The following was copied from a newspaper article appearing in a Covington, KY newspaper circa 1950. The date and newspaper identification were cut from the clipping although the picture of Uncle Van in the article indicated that it was the Times Star. We have deduced the date as being 1950 from statistical data we have on Uncle Van. He was born 17 November 1858. The article says he was 92, ergo the data figures to be 1950. Since he was 92 for only a short time in 1950 (45 days), statistically, the article was most likely written in 1951. He died 18 December 1952 – one month after his 94th birthday. There are many other bits and pieces of information concerning Uncle Van in our possession. Some of the documentary information we have, occurred before Grandma’s migration to Florida. We have seen other data in the records at the Catholic Church in Fernandina Beach, which was accumulated during his sojourn there and still other, more personal information from letters written by him to Mama “D”. There are some other particulars uncovered by Suzanne G. at Covington, KY. The plan is to, someday, gather all the information from these sources, collate it and present it to the family. It is all very exciting!
EX-MISSIONARY, 92, STILL PLAYS PIANO
By Tom Fischer
At 92 years one can look charitably at almost anything, even the caricatures of the old west as portrayed by movie heroes Hopalong Cassidy and his type. That there were bad men in the early days of this now “breadbasket of the nation” no one will deny, but they were few compared to the good folk that settled the west. It is perhaps because the bad ones were few that their exploits in the past are so widely heralded and that the real past of the old west is so maligned.
The Rev. Arnold John Vanden Heuvel, 92, Catholic priest and missionary, should know. Most of his life was spent in the rolling early west and it was his fortune to serve the religious needs of those unheralded good folk when those lands that were to be states – Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana – were being settled. Father John as he is called, rode horseback for many miles and sometimes for many days through the wilderness to minister to his flock in those states. Now retired, he is living in St. Elizabeth Hospital, Covington.
“The Cowboy,” Father John recalls, “was one of the most lovable characters of the west. An excellent sharpshooter he was, but he never used his weapons to kill a fellow man in my knowledge.”
“If angry with a neighbor, he would challenge him to a duel all right,” the missionary priest said, “but the targets would be tin cans or some such other articles. Whoever lost the duel ‘lost face’ because of poor shooting ability.” A simple way to settle an argument.
In addition to his missionary accomplishments, Father Vanden Heuvel once served as a chaplain to the Duke of Norfolk in England when he was a newly ordained priest.
Although slightly hampered by a hip fracture, suffered 10 years ago, Father John is very much the active man. Because of his injury, however, he has been given special permission to celebrate daily mass in his room, while seated. He reads without the aid of glasses.
In addition to his religious duties, Father Vanden Heuvel is seen almost daily playing the piano in the hospital assembly room for the nurses who are off duty. He has a wide repertoire of music ranging from, sacred to old German folk songs and such tunes as “Show me the way to go home.” The elderly priest was organist when he was studying for the priesthood at Roermond in his native Holland.
Partially through the efforts of Father Vanden Heuvel and other priests like him, the Northwestern States were settled. During his many years in that section of the United States he has seen cities rise from what were small settlements.
Born at Uden, a farming village in the province of Brabant in the Netherlands, Father John was educated at the seminary at Roermond. Near the completion of his theology studies, the seminary was visited by the Bishop of Leeds, England, who told the student priests of the shortage of priests in England. Father Vanden Heuvel was granted permission to go to England and was ordained at Leeds when he was 25 years old.
He served several years as an assistant pastor at various churches in the Leeds diocese and in addition, served as chaplain to the Duke of Norfolk. He said it was about this time that Archbishop John Ireland, St. Paul, Minn., then auxiliary bishop of St. Paul, sent out a request for priests who “could rough it and who could speak foreign languages.”
It was Archbishop Ireland’s plan to bring farmers from Europe to settle and homestead the lands of the west. It was at this time also that James Hill completed the building of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the railroad cooperated with Archbishop Ireland in the undertaking.
