Magnificent Churches on the Prairie
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Outstanding color photography richly illustrates
the churches old-world style. The writing features the history and architectural
characteristics of each church, including information that until now has been
confined in vaults or in the memories of parishioners.
This book outlines the North Dakota settlement period, the influence of individuals
like Father Vincent Wehrle and Milwaukee architect Anton Dohmen, and the aspirations
of people who came to the Dakotas to begin new lives. In addressing what role
the churches they built may play in today's society, the book concludes with
a lively discussion of historic preservation
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Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Strasburg shares many Romanesque characteristics with the Richardson church, which was completed only a few years earlier. In Dohmen's design, the interior columns were placed along the walls, opening up the nave. The groin-vault ceiling features decorative stencils that emphasize the arches and help raise the eye upward. |
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According to a national survey, what makes a place sacred for many people is stained glass. The Basilica of St. James in Jamestown is widely known for its stained-glass windows, which contributed to the church being named by the Vatican as one of thirty-four minor basilicas in the United States. |
About the Authors
James Coomber is professor of English and chair of the English Department at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN), where he has taught since 1966. He chairs the annual Concordia Conference on Reading and Writing and is co-author with Howard Peet of the Wordskills vocabulary-spelling textbook series, as well as other publications in the teaching of English. He and Sheldon Green have collaborated on several articles on regional topics, and are also co-authors of the book Unwanted Bread; The Challenge of Farming and Ranching . Coomber received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Sheldon Green is the senior writer in the Office of Communications at Concordia College. He has been the editor of the Hazen (ND) Star weekly newspaper and North Dakota Horizons magazine, and helped edit, design and photograph the five-volume North Dakota Centennial Book series. He also produced the book, "The Romance of My Life: Theodore Roosevelt's Speeches in Dakota," for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota.