Holy Family Parish, Summerfield, was established by Bishop Louis Fink, OSB, Bishop of the Diocese of Leavenworth, in 1892. Leo XIII was the Holy Father in Rome and Benjamin Harrison was President of the United States when our parish was founded. Because of the small size of the parish in 1892, it was attached as a "mission parish" to St. Bridget parish, 8 miles distant. Father John A. Hurley, pastor of St. Bridget parish, was given the added responsibilities of establishing a Catholic parish in the town of Summerfield. The first record of baptism at the parish lists Patrick Basil O'Neil, son of Cornelius & Catherine Ryan-O'Neil, baptized on April 3, 1892. The first record of marriage lists Thomas Minehan, son of John & Sabina Minehan marrying Marie Gately, a convert to the Catholic faith, on November 21, 1892. The first record of Confirmation lists Bishop Fink confirming 13 year old Nicholas J. Kriley on September 22, 1896. Holy Family Parish was one of the many Catholic parishes established in Marshall county. It is surrounded by Sacred Heart parish at Burchard, Nebraska on the north; St. Joseph parish at Barneston, Nebraska on the northwest; St. Malachy parish at Beattie on the south and St. Michael parish at Axtell on the south and East.

Holy Family Catholic - Original Church The first church was erected by Father Hurley in 1892. It was a frame structure, 72 feet long by 30 feet wide. It was built at a cost of $4,000.00. After 1921, this structure was used as a parish hall until it was destroyed by fire in May of 1962. Father Hurley's pastorate lasted three years and during this time he paid off the debt from building our first church.

As best as can be determined, the following are listed as the original families of Holy Family Church: (listed alphabetically) Andrew Baumann; Mrs. Burr; Thomas Coyne; Raymond Creevan; Joseph Dungan; James Flanagan; Pat Glynn; James Hughes; Fred Joseph; Frank Kirley; John Kirley; Pat Koch; Ed McCaffrey; James Mealy; Jacob Meybrunn; Patrick Minehan; Mrs. Bridget Nestor; John Smith; Michael Smith; John Steig, and John Thomas.

In 1895, Father Patrick O'Sullivan was appointed pastor of Holy Family, succeeding Fr. Hurley. Summerfield was still a mission parish of St. Bridget and Fr. O'Sullivan was pastor at St. Bridget. For twelve years, Fr. O'Sullivan faithfully served both parishes.

In 1907 the Summerfield parish was assigned its first resident pastor, Father Clarence A. Bradley. He was pastor here for 18 months and in that time built the priest's house. Father Michael Hoffman succeeded him and remained pastor until 1914, when Father Edward R. Embleau was assigned to be pastor. The parish was largest during Fr. Embleau's pastorate, reaching about 60 families. The original Church was no longer adequate for the Sunday liturgies and under Father Embleau's direction, an architect, H. W. Brickman of Emporia, began designing a new church.
When the ground for the cemetery was purchased is uncertain, but the first burial listed at Holy Family cemetery was in the year 1916. The cemetery is laid out in four sections, with two of the sections containing 40 lots and the other two sections containing 48 lots. The cemetery measures 250 feet wide by 500 feet long. Fred Poggeman donated a 10 foot wooden cross, with a life size image of the crucified Savior to stand in the center of the cemetery. This crucifix was mounted atop a two foot concrete base.

In 1921, the new church was completed. It was Gothic in design, 102 feet long and an extreme width of 50 feet. It is 101 feet from the top of the gilded cross to the sidewalk. It is 74 feet from the front door to the top of the stairs in the sanctuary. The Church cost $45,000, completely furnished. There are 10 large stained glass windows, costing $600 apiece, with the donor's names inscribed on the bottom panel of glass. The large stained glass windows portray various biblical scenes or saints.

On the north side of the church, starting at the choir loft and moving toward the altars, you will see depicted: the Good Shepherd; Jesus blessing the children; the Holy Family; the Agony in the garden; the Sacred Heart appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. The smaller stained glass window above the sacristy depicts Jesus and the two disciples at Emmanus. On the south side, starting at the choir loft and moving towards the altars, there are: The Nativity; the Assumption of Mary; St. Patrick; the Annunciation; the Visitation. The smaller stained glass window above the sacristy portrays: Melchizedek There are also 17 smaller stained glass windows, similarly donated and inscribed. All the stain-glass windows were designed by the Munich Art Glass Company of Chicago. The fourteen Stations are statue figures mounted on cherubic bases and each stand about three feet high, costing $75.00 each. They were made by the Deprato Statuary Company of Chicago. The main altar was donated by Fred Poggeman and cost $1,000.00. The Side Altars of the Blessed Virgin Mary, donated by H. A. Berens, and the Sacred Heart, donated by the Altar Society Ladies, each cost $500.00. These altars were custom designed by the Biagi Statuary Company of Chicago, Illinois. The life size statues of St. Anthony and St. Rita were also purchased for the church. The children in the religion classes purchased the Baptismal font, costing $56.00, with the money they had raised. $37,000 of the total cost of the Church had been raised and deposited by the time the dedication of the church occurred, leaving a parish debt of $8,000.00. The contractor was Montgomery J. Green of Manhattan. The Oak pews were made by the American Seating Company of Chicago. Carpet for the Church was furnished by Connor's furniture of Topeka and the heating system was installed by Manhattan Sheet Metal Company of Manhattan. The Electrical work was completed by Webster & Young, a local firm.

