HOW THE PARISH OF ST. JOSEPH'S STARTED
All photos courtesy of the Archdiocese of Vancouver Archives
In 1920, Father Rohr a missionary Priest with the Order of Mary Immaculate (OMI) visited the Squamish area and held services on a fairly regular basis. He served mainly the Indian people along the PGE Railroad between Squamish and Williams Lake.
He also served the white community. There was no church building so services were held in people's homes. In the late 1920's he was joined in his missionary work by Father A. MacDonald, OMI.
In 1935, Father M. Trainer continued their work and during his stay an unfinished house on 4th Avenue in Squamish was turned into a church. But there was no resident priest and mass was held irregularly. There were no roads to the area so the priest came by boat from Vancouver to Woodfibre, then took the ferry over to Britannic Beach and then took another ferry to Squamish When he arrived in the village people would phone around to inform everyone that there would be a mass.
From 1935 to 1941 a succession of Priests from Holy Rosary Cathedral in Vancouver came to say mass. They included, Father James Carney, later Archbishop Carney, Fr. Beauregard and Fr. N. Defoe.
In 1942 to 1946 Monsignor Nichol made visits to Squamish to say mass.
In 1947, two missionary Priests came to the parish, Fr. Victor Gallo, assisted by Father Thomas Reidy who came to help out in the parish. They were probably Oblates. Father Gallo used to ride a horse to Britannia church to say mass. There was a dirt truck route, full of ruts and very narrow and winding that ran from the Britannia Mine to Whistler.
Addie Harrison, a long time resident of Squamish, remembers the frightening experience of driving over the old route when she and her husband Peter would drive the priest to Britannia Beach to say mass.
On June 6, 1950 Archbishop W.M. Duke appointed Father Gallo as the first pastor of St. Joseph's Church, as it became an independent parish. In 1951 Father Gallo started renovations to the church and it was finished in 1953.
The building was raised 2 feet and a cement foundation was built. The length of the old church, the unfinished house bought and finished as a church in 1935, became the width of the new church. The building was doubled in size. A side addition to the church held the Priest's office, sacristy, kitchenette and living quarters. Another lot was purchased beside the church and later the parish hall was moved on to it. The church was mainly built through volunteer labour and donated materials and fund raising by the parishioners.
St. Joseph's held a series of ethnic dinners as one way to raise funds. German, Italian, Irish and French Canadian diners were great favourites with all the village and people lined up to get a seat at them. Bazaars, teas, card games, bake sales were held by all the churches in the village and were also good fund raisers.
Squamish is at flood level and underneath the church was a wet, damp, dark space and the plumbing was there. It was a dreadful job to crawl into the narrow space to fix a pipe. Ambrose Casey was the main carpenter for church repairs. Peter Harrison and Dennis Harney looked after the plumbing. Dennis says that anyone that could twist two wires together looked after the electrical work as electrical wiring and equipment was very simple in those days.
In 1953, Father Eisenring, a young man originally from Switzerland was the first priest to live in the new little rectory. He went up to the attic to inspect it and fell through the flooring to the church below. He hurt his back badly and it bothered him from then on.. The rectory was very cold and he was always freezing. The furnishings in the rectory were pretty sparse.
One day while visiting a parishioner he watched her sorting through items that she was giving away. There were a couple of old blankets in the pile. He asked ifhe could have them as they still had warmth left in them. He had a huge St. Bernard dog, named Tennessee, perhaps to remind him of his homeland and keep him company as the area was still very isolated and only accessible by boat. He was very friendly and went to every event in the village. Everyone got to know Fr. Eisenring and Tennessee.
In January 1956, Fr. Eisenring suggested that the St. Joseph's Ladies Altar Guild consider joining the Catholic Women's League (CWL). Mrs. R.V. Lawdell, 1st V. P. and Organizer of the CWL in Vancouver came to Squamish and spoke about the work of their group. It went to vote, moved by Mrs. Dent, seconded by Mrs. McKay. Motion unanimously carried. The funds of the Altar Guild were transferred to the CWL. They paid $2.00 for the charter fee and $10.50 per capita tax 5.00 on membership. On March 1st, 1956 St. Joseph's CWL was started and an executive was elected. 1st President Mrs. McKay; Secretary: Mrs. A. McKinnon; Treasurer: Mrs. M. Stillwell (*) .
Squamish, a natural deep water port was the southern terminus of BC Rail. It was originally called Newport but quickly adopted the name of the local people. It was a Rail Port for freight and passenger passage to Whistler. In 1954 when Addie Harrison, a retired teacher, moved here with her husband they built their own house in the BC Rail North Yards, as her husband was a Mechanic Instructor with the Railroad.The population was 1500 and the area was isolated. People reached the village by boat from Howe Sound. The churches in the village played a large part in community life. The village started to roll in 1954 when a large number of Italian families moved into the area. They were very active in community life and were strong supporters of the church.
Teaching sisters from Mount Carmel came to teach Catechism at St. Joseph's. Their names were Sr. Mary lmmaculata; Sr. Mary John; Sr. Benedictine; Sr. John Bosco. Two of the sisters were Irish and were blood sisters as well The sisters usually stayed at Mrs. McKay's house while they taught catechism at summer school (*).
