Church ladies

In the Old Country, women deferred to men in the home, in government, money matters and even in worship services. But women arriving in America experienced some different treatment right away, hearing "Ladies first" when exiting from the ship and being served before men. Those who traveled to Colorado after 1893 would be astonished to learn that men had passed legislation giving women the vote in state and local elections, 27 years before the rest of the nation. Immigrant women were quick to take advantage.

In Volga-German villages, women were to keep silent in prayer meetings, were not allowed to teach or exercise authority and sat on one side of the church while men sat on the other. But the ladies of Globeville's German churches formed Ladies Aid Societies, and visited the sick, helped maintain the church buildings and raised money for items such as hymnals and baptismal fonts. In St. Joseph's Polish Church, Holy Rosary and Transfiguration Orthodox Church, women organized the Ladies Choir, Sodality and the Altar Society. Branches of the ethnic fraternals appeared too, such as the Queen of the Holy Rosary Lodge No. 7 of the WSA, St. Anna's Lodge 143 of the Croatian Fraternal Union and the women-only Slovenian Women's Union.

The ladies quickly gained respect for their skills in organizing and fund raising. Bake and craft sales, raffles, concerts and plays, church picnics, carnivals and bazaars all raised money and built community. The tradition continues with the Orthodox Food Festival, Argo Park at 47th and Logan, Saturday and Sunday, July 20 and 21st; The Polish Food Festival Sunday, August 25th in the parking lot of St. Joseph's Polish Catholic Church and the Holy Rosary Bazaar, at 4688 Pearl Street, Saturday and Sunday, September 7th and 8th.
Today's women have many more opportunities to exercise authority and express creativity but churches and the community benefit when they chose to focus their efforts on Globeville.

Ladies Society from Holy Transfiguration about 1905

photo used with written permission from Steve Klimoski

Ladies Aid Society, First German Congregational Church, 1944

photo used with written permission from Janet Wagner

Ladies from Holy Transfiguration selling food and crafts

photo ® Mary Lou Egan

Orthodox Food Festival

Polish Food Festival

Holy Rosary Parish Bazaar

Tradition Continues at Holy Rosary

In the photo of the first Holy Rosary Parish bazaar in 1919, the men are wearing suits and the ladies are in their native Slovenian and Croatian dresses from the “old country.” They are hoping to raise money for their new church and one can imagine that there was singing, dancing, ethnic food and games.
Holy Rosary will continue this tradition on Sunday, August 29th from 8:30 am to 8 pm in the school parking lot. There will be music, dancing and ethnic food favorites from pancakes to potica and tamales. Music and entertainment will begin at 11:30 with Matachin dancers, live bands, a DJ and Slovenian accordion master, Joann Birsa. Activities for the children include face painting and pony rides. Historic Holy Rosary Church will be open for tours at 1 pm after all the Masses.

Holy Rosary Parish is located at 4688 Pearl Street in Denver, off of I-70 and Washington Street in the Globeville neighborhood. For more information call 303-297-1962 between 9 am and 1 pm.

1919 bazaar photo courtesy of Holy Rosary Church

photos of pony rides and potica by Mary Lou Egan