ESTERHAZY — To some folks passing by, it may seem like any other gothic revival country church site, but for locals in and around Esterhazy, the Kaposvar Historic Site means much more. It’s a tribute to the dedication and faith of local settlers, a symbol of community, and a connection to roots that run deep.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the annual pilgrimage at Kaposvar on Aug. 18, and many volunteers have been working long hours in preparation.
“It is a little extra special because of the restoration project that we’re undertaking,” explained Eola Stevenson of the Kaposvar Historical Society. “We have a little bit more planned for the supper portion of the day with some of our sponsors giving presentations and some dignitaries (including Candace Barta-Bonk, the Hungarian Consul to Saskatchewan) that will be there.”
The pilgrimage event is open to anyone to attend, and Stevenson is anticipating above-average numbers for the special anniversary.
“It’s something that everybody is drawn to and proud of,” she said. “Sure, our pilgrimage is a Catholic event — there’s a full day of confession, saying the Rosary, and the Stations of the Cross, followed by a procession from the church to the Grotto, and then Catholic mass is held at the Grotto — but we get all sorts of faiths there and non-faith [people].”
“Then we have a chicken dinner and homemade pies, and that’s our wind up,” Stevenson continued. “So this year, we’re going to have presentations and speeches to celebrate the 70th year.”
Over the years, around 200 people on average attend the celebration, which was also able to continue during the COVID pandemic as public gathering restrictions had eased somewhat.
Restoration work continues
Major restoration work on the stone church began last summer, focusing on the masonry work to ensure the beautiful structure lasts for many decades to come.
“Over probably the last two decades, we’ve been patching the masonry that’s kind of falling out, or the stones have been shifting a little bit,” Stevenson said. “So we’ve been patching that with just a Portland cement, but the original is a limestone mortar that was originally there.”
Last summer, the Kaposvar Historical Society approached world-renowned and Saskatchewan-born heritage mason Robert Assié to provide an assessment on the job and begin the large restoration effort.
“We dug down to the foundation because he really was sceptical that the foundation would need a lot of work,” said Stevenson, adding that if the foundation was not solid, the million-dollar project could easily balloon into a $10 million task. “He was happy with the foundation, so they did a really good job back in 1906 when they built it!”
There are four bays in the church, which were excavated by a large number of volunteers, and the Society estimated repair costs to be around $125,000 per bay.
“You have to replace ‘like with like.’ We got our limestone from France, it’s the only place we can really get it now,” Stevenson said, adding that Assié’s connections came in quite handy in sourcing the material. “He’s done work in Europe, and so he knew he had all the contacts. Robert started his restoration in early May, and he’s hoping to unveil that first day for our pilgrimage.”
Through some grant research, the Society applied to the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation, yielding spectacular results. In a rare move, the Foundation released the full amount in a matching grant to the Society.
“It’s the first time ever that they awarded the entire $50,000 to one group,” noted Stevenson.
Heritage architect Patricia Glanville from Calgary was also hired on for the project and was also key in securing the funding grant.
“She did the application because when I was looking at the application, it spoke to a lot of factors of conservation that I’m not really familiar with, and nobody in the committee was really well versed in this type of work,” Stevenson said, adding Glanville has been ‘amazing.’
Another funding source Glanville is working on is through the Federal Heritage Fund, a legacy grant that could mean upwards of $500,000.
Stevenson also pointed to the overwhelming community support to make the costly renovations such a success.
“The Esterhazy Lions are amazing,” she said. “They’re a young bunch of folks, they’re an amazing group, and they do so much work and give so much money to the community. It’s unreal.”
The Lions Club donated $10,000 toward restoration, matching a healthy donation from Mosaic, plus several local businesses, and many generous private donations. The group has also held some successful fundraisers, including operating a concession at the recent Hazy Dayz—all devoted to preserving this historic landmark.
Original materials ‘came from the field’
The area traces its history back to 1885 when Count Esterhazy — an ex-patriot Hungarian — organized groups from the United States to establish homesteads in Canada. The Qu’Appelle Valley was just as appealing as it is currently, so families were settled in the area. There are even some graves at the Kaposvar cemetery dating back to 1886, still meticulously maintained nearly 140 years later.
The stunning church that stands today was not the first built at the site, as Stevenson explained.
“When they came, they first had just a wooden church,” she said. “But the congregation grew so rapidly, and that’s what inspired them to build the church that’s there now.”
Both the church and rectory were originally constructed using fieldstone brought in by locals from the land they were working.
“Every Sunday, for months, the farmers would bring a load of stone into church with them when they came to church,” explained Stevenson. “It is really amazing how they built it.”
The rectory was built in 1901, with construction on the church completed six years later. Other construction on the site includes a cairn to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the community in 1936 and a stone shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in 1942.
“There was a period in time in the early maybe the ‘40s and ‘50s, where all of the churches would were building grottoes,” said Stevenson. “They were to honour the Lady of Assumption, they’re all shrines of Our Lady of Lourdes is what is depicted. They’re pretty important heritage value for each church as well.”
Remarkably, the buildings have remained relatively unscathed over the years. However, many original stained glass windows were wrecked decades ago through non-human means.
“The stained glass was all knocked out in a series of hail storms in the 1950s,” Stevenson said. “We had a grant from the Hungarian government to do some work, so we chose to replace the stained glass windows.”
Recently, another window was comprised — again, not by any human hand.
“Last year, we had a bear that broke a stained glass pane,” Stevenson said. “We knew it was a bear by the hair. He must have got caught on the pane when it broke, and there was hair and blood on it. So he probably saw himself in his reflection; I don’t know — who knows what bears think! But that would be about the worst thing.”
Future projects
The Kaposvar Historical Society is also preparing for a fundraising golf tournament coming up on Sept. 14. The Count Esterhazy Hungarian Classic will be a nine-hole scramble, and has already garnered many sponsors for the event.
“The businesses are donating and they’re helping us with prizes, sponsoring holes, the longest drives, and the hole-in-one prize,” Stevenson said.
Another endeavour the Society is embarking on is exploring the history of surrounding Indigenous communities.
“Recently, we’ve reached out to the Ochapawace First Nation,” Stevenson explained. “We’re hoping to do some truth and reconciliation with them, honour their heritage, and acknowledge the atrocities of the Indian Act and Residential School Act and try to get some programs to work with them to try to get some programs into our museum. We need to make sure that we’re doing justice to the real heritage.”
She added that the Society would like to bring storytellers onsite to share and “really help people to understand.”