In 1970, three religious sisters of the Child Jesus from St. Edmonds parish in Vancouver taught catechism also in the old church on 4th Avenue.
In 1960 the Oblates (OMI) returned for many years, including Fr. John Holtzophel who was from Germany and in later years returned there.
In 1961 Fr. Sorel strongly urged that the 3 Catholic churches in the area should support each others functions as they were 3 churches in one parish (*) St. Joseph's, Squamish; St. Michael's, Britannia Beach; Our Lady of Peace, Woodfibre.
In 1961 the Catholic Women's Leaque (CWL) reported that they donated money towards renovations to the attic in the rectory. Two bedrooms and a living room were added to accommodate the priests. The CWL also donated money that year for the purchase of blinds and drapes, paid the water bill, fuel bill and cleaning bill for the church and rectory and bought new windows for the church (*).
In 1963, the CWL paid off $100.00 of the parish debt and in 1964 bought a refrigerator for the rectory (*).
The CWL started a Thrift Shop in the village to raise funds in 1969 and by the year 1979 they had raised @ 20, 726.83. In 1979 they moved to new quarters. It is still in operation in 2008 and is staffed by volunteers of the parish, many of whom are CWL members. At the present time it is located on Cleveland Avenue in downtown Squamish.
1962 Father Myles Power, OMI came to ST. Joseph's. He was from Flin Flon Manitoba. He was proud to belong to the Oblates and always wanted OMI put under his name on all Parish papers. He was a very hard worker and shingled the roof of the church along with the parish volunteers.
1962 Father O'Brien, OMI, was mainly at Woodfibre but stayed at St. Joseph's in Squamish along with Fr. Power.
Father Maurice Coffin, OMI was at St. Joseph's from 1963 to 1967. He was a quiet man who enjoyed the solitude in the mountains.
In 1968, Father Dunlop OMI took over the Parish.
Fr. Griffin was Pastor at St. Joseph's from 1971 to 1978. Father Campbell was at Woodfibre from 1968 until 1971 and then went to assist Father Griffin when he became Pastor at St. Joseph's.
On January 14,1973 there was a fire in the Parish Hall in Squamish. People in surrounding houses heard a big explosion. They thought it was a gas tank.
In 1979 Father Tom Sheil took over the Parish and was there until 1983. In 1981 a new organ was bought for the church.
In 1983 Fr. Casimir Przyblski took over the parish . He was a dedicated scholar and translated the bible into Greek and other languages to get a deeper understanding of its meaning. Clem Whippich who taught Catechism at the time says that Fr. Casimir, as he was called because no one could pronounce his last name taught him many things about theology. (*)
Fr. Casimir started the building of the new church in Garibaldi Highlands in 1990 and it was completed in 1991. The land was owned and donated to the church by Pat Goode.
It stood empty for a long while. The old people of St. Joseph's church on 4th Avenue found the move to the new church in Garibaldi Highlands difficult. They had been able to walk to church in the village and now had to drive or get a ride with someone.
It was suggested that the new land at Garibaldi Highlands could be sold and a new church built downtown. The lot the original church was on was too small for a larger building and hall and no other parcel of land was available or suitable. So the decision was reached to move.
The old church and hall were sold. They still stand on the old site on 4th Avenue and are private residences. The main part of the church has been used as an artist's studio for many years. The artist owns both the old church and hall and lives in the church apt.
Pat Goode was the owner of the Development Company that built Garibaldi Estates, which was the first part of the area his company built on. When that area was completed the company moved up the hill to build homes on Skyline drive, Fridel Crescent, named after his wife, Fridel, and the beginning of the Boulevard.
When Fr. Casimir was transferred elsewhere after the church was completed, Fr. Damian Laurence Cooper was sent to St. Joseph's for 6 months until a replacement was sent to take over. He ended up staying a year.
Father Angelo DePompa, was pastor from 1993 to 2006. He taught part time at university.
In 2006 Fr. Larry Holland became the Pastor of St. Joseph's.
Before studying for the priesthood Father Holland worked in the bush, earned a licence as a Surveyor, Helicopter Pilot, Commercial Pilot and Air Traffic Controller.
In 2012, Fr. Mark Bautista became the pastor. During his tenure, two religious sisters from the Order of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation arrived in the parish and assisted Fr Mark in several ministries. Sr. Josephine de Leon, OSA and Sr. Flolyn Catungal were well received by the parishioners. Migrant Ministry was established by Sr. Josephine due to the growing number of migrants coming and working in the Squamish-Whistler area. Pilipino Mass began to be celebrated also every third sunday of each month.
In July of 2018, Fr. Reynaldo Usman became the Pastor of St. Joseph's. He used to belong to a religious order back in the Philippines before his incardination to the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 2017. He was also granted the Canadian citizenship on the same month that he was assigned as Pastor of St. Joseph parish.
In July of 2021, St. Joseph welcomed it’s current pastor, Fr. Nicholas Tumbelaka who came from Our Lady of Mercy in Burnaby, BC. He was ordained in 2006 and has been a priest for over 15 years.
Sources
- Squamish Library - Early churches in the area. 1983.
- Addie Harrison - Squamish resident since 1954.
- CWL minutes (*)
- Interview with Addie Harrison - Squamish resident since 1954