St. Ambrose History

St. Ambrose Catholic Church

Wall, Texas

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History

The History of St. Ambrose Catholic Church and Parish

A Fifty Year Celebration

St. Ambrose Catholic Parish, situated in Wall, Texas near the center of the Lipan Flats,
has a very rich history deeply rooted in its peoples’ past. The main theme throughout the
parish is a perpetual love between the people and the Catholic church. This love is obvious
when looking back at the founding of St. Ambrose and its first fifty years.

During the 1920’s and 1930’s a large migration of German and Czech families moved
to the Wall area to farm and make themselves a home. The majority of these people were
from the St. Joseph and St. Boniface parishes in Runnels county. Some families were from
farther places including Falls and Colorado counties.

Since these families were overwhelmingly Catholic, they brought their faith with them
along with their plows and pioneer spirit. These Catholic families were attending Mass at
Sacred Heart parish in San Angelo, and the children attended catechism classes there, also.
During this time the Wall Catholics recall that when the festival was held, the country
people were relied upon to bake the turkey and to help work at the festival. The celebration
was usually held downtown and included a dinner and a dance.

As the Catholic population grew, an apparent need for a Catholic church developed.
During the summer of 1940, several of the Catholic families met in the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Frank Gerngross, Sr. to discuss the possibility of building of a Catholic church in
Wall. Those present were:

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hirt                          Mr. and Mrs. Elo Wilde
Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Strube, Sr.                Mr. and Mrs. Mack Halfmann
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Book                          Mr and Mrs. W.E. Mikulik
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gerngross, Sr.

At this time the Diocese of San Angelo had not yet been formed and this area was part
of the Diocese of Amarillo. This bishop of the Amarillo Diocese was Most Reverend
Robert E. Lucey.

Shortly after this meeting, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gerngross, Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. Mack
Halfmann went to visit the pastor of St. Joseph Catholic church in Rowena. The pastor was
the late Rt. Rev. Monsignor Francis J. Pokluda. Monsignor Pokluda had a keen interest in
the growing number of Catholics at Wall, especially since many of them came from
Rowena and he knew them personally. Monsignor Pokluda was very much in favor of
starting a new church, and in Wall. He wanted to get the rest of the community involved.
He wanted to find a place where they could start having Mass and promised to provide a
priest for it.

A meeting was held at the Wall school auditorium on July 18, 1940. All the Catholics
in the area were invited to attend and discuss the possibility of beginning a new parish and
building a new church. Monsignor Pokluda led the discussion at this meeting of about sixty
people. At that meeting the original Church Committee was selected and consisted of:

Frank Hirt                      Frank Gerngross, Sr.
Ben Book                      W.E. Mikulik
Elo Wilde                       Raymond Glass

These men also served as the building committee.

Since it was evident that the people wanted a new parish and church, Sunday Masses
began to take place at the Methodist Church in Wall. Either Monsignor Pokluda or Father
Charles Knapp both living at St. Joseph parish in Rowena would drive to Wall for Sunday
Mass. The Herman Franke family moved their pump organ to the Wall Methodist Church
so their daughter Dorine Franke (Kozelsky) could play hymns for Mass.

The next obstacle facing the new parishioners was the location for the church. There
was much discussion about the best location and some disagreements followed.

Prior to this time, Felix Braden had donated land to the Diocese of Amarillo and
Catholic sisters were operating a school north of Wall called St. Anthony (from
1929-1937). The last report of the school records showed 2 lay teachers and 67 children.
Felix Braden would have liked the new church built at St. Anthony but Monsignor Pokluda
insisted on building the church at Wall where it would be near the town and also be located
on a major highway (US 87). It is interesting to note that in the 1948 St. Ambrose
Financial Report, the Diocese sold the property back to Felix Braden for $1,000 and the
Diocese donated the sale value of $1,000 to the St. Ambrose building fund.

In the summer of 1940, Monsignor Pokluda wrote four letters (July 25, August 15,
August 31 and October 16) to church committeeman Elo Wilde concerning the purchase of
land for the church site. According to these letters, it took at least four months of
discussions and negotiations to finalize the purchase of the property. Part of the process
was a visit of the bishop on Sunday, September 8, 1940 at 4:00 p.m. at the home of A.W.
Strube, Sr. The last letter dated October 16 mentioned another meeting was planned for October 20, with A.W. Stube, Sr. present; the purchase of the land was finalized October 23, 1940. The 1941-42 St. Ambrose Financial Report documents the present location was purchased from A.W.
Strube, Sr. for $900.

