Alphonse Kubat, A Priest With a Past

By Charles Pederson

Father Alphonse Kubat, in retirement in St. Paul, MN. Photo provided by Fr. Michael Miller.

The path to priesthood is often preordained: go to school, enter seminary, become ordained, start serving as an ordinary priest. But even an ordinary priest may harbor hidden depths. Take Alphonse Kubat, priest of the Catholic Church and humble servant at churches in Scott County and surrounding areas. During his long life, Father Kubat was pressed into manual labor by the Nazi regime, struggled for religious freedom in Communist Czechoslovakia and finally found a new home in the United States, at Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church in New Prague, Minnesota. Fellow priest Michael Miller said of his mentor, Fr. Kubat, “You’d never know he’d been through such terrible things in his life.” [1]

Growing Up Between the Wars

Born in August 1916 to Frank and Anna Kubat, Alphonse came of age during the period between world wars. He grew up in Frydlant, a town in northeast Czechoslovakia. The area had long been part of the double monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The monarchy controlled vast acreage throughout Europe. To maintain territorial integrity, the crown had kept its ethnic minorities under strict control. However, the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian crown prince by an ethnic minority Serb lit the flame of world war. It also heralded the end of Austria-Hungary. And with the empire’s collapse after World War I, many new countries gained the freedom to emerge. Czechoslovakia, a new democracy, was one of these new countries.

One wonders what led Alphonse to the priesthood. Perhaps he was affected by people’s stories of the war or the presence of hundreds of thousands of Czech war wounded. In the devastation of World War I, as many as 150,000 Czechs had fought and died for the Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef. [2] This was about 10% of the entire Czech military contingent. Perhaps Alphonse was influenced by the example of his uncle Alphonse Kotouc, an ordained priest who served in Minnesota. Whatever the reason, young Alphonse determined to become a priest himself and enrolled in the regional seminary in the town of Hradec Kralove.

The Insanity of World War II

In Czechoslovakia, the insanity of the next war began in 1938. That year the German Nazi military annexed the Sudetenland. This border region of Czechoslovakia contained a majority of ethnic Germans. Adolf Hitler argued they were endangered and needed protection. Negotiating the Munich Pact with Britain, France, and Italy, Germany was allowed to occupy the Sudetenland unopposed. [3]

Only months later, in March 1939, Nazi armies invaded the remainder of Czechoslovakia to “restore order”[4] and make it part of so-called greater Germany. Czechoslovakia as a separate country ceased to exist.

Catholics became a special target of the Nazis. Many Catholic institutions were shuttered. Between 350 and 500 priests were arrested, of whom numerous were executed or died in prison or concentration camps.

New anti-Catholic laws forced Alphonse to end his theological studies. The Nazis instead pressed him into manual labor. When injured in a woodworking accident, he was released from the work gang. Despite Nazi oppression, Alphonse completed his religious training. He was ordained in June 1942, at age 25. The newly minted Father Kubat was installed as assistant pastor in a town an hour southeast of Prague. The war ended in two years later.

Postwar Religious Oppression

The vagaries of war left Czechoslovakia in the Soviet zone of influence. By the late 1940s, Soviet-supported communists controlled the Czech government. Official relations with the Vatican broke off in 1950, and the persecution of Catholics that had already begun accelerated.

Fr. Kubat was one of the many priests who suffered directly under the communist regime. Along with many other religious persons—both male and female—Fr. Kubat in 1953 received a prison sentence. He was housed  for two years in a “concentration monastery” in Valdice, Czechoslovakia. [5] Ironically the prison was in a former monastery that had been established in 1627. In 1857, the grounds had been converted into a prison for convicts with terms of 10 years to life. [6]

Catholic practice was officially allowed only by “licensed” priests, [7] who were considered state employees. Any other practice of the religion had to be conducted secretly. During the time of Fr. Kubat’s incarceration, communion (or the Eucharist) was secretly offered only five times because of the difficulty of obtaining the elements. Raisins picked from bread were soaked in water to create a “wine,” and a spoon was used as the “chalice.” [8] Bread serving as a communion wafer might be wrapped in cigarette paper for concealment. If a fellow prisoner informed on the priests, or if guards discovered that religious rites were being performed, their belongings might be taken away. Fr. Kubat himself was punished once with six weeks of solitary confinement. Fortunately, not all guards were equally zealous in their duties. Through lingering loyalty to the church or perhaps through bribery or sheer laziness, they might look the other way. [9]

Fr. Kubat was freed from prison in 1955. Because the government considered him unreliable at best—and certainly not a good communist—he still could not publicly perform his priestly duties. Instead, he was assigned to a construction crew and worked in a steel factory for nearly 15 years. [10] Any religious activities had to remain secret. As he already knew, priests performing their duties risked potentially severe punishment.

