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Volume 31, Number 4 |
Richardton, ND 58652 |
October 2003 |
Renewal of Twin Towers
by John Gengler
Whether one is a traveler approaching Richardton and catching a first glimpse of the towering steeples of Assumption Abbey/St. Mary's Church, or a regular visitor who has walked beneath these behemoths for decades, certain questions almost always arise. “How tall are they anyway?” “How do they fix those windows or shingle that roof?” “Wow, I wonder what the foundation is like under those things?”
“Renewing God's House Together” now enters Phase III of a multi-
Towers Have Five Stories
Close examination of the towers shows them to be five stories or levels high. The
first floor contains the outer front doors, with the west side having a reconciliation
(confession) room, while the east side is the home for the bronze, copper and steel
Raymond Rogers guardian angel. These entrances were walled off from the central entrance
prior to the renewal, but openings were made and now the entire front entrance is
one spacious unit. The center entrance between the towers holds the graves of the
monastic founder Abbot/Bishop Vincent Wehrle, O.S.B., and Abbot Cuthbert Goeb, O.S.B.,
who came from St. John's Abbey in Minnesota in 1928 to reopen the monastery after
a brief, four-
Atop the first floor, the second floor rooms in the towers house a complex electrical
system on the east side and storage space on the west side, with the traditional
choir loft in between at the rear of the body of the church. The west side room has
special significance to Abbey boys of years past, since it was from there that they
could gain easiest access to the top levels of the towers. Bell ropes dangle in this
room, along with a rickety, homemade ladder that was part of the adventure, as all
but the most fainthearted Abbey school students scaled to the belfry and beyond.
The windows at the second level are among the glorious stained-
The third level features six tall, narrow, badly deteriorated windows in each tower, two on each side save the interior walls. They have withstood decades of drastic North Dakota winds and weather changes, and they show the stress. Level four contains two wooden louvers on each wall of the towers, for a total of sixteen. Here are housed the bells and the speakers for the electronic carillon. Again, some 90 years of weathering have taken their toll on the louvers. Probably in the poorest condition are the 24 small windows in the fifth story, three on each wall of both towers. Being the least accessible, they definitely need replacing, as the glass is broken in some, and the wood is rotten throughout.
Rhenish Helms
Now that we have reached the top of the most visible feature of the church, we find a unique steeple design known as the Rhenish helm. Research by Fr. Thomas Wordekemper, campaign director and driving force behind the renewal project, has uncovered interesting facts and history about this architectural feature. “Rhenish,” of course, refers to the Rhine River and its surrounding valley, which runs from the Swiss Alps through Germany to the North Sea.
The origin of the design is uncertain, but an Internet article by architect David
Nash Ford finds a Rhenish helm on St. Mary's Church in Sompting, Sussex, England.
He reports that this design is identical to the style of the covers on Saxon censers
(incense-
James Coomber, professor at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, and author of Magnificent Churches on the Prairie, which has a lengthy section on our church, notes in his book and in a letter to Fr. Thomas that the Rhenish helm on our church can most likely be attributed to architect Anton Dohmen. Dohmen was born in the city of Speyer in the Rhine Valley, and he probably saw this design throughout the area as he grew up. Dohmen also included the Rhenish helm not only in Richardton, but on his churches in Strasburg and Elbowoods as well. Coomber mentioned that his colleague, Prof. Will Hiebert, a German teacher at Concordia, showed him a photo of the cathedral in Speyer, which is crowned with Rhenish helms. “Helm,” according to Coomber's research, is a derivative of “helmet,” and is found as such in Cassell's German Dictionary. Thus the term “helm” for a steeple covering.
Even more interesting is the fact that a number of Richardton German-
And finally, the finishing touch to the renewal of the towers will be the shingling
of the helms, the repair of the decorative fleur-
Solid Base Beneath Towers
When we come back to earth, and below the earth, we find a huge foundation beneath
the towers. Fr. Thomas' research shows that below each tower is a footing 11.5 feet
deep, with an eight-
More to the “New Look”
The first step in Phase III was the removal of the old sidewalk along the boulevard
south of the church, followed by the removal of the front doors. These formidable
doors, with their massive wrought-
Financial Help Welcome
Friends, parishioners, alumni and visitors have helped Phase III along with early donations of about $250,000. A splendid information brochure on this phase is available in the church, by mail or from Fr. Thomas himself. Entitled “Preserving our legacy,” it details in pictures, drawing and words the plans for Phase III. Memorials are still available. As the brochure reminds us, “Our ancestors gave us a magnificent building as a legacy of their faith; we have the responsibility to continue taking care of it and passing it on to those who follow our steps.” Please consider being part of this marvelous tradition with a donation toward Phase III of the campaign. Gifts can be sent to Assumption Abbey/St. Mary's Campaign. An envelope in included in this Newsletter for your convenience. The monks of Assumption Abbey, the parishioners of St. Mary's and hundreds of visitors have helped in many ways to pass this treasury on to posterity. Your financial assistance will acknowledge these efforts and will cause those who come after us to offer a heartfelt “thank you.”