As a colonizer, Father Vanden Heuvel made several trips between the United States and Europe to interest the people there in coming to America to settle and build farms in the northern states. The railroad and the priests helped the immigrants in taking out their first citizenship papers and other legal aid in claiming of lands.
Settlers came from Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium and the Scandinavian countries to people the vast grasslands of the Dakotas and Minnesota and Father John found out what Archbishop Ireland meant by “roughing it.”
The then, young priest spent many hours in the saddle traveling from settlement to settlement ministering to the religious needs of the people. Many times when darkness caught him on the trail he would stop at the nearest farm for his meal and overnight lodging. Occasionally he would camp out overnight under the stars, when on the trail. There were many horseback trips of more than 100 miles, he said.
“The people in those days were perfect practitioners of Christian charity,” he recalled. “Anyone would be welcome to the home if he were traveling and would receive food, drink and lodging.”
“Many families during the long, cold, winter nights,” he said “would place a lamp or candle in the window to guide the traveler during the night to the home.”
The deep religious fervor of the settlers was instrumental in the naming of many of the settlements, Father Vanden Heuvel said. Many of the communities now in that area are named after the Saints.
When Father Vanden Heuvel came to the United States in 1892 he took out his first citizenship papers and in the seven years that he had to wait for final naturalization he was stationed at a small settlement of Belgians at Ghent, Minn. The settlement was named from the city of the same name in the settler’s homeland.
From Ghent, Father Vanden Heuvel served mission parishes in four other sections in Minnesota. He served other mission posts later. Two of his brothers settled in then unsurveyed territory 60 miles from what is now Great Falls, Mont., where they operated cattle ranches. Another brother, the Rev. August Vanden Heuvel was a priest in the St. Paul (Minn.) diocese.
The nonagenarian said that he was probably able to stand the rigors of early western life because of his temperate eating habits. He said that he eats lightly and does not drink intoxicants. This may also have something to do with his continued activity at his advanced age, he said. He said his heath is good and he feels fine.
Following his retirement more than ten years ago, he spent some time at the Alexian Brothers Hospital on top of ‘Signal’ Mountain near Chattanooga, Tenn. He later went to England where he stayed more than a year and during which time he aided the Christian Brothers of France and starting a school near Ipswich.
He was caught in England by the start of World War II and witnessed the bombing of England during the early days of the war. He returned to the United States aboard a “blacked-out” ship. Since then has traveled about the country and four months came to Covington and St. Elizabeth Hospital.
“I never knew there was a place like this,” the priest said of the hospital. “It is the place for a person of my age.” “Here,” he continued, “God’s law of charity to a neighbor is a continuous practice, not only by the Sisters and Catholics, but by those of all faiths and denominations who are here.
EPILOG
On the 14th of April while returning from Jennifer Wilkinson’s wedding in Nashville, Mama “D”, Betty, Harry, Rosie and Suzanne G. took a side trip to an Alexian Brothers Monastery at the top of Signal Mountain, Tennessee on the outskirts of Chattanooga. The purpose of the trip was do some investigation on Uncle Van who had sojourned there on at least two occasions in his life. We have several letters written by him from Signal Mountain to Mama “D” which place him there in 1940, 1944 and again in 1949.
The following account contains information that we received during our visit. Both Rosemary and Suzanne wrote separate versions of our findings. The two accounts were excellent but, as might be expected, they both covered much of the same information. We have combined the two into the single summary that follows below.
