Iron crosses at St. John's
Blumenfeld Cemetery near Drake reflect the tradition of Germans
Unique Markers: Cemetery has Large Collection of
Cantlon, Cleo. "Unique Markers: Cemetery has Large Collection of Iron Crosses." Minot Daily News, 25 August 2001.
Drake - One of North Dakota's most outstanding folk art forms
are iron crosses that mark cemeteries of settlers who migrated from
Germany to Russia and later to the new world.
One of the largest collections of iron crosses, most of them handmade
by local blacksmiths, is in St. John's Blumenfeld Cemetery northwest
Although the church was last used in 1968 and later torn down,
the cemetery still reflects the frugal character and heritage of
Some crosses still show their prior history as parts of farm machinery,
reworked on a local forge.
|Monignor Joseph Singer, Minot, ND
"Blumenfeld church reached its peak, about 100 large families,
many with 10 children, just after World War II," Montsignor
Joseph Senger of Minot said. "The veterans came home and started
families, and the church was heartily optimistic then."
Senger, who grew up in the area, said the church began as a mission
from the Orrin church. The Rev. A.A.A. Schmirler, one priest who
served there, rode the 10 miles from Orrin on horseback in summer
and used a "snowplane" during the winter.
The church had a resident pastor from 1944 to 1968 but because
of its remoteness it was not a popular post.
"If you got in trouble with the bishop," he said, "people
would warn you that you would be sent to Blumenfeld."
Poor farm economics after the war and decreasing family size doomed
the parish; in 1968 it closed.
"It was blasphemy that the church was sold and used to store
hay bales, with the altar still sitting in it," Senger said.
"Hogs were raised in the basement."
However the beautiful cemetery with about 125 graves, which was
located closer to the center of church population, is well kept.
There also are 11 graves at the church site.
The crosses reflect the frugal character and creativity of the
local blacksmiths who made them, Senger said, showing signs of their
history as farm implements, horsehandling equipment and other tools
of rural life.
The iron crosses were used most extensively between 1880 and the
1940s. In the early 1900s, use of cast-iron crosses began.
"When people got a little money, they would buy stamped or
foundry crosses," Senger said. "Poor people continued
having the local blacksmith make them."
The craftsmen worked in a variety of ways. Some kept a few on hand,
some charged or bartered while others made them free for friends
Many cross-makers carved wooden molds with names, dates or epitaphs.
They poured melted aluminum into the molds to form the letters.
In the 1982 book, "Iron Spirits," Timothy Kloberdanz
wrote, "The wrought-iron grave crosses with their unbroken
hearts of metal, brightly-painted stars, exquisitely formed lilies
and rose blossoms that rust but never wilt evoke the defiant spirit
of their makers."
Senger, who visited the Russian homeland of his ancestors this
year, said honoring the dead is also an important tradition there.
Many graves, individually fenced, include benches or small tables
where relatives gather to observe the anniversary of a death.
"With Blumenfeld, it might appear it was a mistake to build
a church which lasted just a few years," Senger said. "But
we got full value and our money's worth because that church served
us well by educating our children and people in our faith."
The Blumenfeld Cemetery with its unique markers is also a reminder
of the abiding faith of the Germans from Russia.
Reprinted with permission of the Minot Daily News.
St. John Blumenfeld Cemetery, North