Assumption Chapel - Knowledge

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settlers of Stearns County. The entire harvest was a dead loss for those settlers who had taken their abodes in this region during the previous year: those, of course, who had settled during the year of the famine had no crops to lose, as they had not planted any. The first terrible winter was at hand the victuals that remained were soon consumed, prices rose enormously, because the nearest market was at

191: 472:, when he wrote about, "an old man dwelled with several of his children on a farm" near St. James Church in Jacob's Prairie. According to Fr. Bruno, "Spring of '57 came: the young brood of grasshoppers crept to the surface, but the old man ordered his sons to sow wheat and oats." His sons replied, "Father, this is in vain; the hoppers will not let anything grow. Let us save the seed." 1036:

dessert, and after travelling twenty miles, it did $ 60,000 worth of damage at St. John's Abbey. The storm even brought St. John's a present, some feed stacks from Cold Spring, identified by the farmers' names. In the winter, the farmers talked about rebuilding their chapel, but in summer with the pressure of farm work, they forgot about it..."

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makeshift "hopper dozers". These machines consisted of pieces of sheet metal smeared with tar, which would be dragged over infested fields. The grasshoppers would get stuck in the tar and be wiped off and burned at each end of the field. However, the grasshoppers devastated crops at a speed that no human invention could compete with.

1074:. The Chapel also features four stained-glass windows. Above the altar stands the very same wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin and the Christ Child that was carved by Joseph Ambroziz, carried in the wagon from Jacobs Prairie in 1877, and which survived the destruction of the original chapel by the tornado in 1894. 678:", continued to be widely venerated in Stearns County as a patron of good harvests and as the protector against lightning, hail, and plagues of vermin. Furthermore, his Feast Day on September 6 continued to be celebrated until well into the 1870s, both in and around Jacobs Prairie, as, "Grasshopper Day." 760:

The farmers who stayed to fight the plague resorted to desperate measures. Some used smudge pots to keep the grasshoppers in flight. Others set their doomed crops on fire in order to kill the fledgling grasshoppers. Many farmers resorted to catching them by hand or in buckets. People started building

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on September 23, 1858. According to Stephen Gross, "The reporter described the congregation at St. Joseph meeting at 6:00 A.M. and beginning an hour later to walk the eight miles to Jacobs Prairie. Two miles from their destination they were met by the parishioners from Jacobs Prairie, who accompanied

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in May 1856. The Rocky Mountain locusts darkened the sky and pounded upon the rooftop of the chapel so incredibly loud that they were mistaken for a thunder and hailstorm. Only after the mission did the real reason for the "storm" become apparent, and the clouds of "hoppers" swiftly devoured both the

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After taking the helm of St. Mary Help of Christians Church in 1958, Fr. Severin Schwieters convinced his parishioners that the chapel was a highly important local heritage monument which deserved to be restored. At his urging, the parishioners moved the ruins to a wooded hill near the original site

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The number of grasshoppers and the destruction they brought with them grew each year. By the spring of 1877, grasshopper eggs covered approximately two thirds of Minnesota. Each year, the Minnesota State Legislature appropriated more and more funds to assist its distressed citizens with the purchase

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According to Fr. Bruno, "And so it happened. It seemed as though the hoppers could not find this farm. The yield about one half of a usual harvest, while farmers in the vicinity has no crops whatever. Agreeable to his promise, he delivered to me two thirds of the entire yield for distribution. How I

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According to Father Bruno Riss, "This small, voracious yet invincible monster had in a short time devastated all that grows and blooms upon the face of the earth. Within about 2 or 3 days the fields presented the appearance of being newly plowed. Then an indescribable misery entered the homes of the

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The petition was considered to have been successful at the time and there has not been another Rocky Mountain locus plague in Minnesota since 1877. Moreover, the last documented sighting of live Rocky Mountain locusts in the wild took place in southern Canada in 1902. In 2014, the species of insects

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The parishioners of the two parishes agreed. They vowed to build a chapel "to honor the mother of God, to take refuge in her as their intercessor and be freed from the ravages of the grasshopper plague." Two farmers donated seven acres halfway between the two parishes of St. James and St. Nicholas.

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because the people had become too self-sufficient. They had their plots of land by now and some income, so they started to forget about God. Father Leo felt it was time for the people to repent of their waywardness and plead with God to remove the plague. So he urged the people to continue that Day

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The first year the grasshoppers came looking for food and found it in the plentiful wheat fields, where they laid eggs. The newly hatched grasshoppers were wingless for the first six to eight weeks of life, but their work was no less devastating. Until they could fly, they crawled along and feasted

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The old man replied, "No, boys, we will do our part and plant as usual. But let me tell you this: if God gives us a harvest, we shall give one third to God and the Church, the second third will be for the poor, while for ourselves we will reserve the balance. Now if the good God wishes to accept of

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travelling from the southeast, and was picked up and smashed into a nearby grove of trees. The destruction of the chapel was complete--except for the wooden statue of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child which had been carved by Joseph Ambroziz and carried in the wagon from Jacobs Prairie in 1877.

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Although the grasshoppers were believed to have been killed off by the 1856-1857 winter and seed wheat stood at $ 2 per bushel, it became apparent during the spring planting in 1857 that the locusts had simply laid their eggs in the furrows. When the warmth of the sun hatched the eggs, the results

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declared April 26, 1877, a statewide day of prayer. That night and the following day the weather shifted and the rain which fell soon turned to snow. The people thought this could be the event to impede the grasshoppers' destructive advances, but when the storm passed they were as plentiful as

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Large black clouds made up of thousands of grasshoppers moved from field to field, from county to county. One historian reported that "grasshoppers, sixty to eighty per square yard, could devour one ton of hay per day each forty acres they covered." The grasshoppers ate everything and anything:

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According to Fr. Robert J. Voigt, "The cyclone did not stop at the chapel. It destroyed other farm homes, barns, and granaries. It killed and injured cattle and horses, but missed the people, for they hid in their cellars. The tornado headed north. It gobbled up the church at Jacobs Prairie for

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According to Fr. Bruno Riss, "They found their way into the houses and destroyed whatever clothing they could reach. In the church not a shred of clothing could remain unexposed, everything was locked up in presses. Even the priest at the altar was not secure against their attacks: before

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described the early history of the region as follows, "Father Francis X. Pierz, a missionary to Indians in central Minnesota, published a series of articles in 1851 in German Catholic newspapers advocating Catholic settlement in central Minnesota. Large numbers of immigrants, mainly

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the procession back to the church. Mass was held outside at the base of a huge mission cross, decorated with flowers and holy pictures. The priest in his sermon expressed his joy at the unity and love, which prevailed in the parishes, and his wish that it would always remain so."

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In 1952, in honor of the centennial of the diocese of Saint Cloud, the Chapel was rebuilt. The current chapel stands sixteen by twenty-six feet, the approximate size of the original building. It was constructed of rough granite, much of which was donated by the

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on the tender new growth of crops. When their wings grew strong enough, they flew off for another field. This cycle would continue from 1873 to 1877, bringing widespread destruction to a part of the country primarily dependent on an agricultural economy.

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records her eyewitness accounts of the plight of these plagues. She relates how they could not even keep grasshoppers out of the milk pail while milking. She tells how some men headed to the eastern side of the state to find work on unaffected farms.

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By May 1857, conditions among the settlers had deteriorated to the point that the four Benedictine priests responsible for the region discussed the situation together and proposed to their parishioners the idea of vowing to make a biannual

223:, responded. Over 20 parishes where formed in what is now Stearns County, each centered on a church-oriented hamlet. As the farmers prospered, the small frame churches were replaced by more substantial buildings of brick or stone such as 1241:, rivalry between the two parishes would result in fist fights during the dinner, particularly when alcohol became involved. The St. Boniface Chapel pilgrimage and it's associated customs were only gradually abandoned in the late 1880s. 608:

witnessed the event and stared, as they had never seen this, and its meaning was strange to them. It must be said in praise of them that in such circumstances they were well-behaved and not once tried to disturb the atmosphere."

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For the first pilgrimage, on the next Feast Day of St. Ulrich of Augsburg on 4 July 1857, St. James's Roman Catholic Church in Jacobs Prairie was chosen as the objective. The pilgrims from St. Augusta and St. Cloud crossed the

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at each. Tales were told of miracles wrought by these prayers -- especially in the case of a sickly boy of the pioneer Nicholas Hansen family. Restored to health, he went on in adulthood to be a first missionary to the

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of seed and even the necessities of food and clothing. People began to lose their faith in man-made interventions. They turned to spiritual means to relieve the devastation caused by the plague. Minnesota governor

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According to Fr. Robert J. Voigt, "At night this chapel is illuminated with spotlights, strategically placed. They have their effect. The story is told of a man who left a Cold Spring tavern and was driving along

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from which we emigrated, we were good for nothing and wanted to cure us without harming our neighbors and therefore he led us to this place and the grasshoppers after us and now, I hope, we are all cured."

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According to Fr. Coleman J. Barry, there is traditionally a very intensive rivalry between parish choirs in Stearns County German culture. From the time of early settlement, every local parish choir used

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Fr. Bruno Riss later recalled, however, "In subsequent years, I am informed that the custom of observing these processions was abandoned, but a return of the ancient enemy revived the former fervor."

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The crosses erected outside pioneer churches in the area after the completion of similar processions and parish missions, or marking the future locations of parish churches, always bore the maxim, (

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This new chapel was dedicated on October 7, 1952. Today, in continuation of the Chapel's tradition, there is an annual August 15 Mass celebrated inside the Assumption Chapel upon Marienberg.

