Historic Holy Transfiguration of Christ Cathedral

State Register 5/14/1997, 5DV.771
They look so proud, the entire congregation all dressed up and assembled in front of the church, Russian Orthodox Church, Transfiguration of Christ, about 1905. For this group of immigrants, building their own church was an amazing accomplishment and the culmination of a long journey. 
In the late 19th century, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians, Serbians and Croatians began leaving Europe after their homelands had been annexed by the Austrian-Hungarian empire. (their passports would designate them as citizens of Austria) Their Orthodox religion had been suppressed by Roman Catholic Austria or Protestant forces in Hungary, their language forbidden and their culture nearly annihilated. Denied self rule and treated as second-class citizens, they were nonetheless required to serve in the army of their conquerers. Longing for religious freedom and economic opportunity, they would begin emigrate to industrial cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland, making their way to Globeville by the 1880s. 
Working in the three large smelters in the area, men would save enough to send for wives, sweethearts and family members from the Old Country and a small community of Czechs, Slovaks, Poles and Carpatho-Russians had formed in the area around Argo Park. By 1898, they were meeting for services in Globeville's only existing church, lent by a German-Russian congregation, and making plans to build a parish of their own. Founding members, George Pristash, Stephan Kulick, John Cintala, Sr., George Slovak, John Mindzak, Michael Kohut, Panko Homyak, Peter Kohut, John Wysowatcky, George Lesko, and Michael Dugan each contributed $50, a lot of money for men who were laborers. Others like John Kohut made bricks for the building and contributed hours of time to construct the temple.
The parish would survive revolution in Russia (their source of funds), prejudice, dissention, questionable pastors, the Depression, highway construction, the 1965 flood and parishioners moving out of Globeville. The arrival of Father Joseph and Matushka Paulette Hirsch in 1984 led to a revival of both the parish and the neighborhood. 
Holy Transfiguration received state historic designation in 1997, just in time for its centennial celebration in 1998. The state register acknowledges Holy Transfiguration's significance as the first Slovak church built in Colorado and the contributions these Eastern European immigrants made to Colorado and the Globeville neighborhood. 
Holy Transfiguration of Christ Cathedral

Photo used with written permission from Steve Klimoski

Lent

Today's Christian congregations might be urged to prepare for Easter by simplifying their lives, giving up FaceBook, Starbucks, a favorite food, television program, movies or beer. Early settlers in Globeville didn't have many luxuries to give up but regarded Lent as an opportunity for spiritual growth with greater prayer, repentance and charity. Lent was also a way to express their faith, which had been suppressed in the Old Country, and to preserve the food, traditions and culture they had left behind. 
On the day before Ash Wednesday, or Fastenacht, a German-Russian cook would serve her family schlitzkuchla, a deep-fried pastry. While the German-Russians didn't observe a strict fast, many families served meatless meals, such as Kaseknepfla,(cheese buttons) during the season. Lent was a time of frequent church attendance, with special services every Wednesday evening, and no dancing, card playing, amusements or weddings. 
Lent began for Catholics from St. Joseph's Polish and Holy Rosary Churches on Ash Wednesday with the application of ashes on the forehead, and a reminder that "dust you are and to dust you shall return". Lenten practices included abstaining from meat on Fridays and observing a fast that required the evening meal to be no larger than the combination of breakfast and lunch, and avoiding eating between meals. (It was understood that the faithful would cut back on beer and wine during the solemn season). Fridays were for the devotion known as the Stations of the Cross, Via Crucis, or Via Dolorosa, recalling the route Jesus took on his way to Golgotha, with incense, candles and Latin hymns like Stabat Mater, Mary is Standing.
Because Russian and Serbian Orthodox observed the Julian calendar, "Great Lent" usually began later than that of Roman Catholics with fasting that included not only abstaining from meat, but also certain kinds of fish and dairy. Inside the church, the royal gates to the altar remained closed to signify man's separation from God through sin, and the priest donned vestments in the somber color of purple. The Vesper service which began the lenten season was called Vespers of Forgiveness where the faithful asked forgiveness and forgave each other.
Many of the descendants of Globeville's earlier residents return to the neighborhood parishes to continue the lenten practices they practiced as children, and use the dark, cold days of Lent to prepare for the joyful resurrection of Easter. 

One of the stained-glass windows at Holy Rosary Church

German Russian Lent
St Joseph's Polish Catholic Church 
Holy Rosary Church
Holy Transfiguration of Christ Cathedral

