At the early part of the 20th Century, St. Mary's was the only Catholic Church in Lane County. Father Edwin O' Hara, on November 22, 1920, created a mission, first at a hall on 4th and Main Streets, then at 6th and "B" Streets and named St. Mel's, to give Catholic Mass. Services were held twice a month at the old hall in downtown Springfield, Oregon. After the masses at the hall, services were held in a new church called St. Mel's. This church was dedicated on December 10, 1922, by Archbishop Christi and became "one of three established missions (Cottage Grove and Junction City) served by St. Mary's in Eugene" (Parish 1).
Even before the use of the chapel at 6th and "B" Streets, Mass would have been held in a Chapel Car at the railroad depot. The Chapel Cars were provided by the Catholic Church Extension Society to help insure that rural citizens had a chance to worship.
St. Mel's, the chapel at 6th and "B" Streets, held services from its opening up to Christmas of 1934, then the mission had to close the church because of the Depression. The Depression caused mills in Springfield to close and the closing caused workers and their families to leave Springfield. So St. Mel's ended up not being able to sustain itself because of low wages and unemployment. After closing, the mission sold the church to a local funeral home to liquidate its debt. Eleven years later, the Archdiocese bought property between 15th and 16th, and "G" and "E" Streets for $4500.
In 1947 Father Louis Sohler, of Cottage Grove, became the priest of Springfield and held Sunday Mass at the American Legion Hall at 5th and Main, not far from the first hall used in the '20s. Within a month of his coming, 285 people were attending Sunday Mass.
The new parish in Springfield, with a steady attendance, eventually became too big for the American Legion Hall. In order to fit the growing parish, Father Sohler applied for a surplus chapel through the War Assets Agency. Father Sohler was given the run-a-round, he would be notified that there was and available chapel and then notified that there wasn't an available chapel. Father Sohler then received assistance from Father Leipzig of St. Mary's and Senator Wayne Morse in the notification of a chapel at Camp White in Medford, Oregon. The news came on December 31, 1947, but there was a hang-up. The parish had to dismantle and transport the chapel themselves. A member of the parish provided a flat-bed truck to transport the chapel and a small volunteer group of men traveled down to dismantle it. The 190-mile trek home came with its share of problems, obtaining a building permit, going from an "over-width" permit to and "over-height" permit, and dealing with insufficient roads were the cause of some of the problems on their way home. The re-piecing of the church began, was done mostly by men of the parish and the women provided refreshments. On July 18, 1948, the new chapel was dedicated by Archbishop Howard.
Establishment of St. Alice School
In the early 1920s, Father Edwin O'Hara began a religious vacation school in the three mission churches of St. Mary's. These mission churches were St. Mel's, Cottage Grove, and Junction City.
Father O'Hara received help through the Holy Names Sisters who provided Sister Mary Laureen and Sister Monica Maria to teach at St. Mel's.
These vacation schools eventually became the models of more vacation schools around the country. The vacation schools were then used by Father O'Hara in the development of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD). CCD is a form of training for catechists and a form of Catholic instruction that is still used today. All of Father O'Hara's hard work at St. Mel's, eventually, would soon be washed away by the Depression and the closing of St. Mel's. So Catholic schooling in Springfield had to continue in Eugene.
After the building of St. Alice, to transport the children to Eugene, the parish bought a 36-passenger bus. The bus was to pick up children in Pleasant Hill, Thurston, "Q" Street, Harlow Road, Glenwood, and Springfield. Driven by a volunteer, the bus dropped the children off at either St. Mary's School or St. Francis' school. The bus, over the years, was beginning to be a greater expense than needed. So the bus was sold in 1951 to the Springfield School District for $3,000 and had the money put into a St. Alice School fund. Before the school was built, a need for Sisters to teach at the school was near the top of the list.
In the early part of 1949 the Mother General of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Newark made a promise to try to send two Sisters to St. Alice in 1950. This promise seemed vague for all sides of the country was in for Sisters. Trips were made to Bellingham, Washington; Wisconsin; and Illinois, but all attempts came up empty. This was becoming a much bigger task for there was an over abundance of children participating in catechism classes at both St. Mary's and St. Alice. So there was a greater need for the school and Sisters. The first sets of plans for a school were rejected after the parish was granted permission to build a school on July 11, 1950.
After a year, new plans were presented by Jacob Berger and Stanton of Portland. The plans were acceptable for they fell within the parish budget and Archdiocesan requirements. The requirements state that a parish is to have one-half of the money on-hand before any construction can begin. The cost of the school was estimated at $65,000, but with donated labor and materials, the cost of the school would be brought down to $60,000. The church had $30,000 on-hand and the building of a meeting place and school, when Sisters could be provided, would proceed.
Preliminary work on the school started on June 17, 1952. The school was basically built by volunteer labor, especially when digging for the foundation walls. Work parties were held in the evening and were organized through phone committees. Occasionally there would be "Nailing Bees". The "Nailing Bees" consisted of groups on men and young boys nailing down the shiplap. During the "Nailing," women provided refreshments for everyone.
After the start of building the school, word spread that there was a chance of Sisters coming to Springfield. The news came from Reverend Martin Thielen, Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools, who mentioned that Archbishop Howard had put in numerous requests for Sisters for the St. Alice Schools. The requests were coming back with favorable responses. With the responses being of good nature, Father Thielen made trips to meet with Mother Generals of Sisterhoods to make plans for having Sisters come to Springfield. After Father Thielen' s trips, an announcement was made on August 17, 1952, that Sisters from the Sisters of Mercy of Philadelphia would be coming in September of 1953. The only problem now was to find a place that would function as a convent for the Sisters.
At about the same time as the news of the Sisters, a house adjacent to the church came up for sale. This promptly caused inspections by Archbishop Howard, Father Thielen, and Reverend John Laidlaw of the Archdiocesan Building Board. This led to authorization of $6,500 by Archbishop Howard, to purchase the house from Mr. and Mrs. George Weeks. Some alterations and additions had to be made, but the house became a convent so the Sisters could have a home in Springfield. After the arrival of the Sisters, St. Alice School opened its doors on September 14, 1953, with 167 registered students.
New Additions
In 1954, the school added two more classrooms and more offices because of growing class sizes. In 1956, an associate priest was assigned to the parish, so the rectory in the back of the church became inadequate and a new one had to be built, among with two more classrooms. In 1962 a library was added to make the school complete.
After the additions to the school, a need for a new parish hall came about. News that the University of Oregon was going to demolish its ROTC drill hall reached the parish. Deciding to salvage the building, St. Alice paid $110 for the building and dismantled and transported the building themselves. Later added on to the hall, that same year, were showers, storage areas, a meeting room, and the approval of a new and larger St. Alice Church.
To prepare for a new church, the old army chapel was moved to 39th Street and became the home of the Springfield Church of God. During the construction of the new church, Mass was held in the gym and during this time, the congregation became larger. So when Palm Sunday came around in 1956, the parish had a new "home" to celebrate in. After Palm Sunday, the church was officially dedicated on May 12, 1965. The end cost of the new church was $18,000. Money well spent when the church received first place in the "Church Completed" category of the 1966 Merit Award of the National Liturgical Commission in August of 1966. Three years later a new convent was built for the Sisters of St. Alice.
Changes in a Catholic Community
Father Sohler was pastor of St. Alice Parish for 31 years. That all changed when he was reassigned to be pastor of St. Anthony in Forest Grove in 1978. Father Sohler had seen the parish go from a hall in downtown Springfield to a refurbished army chapel and then to an award-winning place of worship. He also helped in achieving to get a school, Sisters to teach at the school, a gym, and a newer and bigger church. A lot of shoe to fill, but they were filled quite nicely by Father Brennan in 1978.
Before Father Sohler left and Father Brennan took his place, the Sisters of Mercy withdrew from teaching in the school in 1977. After their leaving and Father Sohler's, Father Brennan had a hard time keeping the school going. This was not an easy task, especially when the American economy took a dip in the 1980s. The dip greatly affected the timber-based industries and communities like Springfield. This caused a hard time for members of the parish to support the parish and a school taught by a non-nun faculty. After 35 years of service, the Parish School Board asked the Archdiocese to approve the closing of the school in the spring of 1987. The approval went through and St. Alice School closed in June of 1987. The school may not have served the function it was originally used for but it provided place for Headstart, Springfield schools, Pacific University, St. Alice Food box program and McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. This allowed more time for the parish to reach out to the Springfield community through a Soup Kitchen.
In 1988 Father Brennan was moved to North Portland and Father Dan Reynolds became St. Alice's third pastor. Father Reynolds led the church through troubling times involving indebtedness and searching for resolutions. Across the church's campus is McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. During these years, they had offered an interest in buying all of the parish's property. The parish decided to regroup to find long-term solutions and to re-evaluate the church's property. This created enough confusion that McKenzie-Willamette took back their offer. If this was not enough for St. Alice, then having a $285,000 debt to the Archdiocese was a problem.
To fix this problem, a "Debt Elimination Committee" was formed by the Parish Council and Finance Committee in 1993. The "Elimination Committee" ended up making a deal with the Archdiocese to not tack on interest to the parish debt for three years. This was agreed on the condition that the church eliminated their $285,000 debt in those three years. To pay off the debt there were garage sales, Bingo, raffles, dinners, breakfasts, and pledges made by the parishioners. To show how much of the debt was being paid off, a huge thermostat was placed on the West Side of the church. Slowly the thermostat filled up and Father Reynolds moved to St. Mark's Parish in Eugene. With the coming of a new pastor and the debt being paid off three months early, there was cause for much celebration.
