In a sense, the Jesuit presence in Prairie du Chien began way back in 1673 with the arrival of Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit priest, in his historic exploration of the Mississippi River.

It was 1880, however, when the Jesuits arrived to stay. In that year, they came to establish Campion college and take over St. Gabriel’s parish from the Benedictines, who had served in Prairie du Chien since 1875.

Whatever the date one uses, the Jesuits have been in Prairie du Chien for at least 128 years, but come October 20, the Jesuit presence in the city will end. The two Jesuit priests remaining, Father Hubert Boschert and Father Jim Warosh, will move on to duties elsewhere, and a diocesan priest will replace them.

Fr. Boschert said the details have not yet been worked out, but as of October 20, the parishes of St. John’s and St. Gabriel’s will be handed back to the diocese

Fr. Boschert provided a brief history of the Jesuits in the city. The German Jesuits, he said, were driven out of Prussia in 1870 or 1871. They came to the United States and established a mission in Buffalo, New York. They moved across the northern tier of states, establishing colleges such as the University of Detroit, University of Marquette and, of course, Campion College, in Prairie du Chien, which opened in 1880 as College of the Sacred Heart and closed in 1888.

In 1880, when the Benedictines left Prairie du Chien, the Jesuits were asked to take over St. Gabriel’s parish. They served St. Gabriel’s until 1890, when the diocese took it over. There is nothing in the records, said Fr. Boschert, to indicate why they did that, and in 1916, the Jesuits were once again asked to take over St. Gabriel’s. In the meantime, St. John’s Church had opened in 1891 at the request of Catholics who wanted a priest who could speak the Bohemian (Czech) language. In 1989, the diocese asked the Jesuits to take over St. John’s as well, freeing diocesan priests to go elsewhere.

Asked to identify some of the highlights of the Jesuit presence in Prairie du Chien, Fr. Boschert named four items:

•Campion High School, which operated from 1898 to 1975 and had a world-wide reputation. Fr. Boschert remembers seeing an ad for Campion High School in a Paris subway.

•The daily experience of sharing the faith and building up the faith in the people, who then mirror what they have received.

•Merging the two separate schools of St. Gabriel’s and St. Johns into Prairie Catholic Schools. "At the beginning," he said, "people were uncomfortable. They very quickly came to realize it was a real blessing. The school became much more proficient."

•Helping the schools make the transition from a religious to a lay faculty. The School Sisters of Notre Dame had served the school from 1865 to 1985.

When the diocese takes over, Father Boschert said he will probably be assigned to Creighton University in Omaha as associate pastor at the college parish. Fr. Boschert was pastor at St. Gabe’s from 1991 to 1993; then returned in 2002.

Father Waroush, he said, will likely be in Milwaukee at Marquette University, serving in that college parish. Father Warosh, associate pastor, has been in Prairie du Chien for 10 years.

Father John Wambach, who had served the city for approximately 25 years, left in June to move to a retirement center due to health problems.

Fr. Boschert said that because the Jesuits are a religious order and live in community, there has always been more than one priest in the city, so that parishioners have not experienced the reality of the priest shortage.

According to Monsignor Richard Gilles, Vicar General of the Diocese of La Crosse, the priest shortage affects both the diocesan and religious clergy, and it was the decision of the Jesuit Superior to withdraw the Jesuit priests from Prairie du Chien based on their own needs and situation.

Monsignor Gilles said it is the Bishop’s intention at first to provide pastoral care of the parishes by asking a retired priest (yet to be determined) to assist on the weekends. Later, he said, "the Bishop intends to put into place a more definite, stable pastoral presence by assigning, for example, an international priest. The intention is that this priest would not be shared with another parish, but would be responsible for the two in the city of Prairie du Chien."

 Monsignor Gilles said daily Masses will be offered once a definite priest is assigned. They may take place with a retired priest helping out at the beginning if he has residence in the city. "If he is a priest from La Crosse who commutes on the weekend," he added, "then it would not obviously be possible." He said there is no plan to consolidate the two parishes at this time.

