This Sunday is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (or simply Trinity Sunday). It is the day on which many Christian denominations focus on the mysterious concept of three Persons in one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because it is tied to Easter (the date of which varies from year to year), Trinity Sunday is also a movable feast – celebrated this year on May 26, 2024.
Trinity Sunday is the day when my thoughts invariably turn to my boyhood parish out in the Colfax County countryside – the Holy Trinity Catholic Church at Heun. The Heun church was erected in 1878, less than 10 years after the first European immigrants began arriving in the area – 8 years before the Village of Clarkson was established in 1886. The church and associated cemetery were built on 10 acres of land donated by Wilhelm Heun, a German immigrant, and his Bohemian neighbor, Jan Folda. Holy Trinity Church had regular services and a resident pastor long before the establishment of St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Howells (1893) and Ss. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Clarkson (1902). It became one of the largest and most influential Christian congregations in the county, which by 1900 had fully 22 churches to serve a population of 11,211 souls.
As recounted by Rev. A.J. Pluhaček, the earliest Catholic settlers to Colfax County had “no school and no church. A person had to take care that he remembered the dates and the day of the week. On weekdays a person could get by, but on Sunday when no one worked they were all so homesick that they could have forsaken this “desert” if they had had the money to go back. To mark the differences between the weekdays and Sunday these pioneers agreed among themselves always on Sunday and holy day mornings to meet at Uncle J.F. Ṥindelář’s to celebrate the day with singing and prayer. [It is believed that the first Catholic church service to be celebrated in the area was in the sod house of Josef Ṥindelář on Christmas Day, 1871, among Bohemian immigrants who would eventually form St. Mary’s Catholic Church parish at Tabor.] Either Josef Ṥindelář or František J. Jonaš would read the Gospel and lead the prayers. In 1872 a school was put up; its first teacher was Adolph Dvořák. Here the pioneers met not only on Sundays, but in Lent on every Wednesday and Friday and on Holy Days as well. Sometimes people came from as far as ten or twelve miles away. It became the custom for Jonaš to read the prayers and for Josef Krajíček, an old sexton from Bohemia, to read the Gospel and sermon from a book of sermons which he had brought with him from the Old Country. Josef B. Ṥindelář usually arranged for the singing, and more often than not he had a new song prepared which was never published because most of the time it was composed behind the plow.”
Because the celebration of a Catholic Mass must be presided over by an ordained priest, that first meeting in the sod house of Josef Ṥindelář on Christmas Day, 1871 was more properly called a worship service. Determined to have a permanent church with Catholic cemetery and a resident priest, the mainly Bohemian and German settlers in the middle of Colfax County began to save their pennies and make plans. By 1871 they had acquired land in the so-called Heun Community for a cemetery so that they could bury their beloved dead in consecrated ground rather than in private burial plots on the individual farms. Although they were frustrated initially by droughts and plagues of locusts, and many were still living in sod houses or crude shacks, by 1878 they had managed to construct a 30 ft. X 60 ft. wooden framed church. Rather than naming the new parish after a favorite Bohemian or German saint, they decided on a name that would appeal to all members of the Catholic faith. Thus, these two immigrant groups, who had often had uncomfortable relations in Europe, were soon worshipping together in the Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
The cost of constructing the church was probably little more than the cost of the materials, because it was erected using donated local labor. For example, John Roether (1850-1907), like Wilhelm Heun a recent German immigrant to the area from Mineral Point, Wisconsin, helped haul lumber from Schuyler to the construction site. Initially, the interior was bare, apart from the pews and a plain wooden table for the altar. The Missal and other necessities for Mass were brought over from the nearby Koniček school, which had been used for Sunday worship by missionary priests as early as 1873.
The first Christmas Mass at Holy Trinity Church was celebrated in 1878. By 1883 the settlers had also constructed a rectory to house a resident pastor. The first wooden church served its parishioners for 50 years, from 1878 until 1928, when it was replaced by the larger brick structure that stands today. The Holy Trinity parish was a strong faith community that I was privileged to be a part of for 18 years. With love and gratitude for the sacrifices of these settlers, I offer a photo essay of scenes in and around that first Heun church.
The first Holy Trinity Catholic Church at Heun, ca 1878 (before the vestibule/front entrance was added)
An early photo of the first Heun Church, with an extended front entrance, storage shed for wood or coal, and few trees to protect parishioners on the windswept hill from northerly winter gales.
Original metal entrance gate to the Heun cemetery – Katolicky Hrbitov Osady NejSV Trojice (Catholic Cemetery – Most Holy Trinity Settlement)
Interior of the first Holy Trinity Catholic Church. The main altar is topped with a painting of the Holy Trinity. The left side altar has a statue of the Virgin Mary and the right side altar a painting of the Apostles Peter and Paul. When first built, the church was quite bare, apart from the pews and a plain wooden table for an altar. This photograph was taken after 1891, after many of the paintings, statues, and chandelier had been donated and the new altar constructed. The church had an ornate tin ceiling and a free-standing stove for heat in front of the left side altar.