On Monday, April 11, 1921 at 10:00 a.m. the Church was blessed by Bishop John Ward, bishop of the Leavenworth diocese. Over 800 people attended the dedication services. The Bishop was assisted by 22 priests, including Father Embleau, pastor of Holy Family. Fr. Orr, vicar-general of the diocese (and originally from the Beattie parish), was the celebrant of the Solemn Pontifical Mass. Fr. Bradley, pastor at Frankfort (and formerly the first resident pastor here), was Deacon and Fr. Blaufuss, pastor at Baileyville, was sub-deacon. Fathers McNamara of Blaine and O'Farrell, of St. Bridget, were acting as Masters of Ceremonies. Assisting in the sanctuary were Fathers O'Sullivan (former pastor) of Delia and Fitzgerald of Lawrence, both acting as Deacons of Honor. Other priests present were: Fr. Rediker of Marysville; Fr. Turgeon of Burchard; Fr. Dowd of Steinauer; Fr. Selting of Waterville; Fr. Nelligan of Beattie; Fr. Pat McNamara of Delia; Fr. Michael Hoffman of Axtell; Fr. Edwin, O.S.B. of Seneca; Fr. Gregory, O.S.B. of St. Benedict; Fr. Damian, O.S.B. president of St. Benedict College in Atchison and Fr. Towney of Hope. The sermon was given by Father Damian, O.S.B.

After Mass, Bishop Ward talked to the people assembled, and then confirmed twelve parish children. Next, the parish joined in Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and then adjourned to the parish hall for a meal. Over 500 dinners were served that day. The Menu was: Salad with French dressing, Roast Turkey, Sliced Ham, Giblet Sauce, Cranberry Jelly, Rolls, Riced Potatoes, French Peas, Fruit Cocktail, Olives, Pickles, Cake, Ice Cream, and Coffee.

In 1923, Father Embleau was transferred and Father Arthur J. Phelan was assigned as the new pastor. One of his first concerns was repairing the new church roof as it was leaking and causing interior damage to the church. The name of Father Phelan was dear to the people of Summerfield. He was able to reduce the parish debt to $5,600.00.

After a four year stay he was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph P. Reich. He installed a new furnace in the parish house and the registers were changed from the walls to the center of the floors. A partition was erected in the kitchen and all the carpets, beds and some of the furniture were sold at a public sale. These were replaced by his successor, the Rev. James A. Ording, who was here only a short time.

The Rev. Charles J. Williams succeeded Father Ording in late 1930, and inherited not only the old debt of $5,600.00 but also several hundred dollars of floating debts. Several small repairs were made in the church and in the parish house, and two new furnaces were installed in the church in 1934. Through Fr. Williams' efforts, nineteen fallen away Catholics returned to the Church, some of whom had not in the church for more than a quarter of a century, and 11 converts were added to the parish by Father Williams.

Father Williams was succeeded by the Rev. Gerard F. Hart in 1938, who in turn was followed by Rev. Patrick J. Fitzgerald in 1941. Fr. Fitzgerald also inherited the debt of $5,600.00, which had burdened the parish during the years of the depression, but during his two year pastorate, Fr. Fitzgerald was able to reduce the debt to $900.00 by promoting "Calf Clubs" for the parish. Fr. Fitzgerald says, "Parishioners would promise to the parish a calf in the springtime. They would raise it along with their other calves and then in the fall, sell it and give the money to the parish. That was one of the ways I was able to reduce the parish debt. Also, another parishioner, I think Andy Nestor, donated a house to the parish and we sold it and used the money from the sale to lower the debt."

Father John J. Quinlan took charge on March 1, 1943 and soon cleared the parish of the remaining debt. Many things were done while Fr. Quinlan was here. The people of the parish spent many long hard hours painting the inside of the church. This was the first time it had been painted since it was constructed in 1921. A vestment cabinet was purchased and put in at a cost of $340.00. The parish house was painted on the outside and a garage was built just east of the parish house. In 1947, water was put into the parish house. Father Quinlan was a private pilot and many times flew in and out of Summerfield to the delight and amazement of the children and parishioners. His airport was an open field about 50 yards east of the present day hall.

