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HALL COUNTY HISTORY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 3
St Michael’s Gainesville Parish In Ga. Vacationland
BY REV. R. DONALDKIERNAN
Hall County (Gainesville) Is
named after a “Connecticut
Yankee” who came to Georgia
at an early age, served one term
as Governor, and was one of the
signers of the Declaration of
Independence, Lyman Hall.
There is little or no evidence
of Catholicism in this area be
fore 1910. While it is true
that Catholics came with the
railroad, these settlements
were all located south of this
region. Gainesville was truly
Indian territory with the famous
Princess Nacooche reigning
Just a little north of here. All
of north Georgia at that time
was a mission of the Athens
parish. Father Harry Clark had
been assigned as pastor of the
area In 1910, and for two years
after his appointment as pastor
he traveled the northern part
of the country begging for funds
to erect a mission center in
Athens.
A FAMOUS CIVIL War Gene
ral, Longstreet, who retired to
become postmaster in Gaines
ville, married a young Brenan
College graduate and evidence
has it that the first Mass offer
ed in this Mountain town was
in the widow Longstreet’s home
located on Green Street.
The first Mass here was a
nuptial Mass performed by Fat
her Harry Clark. On July 4,
1910 Faraba H. Snow and Igna
tius L. Courtenay were united
in marriage. Sister Mary Mel
anie R.S.M., the present admin
istrator of Atlanta’s Saint
Joseph’s Hospital, is the daugh
ter of Mrs. Courtenay and the
late I, L. Courtenay.
MASS WAS THEN said in the
Longstreet home for about two
years when the little congregat
ion of about 5 people began to
worship in the Cinceolo home
which is now the President’s
jiome of Brenau College.
. Records indicate that in
April, 1920, Mrs, Cinceolo, who
owned a parcel of property on
Spring Street, donated this to
^Father Clark. Immediately the
JLittle congregation began to save
’•'their pennies” for the day they
would be able to build a place
to worship of their own.
| IN THE MEANTIME Father
Clark was transferred to At
lanta's Saint Anthony’s Church
'in West End, Father Clark was
followed by Father James E.
King (now Monsignor King of
jSaint Anthony’s), Father John
^Kennedy, Father Harold Barr,
iall of whom were pastors at
•the Athen’s parish.
t In 1932 Father James King
(engaged the services of the fam
ed priest- Architect of Belmont
J m
Vfi a
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American and Papal Flags donated to St. Michael’s Parish by Mr. Joseph Hokayem are blessed by
the Pastor, Father Kiernan. Mr. Hokayem had just become an American citizen.
Abbey, Father Michael Mc-
Inerny, O.S.B., to design a
church for the Gainesville
parish. On April 30, 1933 the
the Most Rev. Michael J, Keyes,
S. M., D. D., the Bishop of
Savannah, dedicated the new
church. (The coat-of-arms of
Bishop Keyes’ is still seem over
the front door of the church).
An Altar Society was formed and
the parishioners, led by Mrs.
Teresa LeRoy (Cinciolo), be
gan to work on the grounds
planting grass, trees, and bush
es.
TRAGEDY STRUCK this
North-east Georgia community
on the morning of April 26,
1936 when a tornado hit Gaines
ville. virtually all the town was
destroyed, hundreds killed, and
the property damage ran up to
the millions. It occastioned two
visits to the city by the then
President of the United States,
the late Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Nothing short of a miracle
happened when the tornado
travelling in the direction of the
church changed its course and
went around the church, there
by sparing the three year old
edifice. (One witness in a bus
which was halted in front of the
church thought for certain that
they would all be lost, only to
watch the tornado make a semi
circle course around the church
property, resuming its previous
direction just south of the
church),
IN 1939 THE mission of
Gainesville was entrusted to the
priests stationed at the Cath
edral of Christ the King in
Atlanta. Father Francis Des
SUNDAY SCHOOL lessons are “checked” by the Missionary Sis
ters of the Sacred Heart who travel every Sunday to Gainesville
from Athens.
