By KENNY KEANE, Globe staff reporter
Posted April 24, 2003

The Bible verse 1 Cor 3:10 says, "According to the grace of God, I have laid a foundation and another is building upon it."

These words are engraved on a stained glass window recently donated to St. Michael Church in Sioux City by a family who helped lay the foundation for the parish back in 1907.

According to St. Michael parishioner Shelly Bohlke, who sketched the design for the window, the reason she chose that Bible verse is due to the fact that her great-grandfather helped haul the brick for the foundation of the first St. Michael Church that was located in Leeds.

"The little church in Leeds was where all the family gathered, and it was like family reunion on Sundays when I was a small child before we built the new church," Bohlke said. "I was probably 6 or 7 years old when we started going to the new church, but I still remember seeing all family members in that little church and the gatherings outside the doors after Mass.

"It was just such an important part of the foundation of St. Michael's and the family. It was called St. Michael Church, but we like to refer to it as the 'little church.'"

It was from that little church that Bohlke acquired the windows with the textured glass that was used to form the stained glass window, which was recently hung in the St. Michael chapel that is adjoined to the main church.

"I had always thought that I would donate something back to the church," she said. "It is placed in the chapel where all of the original things from the little church are located. It was in memory of my grandma, Rose Barkley, who had been a member since she was 3 years old."

Barkley died last June at the age of 98, and Bohlke said her grandmother needed to be remembered at St. Michael's for who she was and all of her contributions.

"I know she's been in The Globe before when we had our first fish dinner up at the new parish center as a life-long member of St. Michael Church," Bohlke said. "Barkley is my maiden name, and it's just such a pride at church to be one of Rose's grandchildren. Since her father helped carry the brick for the foundation of the first church, we are longtime, forever St. Michael's people.

"It was only appropriate to give something back to the church to symbolize who grandma was in the church. By that Bible verse, I felt that it acknowledged not only her but her parents also for the foundation that they have given to all of us in the Catholic faith."

So Bohlke, who draws stained glass windows, came up with a design that not only pays tribute to her grandmother and the family but also holds the little church as focal point.

"The center design of the window itself is the little church," she said. "There is a hand at the bottom of the window, and it's holding a rose. My grandpa was a machinist and a mechanic, so I chose the hand - a working hand - holding a rose, since that was grandma's name.

"There are nine rosebuds forming a heart around the church, and that's for their nine children. There are 42 leaves for the 42 grandchildren. So therefore, what a contribution in memory of grandma, who joined the church in 1907. That's the significance of this window."

Although Bohlke came up with the design, Kevin Jorgensen, a stained glass maker at The Glass Station in Pierson, Iowa, made this particular window.

"It was kind of unique that we used the old glass from the little church," said Jorgensen, who grew up in the area with his wife, who lived in Leeds. "It was kind of fun to work on. It means a lot to the family. When it's important to someone else, it seems more important to you."

For one of Barkley's daughters, Mildred Albert, the window brings back many memories, particularly of how dedicated her mother was to St. Michael's.

"Every time they had something she was there helping to do whatever she could," Albert said. "I remember when they first built the school they had dinners, and they cooked their own meat. She would get up at 3:30 in the morning to go there and get everything on so it'd be ready by noon. She really dedicated herself to St. Michael's for as long as she could."

St. Michael's pastor, Father Timothy Hogan, said the window was well suited for the chapel.

"It ties in both Rose's legacy and the legacy of that former church building into an area, which has been used to commemorate that former church building as well anyway," he said. "It's a very appropriate thing because she was one of the original members of the parish."