Fall 2003

St. Patrick Preservation Update
Fall 2003

Over 40 people gathered for dinner at the Erin Town Hall on August 12, 2003, to greet and give thanks once again to Pat Nickols of California, whose uncle donated over $90,000 for the perpetual care of Old St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Pat was in town for the annual St. Patrick Cemetery Meeting. Prior to the dinner, Pat met with other committee members: John Collins, Frank Weber and Dave Schippers to discuss the financial status of the endowment. She expressed her continued gratitude for the efforts of the preservation group and how important the church and cemetery are to her family. She spent a great deal of time walking through the cemetery and discovered even more burial plots of her ancestors. We would like to thank all who provided food and participated in set-up and clean-up to make the evening a success. A special “thanks” to Paul and Vivian Quick, Joan Coffey, Joan Walsh and Nancy Henke for all the help in the kitchen.

Other special dinner guests included members of the Zignego family, who have written to Archbishop Timothy Dolan expressing their interest in St. Patrick’s Church for the Tridentine Mass. Presently, many family members travel to Milwaukee for Sunday Mass. The historic interior of St. Patrick’s Church would be a beautiful “fit” for this beautiful Latin Rite and, of course, miles closer. Archbishop Dolan has replied that he is considering this matter. We ask for your continued prayers for the preservation of this beautiful, historic church, and if you are supportive of this idea, you can E-mail Archbishop Dolan at archbishopdolan@archmil.org or write to him at: Cousin’s Catholic Center, P.O. Box 07912, Milwaukee, WI 53207-0912.

We also ask you to remember in your prayers longtime parishioners of St. Patrick’s Church Dan Rehlinger and Mae Martin and their families. Dan died suddenly of a blood clot and Mae passed away after a long battle with cancer. Dan’s funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick’s on July 21, and Mae’s was held on July 26, 2003.

Nancy Henke continues her work on the 150th Anniversary Book for St. Patrick’s Church, which will be completed in time for the celebration in 2005. Please contact Nancy at
262/673-5219 if you are interested in submitting a “family tree” or if you have pictures and/or information to share.

For continued updates on our progress, please visit our web site at www.savestpatrick.com or join us the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Erin Town Hall. The Rosary will be prayed (weather permitting) from May through October at 6:30 p.m. prior to the meeting on the steps of St. Patrick’s. If you would like to become a member of the St. Patrick Preservation Fund, Inc. (reasonably priced at $5/Single and $10/Family), please contact Nancy Henke. We thank you for your continued support to preserve an important part of the Town of Erin’s history.