Lauries, a Victorian Father
on loan to the Diocese, is pro
bably the best remembered of
all the “mission pastors.” It
was Father Des Lauries,
C.S.V. who initiated the now
famous Benefit Bridge Party
which the parish was held for
24 consecutive years. Now a
social event of the fall season
in this city, the Benefit Bridge
draws hundreds of people of all
faiths together and to some it
is looked upon as the first event
of the fall social season.
Father Maurice Daley, C.S.V.
another Victorian Father fol
lowed Father Des Lauriera. In
turn the parish was cared for
by the pastor of the Cathedral
parish, Monsignor Joseph E.
Moylan; the DiocesanOfficialis,
Monsignor Edward J. Dodwell;
the Superintendent of Schools;
Monsignor Cornelius L. Mal
oney.
OTHER PRIESTS of the
Cathedral staff who travelled
the 50 miles to Gainesville in
cluded the late Father John A.
Morris, Father John Dowling,
and any army chaplain, Father
David F. Murphy, C.S.S.R.
The first child to be baptiz
ed in the new church was John
Austin Edmondson (May 7,
1939), and the first priest to
offer his first Mass in the
church was the Rev, Joseph Bel
tran. Through not natives of
Gainesville, Fathers Joseph;
Beltran, Eusebius Beltran and
William Hoffman have all hono
red the little parish by offer
ing their first Solemn High
Mass at Saint Michael’s. Nat-
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ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING of the Northeast Deanery of the
Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women took place in Gaines
ville at Saint Michael’s Rectory last spring.
SCOUT OFFICIALS of Saint Michael's Parish proudly display the
Boy Scout and Cub Scout Charters at Charter Night ceremonies.
ive vocations from the parish
have all been to the Religious
Life, with the Profession of
Lucille Lawlor in the Carmelite
Sisters; Genevieve Lawlor in
the Presentation Sisters; and
Lucille Courtenay in the Sis
ters of Mercy.
THE ORIGINAL Settlement
was Indian. A Cherokee Indian
by the name of George Conpone
establishing the first settlement
of residents. The City of
Gainesville was named after
General Gaines of Indian War
fame. The city enjoyed a normal
and healthy growth through the
years. If any factors might be
credited to the establishment of
the city as one of the thriv
ing communities of Georgia,
they would be the construction
of Lake Lanier and the estab
lishment of the city as the
“Broiler Center of the World,”
So it is said: “As chickens
grew, so grew Gainesville.”
A growing number of Catho
lic students at Riverside Mili
tary Academy and Brenau Col
lege, both located in Gaines
ville, necessitated the estab
lishment of Saint Michael’s as
a parish with a resident priest.
Accordingly in 1945, the Most
Rev. Gerald P. O’Hara, J.U.D.,
then Bishop of Savannah - At
lanta named the Rev. Michael
Manning as first pastor of
Gainesville’s Saint Michael’s
Church.
A NATIVE OF IRELAND,
Father Manning had studied for
the Georgia diocese and had
served at parishes in Savannah
and Thomasville before coming
to Gainesville. Father Mann
ing’s first Baptism in the
parish was the sister of the first
boy ever baptized in the new
church, Mary Ellen Edmondson.
Two years later Father
Manning again engaged the ser
vices of the priest-architect
of Belmont Abbey to design a
rectory. The building tied in
with the church and with addit
ional property acquired from
Mr. O. B. Leverett, the church
property became what many
people in Gainesville call:'The
smallest, but prettiest church in
our town.”
THE NEW PARISH of Father
Manning included seven coun
ties; an area almost as large
as the State of Rhode Island.
Father Manning travelled
ihountaln roads, every Sunday
to Toccoa and Clayton to offer
Mass,
In 1954 Father Manning pur
chased property for a church
in Toccoa. With funds contribut
ed through the Mother’s Day
Mass cards a church, Mother
of Our Divine Savior, was con
structed and blessed in a cere
mony with the Most Rev.
Francis E. Hyland, D.D.,J.C.D.
officiating. The parish subse
quently was taken over by the
Verona Fathers when a resident
pastor was named.