 The transition will not be without fanfare. On Oct. 8, Fr. Boschert said, the bishop and the Jesuit provincial will come for an evening supper with clergy of the diocese and Jesuits who formerly served at either parish or at Campion. This will be followed by a Mass of Appreciation with the bishop officiating. A reception for the public will follow. All events will take place at St. Gabriel’s.

In summing up his feelings about his tenure in Prairie du Chien, Fr. Boschert said, "I’ve been a pastor for 18 years and have thoroughly appreciated the faith and activity of many wonderful parishioners, and I would like to express my gratitude for all their support throughout those years."

The Prairie du Chien School Board Monday night approved of going ahead with a study regarding the possible consolidation of the Prairie du Chien and Wauzeka-Steuben school districts. The measure was approved by a voice vote of 6-0. Board President Brian Edwards was absent.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction informed the Wauzeka-Steuben and Prairie du Chien school boards on July 30 that their application for School District Consolidation Feasibility Study Grant in the amount of $10,000 had been approved. All expenditures of the study are to be completed within a time frame of July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

On Aug. 25, the two school boards met in the Wauzeka-Steuben High School Distance Learning Lab to discuss the consolidation feasibility study. It was decided at that meeting that $500 would be spent for local costs such as meetings, publications and advertising. The remaining $9,500 would be spent on the study itself.

During Monday night’s Prairie du Chien School Board meeting, the board approved of proceeding with the consolidation study in three phases. Phase One would involve finance. During Phase Two, the curriculum and programs would be studied. The impact to the community of a consolidation would be studied in Phase Three.

Prairie du Chien Superintendent Drew Johnson said that both school boards would have to approve of proceeding with the study before each of the three phases.

In other business, the board approved the hiring of three 24-hour per week special education aides.

Mounted projectors in the classrooms of B.A. Kennedy, Bluff View and the high school were also discussed. A committee will meet to discuss the project further.

The annual school board meeting has been scheduled for Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Two Prairie du Chien students nominated by band director Matt Lenz accepted the invitation to join the Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music for a whirlwind musical tour of Europe this summer.

Kristie Waynick and Jenna Campbell left for Europe with the group June 27 and returned July 12. During that time, they visited England, France, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Germany, performing with the other musicians and sightseeing at the same time.

Although several students were nominated, only Kristie and Jenna felt they could accept, and they met the rest of the group at a one-day spring camp at Carroll College in Waukesha April 6. They also rehearsed as a group during summer camp June 23 through 26. Kristie plays oboe and Jenna alto sax.

The two enjoyed the whole trip, but for Kristie, Venice was the most impressive. "It’s such a beautiful, romantic city and I’ve always wanted to go there," she said.

Switzerland was Jenna’s favorite spot. She noted, "We did a concert in Crans-Montana, two little villages combined. They gave us a cheese fondue party and shared their music and dances. Someone demonstrated that long horn that was traditionally blown in the mountains."

Audiences at the concerts, they felt, were outstanding. In one spot, they received a standing ovation, and people got up and started dancing to some of the songs. Sometimes they waved flags. One of the best experiences was their last day in Germany. "It was raining and thundering and we just kept on playing," said Jenna. "It was amazing."

Kristie and Jenna ran into a little difficulty in Paris where "we got yelled at for putting a crepe on a table," said Kristie. Because they didn’t speak French they didn’t understand what they had done wrong until an English-speaking passerby explained to them that only certain foods were to be consumed at the inside tables. Aside from that minor incident, they felt that people went out of their way to accommodate them. For example, in many cities, they were served typical "American" burgers and fries, and many merchants and shops offered special prices for them.

They did, however, get to try some different foods. In France, they had quiche, some type of venison dish and chicken cordon bleu. They raved about European ice cream, especially the gelato in Italy.

