Bicentennial Story #135-Saint Demetrius Church-II
Title
Bicentennial Story #135-Saint Demetrius Church-II
Description
Account of a fire, rebuilding and moving of Saint Demetrius Church.
Date
11/5/1975
Contributor
Ben Makaruk
Rights
This recording cannot be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the Dickinson Museum Center. This recording may be freely used for education uses, so long as it is not altered in any way. No commercial reproduction or distribution of this recording file is permitted without written permission of the Dickinson Museum Center.
Format
mp3
Medium
audio reel, analog, 1/4 inch polyester tape
Language
English
Identifier
BS-135
Spatial Coverage
Belfield, ND
Rights Holder
Copyright Stark County Historical Society and Dickinson Museum Center
Transcription
In 1928, St. Demetrius Church and rectory north of Belfield were destroyed by fire with the loss of valuable church records. This however did not daunt the faith of those who remained faithful to the church. In 1929 they built a new rectory and in 1930, a new church. In the early part of 1940, many of the older farmers in the vicinity of Ukrainia and Gorham began to move into the town of Belfield, where they established a parish in 1944 - the first services being held in the latter part of 1945. With only a few families remaining at Ukrainia, the church became inaccessible to the majority who lived in Snow and Fairfield districts during winter snow and spring rain. This finally necessitated moving the church and the rectory to a new location. In 1949 a plot of forty acres along the U.S. Highway 85 was bought from Mr. and Mrs. Sam Logosz and in the fall of that year the church buildings were moved to this new location.
This is Bicentennial Story No. 135, prepared by Ben Makaruk for the Stark County Historical Society.
This is Bicentennial Story No. 135, prepared by Ben Makaruk for the Stark County Historical Society.
Original Format
Sound recordings
Duration
1:41
Bit Rate/Frequency
128kbps
Decade
1970 1979
Physical Location
Bicentennial tape #8, Bicentennial stories 130-151
Geolocation
Collection
Citation
“Bicentennial Story #135-Saint Demetrius Church-II,” Southwestern North Dakota Digital Archive At the Dickinson Museum Center, accessed April 28, 2024, https://dmc.omeka.net/items/show/540.
Comments
Sonja M Martyniuk
Here in this article you fail to mention who built this church. This church was built by my
Great uncle the Reverand Michael Martyniuk who continues to be overlooked once again for his
contributions of holding these Ukrainian immagrents together during the most oppressive
times. His mission was to build the new rectory , assemble the lost records and build the
church . Build that church he did and that was during the most stressful times after the fire ,
the 29 crash and the dust bowl. People with no money and this Reverand did it. They moved
the church later to a different location but as you can see his construction was sound it is still standing . In future references he the Reverand Michael Martyniuk should be mentioned as
the founder of that church after the original burnt to the ground.
Sincerely
Sonja Martyniuk