In 1948, Father Paul W. Miller was given Summerfield as his first assignment as pastor. At the time of his appointment, St. Bridget became a mission parish attached to Summerfield and Fr. Miller was responsible for both parishes. He was pastor here until 1952 when he was reassigned shortly after his mother's death here at Summerfield. Mrs. Miller was housekeeper for Fr. Miller and while she was here, she developed cancer. Under Fr. Miller, the parish installed new propane gas furnaces in 1949 in the Church at a cost of approximately $1,800.00. Before this the Church used coal fired furnaces which were fired by Johnny Whelan. In 1949, needed repair work was done on the steeple. In 1950 the parish house was insulated and in 1952 gutters and a new furnace were added to the parish house. Father Miller remembers well the First Holy Communion Sunday in 1952. He was at his mother's bedside all that night as she lay dying. She died early Sunday morning, June 1st. Father had to compose himself from his loss and go over and try to celebrate First Holy Communion for the children, trying to make it as joyous as he could under the circumstances.

Father Frank M. Krul came to Summerfield in 1952. Fr. Krul enjoyed carpentry work so quite a few things were done while he was here. Concrete was poured in part of the basement of the church. Pads were put on the kneelers by Fr. Krul and Delmar Fiehtner. The outside of the parish hall was painted by the men of the parish.

Father Leonard L. Moran succeeded Fr. Krul in 1957. Father Moran was a "Blaine" man, reared at Blaine, Kansas, a short driving distance from Summerfield on Kansas 99. During his pastorate, more work was done to help keep the church looking attractive. The church was painted again at a cost of about $3,500.00. Window work and some minor repairs to the steeple were completed after the Church was struck by lightning in February of 1962. The hall, which was the original church, was also struck by lightning but it was not as fortunate as the steeple. In May of 1962, after being struck by lightning, the hall burned completely down.

Father Denis J. Pickert succeeded Fr. Moran in 1963. Fr. Denis grew up on a farm so he knew what small town life was like. He was no stranger to anyone in the community and became quite involved. He was "Coach" of the Boy's baseball team and the boys always thought this gave them an extra edge in their games. The boys appreciated the time that Father took with them to help them and come to know them. Father Pickert was transferred to the Axtell parish in 1967 and Father Robert A. Pflumm became pastor. Fr. Pflumm was our last resident pastor. His pastorate was only for a few months.

In 1967, St. Bridget parish, which had been a mission parish to Summerfield since 1949 was closed, and Holy Family parish became a mission parish to Axtell. The only good thing about it was that Father Pickert was again our pastor. Instead of sharing him with St. Bridget, we now shared him with Axtell. It was difficult at first to adjust to being a mission parish but with a lot of effort, things worked out.

In September of 1969, work was started on a new parish hall. The parish had been without one since our first hall burned in 1962. The work on the hall was completed and on July 12, 1970 Archbishop Ignatius J. Strecker, assisted by Fr. Pickert, dedicated the hall following a parish Mass at 2:00 p.m. An Open House followed the dedication. The new hall is located east of the Church, close to the location of the old hall. It is a bronze steel construction accented with white coach lights on the west side entrance. The building measures 35 feet wide by 82 feet long with a fully equipped kitchen. The total cost of the construction was $20,000.00. The hall has been a great asset to both the parish and the community. Beside parish functions, the hall is used by the children for religion classes, and by the community for events such as meetings, wedding receptions, family gatherings and many other functions.

Father James F. Wright came to Summerfield in 1970 when Summerfield became a mission parish to Beattie. Father Wright remained here until 1977. During this time, classroom dividers were installed in the hall to facilitate the different religion classes using the hall at the same time. The parish house was sold at this time and new carpeting was installed in the church.

Father Frank M. Horvat was assigned pastor in 1977 and once again Summerfield and Axtell were tied together under a common pastor. Fr. Frank's pastorate lasted only a year and he was succeeded by Fr. John M. Erickson in 1979. Also that year, we needed to replace the old organ, so a used organ was purchased. In 1980, extensive steeple work was required at a cost of $10,000. In 1981, Fr. John was transferred and Fr. Dennis L. Wait was appointed pastor.