Several of the original parishioners recall the conflict regarding the placement of the
church building. It seems the bishop wanted the church building adjacent to the highway or
curb as churches are placed in towns. The church committee wanted the church further
from the highway for safety reasons. Monsignor Pokluda preferred the present location so
he would have room behind the church for his sister Miss Mary’s chickens. The next
decision to be reached was to find water by drilling a well.

In 1940, a fall festival was held at the Wall school to generate funds for the parish. The
proceeds totaled $1,763. Many of our women parishioners recall peeling potatoes and
washing dishes by hand for this festival. Since the members of the new Wall parish were
mostly from Runnels county, many of the Catholic people from St. Boniface parish in
Olfen and St. Joseph parish in Rowena contributed generously to aid the new parish with the
construction of its church and rectory. As an example of this generosity, W.H. and Annie
Wilde of Olfen donated $1,000 to help the church get started. These were very unselfish
acts considering that the families were recovering from thirteen years of world depression.

Ground was broken for the new church by Monsignor Pokluda on February 24, 1941,
on the feast of Mathias the Apostle. The weather was cold and wet that day so only the
groundbreaking ceremony was held. On Ash Wednesday, digging resumed for the
foundation of the church. The men of the parish volunteered word and dug the foundations,
hauled gravel and mixed concrete for the church and rectory.

The architect for the new church was John G. Becker and the contractor was C.S. Mills.

The cornerstone of the new church was blessed on April 6, 1941, with around 300
people attending the occasion. Officiating at the cornerstone laying services were
Monsignor Pokluda, Father Charles Knapp from St. Josephs parish in Rowena, Reverend
G.A. Boeckman from St. Boniface in Olfen and Reverend Bartholomew O’Brien, chaplain
of St. John’s Hospital of San Angelo. On January 22, 1941 Bishop Lucey had been
appointed the Archbishop of the Province of San Antonio and the Amarillo diocese was
vacant. Monsignor Pokluda was appointed Administrator during the interim until Most
Reverend Laurence J. Fitzsimmons, D.D. took office as bishop on November 5, 1941.

The church and rectory were completed in 1941 at costs of $18,293.84 for the church
and $7,171.65 for the rectory. The church was built in Roman style and its exterior design
was influenced by the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, Italy.

The church was dedicated on December 7, 1941, on the feast of St. Ambrose and thus
given its present name. Officials at the dedication were Most Reverend Laurence J.
Fitzsimmons D.D., the new Bishop of Amarillo, Reverend Virgil Kaiser, Father Charles
Knapp, Reverend G.A. Boeckman, Reverend Bartholomew O’Brien and Monsignor
Pokluda. Alter boys were Daniel Hirt, Eugene Hirt, Bernie Franke, James Zentner, Bernard
Moeller, and A.W. Strube Jr.

The parish men barbequed the dedication dinner and the women of the parish served the
meal. Everyone present at the dedication remembers the announcement of the bombing of
Pearl Harbor. As of that day, 84 families with 300 souls were registered at St. Ambrose
Parish.

The official decree establishing St. Ambrose as a parish was signed by Bishop
Fitzsimmons on January 31, 1942. The geographical boundaries of the parish were
established and Monsignor Pokluda appointed the first pastor.

The tradition of the annual fall festival continued to be a major source of funding for the
St. Ambrose parish. According to the 1946 Financial Report, the first beef donations were
recorded for the parish social. The 1947 report mentions the first donations of cotton and
cash donations for the auction. A total of 6,979 pounds of cotton were donated by 51
farmers and $106.50 was contributed by 42 men for the auction. This cotton was ginned free
of charge by the Wall Gin Company, Mikeska Gin, and A.J. Hoelscher Gin.

In 1949, the Financial Report showed a total of 34 bales of cotton donated by the
parishioners. All of this cotton was ginned by Wall Gin Company, A.J. Hoelscher Gin,
Hiway Gin, Van Court Gin, Mikeska Brothers Gin and Veribest Gin without charge to St.
Ambrose.

The 1950 Financial Report indicates the building fund had a total of $11,619.20 for
future use. Of this amount, $10,000 was loaned to Rowena parish at 3% interest.

In 1955, an all brick educational building was completed under the guidance of Father
Jerome Vitek. The metal hall was built in 1961 under the supervision of Father Joseph
Walters and was enlarged in 1967. Other improvements on the parish grounds included a
garage, well house, and restrooms.

In 1963, a new mission church was established in neighboring Mereta and was named
Holy Family Catholic Church. The church was built with the aid of a $10,000 grant from
the Catholic Church Extension Society under the guidance of Father Bernard J. Binversie.
The land was donated by Mr. And Mrs. Ed Wanoreck, Sr. of San Angelo. The Holy Family
Church in Mereta is served by the pastor of St. Ambrose.

St. Ambrose Church was remodeled in 1981 under the guidance of Father Kevin J.
Heyburn in accord with the reforms of Second Vatican Council. This project included
refurbishing the main marble alter, providing air conditioning, and installing stained glass
windows.

Most recently, in 1988 the metal hall was replaced by a larger, more accommodating
structure complete with a new kitchen and barbeque pits, a meeting room and a stage. The
new hall was attached to the brick building, which was renovated into a complete CCD
center. This major project was completed under the direction of Father James Plagens,
and was finished in time for the 1988 fall festival.

The congregation has grown to almost 300 families in 2000. Purchases have expanded the Parish's property from 6 to over 22 acres.

We are a proud family of parishioners. We look back fondly at our beginnings and
forward to wonderful times ahead. Some of our milestones within the St. Ambrose
Catholic Church are:

First baptism – Wayne Marcus Halfmann – August 31, 1941 (son of
Mack and Emma Halfmann)
First confirmation class (51 confirmed) – May 13, 1945
First marriage – Ernest and Annie (Havlak) Braden – August 26, 1941
First communion class (10 students) – May 31, 1941
Daniel Strube, Eugene Berger, Nolan Neihues, Clement Holtman,
Ralph Englert, Alton Wilde, Harvey Mikulik, David Schwartz,
Marcelyn Hirt, and Shirley Strube
The cemetery was blessed on November 2, 1952 (All Souls Day)
First interment – Adeline Mildred Jost, infant daughter of Elo and
Elizabeth Jost – June 3, 1942
First adult interment – Frank Havlak, Sr. – April 10, 1947
First baptized in parish at Methodist church in Wall
Roy Joseph Kahlig and Annabell May Berger – May 18, 1941
Tempe Braden – June 8, 1941
Number of baptized persons in St. Ambrose parish through March 19,
1990 – 1,271
First silver anniversary – Mr. and Mrs. John Debus – February 2, 1946
Father Alvin J. Wilde ordained May 13, 1961 by Bishop John L.
Morkovsky at St. Ambrose present pastor of Our Lady of San
Juan Church in Midland, Texas
Father James Plagens ordained December 18, 1965 at St. Peter’s
Basilica in Rome

These are the priests who have served St. Ambrose with spiritual
guidance:

The late Rt. Rev. Msgr. F.J. Pokluda, P.a. 1941 – 1958 Pastor
The late Rev. Jerome Vitek, 1952 – 1958, Assistant, 1958- 1959,
Pastor
The late Rev. Joseph Walters, 1959 – 1962, Pastor
Rev. James R. Aaron, 1962, Administrator, retired
Rev. Bernard J. Binversie, 1962 – 1977, Pastor, retired
The late Rt. Rev. Msgr. Charles Dvorak, 1962, Assistant
Rev. James Comisky served as assistant in 1950 while Msgr.
Pokluda was ill, present pastor of Christ the King Cathedral
in Lubbock, Texas
Rev. B.A. Erpen, also Assistant in 1950 while Msgr. Pokluda was ill,
retired
Rev. Kevin J. Heyburn, 1977 – 1983, Pastor, present pastor of St.
Thomas in Miles, Texas
Rev. James Plagens, 1983- 1992, Pastor
Rev. Charles Knapp – Served at different times
Msgr. Larry J. Droll, 1992-Present, Pastor

In closing, we remember with special appreciation Monsignor Francis Pokluda who
was instrumental in creating the St. Ambrose parish and who served as our first pastor.
Msgr. Pokluda was born in 1888 in Moravia, Czechoslovakia and was ordained in San
Antonio in 1916. The priest served Texas for over 50 years and came to Wall after
spending 30 years as pastor of St. Joseph’s church in Rowena. The monsignor died at the
age of 70 on August 26, 1958. It was fitting that the Solemn Requiem Mass was sung at the
St. Ambrose Church in Wall for the priest who touched our lives so deeply.

Written by Dale E. Wlide

Photos of St. Ambrose being built...