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and reconstructed, as much as possible, using the original wood and other materials. St. Augustine's Church in east St. Cloud donated a new altar and all other items necessary for saying the

884:) in the nearby villages of Cold Spring, Jacobs Prairie, St. Nicholas, and other communities. The pilgrims from Jacobs Prairie, who, like all other groups of pilgrims, were singing German 790:, with further responsibility for the mission of St. Nicholas eight miles away. In the midst of the plague, Father Winter encouraged the people to continue their prayers of supplication. 847:

Before the day of the chapel's completion and dedication, August 15, 1877, all houses in the nearby villages were decorated with flags, and with garlands of oak and evergreen branches.

1220:) ("If there were never any fun at funerals, nobody would ever go"), the Mass was always followed by an open air dinner reception accompanied by singing, dancing, and the playing of 813:, so that She would intercede with Her Son for relief from the grasshopper plague. Father Winter talked over the idea with fellow parishioners. They decided to build a chapel upon 2611: 2920: 1081:

had only just been formally defined in 1950, the dedication of the chapel was changed accordingly. For this reason, as well, a stone carving above the door is inscribed in

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reported about the chapel, "the place, which a month ago was a wilderness, and overgrown with wild brush, can today be called a paradise, a place of refuge for pilgrims."

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According to a document signed and notarized with six witnesses, by the time the second Mass was offered in the Chapel on September 8, 1877, no grasshoppers remained.

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is celebrated on Thursday evenings; a novena for the intention of a safe planting season and a good harvest. The surrounding parishes take turns offering the Mass.

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stone structure built in 1873. Stearns County retains in its German character and is still home to one of the largest rural Catholic populations in Anglo-America."

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were even more catastrophic for the local population than the events of the previous year, as the grasshoppers, "suffered nothing to grow, except peas."

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afflict us with grasshoppers?" Herr Berger then answered his own question, "in his own humorous way", and explained, "God saw that when we lived in

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the hoppers had to be swept off the altar. The priest had to vest hastily, place the altar clothes upon the altar and be very careful to keep the

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Meanwhile, Anton Bold, one of the two donors for the land on which the chapel sits, saved his life by clinging to a stump. He later recalled, (

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was introduced beginning in the 1880s. Parish choir-directors often doubled as local school-masters and were traditionally referred to as, (

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upon the chalice. During Mass the altar-boys were kept busy driving away the insolent insects with whips from the vestments of the priest."

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Upon the arrival of all the pilgrims at the chapel, Father Winter and the other priest cooperated in consecrating the altar and offered a

900:. According to Fr. Robert J. Voigt, while praying the rosary, it is traditional in Stearns County German culture to mention which of the 308:), meaning "Mary's Mountain". At the time of its original construction in 1877, much of the Midwest was suffering from a four year long 1285:

until well into the 1890s. When the pilgrims arrived there on St. Boniface Day 1893, they found that the chapel had been the victim of

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have revived annual pilgrimages on foot to the Assumption Chapel upon Marienberg and many once forgotten traditions attached to them.

1133:, "do hereby join with you in a reaffirmation of faith and thanksgiving" for, "the 'miracle' that took place one hundred years ago.'" 867:, and the local dialect known as "Stearns County German", were constructed in advance and lined the whole planned pilgrimage route. 2447: 1197: 501: 500:) in perpetuity if the locust plague were lifted. The Benedictines had recalled two Saints, early missionaries who spearheaded the 2759: 278: 965:

in 1902. In 2014, the species of insect which was once numerous enough to block out the sun and reduce farm families throughout

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The St. Boniface Chapel was built in obedience to a similar vow by the parishioners of St. Wendelin's Church in Luxemburg and

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Construction on the Chapel began July 16, 1877. Laura Ingalls Wilder alleges that the grasshoppers left suddenly that month.

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plague. At the same time, however, the construction of the chapel was based on a tradition stretching back much earlier.

1063:. The inside of the Chapel is simple and has no pews, only an altar. The chapel's inside walls are carved from polished 480:

was edified and touched by the faith of this man. Nor did he make display of his charity, - all was done on the quiet."

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According to the official history of St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church in Cold Spring, "To what soon became known as

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Michael Hanson, Sr. biographical file & Pierre T. Hanson oral history interviews, Stearns County History Museum,

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at "Waite's Crossing" and were met on the other side by the pilgrims from Richmond and other nearby communities. The

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Furthermore, according to Kathleen Neils Conzen, "Stearns County Germans early established daughter settlements at

2107: 1689:"The Grasshopper Shrine at Cold Spring, Minnesota: Religion and Market Capitalism among German-American Catholics" 1349:), which were always carefully chosen to fit the occasion, were also traditionally sung during pilgrimages and at 2764: 1728: 2368: