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Oct. 5, 1939
HARTINGTON — Miss Evelyn Hoesing started work Tuesday morning on a church history of Cedar county as a Works Progress Administration project. Already, with only the preliminary work data lined up, Miss Hoesing has uncovered a sizeable amount of records and facts.
There are two Catholic family chapels in this county, the research worker found. One is the Hoesing chapel (Goldcamp chapel) directly across the road west of the new District 13 schoolhouse north of Bow Valley. Built in the late 1800s, it has been abandoned for 15 years.
The second family chapel is southwest of St. Helena and is known as the Hoesing Chapel. Although the facts have not been verified, it is estimated that the latter building is nearly 100 years old.
Both chapels, it is said, were built in the horse and buggy days when other churches were a good distance away. At the Hoesing chapel, Rev. Anthony Birnbach of Bow Valley came every Wednesday morning for Mass and at other times heard confessions.
Aten can boast the oldest Methodist Church in Cedar county. Miss Hoesing states the history of the Protestant churches in Hartington becomes rather involved she indicates, when one considers the number that have come and gone in the past few years. For example, the present Congregational Church, built on the site of the Hartington Methodist Church, replaces the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches. The Lutherans, too, have cut the number of churches in town, while the comparatively new Trinity Church in the east part of town has been abandoned.
There are three buildings in Hartington now standing, that at one time or another that served as a church. The homes now occupied by R.W. Heckert, Hartington veterinarian, and Otto Wiley, clerk of the district court, were formerly churches. The building now used by the Tangeman Transfer company also served as a church at one time.
For material, Miss Hoesing plans to search newspaper files, church records and legal briefs. When the information is all gathered, sorted, classified and entered on forms it will be sent to Lincoln.
It is indefinite as to the amount of time which will be required for the work. Some time in the future the state WPA department will publish the church history of the county in book form. At no time has any such record been compiled here. Records are scattered and some are lost. In such cases, Miss Hoesing must rely on other sources.
The research worker received notice of her new appointment Saturday.