Prague Spring and What Followed

Early 1968 was a time of social ferment in Europe. In Czechoslovakia, widespread public demonstrations led to the fall of a hardline communist government. This left room for the reformer-socialist Alexander Dubcek. He took leadership of the government in April. Dubcek advocated for “socialism with a human face”: an opening of the tightly controlled economy and expansion of freedom of speech. Initially, Czechs feared that the Soviet Union would react angrily to a reform government. The worst did not happen, and  the Soviets remained on the sidelines. The period was optimistically known as Prague Spring.

Finally, the Dubcek government crossed a line. It expressed interest in possibly leaving the Soviet-controlled military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. This was unacceptable to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. In August, Brezhnev ordered 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops to invade and occupy Czechoslovakia. Dubcek was arrested, and his brief experiment in a less repressive socialism ended. [11]

Leaving an Old Home, Finding a New One

Seeing a lack of world reaction to the Soviet crackdown in his homeland, Fr. Kubat believed that things would not improve for the Czech religious community. In the chaos of the end of Prague Spring, he, along with several hundred thousand others, left Czechoslovakia. Fr. Kubat landed in neutral Vienna, Austria.

Fr. Kubat’s new religious home was a beautiful neoclassical church, Saint Nicholas. The building was located in Inzersdorf, on the southwest edge of Vienna. The bright white exterior of the compact building was beautiful. The celestial architecture echoed the inscription above the church’s entry: “Domus Dei Porta Coeli” (“God’s House, Gate of Heaven”). [12] Fr. Kubat must have felt inspired. Inspiration alone, however, was not enough to bind him to Europe.

About a year later, Fr. Kubat applied to emigrate from Austria into the United States. His application was approved, and Fr. Kubat arrived in New York City in mid-1969. After serving briefly at a church in North Dakota and for 15 years in Veseli, Minnesota, he was sent to the nearby Saint Wenceslaus parish in New Prague, Minnesota.

Aerial view of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, New Prague, circa 1935. Image in the SCHS Collection.

Czechs had settled parts of LeSueur, Scott, and Rice Counties, in southern Minnesota, in the 1850s. New Prague, the oldest Czech colony in Minnesota (founded 1856), [13] was the approximate center of the area. [14] Fr. Kubat’s uncle Alphonse Kotouc had overseen the erection of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Veseli. [15] That family connection, along with the area’s strong Czech background, must have helped Fr. Kubat settle in to his position.

The final step in Fr. Kubat’s Europe-to-Minnesota odyssey occurred in July 1974. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen, proudly displaying the certificate on his wall.

A Humble Servant’s Life

Having served in several other parishes, Fr. Kubat retired to Saint Paul in 1991 and died of cancer in January 2006. It had been a long journey from the upheaval and destruction of the first half of his life. But he was so happy to be able to be a priest.

Fr. Kubat showed real heroism and unshakable optimism in overcoming so many barriers to practice his faith. Fr. Michael Miller, however, quoted his friend’s modesty: “‘Do not say that I was a saint or a great priest.’ . . . His greatest joy was finally being able to act as a priest freely and without fear. . . . Having been deprived of exercising his priesthood for most of his life gave him an appreciation of it from which we can all learn.  Perhaps that is why he was so joyful.” [16] Fr. Kubat is buried at Saint Scholastica Cemetery in Heidelberg, Minnesota.

Fr. Kubat celebrates Mass. Photo provided by Fr. Michael Miller.

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End Notes

[1] Scott, S. (2006, January 4). Priest Endured Europe’s Worst: Czech Nazi, Communist Imprisonments Preceded His Flight to Freedom in America. St. Paul Pioneer Press, n.p., para. 2.

