Painting In Northern California Church Was Hung 106 Years Ago
Father Florian's
First Trip Into
Area Was in 1853
By KATHEHINE CHAPMAN
Mail Tribune Correspondent
Hornbrook - There was no
church at all In the rough-and-tumble
gold mining town
of Sawyer's Bar in northern
California in 1853 when Fa
ther Florian Schwenninger
made his first trip into the
Salmon river settlements.
Soon, however, the "Little
Padre of Paradise Flat" had
won suoh affection in the
hearts of the pioneers, Cath
olic and Protestant alike, that
in 1855 they resolved to build
a place of worship to encour-
. age him to come often. Little
further encouragement actu
ally was needed, however, as
; the Salmon mountains re
minded Father Florian (as he
was always called) of the Ty-
' rols of his native Austria and
so endeared themselves to him
that he visited the country
as frequently as the size of
his parish would allow.
He had arrived in San Fran
cisco in August, 1852, having
' been encouraged to move to
California by Bishop Alle-
many of San Francisco whom
he had met while serving
churches in Utica and Syra
cuse, New York. . . . '
On Way to Mines
Less than a year later, in
July, 1853, Father Florian
was on his way to the mines
of Shasta and Trinity coun-
ties, the first missionary priest
: to celebrate the mass, within
the boundaries of those coun
ties. ....
Over the divide from Car
vllle, down to CecilylHe,
thence to Sawyer's Bar, he
made his first .trip, that year
to the Salmon river settle
ments. Back and forth, on
muleback and on foot he jour
neyed bringing the comforts
and the sacraments of t h e
church to his people.
Having served as sole pas
tor of the vast wilderness that
was Siskiyou county, in July,
1858, he was able to obtain
an assignment as resident
priest at Sawyers Bar in his
beloved Salmon mountain
country.
Lives in Lean-is' 1 '
Here in a lean-to: at the
rear of the church he lived
with his cats and his chick
ens, ministering, to the needs
of the settlers, and conducting
elementary school for the
children of his congregation.
In his work with the ever
changing horde of . gold-seekers,
he made no distinction
between Cathqlic. and , Pfot-.
estant, Indian and white man.
If a need existed, he met
it. His only reservation was
that he accepted help for his
church only from those of his
faith.
And, here at last, with a
church of his own, he could
unroll the treasured parcel
which he carried, wrapped in
oiled silk, in his pack on his
back. This was a painting of
I ''-'X It Jr ' ), fL ' yt i V
in?. ; . ?-:M- rs
fit? Wk. 4 0 Sk
I.. I.W ' 1.4 r-Z'Lh ; :W .'HV
m jot. A 'M
'THE CRUCIFIXION' This painting, which recently has been restored under the
brought into Sawyer s Bar in Nortnern Can- sponsorship of the Siskiyou County Hislori
fornia by the Rev. Florian Schwenninger in . cal Society.
1855, still hangs in the Sawyer's Bar church,
The Crucifixion." . i
Received by him as a gift
when he left his homeland,
it had been carefully preserv
ed and guarded on all his
travels through the moun
tains. .
Hung Over Altar
The picture was hung on
the wall over the altar, which
itself, had been beautifully
and intricately made by the
little priest.
One hundred and six years
have passed since Father Flo
rian hung the picture in his
beloved church, but the col
ors are still in fair condition,
and when the light is right,
all 32 faces In the painting
may be clearly seen.
Time and the elements nave
ravaged the building, and
dampness has begun to rot
the canvas In the picture, but
the fact that the building re
mains at all is a monument
to the care and devotion giv
en it by several generations
of Sawyer's Bar families.
Two Small Rooms .
On each ' side of the dais
on which the altar stands is
a small room about four by
ANNOUNCING
T. D. RICH
of Eugene, Oregon
Has Purchased the
ROOFING DEPARTMENT OF
PAR ROOF & FENCE CO.
And will continue at 111 North Fir
under the name of . . ".
T. D. RICH ROOFING CO.
The Fencing department will
Continue under JAY BROWN at
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... Alio at 111. North Fir
T. D. RICH
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nine feel, one used as the
sacristy, the other as a con
fessional. In one of these rooms may
be seen a few of the head
boards which Father Florian
carved for the graves in the
cemetery beside the church.
These have been brought in
side to be preserved from the
weather, but unfortunately
they were taken in too late.
The ' inscriptions themselves
are undecipherable, but the
beautifully carved edgings re
main as evidence of his ar
tistry .
Carving on the headboards
was always free. The whip-
sawed boards were brought to
him and the engraving was
done in loving remembrance
of the faithful..
Failing Health
Father Florian remained at
Sawyer's Bar until 1866 when
failing health forced him to
retire to Marysville, Calif., at
the age of 57. There has never
been a resident priest at Saw
yer's Bar since that time.
