As most of my readers already probably know, one of my biggest passions is researching the history of all of the small towns that make up our beautiful Fillmore County, Minn.! And then having the opportunity to share it here with all of you in the Fillmore County Journal is a dream come true!
Thus, it is my sincere pleasure to share with all of you the images of my antique photographs, advertising memorabilia, and other historical objects that I stumble across in my quest to learn more about this place so many of us refer to as, “God’s Country.”
There is, however, one more part of doing this job that is just “the icing on the cake,” and that is the feedback I receive from you, my readers!
On March 31, 2020, I retired from working at the F & M Community Bank in Preston for 37 years! What a great place to work! Great people to work for and nice co-workers to work with, it was an awesome career. Working on the front line every day gave me countless opportunities to meet and greet hundreds of customers every week. And sometimes, some of those customers were also fans of my column and they often had all kinds of memories of living in Fillmore County. It was really fun to hear their stories, and I miss that now, so much! Luckily, however, readers contact the Fillmore County Journal editor Jason Sethre, and his staff, and they in turn pass those comments along to me. Thank you!!! I appreciate hearing from you so much!
Therefore, today’s column is based on information that came to us from Lynne Farmer of Rushford, Minn. We are all in for a huge treat as we look at the picture she shared and read the tantalizing article accompanying it. It concerns the previous column I wrote last month regarding Aaron L. Sleyster’s poem, “The Canton Mystery.”
As you examine the picture, please remember the line in Mr. Sleyster’s poem, “The glass was circular in form.”
The tiny round window is difficult to see but is right above the four rectangular windows, and it was there that “the Vision of The Virgin Mary holding a baby,” was reported to have been seen by hundreds of people, “on a warm summer day in 1892 in Canton, Minn.”
Obviously, “The Canton Mystery,” was indeed a very big deal and became more than just a “local story.” As word passed from person to person, “the incident brought the tiny city into almost national notice!”
The story was picked up by larger city newspapers: The Winona Weekly Republican ran a story about the miracle in 1892 and the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 1951 recounted what happened in Canton in 1892!
Thank you Lynne for this fabulous email which I have included here that imparts even more special meaning to the above mentioned poem!
“This message is for Dianne Ruud: Attached is an article that appeared in the Harmony newspaper many years ago. It may help clarify some of the mystery surrounding Mr. Sleyster’s poem of 1895. I grew up Catholic in Canton and well remember this story. My friends and I would go up to the choir loft to see if the Virgin Mary might somehow appear at the window. We were always hopeful even though by that time the original window had long ago been replaced. Thank you for including Mr. Sleyster’s poem in your article. Sincerely, Lynne Farmer, Rushford, Minn.”
After you read the article Lynn shared, you no doubt will be left with the same question as I, “Where is that precious, small, round window now that was removed from the church?”
Therese K says
Great article! Perhaps someone from the Diocese of Winona Might be able to look into this and find out what happened to the window!