[2] Many Czech WWI Graves Neglected, Says Member of History Buffs’ Group. (2014, June 21). Radio Prague International. https://english.radio.cz/many-czech-wwi-graves-neglected-says-member-history-buffs-group-8292384

[3] BBC Bitesize. (n.d.) Hitler’s Foreign Policy, “Key Events,: para. 6. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z92hw6f/revision/4

[4] BBC Bitesize. (n.d.). Hitler’s Foreign Policy, “The Final Destruction of Czechoslovakia—1939,” para. 3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z92hw6f/revision/4

[5] Fiala, M. (Ed.). (n.d.). Czech Republic, the Catholic Church in the, “The Church Since 1945,” para. 7. Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/czech-republic-catholic-church.

[6] Correctional Facility Valdice (Kartouzy). (2009). Wikimapia. http://wikimapia.org/11412690/Correctional-facility-Valdice-Kartouzy

[7] Fiala, M. (Ed.). (n.d.). Czech Republic, the Catholic Church in the, “The Church Since 1945,” para. 7. Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/czech-republic-catholic-church.

[8] Miller, M. (2006, January 7). Funeral Homily for Father Alphonse M. Kubat (August 3, 1916 – January 2, 2006) St. Wenceslaus Church, New Prague, Minnesota. January 7, 2006, para. 3. https://www.stpandc.mn.org/Kubat.pdf

[9] Valdice Prison. (n.d.). A Communion Wafer Was a Piece of a Bun Wrapped in Cigarette Paper (Hostie, to byl kousek housky v cigaretovém papírku), para. 1. https://www.mistapametinaroda.cz/?lc=en&id=413

[10] Miller, M. (2006, January 7). Funeral Homily for Father Alphonse M. Kubat (August 3, 1916 – January 2, 2006) St. Wenceslaus Church, New Prague, Minnesota. January 7, 2006, para. 3. https://www.stpandc.mn.org/Kubat.pdf.

[11] BBC Bitesize. (n.d.) The Cold War, 1961-1972, “Events of the Prague Spring,” paras. 1-3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zsfwhv4/revision/5 

[12] Pfarre St. Nikolaus. (n.d.) Kirchengebaeude, para. 1. https://www.pfarresanktnikolaus.at/wp/?page_id=26

[13] Landsberger, J. D. (n.d.). Gateway to a New World: Building Czech and Slovak Communities in the West End, p. 19. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjmg975ibjxAhUBVc0KHRVFBH4QFjAQegQICxAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.josfland.com%2Fgardens%2Fgateway%2520small.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2KgbGOo32e53XOd8iRKWAL

[14] U.S. Department of the Interior. (1997, October). Church of the Most Holy Trinity (Catholic) [National Register of Historic Places Application Form]. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiK14m-krjxAhXVU80KHf5GB5QQFjACegQIBBAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnpgallery.nps.gov%2FGetAsset%2F9aac0eb3-afc6-4804-a109-1ae4c9e578f7&usg=AOvVaw1YVGi_tbOdFndEZD9JIiLq

[15] Scott, S. (2006, January 4). Priest Endured Europe’s Worst: Czech Nazi, Communist Imprisonments Preceded His Flight to Freedom in America. St. Paul Pioneer Press, n.p., para. 2.

[16] Miller, M. (2006, January 7). Funeral Homily for Father Alphonse M. Kubat (August 3, 1916 – January 2, 2006) St. Wenceslaus Church, New Prague, Minnesota. January 7, 2006, para. 3. https://www.stpandc.mn.org/Kubat.pdf

Historic Breweries of Scott County

Shakopee Brewery

The first brewery in the Minnesota River Valley, Shakopee Brewery opened in 1855. The facility was founded by H.H. Strunk (also the proprietor of Strunk Drug). Strunk owned Shakopee Brewery until, interested in other pursuits, he sold the business to Andrew Winkler in 1863, who retained ownership until his death in 1870.

After 1870, Winkler’s widow, Mary, continued to manage brewery operations. Five years later, she married a German Master Brewer named Hubert Nyssen and the two continued to run Shakopee Brewery together.

Unfortunately, the building was destroyed by fire in 1885. Fire was a huge concern in early brewing due to the dangerous combination of wood or coal heating and the dry, airborne dust produced when grain was industrially ground. Luckily, the family had enough capital to invest in rebuilding the facility. Shakopee brewery remained a fixture of the community until prohibition forced it to close in 1920.

You can still see the ruins of the brewery today, along the Minnesota River bike path, on the northwest edge of the city.

Shakopee Brewery, 1907. Photograph from the SCHS Collections

Hubert Nyssen, around 1920. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Schutz and Hilgers Jordan Brewery

The Jordan Brewery was founded in 1866. Like the Shakopee Brewery, it was started by a prominent local businessman – in this case Frank Nicolin. The structure of Jordan brewery was built to last with limestone and brick walls more then 3 feet thick. Nicolin sold the building soon after it’s opening, and in 1867 it took on the name Sand Creek Brewing, run by partners Sebastian Gehring and Frank Paier, who ran the business for almost 20 years. In 1885 they decided to sell to Peter Schutz and William Kaiser. Kaiser left the partnership, and by 1902 the facility was owned jointly by Peter Schultz and Peter Hilgers, whose names have remained with the brewery building ever since.

Like breweries around the country. Schutz and Hilgers closed in 1920, but reopened immediately upon prohibition’s repeal in 1933. At its height, Schutz and Hilgers brewed 40,000 barrels of beer annually and distributed to seven states.

In 1946 the brewery facilities were bought by Mankato Brewing Company, but they were soon forced to shut down due to financial difficulties. Finally, in 1954, the building caught fire during construction work, and nearly burned to the ground. The ruins were left vacant for many years until the city considered demolishing the property. Today, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has been refurbished into retail property.

Schutz and Hilgers Brewery, around 1940. Photograph from the SCHS Collections.

Lable from Schutz and Hilgers, around 1940. From the SCHS Collections.

Kokes Brewery, New Prague

Kokes Brewry was started by brothers-in-law Thomas Kokes and Albert Minars in 1884. Kokes, like many other early brewery owners, was a prominent local businessman who also owned a general store. Located at the corner of Second Avenue NW and Fifth Street N, the brewery advertised itself as “using clear hops and malts” and having a modern “steam operated” plant. Minars left the partnership in 1887, but Kokes remained an active owner for many years. The brewery was a prominent local employer, and delivered barrels to many small communities nearby New Prague.

When prohibition hit in 1920, the facility switched to selling soft drinks and malted non-alcoholic cereal beverages. Unfortunately, this new business model was not as profitable, and the business closed in 1931. Today, the historic building houses apartments.

1891 plat map of New Prague. Kokes Brewery is marked with a black square, in the upper right-hand corner.

Schmitt Brewery, Belle Plaine

Schmitt Brewery was opened by Albert Swinger in 1860. It cost $500.00 to build, and was located Northeast of town along what came to be known (aptly) as brewery creek. In 1866, Schmitt Brewery fell victim, like many other early breweries, to a fire, and Swinger was forced to rebuild.

Ownership of the brewery fluctuated after the fire. City records list B. Osterfeldt as proprietor in 1870, but Christian Schmitt purchased the brewery in 1871.

In 1877 the building burned down yet again and was rebuilt by Schmitt. For many years, Schmitt brewery was a local business, with a capacity of 10 barrels per day. Schmitt began to expand, increasing the capacity to 500 barrels per year and starting a bottling line, but his health was failing. In 1905, Schmitt passed away, leaving the brewery to his sons. It finally closed in 1916 after being outsold by competition from larger, regional brewing facilities.

Schmitt Brewery around 1900. Photograph from the SCHS Collections.

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager

Baseball Memories

Written by Elaine Rybak Clyborne Barber, Sept 23, 2018 for the opening of “Play Ball: Sports in Scott County” 

New Prague, 1914. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

My childhood was filled with the connection of my family members and the athletic traditions of my home town, New Prague. This is the reason for my writing out my memories for this special event at the Scott County Historical Society and the program on small town baseball. But first, a short history of how my  family came to Scott County. My family had arrived in Minnesota from the Austrian Hungarian Empire, a part now known as the Czech Republic, to Scott County in 1865. They were looking to escape the military duties of their homeland, and they were seeking opportunities to seek their fortune and a better life for their families. They settled in Nova Praha, New Prague after the journey from the small villages southwest of Vesili, which is south of Praha in Bohemia.

