When the Central Catholic Schools system informed one of its parishes, St. George,its building would be closed in autumn 1975 and its students bused to New Ulm,there was a revolt. The families of St. George, in rural Nicollet County, 7 miles northwest of New Ulm, voted 131 to 0 to abdicate from the consolidated schools system and go it alone.

That was their declaration of in-dependence from an association they had never participated in with full enthusiasm. It was their version of “let George do it alone.”

WHEN schools resume Sept. 2, St. George Catholic Parochial School will have its own principal, Sister Therese Galarneau of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, and at least four other teachers.

Mrs. Jean Micus of New Ulm will teach kindergarten and art. Robert Skillings of New Ulm will have fifth and sixth grade and phy ed. A teacher yet to be hired will have third and fourth grades. Sister Therese will have first and second grades. Mrs. Vernice Mattson of New Ulm will teach music and give instrumental lessons. Additional instructors on parttime basis are expected from federally-funded programs.

The enrollment is now 65 students, but more are anticipated by mid-September. Some children who have been riding the bus to attend public elementary schools in New Ulm are rejoining St. George.

“We have had a wonderful response,”said Sister Therese.

IN A GENERATION of declining birth rate,fading of Catholic parochial schools,total elimination of the rural public school system and consolidations of small town schools, St. George is a modern phenomenon.

By all present indicators, St. George should have cooperated with its parent board, which had a declining enrollment problem and rightfully didn’t need another building.”I was surprised at the vote,” said Father Darold R. Lehman, pastor. “But these families built the present building (in 1951) and they have great pride.”

Mostly of German descent, they are among the finest farmers in Minnesota. There is an old saying that land is worth $15 an acre more if you can see the steeple of St. George from your fields. That figure needs updating. A 320-acre farm near St. George owned by Emma Winkelman sold at auction last December for $1,079 an acre. The parish inherited most of the money,which they will receive over 10 years from a trust.

The parish is debt free, and the pastor said the 150 or so families don’t use legacies as an excuse to cut their pledges.

ST. GEORGE is an unincorporated community with 31 houses. They are neat, some new, and clustered around the church, the rectory, the school and cemetery.

Andy Volz, 71, a retired farmer who was born in sight of the church steeple, said “our peak population was 93, but we are only 81 now.”

The parish, founded in 1858, is older than the Cathedral parish in New Ulm, a fact that may have figured in the congregation’s decision to retain its school.

Sioux Indians overran the community in August 1862. A friendly squaw came through in advance frantically urging in the Sioux language, “Nepu pacha chi,”which Volz said meant “flee or you’ll get killed.”

All took her advice, save one, Jacob Mauerle, the general storekeeper, who said, “I know the Indians; I am not afraid.”

Jacob planned to pow wow with them and pass around the drinks. He was killed Aug.22,1862.

Elmer J. Penkert operates the general store today, assisted by his wife. Work gloves and fan belts hang high on the walls. There’s some hardware, a full line of groceries and a sociable bar where the farmers drop in to wet their whistles on pop or beer.

Elmer was snowed in by the blizzard last January, but managed to serve any customers who could make it to the store. He lives in an attached apartment. When the power went off and the refrigerator quit, he boxed up the frozen products and set them outside to stay frozen.

A WELL-GROOMED cemetery spreads out east and south of the church. Tomb-stones tell the stories of St. George families, like the Jacob Koschnicks, who had seven children die in 1881 from a malady that needed antibiotics.

“I know where most of the people are buried here,” said Andy Volz. “I even know where I’ll be placed beside my mother.”

From beginning to end, St. George takes care of its own.

June 29, 1975

New Ulm Daily Journal