HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Parishioners of St. Joseph’s, Fort Edward are getting ready to celebrate the remarkable 150th anniversary of their church.

Since 1869, St. Joseph’s has been a beacon of faith for Catholics in the Fort Edward area. For many, the parish is a second home in the surrounding community, so it only seems fitting to go all out for such an incredible anniversary. 

“We have every reason to be proud,” said Rev. Thomas Babiuch, pastor of St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s/St. Paul’s in Hudson Falls. “That’s a long time to be around and sustain and worship in the same place. It’s a very loving, family-oriented community. It’s special.”

The parish will ring in their 150 years of worship with a special Mass and celebratory events on Sunday, Sept. 15. Mass begins at 1 p.m. with events following immediately after the service in the school hall. 

Last year, a group of dedicated parishioners formed the St. Joseph’s 150th anniversary celebration committee. They designed anniversary t-shirts and mugs, cleaned and decorated the church, posted historical facts about the parish in the bulletins for months leading up to the event, and worked tirelessly to put together a day of dedication.

“My family has been here forever,” said Peggy Currie, co-chair of the celebration committee. Along with Currie, fellow co-chair Gayle Smith has long ties to St. Joseph’s.

“We were both baptized here. Married here. Everything. The whole nine yards,” said Smith.

The celebration will have food, live music, games and activities, tours of the parish, and a “mini-museum” looking back at the church’s history, a task Currie has taken on with the help of parishioner and Ford Edward village historian, R. Paul McCarty.

“It’s always good to reflect back and look forward,” McCarty said. “We can learn from the past and Fort Edward has a rich past. A lot of things happened here.”

Old posters, newspaper clippings, souvenirs and cards from parishioners and community members were collected for the museum’s display. The anniversary committee held a “treasure hunt” through the parish’s vast basement, finding old candle sticks, an incense burner and a bible dating back to the 1800s.

“We just found all sorts of things for our mini-museum,” said Smith. “The history is going to be phenomenal.”

Looking back

Prior to 1869, Catholics in Fort Edward attended religious services at St. Mary’s, Glens Falls and St. Mary’s, Hudson Falls. In 1869, a former Presbyterian church located on Broadway was purchased by the Catholic Church, and St. Joseph’s was formed. 

The first Mass was celebrated by Rev. John Murphy of Glens Falls. Rev. Daniel Cull of Saratoga was Father to the parish until a younger priest, Rev. James F. McGee, was appointed pastor; he oversaw the parish until 1875. 

Over the years the St. Joseph’s community continued to grow as Fort Edward and other mill towns in the area flourished. By 1917, the congregation numbered 1,200 communicants, 300 of them children enrolled in Sunday school. The parish realized that it was starting to outgrow its original building and began preparations for the construction of a new church.

On Aug. 5, 1917, approximately 3,000 people came to watch as the cornerstone of the new church was blessed and laid by the Rt. Rev. Mgr. Joseph A. Delaney. In 1956, construction of the parochial school began in the back of the church property. In the summer of 1957, the parish marked the opening of its first school with a dedication from Rev. Edward J. Maginn, auxiliary bishop after whom the Albany diocesan high school, Bishop Maginn, is named. St. Joseph’s  School operated until 1973. 

A PART OF OUR LIVES

 “Just going through this and doing this makes me realize how much St. Joseph’s has been a part of my life,” said Currie. “I mean as we’re going through things and finding articles from the newspaper and everything, I think our lives just revolved around the church didn’t they? It’s just a part of our lives.”

Planning for the anniversary naturally gave way to some nostalgia: the two women recalled the days of wearing handkerchiefs or tissues over their heads when they forgot their hats for Mass, or stopping at Tommy Smith’s bakery — a popular shop on the way to and from Sunday school — to grab cinnamon buns or finger rolls. 

Currie remembers going to Stations of the Cross every Friday afternoon after school; Smith said she “always felt drawn to the church,” and would stop in St. Joseph’s when walking home from school just to pray. 

“It was an honor and a privilege to be a part of it, but it was more like your family,” said Smith.