My family came to New Prague not as farmers, but as trade workers and merchants to supply the needs of the growing farming community surrounding the town. The first man of the Rybak family was a blacksmith, but the next generation of men started stores and saloons in the town. By the early 1900s my grandfather opened a brewery in New Prague named the OK brewery. This company closed during the Prohibition years, and they went into making their own flavors of soda pop under the name of Rybak’s bottling Works, which also distributed Schmidt Beer after the Prohibition years ended.

My father and his two brothers were educated in the New Prague schools and were active in various town activities. It was my father, Mathew Albert Rybak known as Mike who was very interested in athletic events. He belonged to the Sokol club (gymnastic society) and played football, but his passion was for baseball. He was featured in the recent 2018 Minnesota State Amateur Baseball publication which was printed for the tournament when New Prague, Jordan and Shakopee hosted the tournament games.

There are photographs of him at bat as a young man and another one of my mother, Clara Rybak, and I standing in front of the score board dedicated to him at a field named for him after his death in 1953. His statistic were also printed in that publication, but there were many years when he was still playing that did not make the book. I am so delighted that I have the 1921-1922 score book records of the town games against Jordan, Chaska and other small towns- many of them in Le Seuer.

One of the things that I am most proud of in my life was his dedication to organizing the town team when WW2 ended. He supported that town team as a player, a manager, and in a financial way. It was during those years when I followed the games that I began keeping score myself, which I still do to this day when I watch the Twins playing. When he died, the headlines on the New Prague Times read “Mr Baseball Dies. Mick’s Bat is Silent”.

Over time repairs were needed at the Mike Rybak Memorial Park near the golf course in New Prague. The score board was replaced with an electronic one and the name was changed to the Memorial Park, honoring all the people including the vets who played on that field.

In preparation for the state tournament many things were upgraded and improved! But my memories of the importance of sharing time with my mother and father at that field are rich and precious in my memory bank. those were the good old days of my childhood.

Half the World at Rest

May 9th was the 74th anniversary of V-E Day, the end of hostilities on the European front of World War II. V-E Day recognizes the surrender of Nazi Forces to the Allied Forces, and despite the name, fighting stopped in several places around the world. World War II is unique in that it has two different victory days. While we often think of World War II in the context of Europe and the Pacific, it was also fought across Africa in many European colonies. So while we call it V-E Day, we should recognize that nearly half of the world saw the end of the war. Here at home in Scott County, like many places around the world, the Nazi surrender was the main headline. Men from Scott County were still stationed abroad, but this day signified a closing of a major chapter in the county. Its sons would be coming home, at least from Europe.

The front page of the New Prague Times echoes an important thought that was in the minds of many “How long before Japan surrenders?” When the Nazi’s surrendered, their allies in Japan continued to fight on and there was no sign that the fighting in the Pacific would end soon. V-J Day didn’t come until August, but the newspapers of the county show the relief that people felt to see at least half of the world at rest.

Jordan’s newspaper followed suit, acknowledging the victory in Europe and turning its gaze to Japan. It is a strange thing to consider that the war is over and yet still in full swing. America didn’t join the war until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it one could argue that Japanese victory was more important in many people’s eyes. While the victory overseas can in May, many in America were saving their cheers for V-J Day. As the Jordan paper said, “But War is Less Than Half Over.” a good indication that people in Scott County, the war was mostly with Japan.

Two Musical Legends from Scott County’s Past.

Music has a knack for bringing people together. It can connect immigrants to families across the globe, connect different generations, and create a cozy gathering during cold winters. Highlighted below are the stories of two men who were prominent musical leaders in Scott County communities- J.W. Komarek and Al Hagie.

J. W. Komarek

J.W. Komarek was born in Chicago on July 25th, 1871, but his family relocated to New Prague soon after his birth. Komarek showed an early aptitude for music, and as a youth received lessons from prominent local musician John Sery. At age 14 Komarek moved to Minneapolis and was employed by a painting contractor with the hope of learning the trade. After a few years in the city, he returned to New Prague and started up a business painting commercial and residential buildings. Soon after he was wed to John Sery’s daughter Mary.

