2B The News-Herald. Friday, July 2,1993
News nugget from 1935
Miss Deborah Brown spent the were supplied by Mrs. Martha
weekend with her mother, Mrs. Hope Basnight Smith and were in
Mary Brown, in Menola. the Feb. 21, 1935 issue of The
Editor's note: News nuggets News-Herald.
Congratulations
Ahoskie
During The
Centennial Celebration
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St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
Ground was broken for St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
on West First Street in 1977, and the church was dedicated in
1980. Despite many construction problems and earlier
challenges to find a home, the church now flourishes.
Small Catholic church flourishes
after rocky beginning in Ahoskie
We are Proud to Be a Part of Ahoskie's
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By Gloria Newlin Shriver
St. Chatles Borromeo Church
Jesus told his disciples that one
man would sow and another would
reap the harvest
That's exactly what happened at
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic
Church in Ahoskie.
Early in the 19th century, the
young bishop of Charleston, John
England, traveled through his dio
cese, which included both Carolinas
and Georgia, in an attempt to locate
Catholics.
He reported that North Carolina
had the fewest Catholics of any
state — only about 500 — while
South Carolina had 7,500. Unfor
tunately, the church lost many of
those members, especially in the
rural areas where few churches ex
isted, to other denominations.
The only counties in the
Roanoke-Chowan that were noted
giving the bishop any hope were
Hertford and Chowan. It's hard to
understand why he considered these
counties as helpful, because it also
was recorded that there was a total
of fewer than 10 Catholics in them.
However, he continued to travel
by boat up the Chowan River to
visit five Catholics in Edenton and
a Catholic couple in Murfreesboro.
In spite of the bishop’s hard work,
the faith did not survive in the area.
For many years, if any Catholics
existed in the area, the found it pru
dent to keep their whereabouts un
known, for in those days, it was
commercially and socially prudent
to keep one's Catholic faith hidden.
Family starts ctiurch
Many years later, in 1934, Mr.
and Mrs. William H. Foreman
moved into a home on N.C. 42,
where J.T. Hall now lives. So far
as it is known, the Foremans were
Ahoskie's first Catholic couple.
The Foremans converted to
Catholicism during the 1928 presi
dential election. They had left their
faith, because their former minister
made so many highly discrimina
tory remarks about presidential can
didate A1 Smith’s Catholic faith.
When the Foremans moved from
Norfolk, Va., to Ahoskie, they may
have been dismayed to discover that
not only was there no Catholic
church but that there were no other
Catholics in town.
For seven years the Foremans
traveled to the Edenton church, or
to the little Scotland Neck mission
or to the Roanoke Rapids church to
attend Mass on Sundays.
In 1941, they discussed the pos
sibility of having a priest come to
Ahoskie to say Mass at their home
on the Aulander highway. Father
Peter McMeeny, the Roanoke
Rapids priest, helped them arrange
to have a Mass said at their home
on Wednesday mornings.
The Foremans are considered the
founders of the Ahoskie church, but
it is believed that Arthur and Hilda
Myers of Woodland, a Mrs.
Shearon and a Mrs. Allen also
joined them for services.
Shortly thereafter, one of the two
priests in Tarboro arranged to come
to Ahoskie so that Mass could be
celebrated on Sunday mornings.
Rental building found
During World War II, as more
pet^le came to town, the Foremans
sought to get a better meeting
place. They were allowed to rent
space in the Garrett Building on
Mitchell Street for $10 a month,
and the little congregation set about
converting it into a chapel.
The work completed, Ahoskie
had its first Catholic church, called
St. Richards. The first Mass was
home on First Street, adjacent to
the church, as a rectory in about
1956.
St. Charles members also helped
Catholics in Bertie County found a
mission in Windsor. The mission
continued until it was closed a few
years ago, and those Catholics now
Mr. and Mrs. William Foreman, who
converted to Catholicism during the
1928 presidential campaign, are
believed to be first Catholic family in
Ahoskie.
celebrated on Thanksgiving Day,
1942, with Edward Ashe, Dr. James
Shannon, Mrs. Carroll Credle and
Dr. Archie Monk.
A year later, however, the con
gregation was asked to vacate the
building by the new owner.
Candy store bought
So the membership located a
two-story, red-brick candy store on
Academy Street that was put up for
sale by the Ely family. A grant of
$6,000 from the Catholic Exten
sion Society was obtained on condi
tion the church be named St.
Charles.
With the grant and donations
from others, including $100 from a
non-Catholic neighbor, Eugene
Moore, who arranged the purchase,
the little band of Catholics bought
the store.
Bishop Eugene McGuinness then
appointed a resident priest for
Ahoskie, Father Giles Wade, a
Franciscan, who lived in a room
over the Foremans’ garage. Father
Giles spent many recorded hours
traveling in nearby countries in
search of other Catholics.
The worshipers celebrated their
first Mass in their new home on
Easter Sunday in 1944, but the
bishop did not come to dedicate the
church until Oct. 15. 1944.
The first person baptized in the
new church was Martha Louise
Shannon, the daughter of Dr. James
and Beverly Shannon, on Jan. 20,
1946.
The first pastor, however, was
called back to seminary in Pennsyl
vania to instruct new students. He
left behind 27 parishioners, includ
ing Dr. T.A. Monk and Joe Andru-
sia, who are members today.
Church integrated
By 1954, the church had 85
members, and a weekly Bible study
was added for children and adults.
Miss Charlotte Brett helped instruct
the children. During this lime, St.
Charles welcomed its first African
American members, and it is be
lieved to be the first integrated
church in the Roanoke-Chowan
area.
The bishop designated the
Ahoskie church in 1954 as a train
ing ground for new pastors, and a
succession of newly ordained priests
followed. In later years, because of
the increase of Catholics and the de
crease in the number of priests, St.
Charles has been served by older
priests willing to help the little
church.
The first priests resided in an
apartment above the worship area of
the church on Academy Street, until
the parishioners rented a little brick
attend Mass in Williamston.
Only one St. Thomas priest has
been buried in Ahoskie Cemetery,
Father Herman Bosschermuller, a
native of The Netherlands. After a
near-fatal auto accident, he con
tracted an illness and died in 1966.
New church dedicated
The "father of the church,"
William Foreman, died in 1969 in
Virginia Beach, Va. His wife, how
ever, lived to see the dedication of
the present in church in 1980.
Father John Bicrman, SAC, of
the Pallotime Fathers came to serve
the church in 1975, and Brother
William Sharkey was sent to assist
him. They wrote in the journal that
the condition of church was poor,
almost dangerous.
The church owned land on N.C.
561 and they proposed it be used as
the site of a new church. They se
cured a $50,000 grant from their or
der to help in the construction. The
order was concerned about the
American church and its rural min
istry, but the two emphasized the
commitment of St. Charles parish
ioners because of the funds they
raised.
Father Bierman wrote in The
North Carolina Catholic Journal in
1976: "Sometimes the parishioners
of St. Charles feel they've been for
gotten by the rest of their fellow
Catholics in North Carolina and
elsewhere in America. They've wor
ried about the building they use for
a church.... It's failing down."
So strong was the concern for the
Ahoskie church was that $7,000
was raised in donations from across
the country.
Ground-breaking was held July 9,
1977, for the new church, and in
the fall. Father Tim O'Connor was
assigned as pastor.
Then three religious sisters, Mary
Genino, Theresa Cunningham and
(See CATHOLIC, Page 12B)
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332-3155
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