Having a church in which to worship and to celebrate the sacraments was such a blessing to the first members of St. Patrick's parish. Fourteen years before, there had been no church building at all, but by 1908, life had surely settled down into a familiar routine. Unfortunately, that routine would be disrupted on April 10 of that year when the small Gothic structure went up in flames. It was a Friday morning. Apparently work had been done in the church, and a spark from the pot-bellied stove set fire to rubbish waiting to be removed. The fire spread quickly to the newly varnished benches and on to the wood of the church itself. Before anything could be done, the building was engulfed in flames. Only the sacred vessels, the vestment case, and a bookcase were saved. It would seem reasonable to think that the pastor, Father Polycarp, was not on hand. How quickly would news of the fire reach him, and what would he have seen when he arrived at the disastrous scene of his parish church so utterly destroyed? (Continued)