J. W. Komarek. Photo from the New Prague Times, May 3, 1945

In 1893, Komarek founded the Bohemian Brass Band of New Prague. Brass bands were very popular in the late 1800s. They played at town gatherings, parades and festivals and were even used to advertise products. These bands were a source of civic pride, and traveled throughout the region representing their community at fairs and musical competitions.

Like many other brass bands of the time,  Bohemian Brass Band featured drums, trumpet and cornet. Komarek’s group also added a local flair with the fiddle and bohemian bagpipes that nodded to the Czech ancestry of many of New Prague’s residents.

Over time, Komarek’s musical work took precedence over painting, and he moved full time into his role as a music teacher and band leader. He recalled as one of his proudest moments when he was presented with a recording of music played for him by some of his students- a rare treat in the early 1900s.

The prominence of Komarek’s musical career eventually pushed him into public service. He was elected council-man at large and later served as New Prague’s Mayor. After retirement, Komarek was a trustee of New Prague Community Hospital

W. Komarek passed away in May of  1945. He was survived by his 5 children, including two step-children from his second marriage to Anna Remes. On the day of his funeral, the town of New Prague decreed that all business should be closed from 1:30-3pm, allowing all community members to attend the service.

The Bohemian Brass band lives on through a mural that still graces Main Street in downtown New Prague.

Al Hagie

John Nicolin was a prominent member of one of Jordan’s most prominent families. The Nicolin house is still well known for it’s wealth and majesty, and  in the late 1800s John Nicolin owned numerous area business, including the musical Nicolin Opera House.  The story goes that Nicolin had a desire for more musical talent in the Jordan community and, in a testament to his local power, plucked Al Hagie from a group of traveling musicians and convinced him to stay.

Al Hagie and the Jordon Cornet Band. Hagie is a short man in white shirt and suspenders to the right of the frame. He his standing next to his young son. Photo from the SCHS collections.

In fact, Hagie had spent great deal of time in Jordan before finally settling in the town in his mid-twenties. Albert Hagie was born in Switzerland in 1862. His family immigrated to the United States when Hagie was 8, settling in St. Joesph Illinois. Al’s father was employed as a taylor and passed the trade on to his son. Al Hagie was also known in his youth as a talented musician, and by his early teens was skilled in several instruments, most prominently the cornet and the violin.

At 16, Hagie accepted employment with the Davern and Hopper shows as a musician. For the next 10 years he traveled with the troupe throughout the Midwest.  This journeying included long stays in Jordan, Minnesota. Hagie was said to have attended every 4th of July celebration in Jordan for all of those 10 years, and, later, every Scott County Fair after it’s beginning in 1914. During these visits, Hagie met Theresa Meyer of Jordan. She, and the insistence by Nicolin that Hagie lead a Cornet band in Jordan, convinced him to settle down. Al Hagie and Theresa Meyer were married on April 29, 1892. The Jordan Cornet Band was officially formed the same year.

Along with his skill as a bandleader, Al Hagie followed in his footsteps and started a taylor shop of his own. For nearly 4 decades he plied his trade. He was described as “a careful and thorough taylor, taking great pride in his work”.

His time with the band was not without stories. The Jordan Cornet Band would travel between local communities for performances and competitions. In the summer the journeys were undertaken by wagon, and in winter the band traveled in horse drawn sleighs. On one particularly icy winter day, the sleigh overturned, spilling band members and instruments into the drifts. Their trip was delayed as the men had to find and dig their trumpets, cornets and drums out of the snow.

It was well known that Al Hagie and his band were favorites of John Nicolin. Like any prominent family, there were those who were frustrated with what they saw as John Nicolin’s hold on the town of Jordan. Once, a competing band was formed for a town festival, just to provide and alternative for Hagie’s group and thereby spite Nicolin. The legend is that the second band only had time to learn a single song, but they played it on repeat all day long in an act of protest.

Hagie led the Jordan Cornet Band for nearly four decades, from 1892 until his death in November of 1930. In his obituary, Al Hagie was remembered as having “loved the simple life. There was no vain show, n ostentation about him”. He was also described as “a bluff, hearty, convivial, optimistic, forthright man”. During his funeral celebrations, 30 band-men from the Jordan Cornet Band, and brass bands from surrounding communities gathered to honor his musical career, playing marches and dirges throughout the event. The service ended with a rendition of “Abide by Me” played at Al Hagie’s grave-site.

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager