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Former Catholic church inches across city
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT © St. Petersburg Times, published June 6, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- After more than a year of discussion and a seven-hour journey in sweltering heat, the 83-year-old former Our Lady Queen of Peace church had moved across town Tuesday. "I was betting 10 to 1 that it was going to fall apart before it got there," said former City Council member Jack Van Kueren, who stood watching the church as it sat at Grand and Circle boulevards while workers took a lunch break. "But it'll get there." The church with peeling white paint was moved to make way for a new police station. Crowds gathered to watch as movers began pulling it from Washington Street about 7:30 a.m., down Adams Street, and over to Sims Park, finally to the West Pasco Historical Society, where it arrived by about 2:30 p.m. Moving the church -- the first Catholic church in west Pasco -- cost $61,023 plus a handful of trees that had to be trimmed to accommodate the move along the route. The county granted $30,000 to help pay for the move. Though the city vowed to replace the trees, some residents still were upset about the loss. "This is a Tree City and I object to that -- it's rude on their part to do that," said resident Bob Langford, referring to an ordinance the city enacted in 1990 to protect trees. Some of the trees were in public right of way. For those that sat on private property, some residents allowed the city to trim their trees and others did not, causing the movers to work around the planned route. In 1913, the Rev. Felix Ullrich, a Benedictine priest from Saint Leo Abbey, celebrated the first Mass known to be offered in west Pasco. In March 1918, the church was dedicated. In 1921, a hurricane knocked the belfry to the ground, lifted the church from its foundation and left it facing west (it previously faced south). The church was rebuilt. A new church was built in 1966, and community groups have been using the original building. Now, the work is on to restore the church. The historical society was named as the fundraising arm, and it has raised about $4,800 so far. The city is applying for state grants that would help fund the church's restoration. "Obviously we have our work cut out for us," said county Commissioner Anne Hildebrand, who is also president of the historical society. "But I'm hoping that we can get the momentum going to preserve a piece of history from the 20th century." - Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
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