Church History

It was an ambitious dream--and to some, an impossible dream. But it was a beautiful dream.

The dream was for a parish plant of their own. It consisted of three buildings-- a church, a rectory and an education building. Nothing pretentious, ornate or garish. A design that would be beautiful in simple lines and planes. How could such a small community afford such a big dream? The truth was they could not. But this mission had interesting "can do" roots. In 1925, Mexican immigrants who worked at the cement plant built a chapel themselves. It became a mission of St. John's parish in Bartlesville which was the large town 5 miles away. That had been an "impossible" task too, but it had been accomplished. The first Mass was celebrated there on September 12, 1925.

So the dream of a parish plant would somehow be realized. The first step was to break the dream into parts--then handle the parts one at a time. The church was considered most important so it was to be the first project. But building projects, no matter how large or small, require funding, so that's where the small community started. They raised funds by every means they could but their number was small and their goal large.

At times their dream seemed to be quite impossible but they persisted. In 1953, they asked for EXTENSION aid and they received a building grant--and it was enough to help bring their first project into being. In 1955 the church was completed and every parishioner was justly proud of it. The paint was hardly dry on the new church however when parishioners were generating enthusiasm for project number 2 of their dream--the rectory. Again, they pulled out all stops

At that point, two-thirds of their dream was completed--with a very large one-third to do. Again they threw themselves into fund raising efforts with vigor and determination.

But this time things were not the same. Inflation had driven up their projected costs and money was not being raised as rapidly. Years went by but the image of their dream did not fade. They persisted when lesser people might have quit.

It was a building grant from EXTENSION that finally made their education building a feasibility. It was completed in 1971--17 years after the construction of their church. But now the dream--the parish plant--was complete. The Catholic community of Dewey had dared to dream the impossible and had persisted until it was realized.

Although it took 17 years to realize, Our Lady of Guadalupe parish plant stands as a symbol of what can be done by a small group of dedicated Catholics.

Today the Church is still a mission of St. John's in Bartlesville but it has grown to 60 families. Dewey is in fact becoming a suburb of Bartlesville and should become a full fledged parish in another five years.

Fr. Lee O'Neil, pastor of St. John's in Bartlesville and its mission in Dewey, is confident about the future of Our Lady of Guadalupe. "Growth is the key," he noted, "and if the present rate of growth continues, Dewey should be able to support its own full-time pastor within five years."

Fr. O'Neil is assisted in his duties at Bartlesville and Dewey by Fr. Mike Gabby and Sr. Dominica Rues, O.S.U. Together they minister to the spiritual needs of both

Dewey itself is a town of about 6,000 people whose economy is tied very directly to Bartlesville. Wage earners commute to Bartlesville to work for Phillips Petroleum, National Zinc and other firms. Fr. O'Neil puts Dewey's Catholic population at around 180 or about 3 percent.

"Some Dewey activities," noted Fr. O'Neil," are best handled in conjunction with Bartlesville. For adult education, for instance, we will have a speaker for 5 days. He or she will conduct afternoon sessions at the mission and evening sessions at Bartlesville. People from both congregations can travel to either site according to their own time availability.

"Subject matter in adult education covers a broad spectrum and includes such subjects as basic doctrine, Church history, liturgy, sacramentology and rite of reconcilation." Fr. O'Neil is very optimistic about Our Lady of Guadalupe as a Catholic community.

"The spirit that has been in evidence in Dewey Catholics is truly remarkable," he said. "It has enabled them to accomplish both material and spiritual goals. They are specially proud of their parish plant which was a joint effort with EXTENSION and it was a resounding success.

"Much of the credit goes to the EXTENSION donors whose gifts and sacrifices made the 3 part project possible. They helped us realize the impossible dream and our parishioners are very grateful."