Magnificent twin towers of St. Stanislaus Church soar skyward in this dramatic photo taken for the centennial of the founding. The church itself dates to 1892. Polish Church "Wars" Like Bay City Commonplace at End of 19th Century
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(EDITOR'S NOTE: St. Stanislaus Church will be one of the stops on the Bay City Historical Home Tour on Sunday, October 9.)
Bay City's Polish "church war" of 1896-1898, during which Saint Stanislaus Church was closed by the Pope, was only one of several such conflicts during that period.
Posen, Rogers City, Alpena, Isadore, Parisville -- all experienced turmoil between groups of parishioners and, in some cases, priests, nuns and housekeepers.
Pennyslvania and Wisconsin, as well as Michigan, were scenes of similar conflicts in Polish communities.
Underneath all the turmoil may have been the fact that many Polish immigrants were peasants from northern Poland, areas controlled by Prussia. Priests often were more intellectual, hailing from more settled areas southern Poland.
None of the incidents, however, compares with events in Bay City that resulted in beatings, stabbings, shootings, death of a "guard" apparently by heart attack, and violence reminiscent of European conflicts.
Riots often broke out during church services and parishioners were beaten with clubs, with women being among the most active attackers.
New details have come to light with research by Mary Freel, a Bay City nurse and genealogist. She has compiled information documenting the incidents of the turmoil. Her research has revealed many new details about the events here.
Arrests included a city alderman, George W. Kabat, found guilty of violating a court order not to interfere in the dispute. He was charged by the bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Henry Richter. The case went on appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court where the conviction was thrown out.
Some of the Bay City story is recounted in "Ghosts, Crimes and Urban Legends," a 120-page book by D. Laurence Rogers, available at the Bay County Historical Museum along with a companion volume, "Bay City Hauntings," that are popular around Halloween.
Writers like the late Harry Milostan, Traverse City author Mardi Link and others have spun yarns off these incidents and other happenings in church settings during that general time period.
Ms. Link's book, "Isadore's Secret," published by the University of Michigan Press, a Broadway play and a movie, both entitled "The Runner Stumbles," all are based on the murder of a pregnant nun in Isadore, a small Leelanau County community in 1906.
Bay City's violence revolved around accusations lodged against the popular Father Marion Matkowski, who had raised nearly $60,000 from the 1,400 parishioners to build the magnificent church in 1892. The accuser was identified as a Rev. S. Turski.
Eight days after the church was dedicated, the great South End Fire broke out, leveling more than 300 homes and buildings from the river east, destroying most of the 6th Ward. One death, that of elderly Jesse Miller, was reported, and many residents lost possessions and cash they had stashed in their homes.
One of Bay City's most enduring urban legends sprang from the flames: according to eyewitness reports, the steel-nerved padre went into action when the flames threatened the church. Standing in the path of the flames, about 6 p.m. he read from his prayer book, sprinkled holy water and blessed salt toward the inferno. Mysteriously, the wind abated, flames subsided and by 8 p.m. the fire was under control.
Father Matkowski was the hero of the church and the community; that is, until a younger assistant pastor, perhaps jealous of the pastor's fame, accused him of molesting a 14-year-old girl, a housekeeper's helper, in the rectory after mass on Ash Wednesday in February 1896.
The housekeeper had been dismissed for unsatisfactory work and was said to have conspired revengefully with the assistant pastor to frame Matkowski for molesting the young girl.
The charges unleashed fractures in the parish community that led to closing the church and the school, putting about 800 students on the street and frustrating an already strained public school system to admit them. Teaching nuns departed for other, more placid, positions in other communities.
Matkowski was arrested, but soon released when authorities did not believe the charges by the housekeeper and the assistant.
Crowds of contending factions swelled to a reported 3,000 at one point, many armed with clubs and some with pistols. Military-like companies drilled on South End streets. One group was called "hogs" or "wild Indians" and opponents were dubbed "fish." An old resident recalled being asked to choose sides when she alighted from the train on her arrival here.
In an effort to quell the disturbances, the bishop replaced Matkowski with a supposed peacemaker, Fr. Anthony Bogacki, former pastor at Posen. Bogacki turned out to be a worse choice, ordering dissidents to swear loyalty oaths to be readmitted to services, blocking a funeral of a dissident and stirring the so-called "antis" to seize the church.
The volatile Bogacki drew a pistol from his cassock and shot several dissidents as they charged the rectory. Theft of his cache of wine may have further infuriated the combative cleric, according to Ms. Freel's research.
Parishioners, in a show of independence from the bishop, purchased the present-day St. Stanislaus Kostka Cemetery and began using it for burials rather than the diocesan burial ground at St. Patrick's Cemetery.
Fights between rival groups reportedly were frequent even at other churches in town. But, finally, after the Cardinal, the bishop and local and church officials had nearly given up peacemaking, a new priest, Fr. Joseph Lewandowski, replaced Bogacki and calm reigned again at St. Stan and in Bay City.
The assistant pastor's charges eventually were ruled false and he was excommunicated. Five years later Fr. Matkowski was pastor of a church in Grand Rapids, and recounted the incidents. He said the housekeeper, Martha Cwiklinski, exonerated him just before her death in Bay City. Turski reportedly ended up in an insane asylum in St. Louis, Missouri.
The church and school were reopened by order of Pope Leo XIII in 1898 and another Polish church, St. Hyacinth, opened after the turn of the century. Thus, along with St. Hedwig on the west side, the large Polish community has several places of worship.
One vestige of the church was was the rumor that Poles were not allowed to cross Columbus Avenue, an edict reportedly enforced by police in efforts to contain violence during the war. Urban legend: probably.
The twin Gothic steeples of St. Stan are visible for miles around and the St. Stan Cemetery is still in use today, mute testimony to a virtually unknown church war that few recall and is seldom mentioned.
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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers! |
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mikwoo Says:
On October 10, 2011
at 09:49 AM
Dave:
Great story and very interesting history. Hard to imagine in this day and age. Keep up the good work !! Mike Wooley, Esq. |
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DrRitaMunleyGallagher Says:
On October 16, 2011
at 08:29 PM
As I understand it, the line of demarcation was 18th Street...and the "edict" lasted a lot longer than the "war."
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Frannilada Says:
On October 18, 2011
at 01:44 PM
Thanks Dave (for the article) and Mary (for the research). I would also recommend Mardi Link's book since there are also connections to St Stans in Sister Janina's murder.
Keep up the great work and post more stories about Bay City history! |
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stephen711 Says:
On October 21, 2011
at 01:58 PM
This is a terrific web-site! The photos are spectacular and the articles are well written and interesting. Having lived across Saginaw Bay from Bay City (Port Austin), I thoroughly enjoy this web-site and have tagged it as one of my favorites. Thank you for making it available. I was put on to the site by a friend of mine who has a son that lives in Bay City area.
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Dave Rogers |
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