The Washington times., 1901-08-18
WIscoNsIN's QUAINT TOWN.
All the Inhabitants of German ORR
gin Wear wooden shoes.


] One of the most interesting places in
the State of Wisconsin is the little vii
| lage of New Munster, in the western part
of Gkenosha county. which, hidden away
| amid dozen little hills. presents a pic
! ture of bit of ancient Europe trans
| ported to American soil but tasting none
of the benefits of American civilization
/ of customs. Munster, as 1t was originally
| called was founded way back in the thir-
! ties, but while other towns have grown
to cities, the village, with great natural
resources, still remains Munster, with a
| few hundred inhabitants.
| 1t is a typical German village, such as
| could have been seen along the banks of
| the Rhine seventy-five years ago. Its
| pavements resound with the tramping of
wooden shoes. and nearly every one of
| its inhabitants still carries out the old
! traditions handed down by the German
| ancestry. The inhabitants of the town,
almost without exception, are devout
| worshippers at the Roman Catholic
| Church, and the old medieval customs
| are carried out. When the spring comes
| the people assemble at the church, and
| the priest leads them through the fields.
| blessing the field and praying God for a
bountiful yield of grain. On Corpus
| Christi Sunday the entire town turn out,
and, dressed in white robes, the priest
and people bear the blessed sacrament
through the streets in the ancient GUS
tom known as Making the way of the
cross" Children in white scatter flowers
in the way of the procession, and all
along the route are shrines bulk among
the trees, at which the marchers stop to
worship.
II is thought that Munster is the only
place in the United States where the old
custom of erecting the shrines is now adj
hered to, and for this reason many devout
people visit Munster to attend the cele-
bration of Corpus Christi Sunday. A
stranger is seldom seen in the town ex-
cept on this day. The town has no rail-
way or telegraph, and mail reaches it only
occasionally, but the inhabitants of the
village never complain and are seemingly
content to live apart from; the world.
There is no regard paid TO existing fash
ions in dress. and men and women alike
still adhere to the old custom OF wearing
wooden shoes. The wooden shoe factory
is one of the auaintest places in the little
town and here the shoes are made to fit
feet which have never worn any other
made in the village. Many of the old
houses which were built in the early 4Os
have been closed for lack of tenants. No
one ever moves to New Munster and the
houses are often vacant Day by day
more of them are closing, and their for
mer owners are Slipping away to their
narrow homes in the cemetery on the
hillside. The younger people are not in
touch with these customs, and many OF
them are leaving the village to seek
homes in the larger cities in the State
and in a few years more New Munster
will be simply a village of old men and
women.
The Catholic Church in New Munster is
the pride of tn village. When the Ger
man farmers first came to Kenosha coun-
ty in 1888 the church was built. From the
first crop of wheat raised the farmers
begged sufficient wheat to secure money
to build the building, and every log was
cut by hand and each farmer contributed
his share of the work until the edifce
was completed This church was torn
down in 1877. and Il modern temple erect
ed. which is one of the finest in southern
Wisconsin. Munster is rich in historic
tradition for the student of Catholic his
the Church In Wisconsin have guided the
efforts of the little parish. The Rev.
Father Salemar, who was the founder of
the Milwaukee Catholic Seminary. was
the founder of the parish at New Mum
ster and presided over the church for
many years. Largely to his actions Is
due the simple faith of the people of the
village. and II Is in keeping with his rigid
discipline that New Munster remains to-
day the one example of the pure Catholic
faith in the United States.-Milwaukee
Sentinel