DURING FATHER Manning’s
pastorate the parish grew con
siderably. At one time the
parish grew from 5 families to
125 families (now 83). The fan
tastic growth of the poultry in
dustry during this time brought
many families to the area and
among these were many Cathol
ics. A Sunday School was estab
lished and the Missionary Sis
ters of the Sacred Heart from
Athens soon began to come
every Sunday to teach the chil
dren of the now growing parish.
The men of the parish were
organized and a Holy Name Soc
iety was officially chartered on
February 1, 1956. Likewise,
in 1951 the students attending
Brenau College received their
charter in the National Newman
Federation.
Additional property for fut
ure expansion was acquired in
1958 by Father Manning. A
parcel of property located in
Nix Heights, amounting to 10
acres, was purchased by the
parish and a donation of 7 acres
near Buford was given to the
parish by Mr. Bona Allen.
In 1959 Father Manning was
named the pastor of a new
parish in Decatur and he was
succeeded by Father R, Donald
Kiernan, the pastor of Cedar-
town’s Saint Bernadette’s
Church.
IN 1961, FATHER Kiernan
located a piece of property in
Dahlonega for the establishment
of a new parish in that area.
The Glenmary Fathers had al
ready promised Bishop Hyland
to come to Georgia, and late
in 1961 Father Leonard Span-
jers was named the first pastor
of Saint Luke’s and the area
was established as an indepen
dent parish. The new parish took
four counties away from the
mother church, leaving St. Mic
hael’s with Hall, Gwinett,
THE MAYOR of Gainesville led the City Commissioners and De
partment Heads of the city government in a Memorial Service
for the late President John F, Kennedy.
BOY SCOUT'S and Cub Scouts of Saint Michael’s Church are
pictured above following the granting of a Charter by the national
organization.
Cherokee and Forsyth coun
ties.
Soon after Archbishop Hall-
inan came to Georgia, the par
ishioners of Saint Michael’s
were honored when he presided
at the first Solemn Mass of
Father William Hoffman. Al
ready the lay participation in
the Mass had been initiated and
in a sermon to the parishioners
the Archbishop complimented
them.
ST. MICHAEL'S demonstrat
ed their capacity for organiza
tion when such Archdiocesan
projects as the census and “Op
eration Understanding" were
announced. Flawless, the pro
jects received 100% cooperat
ion and were termed highly
successful.
The initiation of a Boy Scout
and Cub Scout program early
in 1962: the beginning of a
Study Club for adults; a Con
fraternity program for high
school students; aid to the poor
through the St. Vincent de Paul
Society and the organization of a
Choir give to the parish life a
well rounded and balanced pro
gram of activity.
In 1962 the practice of having
the annual May procession out
doors was initiated. This first
ceremony was especially re
membered by the old parishio
ners because it occasioned the
presentation to the parish of an
outside shrine by Mr. Roy Mil-
wood. A convert, Mr. Milwood
had has as his sponsor at Bap
tism, Mrs. Mary Cinciolo.
“Aunt Mary” as she was affect
ionately called had donated the
origional property on which
Saint Michael’s Church was
built in 1933.
PARISH get-together the
children’s annual Easter Egg
hunt and Christmas Party, and
the annual “parish meeting,”
held at the Dixie-Hunt Hotel,
which drew 100% representation
from every family in the par
ish gave a feeling of “belong
ing” to oldsters and new
comers alike.
St. Michael’s has a tremen
dous visitor list. Two U. S. high
ways run near the church pro
perty, students at Riverside
Military Academy and Brenau
College, and the influx of vacat
ioners to the resort areas are
made to feel-at-home whenever
they visit the mountain par
ish,
1964 FINDS THE parishi
oners of Saint Michael’s view
ing the past with a sense of
steady accomplishment and
looking into the future with a
vision of expansion and a will
ingness to cooperate which has
characterized the church in
Georgia for well over a hund
red years.
Mrs. I. L. Courtenay stands beside a fountain donated by Roy
Milwood in memory of Mrs. Mary Cinciolo who donated the
property for the Gainesville parish. Mrs. Courtenay was married
at the first Mass ever offered in Gainesville.
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