History of All Saints

At the early part of the century, the community of Denmark had begun to grow due mostly to the arrival of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, which was completed in 1906. In the years that followed, the community grew significantly. Since most Catholics who lived in Denmark had to travel to Cooperstown, Glenmore, or Pine Grove for Mass, it was decided that a Catholic Church was needed to serve the needs of the growing community.
 
The first meeting was held in October 1911, at a small white schoolhouse, which is now a home on South Wall St., across the street from the former Land O’ Lakes, Inc. The officers elected at that meeting were: Rev. John Rohlinger, President; Henry Geimer, Secretary; and Joseph Lacenski, Treasurer. Father Rohlinger purchased the land where All Saints still stands today.
 
During the summer months of 1912, the basement was built by John Jorgensen, a contractor and a convert. When this was completed, the members found that their finances were very low and they decided to put a roof over what had been built. This structure was completed in time to hold the first Mass on Sunday, November 17, 1912. The Altar was a carpenter’s bench, and the people sat on planks set on nail kegs. Later, an Altar and pews were purchased from the church in Florence, Wisconsin, these having been made by Rev. John Seubert. All Saints was assigned as a mission church of St. James Parish in Cooperstown.
 
On December 6, 1923, Bishop Paul Peter Rhode appointed Father Joseph Ahearn as first resident pastor of All Saints Parish with mission at Holy Trinity in New Denmark. Father Ahearn came to Denmark from Stiles where he had been pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish with mission at Abrams. He remained at Denmark for nine years, during that time initiating parochial activity among the men, women, and children. He also built the rectory here which has served our priests to the present time. Prior to that, he lived in what was called “The Nooker Flat”, an apartment building on Green Bay Road in Denmark. During Father Ahearn’s time here, he paid the debt at All Saints, and the parish grew from 65 families to 100 families when he was transferred to St. John’s in Oshkosh in 1932.
 
On July 1, 1932, Father Ahearn was succeeded by Father John Gehl who had been Chaplain at St. Joseph’s Orphanage since 1926. Shortly after his arrival here, Father Gehl met with the members of the congregation who decided to remove the roof from their basement church and complete the rest of the church. The building was patterned after a Tudor Gothic style in an English village. At the time of construction, 128 adult units were listed on the parish report. The cornerstone was laid on October 23, 1932, and the dedication took place on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1933. The first Mass in the new Church was offered on Easter, and two days later, Bishop Rhode consecrated the fixed altar. About 900 persons, including nearly 100 members of the clergy, attended the ceremony. On May 8 of the same year, the organ was blessed and dedicated to the service of God by the Rt. Rev. Joseph A. Marx, Vicar General of the Diocese.
 
On Nov. 1, 1937, the Feast of All Saints, patron saint of the Parish, members celebrated the parish’s Silver Anniversary with Bishop Rhode present.
 
During Father Gehl’s administration, the Holy Name Society, the Altar Society, Saint Thomas Club and C.Y.O. (Catholic Youth Organization) were started.
 
By 1944, the debt had already been reduced to $4,000 when Father Gehl left on May 11, 1944, to become Pastor of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay. He was replaced by Father Chester Dionne who came from St. Mary’s in Humboldt with mission at St. Hubert’s, Sugarbush, to serve at All Saints and Holy Trinity. During Father Dionne’s tenure, the remaining debt on the church was paid, and he helped build the parish school, which opened in 1958. He retired in 1971, but he returned to All Saints in May of 1973 to celebrate his 50 years in the priesthood. He was a celebrant when All Saints celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1962, and he helped establish the charter of Denmark Council No. 4735 of the Knights of Columbus in 1959 and the establishment of the Sacred Heart Circle 1039, Daughters of Isabella in 1960.
 
Following Father Dionne’s retirement, he was succeeded by Father Donald J. Feller in January of 1971. Father Feller was a strong believer in the events that took place following the Second Vatican Council and felt that it made the church more accessible to its members, such as face to face confessions, masses said in English and lay people taking a more active part with ministry, readings, parish councils, and active boards of education. In 1988, our mission statement as drafted and the cemetery crypt was completed in August 1989. Father Feller retired on July 31, 1990.
 
On August 9, 1990, Father Cyril Dickrell, S.D.S. was appointed Administrator of All Saints Parish and served until January 1, 1992.
 
Reverend Msgr. Robert F. Gulig was appointed to All Saints and Holy Trinity on January 2, 1992 as Administrator. During his tenure, a constitution was written and committees were formed to make up our Parish Council. During the fall of 1992, the convent was converted into a Parish Center with offices and classrooms for religious education. Father Gulig resigned in June 2000.
 
Following Father Gulig’s resignation, the Green Bay Diocese linked All Saints and Holy Trinity with St. James, Cooperstown, with Father Ron Colombo as Pastor. Under Father Ron, the linkage would grow to include St. Joseph Parish in Kellnersville and St. Mary Parish in Glenmore and Stark.
 
In 2001, much needed church maintenance projects were addressed which included repavement of the church parking lot.
 
In 2002, a committee was formed to discuss the expansion of All Saints Parish. As a result of these plans, a major expansion project was completed at both the church and school in 2004. At the church, a new side entrance was added which included an elevator to make the church more handicap accessible. A gym, concession stand, library, and bathrooms were added to the school. Bishop David Zubik blessed the new addition on October 10, 2004.
 
Our parishioner, Dave Scheuer, was ordained a permanent deacon on May 19, 2012 by Bishop Ricken. Deacon Dave served our linkage for over 12 years before being reassigned in 2024.
 
All Saints celebrated its centennial year in 2012. A special mass was celebrated on November 1, 2012 with Bishop David Ricken.
 
When Father Ron retired in 2014, the Diocese split the large linkage into two smaller linkages, All Saints, Holy Trinity, and St. Mary-Glenmore/Stark in one linkage and St. James and St. Joseph in another linkage. Father Kevin Ori was assigned to the All Saints, Holy Trinity, and St. Mary linkage, which became known as the Triangle of Faith.
 
In 2018, Deacon Jim Trzinski was assigned as Pastoral Coordinator for the linkage with Father Paul Demuth as Priest Celebrant. Under Deacon Jim’s tenure, a large restoration project was begun to fix the crumbling masonry at the church. The COVID-19 pandemic also began to affect the parish in 2020, causing the Diocese to take the extraordinary step of temporarily suspending the obligation to attend Mass in March 2020, which would last until September 19, 2020. The pandemic put a halt to many events at the parish and school, although Mass continued to be celebrated, with most parishioners being able to join in via livestream on Facebook. The obligation to attend Mass was again suspended in October 2020, before being finally reinstated on August 15, 2021.
 
Deacon Jim left the linkage in 2020, and Father Xavier Amirtham, O. Praem. was assigned in January 2021, having previously served in Mississippi. Father Xavier was able to oversee the completion of the church restoration project and the final reinstatement of the obligation to attend Mass on August 15, 2021. Through extra funding that was provided by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the parish was able to tackle several large maintenance projects. These included the resurfacing of parts of the parking lot, replacing the roof on the south entrance of church, restoring the Window of Sacrifice stained glass window, and repairing the outside wall of the school.
 
Today, All Saints is in a bright position for the future. Our ministries are growing and reaching more people, our school enrollment is growing, and people continue to return to Mass after the pandemic.