St. John the Baptist History

This history is from the Saint John's Parish Site at: http://www.stjohnwinslow.org/history.html

Foundation (1926 - 1927)

The history of St. John the Baptist Parish is remarkable because of its fast growth both with respect to the number of families and also with respect to it facility growth. In its first thirty years of existence it acquired a church, a rectory, a convent, a parochial school and all the grounds required to meet future needs.

The Most Reverend John Gregory Murray, who appointed Rev. John W. Frawley then pastor of St. Agnes Church in Island Falls as the founder and first pastor, established the parish on December 17, 1926. Up to that time, most of the Catholic population of Winslow had belonged to St. Francis de Sales parish in Waterville. A few families, mostly English-speaking and Polish, were members of Sacred Heart parish in the same city.

On his arrival, Father Frawley rented a home on Clinton Avenue, which was to serve as temporary rectory until 1930. This arrangement was necessary since the parish owned neither land, buildings, nor funds of any kind. The new pastor immediately began visiting his parishioners and registered 378 families in his first census.

Due to the zeal of Father Frawley and the interest and cooperation of the people, the organization of the parish went so rapidly that in the first year three buildings were constructed. First, an Assembly Hall, which also served as classrooms, on Bellevue Street, built on the site that had originally been chosen for the first church. This location proved unsuitable for a church because the condition of the land and the steep slope on the edge of Bellevue Street caused dangerous landslides on that lot. Secondly, a church was built that constituted the main section of the church until the current one was built in 1957. Lastly, an annex, South Annex was attached to the church to serve as a school.

During the first year that followed the foundation of the parish, the people of Winslow continued to attend church in Waterville, mostly at St. Francis de Sales parish, where their new pastor held special services for them. It was on December 25, 1927 that the first Mass was celebrated in the new church in Winslow. Arrangements were made for the Winslow children to begin their scholastic year with the Ursaline Sisters in one of the buildings at St. Francis de Sales parish on September 4, 1927. On January 7, 1928 these children were transferred to their own school buildings in Winslow in the Annex of the new church and in the Bellevue Street Hall. In this new school three classes were opened with an enrollment of 126 pupils; three lay teachers had charge of these students. The school comprised all the grades from the second to the eighth inclusively.

Thus, within one year's time, the new parish was completely organized with church, rectory, and parochial school. The people had already reason to be proud of their young parish.

Growth (1927 - 1953)

Land. Parishioners of St. John the Baptist take great pride in their spacious grounds. During this period land was obtained to provide ample space for a church, school, rectory, convent, grotto, parking areas, all within one block.
The land formerly belonged to the Lockwood Company, owners of large mills in Waterville. Father Frawley made arrangements with these owners by which they leased this land to the parish for five years, with option to purchase when the owners would be ready to sell. These grounds were purchased gradually as the owner became ready to sell:

• In May 1937 a lot 355 feet by 231 feet was purchased. On this land stood the original school and church.
• In June 1942 an adjoining lot along Monument Street 270 feet by 231 feet was purchased. On this lot now stands the present church and rectory.
• In June 1945 the last section was acquired along Garand Street extending from St. John to Rousseau Streets 625 feet by 270 feet. On this lot now stands the present school and Winslow Place.

The parish then owned a large block of land measuring 626 feet by 501 feet.

Rectory. After living for three years in the rented house at 72 Clinton Avenue, Father Frawley was able to buy a house at 22 Monument Street directly across from the wooden church. This rectory was purchased in 1930. This three-story house served as rectory until 1957, when the new church was built with a rectory attached to it.

School. The first quarters to be used as classroom space were the South Annex, a wing attached to the first church, and the Assembly Hall on Bellevue Street. Both of these were built in 1927. The Assembly Hall was used for parochial organizations and classroom space until the Fall of 1939, when the North Annex was built to provide a parish hall in the basement, a chapel on the first floor in order to increase the seating capacity of the church, and the classrooms on the second floor. With these two wings attached to the church, the school had seven large and comfortable classrooms.

Convent. When Father Frawley opened his school three lay teachers were in charge of the school. Much praise must be given to these three courageous women who saw the new school through the difficulties of its first stages. Through the continued efforts of Father Frawley the parish was blessed in the Fall of 1937 with the arrival of nuns, the Ursaline Sisters who were already teaching in nearby parishes and whose Mother House was Mount Merici in Waterville. Three nuns took charge of the school and two laywomen completed the teaching staff.

The nuns commuted daily between Mount Merici and the school until 1948 when Father Frawley was able to purchase a house next to the rectory at 26 Monument Street to serve as a convent for the Sisters. The house was one of the oldest in Winslow, the third to be built on Monument Street; in 1948 it was renovated and made into a convent large enough to house the eight religious while exercising their apostolate in the parish.

Spiritual Works. Spiritual growth kept pace with the material development of the parish. Signs of this were numerous: the development of the parochial school, the cooperation of the parishioners, the many sodalities established, the frequent missions, the numerous vocations to religious life, the piety of the people, and the deeply Catholic atmosphere of the homes. In 1935 the parish was large enough to require the services of two priests and that year an assistant was attached to the parish.

Father Grondin Arrives (1953 - 1972)

In 1953 ill health forced Father Frawley to retire from the active ministry. Father Frawley had spent over 26 years of his life among the people of Winslow and, from his efforts and the faithful cooperation of the parishioners, he was leaving behind a remarkable achievement-a fully organized parish and a fund of $125,000 for future developments. To succeed Father Frawley, the Bishop of Portland, the Most Reverend Daniel J. Feeney, appointed Rev. Emmanuel R. Grondin, then pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Auburn, Maine, as the new pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in September of 1953.

New Church. Father Grondin organized a committee of men from the parish to seek their opinions and obtain their help in building a new church. After visiting many churches in New England and Canada, father Grondin and these representatives of the parish decided upon a modern type of church similar to those seen in Drummondville and Sorel in the Province of Quebec. The architect for those churches was Mr. Paul Labranche of Drummondville, P.Q. Arrangements were made to obtain the plans from him and to entrust them to the Alonzo J. Harriman architectural firm from Auburn, Maine, for adaptations and changes according to the needs of the parish. After this firm presented the plans to Father Grondin and the building committee for approval, the contract for the construction was awarded to F. W. Cunningham & sons of Portland, Maine.

The new construction began in April 1956. The first step was to drive cement pilings on which the foundations were to rest, since the land under the new church was too soft to support the weight of the new building. The construction was closed in just before the cold weather and work continued during the winter months, with the result that both church and rectory were ready for occupancy within fifteen months after the ground breaking.

The Church is a structure of light tan brick on the outside. The interior walls are of light yellow brick with terrazzo floors. The Stations of the Cross are in mosaic and the original three altars, communion rail (no longer used), pulpit and baptismal font was of marble imported from Italy. The church measures 168 feet long and 56 feet wide and originally had a seating capacity of over 1,000 persons.