Imagining the Past

If you sit down and think about it, what kinds of old brick buildings are still most common across Minnesota? My first thought is churches, and then maybe courthouses. When I visit a new area of the state, those are the type of buildings I am first looking for. These buildings were usually built of local brick by local people. It was important back then for a community to stand behind their businesses and their people.

I have often wondered what life was like back then. I have done a lot of historical research over the years, and I have come across a lot of information. Think of the big brick churches that still stand in your community, which may date back to the late 1800's. Some of these churches were built in communities with only a few hundred people. Can you imagine building a huge church these days with only a few hundred parishioners? People barely even go to church anymore.

So you know that the church was the center of life back then. It was the community, where people went to socialize and spiritualize. In order to fund the church, they donated everything they had, they held fundraisers and socials, and they took collections at every mass for even more. I am sure there were a few people who were well-off financially, but most were common working class people. People are not like that today, since the church is no longer as important.

Despite the declining memberships, many of these churches still stand today. I think that people still consider these huge icons as part of the identity of their communities. There are not many brick structures that still remain from the old days, so it is good that people still care about these buildings. However, not all of these architectural beauties last. I attended the Polk County, Minnesota, fair this past July, where a group of children were asking for donations to help save the old Catholic Cathedral in Crookston, Minnesota.

This huge church was spectacular in its day, but the congregation moved to a different building and essentially abandoned it. The huge stained glass windows were damaged by vandals or sold. The places where these beautiful windows once shone brightly are now boarded up. The roof is in bad shape, and is likely leaking inside, which causes further damage. However, from the literature I received upon making my donation, it sounded like they hope to save the building to use as space for kids. I really hope they succeed; I hate to lose any of these massive structures.