Hooked on History: St. Joseph Church serves diverse parish in Dover for 175 years

In its 175-year history, St. Joseph Catholic Church has met the spiritual needs of the various groups of people who have called the city of Dover home.

Founded by Germans, the church was long dominated by Italian immigrants, along with a mix of people from Ireland and Poland. Now the congregation is serving Tuscarawas County's growing Guatemalan population.

"That's really the heart of who we are as a parish, because we have so many diverse people make up who we are as a parish," said Father Jimmy Hatfield, St. Joseph's pastor.

Church dates back to 1848

Bishop John Purcell of the Diocese of Cincinnati celebrated the first Mass in Dover in August 1835 at a house on Front Street. The first Catholic church in Tuscarawas County was St. Peter's Church, organized in 1840 in the Hessian Hills in the southwest corner of Lawrence Township. Catholics living in Dover attended services there until St. Joseph Church was started in 1848 by Fr. John Henry Luhr of Canton.

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Work began on a church building in 1849 and it was completed in 1850. Father Peter Muckerheide was the first resident priest, beginning in 1850. In 1853, Fr. Dietrich Winands succeeded Muckerheide. In 1857, at his own expense, Winands built a brick building as a parsonage and school. He lived on the upper floor, and classes were held on the first floor. A wood frame schoolhouse was built in 1866.

The Capuchin Fathers, a branch of the Franciscan Order, took charge of St. Joseph Church in 1886 and continued to serve there until 1996.

By 1897, the Dover congregation had outgrown its old church building. Ground was broken for a new building on Aug. 5, 1897, and was completed the following year. During 1898, the women of the church provided around $900 for new windows and bells. The three new bells were blessed on Oct. 23, 1898. The largest weighed 2,000 pounds, the second 1,200 pounds and the third 600 pounds.

"These bells and the largest of the old church bells were placed in the tower, and it was commonly said that they produced a very melodious sound," a history of the church said.

Ground was broken for a new parochial school in 1923 and was completed in 1924. It had three floors, eight classrooms and a cafeteria/social hall. In 1928 four more classrooms were added, plus a gymnasium for the high school.

A new church building

By the 1960s, the second church had begun to show its age. On Oct. 1, 1962, the building was closed for structural repairs ordered by the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations. Steel beams were used to strengthen the structure for further study. It was soon determined that a new church was needed.

Demolition of the old building began on June 17, 1964. "It was not without a little sadness that parishioners watched the old landmark come under the wrecking ball and reduced to rubble," the church history said.

While the new church was being built, Mass was held in the school cafeteria and gymnasium.

The first Mass was celebrated in the new $450,000 building on Nov. 27, 1965. It continues to serve the congregation to this day.

A new parish hall was dedicated in 1983.

More than 100 years of service by one family

Music has long been an important part of the church. Carl J. Brisgal became organist at St. Joseph in 1917 and served in that post until his death in 1955. According to his obituary, he received his musical training in Pittsburgh. At the time of his death, he was serving as deputy Tuscarawas County auditor.

He was succeeded by his daughter, Mary Kathryn "Katie" Hamma Bazzoli. She attended the Julliard School in New York City and then studied for four years at the Manhattan School of Music, where she majored in piano and obtained a bachelor's degree in music. She studied privately with Richmond Gale, who was accompanist for John Charles Thomas, a renowned tenor opera singer. She was organist until her death in 2002.

The current choir director, Beth Houze, is Carl Brisgal's granddaughter. She has sung in the choir since age 14.

At the present, St. Joseph Church has 814 families in the parish.

Special anniversary Mass on June 25

The congregation is staging a yearlong celebration of the church's 175th anniversary. An anniversary Mass, with Earl Fernandes, bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, as the principal celebrant, will be held at 4 p.m. June 25. Eleven priests who have ties to the church will also be participating.

"Regina Coeli," a hymn written by Brisgal in the 1920s, will be performed during the service. The hymn is in honor of the Virgin Mary and will be sung in Latin. "Regina Coeli" means Queen of Heaven.

The Mass will be in both English and Spanish to recognize the strong multi-cultural history of the parish.

"That really is quite extraordinary," Hatfield said. "A lot of people will say that the golden age of the parish was the great Italian years, the Seventh Street Tigers and all of that. The Seventh Street Tigers was the name of a group of families that lived on Seventh Street, Italian families. We're going to be putting up a monument to them this year as well.

"Everybody's home was everybody else's home. Somebody would always have these big Sunday Italian dinners. Kids were playing in the street. They were all having lots of kids in those days. Everybody knew everybody. It's kind of like that again today with the Guatemalans. We're constantly growing and changing."

Jon Baker is a reporter for The Times-Reporter and can be reached at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: St. Joseph Church in Dover marks 175th anniversary