 
Less than a year later, an article from June 24, 1898, reports that bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne, the Rev. Lenihan, visited Newcastle. The booklet states that Lenihan appointed the Rev. Thomas Hayes as the permanent pastor in the Newcastle area, and he remained in that position for four years. 
“His preaching greatly revived Catholic spirit among the large number of members present. A permanent Sunday School was organized at this time,” the booklet says. 
Lenihan, who served in Wyoming from 1893 to 1901, was quite the bishop. He first arrived in Cheyenne during Passion Week.
“He surprised the sisters at the Academy in Cheyenne, appearing at their door, cassock under his arm, asking if he might celebrate Mass. People were so happy to have a bishop again that the service was attended by Catholics and non-Catholics alike,” the booklet says. 
However, the high elevation had negative effects on his health, and he returned to Iowa in 1901 to be succeeded by James Keane, who remained bishop until 1912, ministering all across the state. 
“Full of energy, he (Keane) had the diocese and individual parishes incorporated according to law,” the booklet says. 
Getting back to Rev. Hayes, he traveled a lot and served a vast area, but unfortunately, according to Thorpe, the bylaws that required the provision of a residence and a horse for priests weren’t established until 1903, long after Hayes left Newcastle. 
On June 9, 1899, the newspaper reported that Hayes celebrated his first Mass in Newcastle on Sunday, arriving the day before, to officially take charge of both Newcastle and Cambria. It was during his ministry that the church building was completed. 
The booklet tells the fun story involving the marriage of Nellie Brennan and Joe Landrigan on April 15, 1899. However, Hayes was not in town at the time, so Father Joseph Cartier from Hot Springs, South Dakota, performed the ceremony. Brennan sewed her own dress, described as “a dream gown” similar to Mary Lerche’s dress, and when the couple renewed their vows 40 years later in 1939, she wore it again. 
“This dress is a permanent display at the Anna Miller Museum and to see it is
worth a trip up the hill,” the booklet says. 
According to a Jan. 24, 1902, report from the Newcastle News Journal, a stained-glass window was being assembled in the church, “very much making a very handsome window.” 
The same issue said some of the church’s members wanted to construct a
“handsome,” two-story home for the priest that summer, which was “badly needed.” 
By Feb. 7, 1902, the building was wired and had electric lights. Patrick Walsh was the new reverend, and “many changes have taken place” since he took over. The booklet said he didn’t stay very long, but many improvements were added in the short time he was here, such as a furnace, electric lights, carpet, pictures, vestments and fixtures. 
Walsh rented the Sanderson house near the schoolhouse, according to the April 4, 1902, issue. A few weeks later, he performed the marriage of B.P. Morgan to Marie Doyle, the paper reported on April 30. Morgan was a proprietor of Oil City Hotel (which was on Block 7, Cash said). 
In June of 1902, Patrick Lynch succeeded the ministry of Walsh and remained until 1910. The church was “incorporated” on July 1, 1903, and “the duration shall be perpetual, and its termination shall be at the termination of time.” 
On Oct. 22, 1903, the paper said the parochial house was almost completed, which, along with the other recently constructed buildings, improved the cosmetics of the street.
 “Two years ago, one would hardly have believed that today this section of our city would be built up with beautiful homes some of which cost away up in the thousands,” the article says. 
The official cost resided between $2,500 and $3,500, and a paper titled “History of the Parish of Newcastle, Wyo. 1888-1928” said the cost was $3,500 with a debt of $780. 
“But whatever the cost, it was a good house and lasted a long time,” the booklet says, and on Jan. 23, 1904, the paper reported that Lynch was expected to move in “next Wednesday.” 
Over a year later, the May 26, 1905, edition of the Newcastle Times said that Lynch gave the building a new coat of paint. Additionally, the former pastor Hayes was visiting town. 
According to the Nov. 17, 1905, Newcastle News Journal, Lynch left Newcastle “for his monthly trip” to visit churches he had recently been assigned to in Sheridan, Dietz, Basin, Buffalo, Cody, Meeteetse and “all stations of any importance between Newcastle and Billings and in the Basin country.” 
The booklet stated that Lynch performed many marriages during his pastorate, including arranged marriages because many European parents sent their daughters overseas to America for a husband. 
“These marriages lasted, perhaps because, under such circumstances, both parties worked to make them successful. Otherwise, it was a long way home!” the booklet says. 
By Jan. 21, 1909, the ministry of Father Lynch was coming to a close because he was starting a new chapter in Green River. 
After managing a large area, having only one church under his jurisdiction would come as a relief. The article added that although the salaries were similar, that was “the last consideration with Father Lynch.” 
He strongly advocated for growth and improvement, even when it was a “personal inconvenience” and cost him from his own pocket. During his eight-year career in Newcastle, Lynch helped build churches in Cambria, Gillette, and near Horton, as well as the Newcastle parsonage.
“Father Lynch has done more for this and adjacent vicinities than any people or any church can rightfully expect of any pastor,” the article says. “The News Journal heartily commends Rev. Lynch to the people of Green River and trusts that the kindness of reception there will be as great as the general regret occasioned by the departure from here.”