DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about White Deer Sacred Heart Catholic Church, out in Carson County. Now, you want to talk about a long way from home — let's start in 1909, when two men named Henry Czerner and Ben Urbanczyk came up to the Texas Panhandle. Both of them were originally from the Polish colony of Panna Maria, Texas, way down to the south, and they didn't just come to look around.
They secured a block of land near the town of White Deer, and that was the seed of something. By 1913, twelve Polish families had settled in White Deer. Twelve families, out on the Panhandle plains, a long stretch from the nearest church.
So what did they do? They did what people do when they have faith and no building to put it in — they held prayer services in individual homes. Once a month, a visiting priest would come and conduct Mass.
It kept the community together, but everyone knew it couldn't stay that way forever. Funds were raised. And in February of 1913, Father C.
J. Bier purchased land for a church. Now here's where the story gets worth tellin' in the right tone of voice — while the men constructed the church, the women and children worked in the fields.
Every hand accounted for, every role essential. And Sacred Heart was completed on May 29, 1913. From twelve families meetin' in homes to a finished church, all within the same year.
The parish grew. The Panhandle has a way of drawing people, and when the oil boom came, Sacred Heart grew right along with it. Catholic churches were scarce in those parts, so area residents from all around came to White Deer to attend Mass.
And in 1927, the parish had grown enough that Father M. French became the first resident pastor — which tells you something right there about how far they'd come from that once-a-month visiting priest. Then comes 1939, and Father Zienta did something that reaches past religion and into culture.
He established the Polish Sausage Festival in August of that year, with the express purpose of preserving Polish tradition. But World War II came, and the festival was discontinued. Some things have to wait.
The church kept finding ways to serve. On May 5, 1948, the church committee purchased a hospital unit from Pampa Air Force Base, and that unit became the parish hall. Then in June of 1951, a tornado hit White Deer — and when a tornado hits a Panhandle town, it doesn't ask permission.
The elementary and high school were both destroyed. Sacred Heart stepped in and became the temporary school for grades five through eight. A church that started as a gathering place was now a classroom.
The Polish Sausage Festival was revived in 1957, and those proceeds were put to work — they were used to build a new church, which was completed in March of 1962. That festival, started to preserve tradition, ended up building something permanent. And standing between the church and the rectory, there is a statue.
It's in honor of Robert Lane McCreary, who died at sea on October 27, 1964. The marker doesn't elaborate, and it doesn't need to. The statue stands.
That's honor enough. From Henry Czerner and Ben Urbanczyk securing a block of land, to twelve families in the homes of neighbors, to a completed church, a festival, a school in a storm, and a statue between the walls — Sacred Heart has kept on serving its neighbors as a welcoming place of worship and hope. In the Panhandle, that's not a small thing.
That's the whole thing.
What the marker says
WHITE DEER SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1909, HENRY CZERNER AND BEN URBANCZYK, BOTH ORIGINALLY FROM THE POLISH COLONY OF PANNA MARIA, TEXAS, CAME TO THE PANHANDLE AND SECURED A BLOCK OF LAND NEAR THE TOWN OF WHITE DEER. BY 1913, TWELVE POLISH FAMILIES HAD SETTLED IN WHITE DEER. WITHOUT A CHURCH, SETTLERS OFTEN HELD PRAYER SERVICES IN INDIVIDUAL HOMES. ONCE A MONTH, A VISITING PRIEST WOULD CONDUCT MASS. FUNDS WERE RAISED AND FATHER C.J. BIER PURCHASED LAND FOR A CHURCH IN FEBRUARY 1913. WHILE MEN CONSTRUCTED THE CHURCH WOMEN AND CHILDREN WORKED IN THE FIELDS AND SACRED HEART WAS COMPLETED ON MAY 29, 1913. THE PARISH GREW AND IN 1927 FATHER M. FRENCH BECAME THE FIRST RESIDENT PASTOR. DURING THE OIL BOOM SACRED HEART GREW AND BECAUSE OF A LACK OF CATHOLIC CHURCHES, AREA RESIDENTS ATTENDED MASS IN WHITE DEER. FATHER ZIENTA ESTABLISHED THE POLISH SAUSAGE FESTIVAL IN AUGUST 1939 TO PRESERVE POLISH TRADITION, BUT DURING WORLD WAR II THE FESTIVAL WAS DISCONTINUED. THE CHURCH COMMITTEE PURCHASED A HOSPITAL UNIT FROM PAMPA AIR FORCE BASE ON MAY 5, 1948 THAT BECAME THE PARISH HALL. WHEN A TORNADO HIT WHITE DEER IN JUNE 1951, THE ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL WERE BOTH DESTROYED AND SACRED HEART BECAME THE TEMPORARY SCHOOL TO GRADES FIVE THROUGH EIGHT. THE POLISH SAUSAGE FESTIVAL WAS REVIVED IN 1957 AND PROCEEDS WERE USED TO BUILD A NEW CHURCH THAT WAS COMPLETED IN MARCH 1962. THE STATUE BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND RECTORY IS IN HONOR OF ROBERT LANE McCREARY WHO DIED AT SEA ON OCTOBER 27, 1964. CATHOLIC PRIESTS HELPED EARLY POLISH SETTLERS BECOME A PART OF THE COMMUNITY. SACRED HEART HAS CONTINUED SERVING THEIR NEIGHBORS AS A WELCOMING PLACE OF WORSHIP AND HOPE. (2012)