This past October a Remembrance of Dedication of the Bells was celebrated. On Sunday, Dec. 8, there will be an Immaculate Conception and Big Finale during the 11 a.m. Mass with Archbishop Dennis Schnurr officiating. Harpist Linda Lehman will entertain at the private luncheon.
“There are several pastors and those associated with the church in the past coming to the Mass,” said 32-year church member Teresa Leopold. “Father Henry Beck grew up in the parish and is coming for the anniversary celebration with the others to assist the archbishop.”
A special Christmas mass was celebrated at Our Lady of the Rosary on Dec. 25, 1888, which was the first mass held at the church. It was the first Catholic Church established in Old North Dayton, located at 40 Notre Dame Ave. The idea of a new church was planted in the minds of Joseph Koerner and Patrick Feil in 1886 while journeying to and from Sunday Mass at Holy Trinity Church.
The men felt Holy Trinity was too small to house all the German Catholics living in North Dayton. The children attending the Catholic school had to cross several bridges and several railroad tracks to reach the school. Permission to build a new church was granted by Archbishop Elder in the Cincinnati diocese, and he laid the first cornerstone on June 24, 1888. The new church building cost a total of $18,000.
“There are several families involved with the church today who have ancestors who started the church way back then. I’m fairly new, but some families have been here forever and know everyone,” Leopold said.
In February of 1889 the first two rooms of the school were opened. In 1913 Father Frohmiller was grateful for the land chosen for the site, as it was the only section in North Dayton not affected by water damage from the flood. The church became a refuge for those in need. In 1918, a new church building costing $136,000 was completed.
In time, Polish, Lithuanian, and Hungarian groups had grown so large they wanted their own parishes. So St. Adalbert, Holy Cross Lithuanian, and St. Stephen Hungarian churches were built to accommodate them. OLR is still organized as four parishes today. The Rectory, built in 1889, is now the 4-parish office facility.
“An interesting fact about Our Lady of the Rosary is that we are a cluster church,” said Leopold.
Some more interesting facts about the church’s history have been published in several bulletins over the past year:
On May 26, 1926, Father Henry J. Taske was given a new Chrysler from the parishioners on his Silver Jubilee.
At 4 a.m. on Christmas Day in 1930, a fire was discovered on the south wall. Under Taske’s leadership, services were held in the sanctuary 13 days later, and the church was restored to its former beauty. He was the church pastor for 36 years.
There is an extensive history about the church located at http://olrdayton.com.
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