Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
After an important local landmark was destroyed in a fire, residents in the RM of Garden River have banded together to create a bell tower to remember it.
On Feb. 21, the former Saint Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church burned to the ground in a fire still under investigation by the Prince Albert RCMP. The church was located roughly 5 km south of Hwy No. 55.
On March 9, local resident Ian Kosik created a GoFundMe page asking for donations to build a bell tower in the Saint Peter and Paul Cemetery, located north of the church yard.
“I have lived in the community all my life,” Kosik said. “(The church) is a landmark that burnt…. I want to give back to the community. (It’s) something that I feel is very well needed.”
The fundraiser is personal for Kosik. His dad, grandfather, uncles, and other relatives are buried at the Saint Peter and Paul Cemetery.
The Saint Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church was founded in 1910 by Polish Immigrants who moved to the RM. The building hosted services every Sunday for years, and included a small rectory where the priest stayed.
The Church last hosted an event in 1999 when a reunion was held. It was decommissioned in 2018 due to its poor condition.
Kosik said residents were devastated to lose such an important local landmark.
The construction of the bell tower will honour the memory of the pioneers and early settlers that built the church.
“For many years I’ve driven around and seen other places where they had bell towers in the cemetery,” he explained. “I just thought, since that bell that is going in that bell tower was originally bought for the church … it was just something I thought would make a good remembrance.”
“It’s kind of nice when you drive by on these rural roads then you see landmarks that are still standing,” he added. “It means a lot.”
Money raised will be for material and labor, any other money raised will go to beautifying the cemetery. As of press tie, time, the campaign has raised roughly $2,700.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