When we entered the lobby of the home, we were astonished to find perhaps a dozen or more elderly women engaged in various pursuits. We had expected to see priests and/or monks. (The facility is now used as a retirement home for elderly women.) The ladies were in a large, attractively decorated room which looked like the lobby of an expensive hotel. None of them seemed to be in charge. We were finally able to locate someone to help us. When the purpose of our visit was made clear to this person, she got in touch with someone by telephone. After answering the unknown person’s question in the affirmative that Uncle Van was indeed Dutch, Father Joseph Maro Cannon, the resident priest, said he would come right over and talk to us. (Harry Watts)
ROSEMARY’S and SUZANNE’S REPORT
It was a gracious, elderly gentleman (he told us later that he was 82) who greeted us. Immediately, upon looking at our photos of Uncle Van, Father Maro’s face lighted up as he recognized the man he once knew. Following is what we learned from him:
The monastery is the second or third oldest Alexian Brothers Monastery in the United States. The order was formed about 675 years ago in France by a group who accepted anyone in need and possibly the homeless or those distressed in life and needing solitude. Father Maro was at one time an Alexian Brother and later became a priest. During Uncle Van’s time there, Father Maro was a nurse and also worked in the kitchen as a cook.
At Signal Mountain, Uncle Van filled in for a Father Shea at Our Lady of Perpetual Help at nearby East Ridge when Father Shea was needed in Chattanooga. Father Maro recalls that Uncle Van took the trolley to this East Ridge wearing a white suit. [Incidentally, Father Maro asked whether Mama “D” had possibly given him this suit.] Since Uncle Van was often seen wearing the white suit, one lady, possibly a neighbor, remarked that someone should buy him another suit or clean the one he had. On one occasion, when Uncle Van was away in East Ridge saying mass, the suit was taken from his room and cleaned.
Back in the late twenties, the building where Uncle Van lived was a resort hotel that rivaled some of the posh resorts in the Catskill Mountains. The basement of the building was used, at one time during prohibition, as a gambling hall and “speakeasy”. During Uncle Van’s time there the basement was used as the Brother’s recreational room. A piano had been left behind and Uncle Van would go there to play his beloved music. Father Maro (then Brother Maro) said that he would sneak down to the basement and, unknown to Uncle Van, would listen to him play classical music for hours. Classical music was Uncle Van’s favorite. He handled the old sheet music very carefully and would gather up the pages which were very “dog-eared” and worn, and gingerly put them back into his case when he had finished playing. He carried the case back to his room for safe keeping.
Father Maro said Uncle Van was very knowledgeable in the arts and frequently quoted Shakespeare. He remembered Uncle Van’s wonderful command of languages – he was fluent in many – he considered him to be a perfect priest. Uncle Van loved the history of the mountain retreat. He also remembers Uncle Van as having a broken leg and his health was not good.
There were 11 or 12 other priests also in residence at this time. In the beginning, the priests came mostly from Chicago to recuperate by solitude rest and reflection. Father Maro felt that Uncle Van was there for some such reason. He somehow had the feeling that Uncle Van was under some kind of surveillance (perhaps from the military) although he got no specifics of that from Uncle Van. He repeated this to us several times. Uncle Van at one point asked Father Maro if he could confide in him about some things but Father Maro did not feel he should know anything and asked that he not tell him.
In connection with this assertion as to the mystery surrounding many of the guests, he told a priest from Alton, IL who was very secretive and seemed to be hiding away from gangsters or knew too much about them. If he were out on the porch when a strange car neared, he would hurry back inside until it had passed.
Uncle Van had been with a member of the Royal Family (the Duke of York) as their spiritual advisor during the war. Uncle Van was not in any order at that time and was free to act on his own. Brother Maro frequently served at Uncle Van’s masses at the monastery.
There was a group of Benedictine Brothers who broke away and started a new monastery at Bennett Lake in Northern Illinois. Uncle Van taught with some of the priests there. We got the feeling that there was a lot more about Uncle Van that Father Maro could have told us.
In the early 1970’s inquiries were made by two men and one woman – perhaps distant relatives. Father Maro did not personally see these people. Information from the accompanying article indicates that Uncle Van had two brothers who were cattle ranchers near Great Falls, Montana. Perhaps these inquiries were made by relatives of his brothers from Montana.