Under Father Dennis' pastorate, in 1982, modifications to the hall were made. The ceiling was lowered, an entrance door was added to the west side of the hall for a total cost of $1,150.00. In 1984, we were fortunate to be able to participate in the Kansas Volunteer Program, a diocesan program that brings the talents and abilities of chosen lay volunteers to the rural areas of the diocese. The participating parishes were asked to provide room and board and a small stipend for living expenses. The Volunteers were donating their talents for either one year or two years. Our first volunteer was Mary Annan. She spent many hours working with the children and helping others in the parish. She would take communion to the sick and shut-ins. Mary Ryan, our second K.V., arrived in August, 1985 and was a Registered Nurse before becoming a Volunteer. Mary worked in the parish for two years. She was also a musician and shared her talents with the choir and taught several to play the guitar. That same year, much exterior work on the church was completed by Van's Waterproofing in Beatrice at a cost of $11,875.00. This included tuckpointing and roof repairs to stop interior water damage to the walls and ceiling. In 1986, to save energy, the ceiling of the church was insulated at a cost of $1,500. Ceiling fans were also installed at this time through the efforts of Chuck Smith.

In July, 1986 Father Wait was transferred and Father Thomas H. Dolezal became pastor. Father Tom had been pastor at Beattie and already had a familiarity with the area. In the summer of 1987, the Altar Society contracted to have the Church's oaks pews refinished by Raymond Vogelsberg of Home City. In 1988, we were again fortunate to have our third Kansas Volunteer, Miss Anne Hirsch. Anne lived in Axtell but was very helpful in the Summerfield parish. She helped develop lay leadership in the parish and region. The children also were very fond of her.

In 1989, after years of saving the profits from church socials and picnics, the parish had the necessary funds to paint the interior of the church. Van's Waterproofing of Beatrice bid and completed the job for $7,751.60.

In the choirloft, in the original interior design of the church, was an opening allowing the congregation to see a beautiful round stain glass window of St. Cecilia, mounted below the bell tower. Sometime after the church was built, in an effort to conserve heat, this opening was closed up. Thus, the beautiful stain-glass window was visible only from the outside of the building. The Meybrunn family, as a memorial to Ed & Clara, longtime parishioners, had this reopened. The opening is now enclosed with a glass front to prevent heat loss in the wintertime from escaping up this belltower opening. The Stations of the Cross, badly in need of repairs, were renovated through a funding project by parishioners. A plaque, listing donations to the project, was engraved by Conrad Enterprises of Kansas City. Sheri Johnson of Johnson Restoration and Graphics in Vermillion, did the restoration work on the fourteen Stations and the statues of: the Blessed Mother, Sacred Heart and St. Joseph. Over the past few years, some original altar pieces: candlesticks, crucifix, Sanctuary Light has been replated and repolished, bringing back their original luster. The manufactured altar pieces of today will rarely match the quality of the work done years ago. One day, a group of women cleaning Church, found the original architectural blueprints to the present church stuck away in a niche by the main altar. Three of these original drawings have been mounted at the entrance of the Church for posterity. Finally, in 1989, we were able to replace our furnaces in the church that had been held together in the last years by prayers and the dedicated labor of Clem and Don Stueve. Some parts were no longer available and had to be manufactured to keep the furnaces working. Clem and Don Stueve replaced the old furnaces with two energy efficient models.

In 1989, we were again blessed with another Kansas Volunteer for Holy Family parish, Kass Loughery. Kass was the first Volunteer to actually reside in the parish. She said her "Irishness" naturally attracted her to work in Summerfield. Kass was a very energetic young woman and very eager to learn about a farming community. You could find her out trying things that were common to us but new to her. The parish provided her room and board and she became very active in the community. She not only helped the Catholic people, but you would find her helping the other churches as well. She was a great asset to our parish.

In 1990, Father Tom completed the transfer of all the past and present parish Sacramental records onto the computer. Some of the early record books of the parishes are very brittle and very old. The early books date back 100 years. Many of the older records are quickly becoming unreadable, and soon may be lost. For example, the first 14 years of Sacramental records are gone from 1856 to 1870 for St. Bridget. Along with the sacramental records of St. Michael's in Axtell, and old St. Bridget, all the sacramental records pertaining to Holy Family parish have been safeguarded now on a computer database program. While this transfer of information from the old books to the computer was being accomplished, the parish was also updating the parish cemetery records. Marvin White, sexton of the parish cemetery, researched old newspaper accounts, parish records, former and present parishioners, looking to complete data needed for the records. These cemetery records, along with the other Sacramental records, are now permanently stored on the computer for safekeeping. These records are safe for posterity.

In August of 1991, a new church organ was purchased to replace the less than reliable old church organ. With a donation from the Altar Society, the parish was able to purchase a Baldwin Church organ for $6,100.00 from Bob Williamson in Dawson, Nebraska.

In the Spring of 1992, in preparing for our centennial, the front doors, long in need of repairs, were replaced and the trim work around the church door and windows were repainted. We are grateful to the Altar Society for funding this project. Another project of the Altar Society is sponsoring a child in Latin America.