Considering the relatively short period of time they had, they maximized their sight-seeing time. They went up the Matterhorn in Switzerland; visited Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and the rebuilt Globe Theater in London. During their stay in London Spain won the Eurocup soccer tournament. "There was practically a riot outside,’ said Jenna. "People decorated a statue with Spanish flags." In Paris saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Paris Opera House, the setting of "Phantom of the Opera."

At the Louvre they saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, The Raft of the Medusa and the Madonna of the Rocks, which was referred to in "The DaVinci Code."

In Rothenburg, Germany, they walked along the wall surrounding the city and visited the world’s largest Christmas store.

In addition to the sightseeing, they had time for a little shopping as well. Kristie bought a Homecoming dress at a shop in Austria and a blown glass necklace from Venice as well as a golf polo shirt for her dad and a cuckoo clock magnet for her mom.

Jenna said she wanted something special for her mother and grandmother who paid for her trip, and she purchased handmade music boxes from Switzerland for them.

Both are seniors this year at Prairie du Chien High School. Kristie, daughter of Gary and Janis of Bridgeport, is involved in golf and "all the music things" at school. She has not yet selected a college, but wants to obtain a pharmacy tech degree and complete all her general education requirements at a small school and then transfer to a larger school where she can play golf and earn a pharmacy degree.

Jenna is thinking of attending UW-Whitewater to pursue a business major and a music minor. She is currently active in golf, National Honor Society, forensics and jazz band and several other organizations. Her parents are Janet and Rick Campbell of Bridgeport.

In summing up their trip, Kristie said, "It was a great opportunity to meet new people. I think we made some friends for life."

Earn-A-Buck questions answered

With the 2008 deer season approaching, many deer hunters in and around Crawford County have questions regarding the Earn-A-Buck requirement. A substantial portion of Crawford County will be Earn-A-Buck this season. The following are some frequently asked questions regarding Earn-A-Buck.

1. What is Earn-A-Buck (EAB)? Earn-A-Buck requires a hunter to harvest an antlerless deer prior to being authorized to harvest an antlered deer in Deer Management Units (DMU’s) where other population control measures have not been effective. EAB is a strong and effective herd control measure which increases harvest pressure on antlerless deer.

Most of Crawford County is in Unit 74B, which is both an Earn-a-Buck unit and a CWD management zone.

2. What are the requirements under EAB? Under the EAB season structure, a hunter must first harvest an antlerless deer in order to obtain a sticker that makes the regular gun buck or archery carcass tag valid for an antlered deer. During an EAB season, your regular gun buck or archery buck carcass tag is not valid for an antlered deer in and EAB unit without the sticker. In CWD units, a sticker may be used on a CWD Deer Carcass Tag before tagging a buck. You can also qualify for a buck sticker by filling an agricultural damage tag with an antlerless deer.

You may also shoot and properly tag an antlerless deer first and then shoot and properly tag a buck and register both deer together without the need of a buck sticker.

3. Do I need to earn-a-buck in Herd Control or Regular units? No. Earn-a-buck regulations only apply to EAB and CWD units. A hunter hunting in a Herd Control or Regular unit may harvest and tag a buck first without harvesting an antlerless deer. Anlerless deer harvested from Herd Control or Regular units will not authorize a hunter to harvest a buck in an EAB or CWD unit. Make sure to check the deer management unit designations map in the deer regulations before you hunt, as a unit may change designation and tagging requirements from year to year.

4. Can I pre-qualify? Yes, hunters who registered antlerless deer last year in a unit that is EAB this year, are pre-qualified for EAB this year in one of two ways.

First, in units that were Herd Control status in 2007 but will be EAB in 2008, any hunter who registered antlerless deer in these units will be mailed one buck authorization sticker for every antlerless deer they registered. Buck Authorization Stickers will be valid in any EAB or CWD unit and will be mailed out in mid August of 2008. Editors note: More Earn-a-Buck information will be in Wednesday's Outdoor section.