To replace Father Reynolds, Father Pat Walsh from Albany was appointed to St. Alice. Shortly after his coming, a large B-B-Q was held along with a bon fire to burn replicas of the church's deed for now St. Alice owned St. Alice. After all of the partying was done, ideas to make a "Master Plan", came into focus. The plan called for a remodeling and refurbishing of the church. This was completed in time for St. Alice's fiftieth anniversary.
In the last three years, St. Alice has undergone some dramatic changes. There are now more in attendance and McKenzie-Willamette offered a sweet deal of purchasing part of the parish campus for nearly $1 million. The offer was accepted and changes are still in the process on the hospital's side of the deal. Since the exchange, the school and the gym have been torn down and the West Side of the church has been redone to accommodate a new parish hall. These may be only external changes in St. Alice but there are internal changes as well. There is a growing number of Latino parishioners and those who are deaf. St. Alice offers a Spanish-speaking mass once a month and Masses with a Sign Language translator.
St. Alice from a Parishioners' Point of View
Dorothy Dougherty:
Dorothy Dougherty and her family were members of St. Mary's for seven years before St. Alice parish started in the American Legion Hall in downtown Springfield, in 1947. In my interview of Mrs. Dougherty, she said that the Hall was above McKee's Bakery in downtown Springfield. This location is now the home of US Bank. The Masses at the Hall were 8 A.M. and 10 A.M. Since the Hall was also used for dances, the men of the parish had to move the chairs up and down stairs and set up the altar. This was a major complaint but all changed when an army chapel from Fort White (Camp White) in Medford was brought to Springfield for the parish. Mrs. Dougherty said that a group of 14 men volunteered to travel to Medford to take apart the chapel, transport it back to Springfield, and put it back together. The chapel was all one building with one apartment, which Father Sohler used, and one garaged. Father Sohler's only complaint about the chapel was that it only had one aisle. Dorothy also mentioned that Gale Roberts was the contractor who built the school and helped to put the gym, which was the old ROTC building, onto the parish property. Mrs. Dougherty, also, informed me that when St. Alice was able to have Sisters, they had to take two Sisters that would teach at St. Francis School. The Sisters stayed in a remodeled house that would function as their convent.
Before the interview ended, Mrs. Dougherty said that one of her daughters, Colleen, was one of the first communicants of St. Alice and that another daughter attends the Masses for the deaf.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Saul:
Mr. and Mrs. Saul have been members of the St. Alice Community since the time it started above McKee's Bakery. They were able to inform me of the first Catholic Church in Springfield, St. Mel's, and how it no longer exists because of the Depression and that it became the home of Buell Chapel. Plus they shared information of a Chapel Car and that the original name of St. Mel's was St. Johanna. The interview with the Sauls led to more information about the parish above the bakery.
In October of 1947, the parish would have services in the American Legion Hall in downtown Springfield. The Masses in the Hall kept going until some property was bought by the Archdiocese for a larger parish. The cost of the property was $4500 and an army chapel was obtained from the War Assets Agency. How the chapel was transported was by a flat-bed farm truck provided by a parish member. To help in the transportation of the chapel, a donor named Bartholomew O'Toole, donated $3000 and provided the name of his deceased wife Alice to be the name of the parish. After the church was put together, the church was dedicated in July of 1948 by Archbishop Howard.
Mr. and Mrs. Saul supplied more facts on the ROTC building that the parish paid $110 for the soon-to-be-gym/parish hall. Since the parish would be getting a bigger church, the old one was moved to be the home of the Springfield Church of God on 39th Street.
Toward the end of the interview, I asked if they thought that Father Walsh, or any other factors, may have some impact on the increase of membership in the church. The Sauls believed that Father Walsh has a large impact on the internal changes of the church. They also thought that companies like Sony and Hyundai also has a huge impact on the church. Also the increasing number of Latinos attending Masses has had an impact as well as St. Alice having a Spanish-speaking Mass once a month.
Sources
St. Alice Church, Dedication May 12, 1965.
St. Alice Church Directory, Springfield, Oregon, 1967.
St. Alice Church Directory, Springfield, Oregon, 1972.
St. Alice Parish, ... a brief history of the first fifty years..., leaflet.
St. Alice School, Springfield, Oregon, 1952.
Mrs. Dorothy Dougherty, March of 2000
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Saul, March of 2000
Emily Jean Payne
St. Alice Church
Thurston High School
May 24, 2000
Project in its entirety available at: The Springfield Museum, 590 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon 97477