Historic churches in Globeville

Shot-gun houses fill the long, narrow lots, iron and wooden fences define each yard and sheds, re-purposed chicken coops and barns line the unpaved alleys. Economically, Globeville is a poor neighborhood, but historically, tiny Globeville is rich. Each small home contains the story of an immigrant with a low-paying job, sending for relatives from the Old Country and building a better life in America. Hard-working and painfully frugal, these newcomers saved and planned for a generation to build their own ethnic churches, a link to their native cultures and a celebration of the freedom of worship that brought many here. By 1920, the neighborhood was home to three Volga-German congregations, a Russian-Serbian Orthodox Church, St. Joseph's Polish Roman Catholic Church, Holy Rosary Church, the Greenwood Methodist and the Seventh Day Adventist Churches. As the founders passed on and their descendants assimilated and moved away, congregations would struggle and not all the churches would survive. 
As the remaining parishes reached milestone anniversaries, parishioners experienced a renewed interest in their ethnic heritage, and looked for ways to celebrate their legacy with official historic status. Three of Globeville's ethnic churches have received historic designation: St. Joseph's Polish Roman Catholic Church is on the National Register, while both Holy Transfiguration Cathedral and Holy Rosary Parish are on the Colorado State Register. St. Joseph's at 517 East 46th Avenue, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The listing from the National Register states that "the Gothic style church was constructed in 1902 to serve Polish immigrants in the Globeville suburb of Denver." What the description doesn't say is that Globeville's Poles were from the Russian-controlled Plock region of Poland, where their religion, language and culture had been suppressed, that they would save for nearly 20 years, and then petition the German-born Bishop Matz to build a parish "exclusively for the Polanders." The congregation obtained Father Jarzynski (a Holy Cross priest from the same Plock region as many parishioners) and held Mass, confession, baptism and marriages in the home of Frank Wargin until the church was completed on Christmas Day, 1902. The church was a connection to Poland at a time the nation had ceased to exist, and much of the life of the Polish community was centered around St. Joseph's. There were processions for the feast of Corpus Christi, blessings of food before Easter, as well as Mass after the secular celebrations of Polish Constitution Day and the birthday of Casimir Pulaski. There was the Polish Literary Club, an organization for young people, that produced Polish plays, raising money for the parish and entertaining the community. There were also choirs, music performances, fraternal organizations, mock Polish weddings and parish bazaars.
The parish survived the Depression, World War II, assimilation, the division of the neighborhood by interstate highways and inadequate services from the city of Denver to make it for 110 years. With an infusion of new arrivals from Poland and enthusiastic support from the descendants of the founders, St. Joseph's is again the source of Polish culture, with Masses in both English and Polish, Polish language classes, Polish music and dance performances. Visit the website, or stop by (Lent is coming!) and experience the rich faith, food, culture and traditions of Poles in Globeville.  
St Joseph's Polish Roman Catholic Church

Funeral at St. Joseph's circa 1910, Photo® property of Mary Lou Egan

St. Joseph's circa 2013, photo® property of Mary Lou Egan

Woman's Glory, The Kitchen

The title was "Woman's Glory, The Kitchen," (which says volumes about women's aspirations in a certain era) but there was also "Kuche Kochen," and "Treasured Polish Recipes for Americans," titles of cookbooks published mid 20th century to instruct "modern homemakers" how to prepare the ethnic dishes their mothers had made. And there were compilations of recipes published by church groups, ladies societies and fraternal organizations in an effort to preserve an ethnic culture that was vanishing as immigrants assimilated. 

But these old books offer much more than kitchen tips and recipes. Inside Woman's Glory, one would find several recipes for potica, a description of the region in which that version originated, information about the person submitting the recipe and lodge events. The German-Russian cookbook, Kuche Kochen, has an entire chapter devoted to blini, along with instructions for preserving food for the winter, customs in the author's village in Russia and prayers said before and after meals.  Published in the 1940s, "Treasured Polish Recipes for Americans"  contained insights into Polish culture as well as instructions for cooking Polish favorites. There are many vintage ethnic cookbooks, but the best ones offer a glimpse into the immigrant culture and way of life even as it was disappearing.  

Published by the Slovenian Women's Union of America

Slovenian Women's Union of America

Available from the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia

Available from the Polish Art Center

Citizenship

Immigrants who settled in Globeville from the 1880s to the 1920s were mostly farmers from Eastern Europe and Russia with little education, few urban skills and no knowledge of the English language. Working in the smelters, railroads and meat packing plants made newcomers realize that better jobs and a better life came to those who could speak English and were American citizens. 

To become an American citizen a person had to be of "good moral character, have the ability to read, write, speak, and understand English, and have knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S. history and government," (also required today).
The first step was the easiest since the immigrant's sponsor (perhaps Maximilian Malich or John Wolf) would vouch for his "good moral character." But how could anyone learn to read and write English while working 12 hour days, six days a week? Schools, lodges and some churches came to the rescue. Principal Matthew Eagleton instituted night classes in English at Garden Place School, the "Slavonian" Lodge, St. Jacob's Croatian Society also held English-language lessons for members, and (after 1916) Denver's Opportunity School. As children learned English in school, they taught their parents, and, by the 1920s, there were radio programs, movies at Globeville's Cozy Theatre and baseball. Once the language was mastered, the study of U.S. history and government could be tackled with the aid of pamphlets containing the questions likely to be asked, such as ""Name the original 13 colonies, How can the president prevent a bill from becoming a law? What is the term of office of a U.S. Representative?" (The Questionnaire shown below was prepared for a Volga-German congregation in Nebraska during the 1900s).
Today's immigrants face the same challenges: a new language, different culture, unfamiliar customs, separation from family and little time to learn English and the fundamentals of U.S. history. There are classes nearby at El Centro San Juan Diego, Trevista Elementary School, Emily Griffith Opportunity School and Holy Rosary Parish Center.

