Evening star., 1934-07-01
Priest-Actor in Pennsylvania
Hills Builds Own Tombstone
Father WhaIen Also Erected, to attract
Visitors, Statue of a White Girl
Who Married an Indian.

The Priest-Actor, or the White
Squaw-it's difficult to say which is
more interesting.
They're both up there in the
Buchanan Valley of the Blue Ridge
Mountains in Adams County, IL miles
or so from Gettysburg, Pa. The first
is Father Will Whalen, the Priest of
the Hills" who is pastor of a scat
tered little flock that worships in st.
Ignatius Catholic Church The other
is a bronze statue of Mary JemiSon,
the white girl who, at II, was cap
tured by Indians in 1853. and who
lived among the Red Men, married
one of them, and mothered the chill
dren of her husband.
Father Whalen was an actor in his
youth, headed his company and
seemed likely to sing his way to fame
in the theater. But one day his voice,
long over-used, broke, and, as the
Priest of the Hills puts it now, 1T
gave me plenty of time to think"
And that's his explanation of his
clerical garb.
Writes Plays and Novels.
But if Father Whalen deserted the
stage, he has not forgotten it. Pastor
there in the hills of Buchanan Valley
for II years, he has written plays,
novels and magazine articles. At
present he has play in the hands
of Lee Schubert-and some day soon,
he hopes to hear of Schubert's staging
1t.
The White Squaw, Mary Jemison,
really lived in Buchanan Valley back
in 1853 and really was captured by
Indians. From that peaceful valley
she was taken North-to the vicinity
of the site of Buffalo. She is widely
known there where she died at the
age of "a years. But it was Father
Whalen who discovered her for his
valley. Father Whalen located the
foundation of her house and in her
life, he quite frankly admits. he saw
a means of adding to the wealth of
his poor little church. He had a
statue of the girl fashioned and
booked himself for theatrical lecture
tour to pay the sculptor's bill.
Thousands Visit Statue.
So the lovely statue, bronze, yet COL
ored in life-like tints, was reared on
pedestal fashioned by the priests
mountaineer parishioners OF the
stones taken from the foundation of
the Jemison house, directly in front
of little st. Ignatius Church. And,
as Father Whalen, the Snowman
planned, she has brought thousands Of
visitors to the church. many Of whom
have contributed to the little church.
A reporter talked with Father
Whalen about the squaw, the church,
the theater and himself, as the Priest
of the Hills methodically raked the
grass over his own grave" That's
practically fact! A tombstone, given
to the priest and placed by him in his
little church yard burying ground
bears the inscription:
will w. Whalen
Priest
Died
BLANK for the date)
Here am 1, for Thou didn't call me-"
Father Whalen speaks quite cheer
fully about his tombstone. He says 1t
has attracted lots of interest in the
little church and its pastor there in
the hills.
Father Whalen is quite concerned
about the status of the theater today.
Holds MeIodrama Is Needed.
What it needs" he insists, els more
melodrama; real, genuine melodran1a.
That's what I've put in the play I
have with Schubert now, and that's
what will save the theater."
Besides his plays and novels.
Father whalen has written biogra-
phies. His latest-and as yet unpub-
lished-is of Course Payton, the
famous actor who died during the past
Winter. Payton was real friend Of
Whalen's; helped him through the
seminary and, although himself given
to too much drinking, remained COM
pletely sober a whole week to see his
young friend, Will whalen, ordained
a priest
And so, for the present, Father
Whalen lives and works up there in
the hills about four miles off the Lin
coin Highway His flock embraces a
total of 96 families scattered over an
| area 10 miles by IL miles. His diver
sion is raising bull terriers.
If you elect to visit the little church,
its pastor and The White Squaw,
you'll find Father whalen has pro-
vided picnic benches, a swimming pool,