Scholarship List
Distributed by AL
Local high school seniors
who are Interested In-obtaining
finnncial assistance for
higher education have been
reminded' of a publication;
"Need a Lift?" distributed by
tlio Aiyiprica.n. Legion. .Wex
ford. The educational handbook
contains hundreds of college
and vocational school schol
arship listings for qualified
high school students. This
publication, revised annually,
is recognized as one of the
most complete sources of ca-
I rccr and scholarship Informal
tion in the United States, ac
cording to Legion Commander
Gninvlr Brittsan.
Brittsnn pointed out that
the publication doesn't limit
its listings to children of vet
crans, but also contains schol
arships and. educational aids
available to all students
"Every year," Brittsan con
tinued; "llu-re are 'thousands
of scholarships and grants for
higher education which go uiv
used. This is due in part to
the fact that too many needy, j
qualified high school students1
are unaware of these offers'
of financial assistance." !
The handbook; prepared by !
the education and scholarship
committee of the Legion's Na
tional Child Welfare commis
sion, is now In its revised edl-'
tion, Distribution of more
than a quarter of a million
t'opU-s since 1051 includes!
those sent to Mcdford High
school for student use.
: Occasional visits were made
by different priests for many
years, but these visits have be
come more and more infre
quent. Perhaps Sawyer's Bar
is a little too distant, or mod
ern conveyances do not take
to the difficult road over the
mountains as did the hardy
mules of the pioneers. It is
an historical shrine now-dear
to all who revere the memory
of those early-day settlers. In
192B a plaque was placed on
the corner of the church
which reads:
. ."Erected 1855. Dedicated
to the memory of Father
Florian and the pioneers of
Sawyer's Bar on Oct. 7,
1928 by Mountain Dawn
Parlor No. 120 of the Na
tive Daughters of the Gold
en West and by Liberty
Parlor No. 193 of the Native
Sons of the Golden West."
In 1953 a group of people
interested in the preservation
of the old church organized a
"Committee for Restoration of
Sawyer's Bar church." One of
Us first acts was to request the
sponsorship of the Siskiyou
County Historical Society.
Operate As Committee
This was given, and in all
their activities the group op
crated as a committee of the
Society. A total of $2,270 was
raised for tile' work, a sub
stantial portion of which was
raised through Salmon river
community projects and the
rest by popular subscription.
Restoration work done by
the committee included re
placing tlie wooden founda
tion with concrete, rebuilding
the entire front of the church
with-native cedar, replacing
all window frames and sash,
and the rebuilding of the en
trance steps and porch to their
original plan of construction.
The interior was preserved
as nearly as possible in its
original state.
Assisting as ' a member of
the committee and also in do
ing much of the actual work
ot restoration was Joe Scrpn
of Ft. Jones, who also is so
liciting funds and working on
the restoration of the century
old Catholic church at Cal
lahan, Calif.
John Norris Pledged j
In U of O F rater nify
Eugeno - John C. Norris
has been pledged lo Phi Kap
pa Sigma fralernily at the
University of Oregon during
the winter term, according to
tin office of student attairs.
Norris, son of Mr. and Mrs. 1
Vallnn A. Norris, 831 Mlnnc-j
sola avc., Medford. was one I
of 63 men pledged to local fra-1
tcrnltict during the term. 1
Paint With
llftf' The
Wonderful
Paints.,.
.VI
L&Uy So Easy
7jr To Usel
S&H GREEN STAMPS, TOO!
Medford Paint
& Wallpaper Store
6th It Holly Acrau From P.O
Phon. SP 2-9331
Los Angles Pastor to
Speak at Discussion
The third of a series of dis
cussion meetings by the
Church and the Peace panel
has been scheduled April 4 at
8 p.m. in the St. Mark's Epis
copal parish hall.
Guest speaker will be the
Rev. Stephen H. Fritchman of
the First Unitarian church,
Los Angeles, Calif.
In its second 1 discussion
meeting last Sunday, the pan
el presented a general view of
world disarmament and devel
opment, with special emphasis
on the "Great Decision" topic
RIVER VOLUME
Portland - The Columbia
river, the boundary between
Washington and Oregon, car
ries more water than all the
other American streams lo
cated in the Pacific coast re
gion combined.
proposed for consideration by
religious groups.
Under discussion was the
subject, "What does the Chris
tian say about the fact that
the major factor in our pros
perity is the arms race?" ,
Participating were Dr.
George Roscberry, Methodist
church, moderator; the Rev.
Escil Hiser, Church of the
Brethren; the Rev. Theodore
J. Erhlich, St Mark's Episco
pal church; Richard Ketchum,
Presbyterian church; Arnold
Jenny, Methodist church; Rob
ert Grant, Catholic church;
and Mrs. Harlan Bosworth Jr.,
Episcopal church. ;
During the meeting, the
group and audience voted to
continue the discussion each
month to determine the
churches' position on peace
programs, and to allow mem
bers of the various churches
to meet.
MHS Junior Receives
Mention in 'Tech Show'
James Johnston, a junior at
Medford High school, has re
ceived honorable mention rib
bons on a set of architectural
drawings exhibited in the
state drawing exhibit at the
Benson Polytechnic "tech
show" in Portland.
He is the sow of Mr. and
Mrs. Jim Johnston, 914 South
Newtown ave., Medford.
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