St. Joachim Alumni To Gather Marking 200 Years Of St. Joachim Parish

As has been indicated in previous issues of The Independent-Journal, St. Joachim Parish is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. Currently, there are several special events already planned.

The first is an all-alumni reunion of students who attended St. Joachim Elementary School (still open) and St. Joachim High School (closed in 1972). This gathering will be held on Saturday, June 11, on the parish grounds. From 2 to 4 p.m. there will be an open house of the school with a display of school yearbooks, photos, and other memorabilia. Father Mark G. Boyer, an alumnus of St. Joachim High School (1968) and a priest of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, will be joined by another alumnus, Msgr. James Hanson (St. Joachim Elementary School, 1952), in celebrating an outdoor Mass at 4 p.m. Dinner will follow the Mass, and entertainment will be provided by local musicians from 6 to 10 p.m. along with a Beer Garden. Boyer will be selling and signing copies of his recent book on the history of Old Mines and St. Joachim Church.

Boyer, a native Old Miner, is the author of 300 Years of the French in Old Mines: A Narrative History of the Oldest Village in Missouri. The 327-page book covers both the history of St. Joachim Parish, St. Joachim School, and the history of the Old Mines area. The book was published by Wipf and Stock in Eugene, Oregon, to commemorate the twin anniversaries of the St. Joachim Parish (including the school) and the Old Mines area. Boyer, who lives in Springfield with his dog, Shelby, and who has written sixty-eight books in various areas, is a retired Roman Catholic priest and a retired professor from the Religious Studies Department of Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, where he taught courses in the Bible and film for thirty years. Copies of 300 Years of the French in Old Mines can be purchased and signed from Boyer at the reunion for $31 or from Amazon, Wipf and Stock (the publisher), or by sending a $36 (includes postage) check to Mark G. Boyer, 1140 E. Stanford St., Springfield, MO 65807-2058.

Second, the 200th anniversary of St. Joachim Church will be commemorated with a Mass celebrated by the Most Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski, the Archbishop of St. Louis, on July 24, in St. Joachim Church. The annual St. Joachim Fall Festival on September 11 and the Old Mines Area Historical Society’s Fete de l’Automne on October 2 will also commemorate the anniversary.

For more information on the St. Joachim Elementary and St. Joachim High School reunion, contact Jeff Boyer, President of Old Mines Community & Education Trust, PO Box 461, Potosi, MO 63664, omcet@yahoo.com, or Natalie Villmer, Rural Parish Workers of Christ the King, 15540 Cannon Mines Road, Cadet, MO 63630, ruralparishworkers@gmail.com