Father Maro is 82 years of age and frail although he is mentally quite agile. He is the youngest of seven children. Brother Maro had come to the retreat 1 August 1940 and left in 1944 to attend nursing school, returning in 1948. At this point, maybe years later, Brother Maro wanted to become a priest and applied several times. He was strongly advised against it by the hierarchy who did not think that he could finish because of his age. He was finally approved and despite their doubts, was ordained and returned to Signal Mountain as a priest.
After Inquiries by Rosemary as to the history of the Alexian Brothers, Father Maro said that he had some books that would be of interest to her and that he would send them to her. She now has the books. When Rosemary and Mama “D” got back to Florida they both wrote to Father Maro and sent donations. The following is from Father Maro’s acknowledgement:
Dear Marie, Rose, Kendall and all the rest of your happy clan. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with all of you. I’m happy that I spent so much time with Father Van. I guess it was selfish of me to do so, but I love good music and once I found out his hour for practice, I was often in the room though he did not know it. Once in a while he would invite me to his room and I can still see him putting some mail away safely in an old trunk. I thought if he opens it once more, it will disintegrate. I’ll send you the book tomorrow. I’ll send you both volumes. One is really a history of the very, very early days. It must have been hard living in those days. The parish church where I grew up in Watertown, MA is having a 150th Anniversary next Sunday and they have invited me. I think that I’m the oldest grad living – I’m going up. I’ll put your check to good use.
God Bless You All,
Father Maro
Saint Elizabeth Hospital
Covington, Kentucky
Twenty First Street And Eastern Avenue
December 26, 1952
Mrs. E.W. James
1544 Sheridan Street
South Jacksonville, Fla
Dear Mrs. James:
Your Christmas greeting to Reverend Father Vanden Heuvel was opened by me; since I felt you would be interested. Our dear Father Van was called to his Heavenly reward on December 18th. He had been failing for sometime, but had a very peaceful death. His funeral was conducted from the hospital here with a Solemn Requiem Mass. Among other cards that Father received was one with a letter signed “Mary and Family – perhaps you will know who this is; as the envelope carried an address of:
1786 Orlando Circle
South Jacksonville, Fla
I could not write them, as the envelope gave no last name; so may I ask that should you know them to kindly give them the above information. I thought it best to write to you, rather than return their letter. I shall be grateful if you are able to give them the news of his death.
We all feel we have lost a dear friend, but we now have an intercessor at the throne of God.
Sincerely yours,
Sister M. Consolata
Jennye, I’m so thankful that you were led to this part of “Richard’s Corner” to write your blog! I remember well our visit to Signal Mountain! After reading your blog, I’m prompted to research more into the names of people Father Van encountered as well as the institutions where he furthered his education and his professional life. Also, you and your readers may be interested to know that the year after your dad died, we took a trip called Odyssey II. Passengers included Mama D,, Carolyn, Uncle Bill and myself. One of the stops on this magical trip was Brainerd, North Dakota, Mama D’s birthplace. While there, we visited the courthouse and obtained the birth certificate of Mom as well as Uncle Vincent. Also, we visited the church where Uncle Van was Pastor. Also, in papers I have is a death certificate for Rev. Arnold J Vanden Heuvel. I will scan and send to you.
Oh Aunt Suzy! Thank you for your message. I would love to spend time together going through all of your documents and pictures. I love you so much and look forward to visiting very soon. XOXOX
I would absolutely LOVE another one of our special weekends together. Especially now that it is oyster time! LET’S DO IT! Much love, kisses and hugs, A.Suz
God blessand thank you Jennye, all your HELPERS and especially you wonderful dad who requested that you provide for the family the history of our family that we all are anxious to read, enjoy and study.
I love you sooooo much!!!,
I was very young when Uncle Van would visit and do not remember too much. I recall him smoking a pipe and the scent was so appealing and when he would give me his wonderful hugs, I remember just the smell of the tobacco and feel the “serge” material of his suits. He always seemed to love teasing me and several time remembering getting into trouble for them, like getting me to drink out of the faucet, getting all wet. Such memories just wish I had more. Always smiling and so happy to be with Marie and her family.