A gleaming glass chandelier was donated by Frank Brichaček. The source of electricity at this early date is unknown, but likely came from a generator and batteries.
A painting of the Holy Trinity over the main altar was donated by Jan Pokorný.
Statue of the Virgin Mary on the left (south) side altar, decorated with flowers for the month of May.
Large crucifix on the right side of the main altar
A painting of the Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as a monstrance for Benediction, was donated by Peter Lodl. Vaclav Lodl donated a set of Stations of the Cross, and Frank Lodl donated the altar railing.
Every Christmas a crèche (manger scene) was set up in front of the right side altar.
The first parish house at Heun, built in 1883. This photo shows Fr. Joseph Drbal (pastor from 1905-1915) and his housekeeper Mary Klimek.
Pout celebration at Heun on Trinity Sunday, ca 1920s. https://clarksonhistory.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/the-team/
The Catholic Workman fraternal lodge parading for an annual Pout celebration.
Confirmation at Holy Trinity Catholic Church on September 24, 1891. At the first Confirmation service celebrated on June 21, 1879, the Bishop of the Omaha Diocese, James O’Connor, traveled to Heun to confer the sacrament on 106 parishioners.
Original Heun Hall, a social hall associated with the Holy Trinity parish, photographed in 1902. In 1913 it was replaced with a larger hall on the same spot.
Probably a May Crowning celebration
Parishioners donated their labor to plant trees for a wind break/shelterbelt in 1913. More trees were planted on the north side of the church grounds in 1942 by the Veteran Conservation Corps (an offshoot of the Civilian Conservation Corps).
Original Heun Church on September 27, 1917, decked out with American flags to demonstrate the settlers’ patriotism at the time of the United States’ entry into the First World War.
Old Heun church and new rectory ca 1920
The funeral of Anastazie Oborný Koliha on June 10, 1927. This was the last funeral at the old church at its original site (it was later moved to the east to make room for the new church). The Celebrant at the funeral Mass was the newly ordained Rev. Charles Oborný, a nephew of Anastazie.
Construction materials for the new Heun church. The old church was moved to the east to make room for the new building on the original site.
Holy Trinity Catholic Church(es) at Heun, Nebraska – The original wood church and new brick church, ca 1928.
As a boy, I appreciated the Trinity Sunday feast day mainly for all the festivities associated with its annual Pout celebration – games, music, delicious food, parades, and visitors from far away. Laughter and joy. https://clarksonhistory.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/the-team/ Later, I came to admire the Heun parish for its greater benefits – a church whose name served to unite worshippers of different nationalities, indeed all Christians – moral support and religious instruction – a spirit of community, volunteerism, and fellowship. Values that seem to be slipping away these days.
Have a happy Trinity Sunday! When I was a lad at Heun we sang the hymn All Hail, Adored Trinity. Its text has been traced back to the 11th Century, and the melody appeared in a Genevan Psalter in 1551. This Sunday we’ll sing it at our Tennessee church (which, incidentally is named after St. John Neumann, a Bohemian saint).
All hail, adored Trinity!
All hail, eternal Unity!
O God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, ever One.
Three persons praise we evermore,
One only God our hearts adore,
In Thy sure mercy, ever kind,
May we your strong protection find.
O Trinity! O Unity!
Be present as we worship Thee;
And with the songs that angels sing
Unite the hymns of praise we bring.
Amen.
Acknowledgments – A thousand thanks to the Rev. Anthony K. Pluhaček, who compiled volumes of historical records and photographs of the Heun parish. And thanks to Marvine and Alan Koliha and Gene and Irene Sobota, who helped make sense of it all.
HHBC (Heun History Book Committee). 2003. Holy Trinity Catholic Church. 125 Years of Worship and Service 1878-2003. Written by Allen and Marvine Koliha and Gene and Irene Sobota.
clarksonhistory 
Wow, that was really interesting. I did not know any of the Heun church history. Especially the fact that it preceded the town of Clarkson. Thank you.
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I was surprised, too, when I looked into the dates. The movement of Catholics into our Midland Precinct of Colfax County came mostly from the northeast – St. Charles near West Point, St. Wenceslaus at Dodge, and Olean were the sources of the circuit-riding priests that visited the first settlers near Heun and Tabor.
another great article.. I remember having duck with dumplings and sauerkraut
Thanks, Tony. And all the rohliky (horn rolls) that you could eat. Boy, I miss that. The church ladies worked HARD to prepare the food and serve it to the crowds.
Very nice, Glenn. Thank you.
A belated thank you Glenn for this post! I always have wanted to attend Mass at Heun but never had the opportunity. I was never in the area at a time when services were conducted. I also want to thank you for the note about John Roether’s work on hauling lumber for the construction of the original building. I was not aware of that fact. Every bit of genealogical information helps tell his story.
I hope all is well with you!
Jon T.
Good to hear from you, Jon. Yes, all is well with us.