Clases de Ingles: Las Clases de Inglés reinician el día lunes 14 de enero de 10:00 a.m a 12:00 p.m. en el Centro Parroquial. ¡Te esperamos!

Holy Rosary Church
Emily Griffith Opportunity School

Used with written permission from John Werner

English learner at Holy Rosary Parish Center

ESL class at Holy Rosary 

Globeville's Police Station and Town Hall

Police Officers H. Cornell, J. Lindsey, George Bosner and J. Malone strike a serious pose for the photographer in front of the former town hall building, recently remodeled as a police substation and renamed "Globeville No 1." The article in September's Denver Republican explains that, after Globeville's annexation to Denver in 1903, "it becomes necessary to establish at least one substation auxiliary to headquarters. The station ...is the old city hall remodeled...and contains two cells where prisoners ...are confined until they are tried in police court." If the city were anticipating how busy the substation would become, it wasn't apparent in the upbeat article.
On July 1, 1903 the Mill and Smeltermens' Union at both the Globe and Grant Smelters went on strike, part of a wave of labor disturbances across the state demanding higher pay, shorter hours, better working conditions and recognition for the union. (The eight-hour day had been signed into law by the Colorado legislature in 1902, but was not enforced). The union brought in its superstars, co-leaders Charles Moyer and Bill Haywood, who spoke at the town hall in Elyria, giving rousing speeches and urging members to strike. What began as an orderly protest soon disintegrated into a mob with strikers beating watchmen, superintendents and men who wished to remain on the job. The walkout idled 775 men, a significant number in the small town, and the violence destroyed the public's view of the union. Management obtained an injunction prohibiting picketing and two weeks later reopened the Globe works with twenty-five non-union men, protected by the Denver police. ASARCO then announced that it would close the obsolete Grant Smelter permanently, eliminating 475 jobs. By the end of November, many unionists had exhausted their resources and reapplied for their jobs at the Globe plant, which employed only 300.
The remaining strikers were desperate. On November 29, about 100 women and 50 men held a meeting at Max Malich’s saloon and determined to take action, attacking and beating a wagonload of non-union men returning from work. Several men were hospitalized and 18 people were arrested and jailed, 14 of them women. (whether or not all 18 were confined to the two cells in the Globeville station is unclear)
The union had more resources than the workers and by the end of 1903, most employees had gone back to work, after first pledging they had severed their connection with the union. 
Old maps show the former town hall and jail on Elgin Place, east of Washington Street - now occupied by small businesses. 

Scratchy photo from the Denver Republican, September 1903

® Photo 2012 by Mary Lou Egan

 

Christmas visitors

Globeville is rich with the traditions of the many ethnic groups who have settled there. Early settlers from the Carpathian mountains, Slovaks, celebrated with a meal that featured 12 food items to symbolize the 12 apostles. Afterward, there might be a visit from the jaslickari or Star Carolers, young men and boys dressed as the Three Kings or shepherds and an angel carrying a star on a pole. One member of the group carried a creche and told the story of the nativity in song. An extra place was always set at the Christmas table to receive a traveling stranger who might be the Christ Child in disguise.
Globeville was also home to many German-Russians from Norka, Russia who brought with them the custom of the Christkind and the Pelznickel. The role of the Christkind was usually played by a young lady with a clear voice, dressed in white with a veil over her face to hide her identity. She would arrive on Christmas Eve to question the children of the house. Did you obey your parents? Have you said your prayers faithfully? If the children answered these questions satisfactorily, they were given small gifts (provided by the parents) and the Christkind departed to visit the other homes on her route. For unruly or disobedient children, the Pelznickel was summoned. The Pelznickel was portrayed by a strong young fellow with an unkempt beard dressed in a sheepskin coat, a long chain over one shoulder and a bundle of switches in his right hand. Children would hear a recitation of their misdeeds and would hear the sound of the switches. Only after the children had promised to behave in the future did the Pelznickel disappear into the night. The threat of the Pelznickel appearing would be enough to keep many children from misbehaving all year. 
Las Posadas is a wonderful Mexican tradition where travelers recreate the story of Mary and Joseph as they search for a place to stay in Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus.  The holiday ritual includes a procession of pilgrims or peregrinos dressed as Joseph, Mary, angels, shepherds and the Three Wise Men travel from house to house until they reach the home designated as the Inn. Upon arrival, the procession is met at the door by the "innkeepers" and sing a lyric asking for shelter. Joseph and Mary are finally recognized and allowed inside where everyone rejoices with songs, prayers, music and sweets. The custom can last nine days, from December 16 to Christmas and is practiced by families and congregations in Globeville, including one on Monday, December 17 from Holy Rosary Church. 

Christmas Traditions in Norka

Holy Rosary Church