Struble - St. Joseph

STRUBLE - St. Joseph's Parish of Struble consists of the original church, rectory, garage and parish hall at 430 Main Street. An incorporated town of 85 citizens, Struble is located about 30 miles north of Sioux City. The parish has its own cemetery located immediately west of Struble. The parishioners of Struble also maintain the St. Mary's Cemetery.

Bishop Philip J. Garrigan purchased the land where the St. Joseph's buildings now stand on the west edge of town in January of 1903. The contract to build the church was let for $3,950 in April of the same year. The parish cemetery land west of Struble was donated in December 1903.

Until 1917, St. Joseph's Parish was a mission to St. Mary's of Maurice. The contract for the Struble rectory was let in August of 1916 for $3,733. At that time, Struble became the main parish and Maurice became the mission church. St. Mary's Parish was closed by the Diocese of Sioux City in 1995 and its liquidated parish assets and cemetery maintenance were transferred to Struble.

In 1961, St. Joseph's joined the Gehlen Catholic Schools corporation. Ten of the last 12 Struble pastors/administrators have served on the staff at Gehlen Catholic Schools.

In 1975, the interior of the church was completely refurbished with carpet installed and the ceiling and walls were repaired and painted. In 1978, the rectory was redecorated in time for the parish's 75th anniversary. In 1983, the Struble and Maurice parishes joined to build a new parish hall in Struble's parking lot for a cost of approximately $52,000.

From 1997 to 1999, the parishioners made significant physical improvements to the church and rectory, which included the cleaning and repair of the church's stained glass windows. The church exterior and interior were also made more handicapped accessible.

The first pastor in 1903 was Father Michael M. Grady, with residence in Maurice. Some of the more recent pastors are Fathers Patrick J. Nooney 1959-1962, Eugene Schumacher 1962-1966, Richard Kielbasa 1966-1969, Roger Augustine 1969-1972, Joseph N. Steib 1972-1974, Robert J. Schimmer 1974-1977, Gerald Feierfeil 1977-1980, John McGuirk 1980-1985, Craig Collison 1985-1990, Douglas Dandurand 1990-1992, Timorty Boekelman 1992-1995 and Dr. Timothy A. Friedrichsen 1995-1999.

The current resident administrator is Father Terry A. Roder, a native of Remsen. He also has teaching duties at Gehlen Catholic High School and serves as sacramental minister at St. Joseph's in Le Mars.

Two women from the parish have entered into religious life: Sister Mary Vincent, O. S. F., (Susan Schlesser) in 1907 and Sister Mary Vincent, S. C. C., (Susanna Kamp) in 1922.

Today the parish has approximately 150 parishioners from 70 households. Struble is part of the St. Joseph's Holy Family cluster along with St. Joseph's of Le Mars and St. Joseph's of Hinton-Neptune.