By Pauline Masson –
After two years of half measures due to the COVID pandemic, St. Patrick’s Old Rock Church homecoming picnic returns to the full splendor of a country fair on Sunday, August 21.
Game booths, bingo, children’s midway, chuck-a-luck, country music, and a fried chicken and roast beef dinner worth waiting for return.
Also due to COVID concerns, there will be one change to the dinners. Rather than the family style platters of food passed among diners, meals will be served cafeteria style – BUT there will be platters of seconds carried to tables by servers. Cost this year is $15 for adults and $8 for children ages 4 to 12.
This will be the 50th year of the modern St. Patrick’s picnics that grew to be recognized as the second largest public gathering in the area after the Washington Town and Country Fair.
Funds generated by these annual summer celebrations have been used to transform a country church, closed as a parish in 1925, into a showplace and regional landmark.
For five decades the modern picnics were organized by the late Billy Murphy, St. Patrick’s Preservation Society president and his picnic co-chair Bob Conley.
But this year leadership of the annual celebration passes to a new generation.
David Murphy, Billy’s grandson is now president of the St. Patrick’s Preservation Society. He is joined by another Murphy grandson, his cousin Matt Pross. Steve and Laura Conley, nephew and niece of Bob Conley return to organize food service and parking. All four have worked these annual picnics since childhood.
They will be joined by a crew of stalwart picnic volunteers who manned their stations each year under the leadership of Billy Murphy and Bob Conley.
Although it took scores of workers to pull off this event, the personality that reverberated through the grounds was that of the late Billy Murphy – a natural at rescuing lost causes. He never stopped talking and he never stopped believing in the basic generosity of others. There was nothing he wouldn’t ask a friend or acquaintance to do.
Billy was a farmer, who with the help of his sons operated five century farms. He was also a contract hay cutter for other other growers. He was so successful that he owned one of those big, glass enclosed tractors, that I suspected had air conditioning, live music and maybe even a small TV screen.
Poor or rich, his primary obsession was restoring St. Patrick’s Old Rock Church in Catawissa back to the beauty and importance of its glory days when it was an active parish church and community center from 1867 to 1925.
He had a prodigious memory and could recall the name and action of every person who ever drove a nail, repaired a pump or carried a tray of food in the dining room, and everyone who ever mowed around an unopened grave to pave the way for for a burial. All these stories really came in handy when he needed help to get something done.
He collected people. Through the years he accumulated a phalanx of willing workers that became the Rock Church Picnic family. First among these was the ubiquitous Conley family, Bob and his brothers, Elmer, Bill and Charlie, and their children and grandchildren.
When Billy asked Bob Conley to help restore the church rectory, he hit a bonanza.
Conley’s great grand father was one of the earliest parishioners of St. Patrick’s parish. After the 1870 fire, John Conley donated princely sum of $50 – $1,130 in today’s money – to help rebuild the church.
It was a trifle compared to the Conley contribution to rebuilding priest’s home – the precious building that church lore credits with inspiring the restoration of the church and grounds and the modern picnics. Seven Conley men tackled restoring the aged building that was listing so far off center it appeared ready to topple over. After Rich Graf and crew hoisted the building off its footing, poured a new foundation and set it down in perfect alignment, seven Conley family members led the crew of craftsmen that restored the crumbling structure to its present state.
Every year, the picnics generate funds to maintain and continually restore the church and grounds. Proceeds from the 2022 picnic will be used to fully refurbish the church windows.
The day’s activities will begin with 11 a.m.Mass.
