An Invitation: The windows are a distinguishing feature of the interior of our church building. We invite you to come, spend some time with them and let them lead you into prayer. Two dimensions of the art work may be noted. The first is the realism of the figures. They are real people in a real setting with many details which points to the historical reality of the event. The second is the elaborate clothing and setting which do not match the circumstances of the event which points to the spiritual reality of the event.

The windows were purchased from The Munich Studio in Chicago in 1915 and are in the “Munich Style”.

Chicago was a major stained glass production center in the early 1900’s. The term “stained glass” refers to glass that is colored by a variety of techniques. The technique used by the Munich Studio was to paint enamels on the surface of the glass and then fire the piece. The Munich Studio developed a reputation for the high quality of their firing process. We have benefited from their skill since our windows are nearly a hundred years old.

THE MUNICH STYLE

The Munich Style was developed from elements found in the German Baroque artistic movement during the mid-19th Century in Munich, Germany. Franz Mayer and F.X. Zettler of Munich and The Tyrol Art Glass Company of Innsbruck, Austria were leaders in the use of style of composition and painting techniques which became known as the Munich Style.

There are several characteristics which clearly identify this style. Come and see these characteristics in our windows.

Strong contrasts of light and shade which give depth to the scene. This can be seen throughout all the windows.

Elaborate detail is used throughout the scenes. Note the detail in the folds of the clothing, on the miscellaneous objects within the scene, and on architectural features. Note the detail on the organ St. Cecilia is playing, the church in the scene of Jesus giving the keys to Peter, and in all of the other windows.
The figures are depicted with realistic facial expressions responding appropriately to the circumstances of the event. What might Joseph be thinking in The Mary and Joseph Finding Jesus in the Temple Window?
Accurate perspective is maintained throughout the scene including where a small section of landscape appears from some window or other opening in the scene.  Note this especially in the windows of the Death of Joseph, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the Marriage of Joseph and Mary, and others.
Rich ornamentation is used both within the scenes and as borders. This can be seen in all the windows.
Scenes are often framed by elaborate white and gold columns and canopies. These are present in our windows.

Other examples of the Munich Style are found in some churches an hour or two away from Kalamazoo.  

• St. Andrew Cathedral, Grand Rapids has some windows from the F. Mayer Studio and others from the F. X. Zettler Studio. 
• St. Alphonsus Church, Grand Rapids has windows from the F. X. Zettler Studio.
• St. Patrick Church, Parnell has windows with the Munich Style characteristics.

The windows from the former St. Joseph Seminary Chapel, Grand Rapids, which are now being used in a decorative manner within the new Cathedral Square Center on Sheldon Street in Grand Rapids, have the same characteristics.

The Munich Studio has windows in St. Joseph Church, Belding. This information is listed in an advertisement from the Munich Studio which includes St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, as well as churches from other states as far away as Texas and Montana. You might want to visit some of the above churches and take a look at their windows.

THE MUNICH STUDIO IN CHICAGO

Max Guler, an art glass painter from Munich, founded the Munich Studio in Chicago in 1903 with Denis Shanahan as secretary and L. Holzchuh as treasurer. By 1923 the firm employed about thirty craftsmen. Their work was not limited to Catholic churches, but these churches provided most of their work.

By the early 1930’s, there was no longer a great need for building new structures. Chicago had been rebuilt following the Great Fire. The construction market for public buildings and homes had responded to the population growth. The various religious groups in Chicago and the Midwest had completed their churches. This also was the time of the Great Depression and there simply was not money for extensive building and artistic expression. Many art glass companies closed during these years. The Munich Studio closed in 1932.

Contact Parish Office 343-6256 if you have any information to add to the above accounts or information about other people whose names are on our church windows.

In Memory of William and Francis Allgaier 

WINDOW OF MARY’S ASSUMPTION - LOCATED WEST SIDE OF CHURCH BUILDING.

The following account is based on information provided by Lila Allgaier in 1995. William and Francis were the uncles of Lila’s husband Francis “Hank” Allgaier. His parents were Albert and Marie.

Albert and Marie (Weisenburgh) Allgaier donated the window in memory of Marie’s brother William and of Albert’s brother Francis. William died of pneumonia a short time before he was to be ordained a priest in Germany. Francis was killed in Germany during World War I.

Albert Allgaier came to Kalamazoo from Germany sponsored by Mr. Neumaier of the City Union Brewery at 818 Lake Street at the corner of Portage Road.  He married Marie Weisenburgh after his arrival in Kalamazoo.

Albert worked at the brewery and saw to it that the men on the church building crews had beer to go with their lunches.  With prohibition in 1915, the brewery went out of business and the Kalamazoo Creamery moved in.  Albert went to Detroit to learn about the creamery business and returned to Kalamazoo to work at the creamery.

At the time of the dedication of the church in 1915, Albert was secretary of the Church Trustees.

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Donated by the Baumann Family  

WINDOW OF THE PRESENTATION OF MARY - LOCATED EAST SIDE OF CHURCH BUILDING IN THE MUSIC AREA.

The following account is based on information provided in 2007 by Josephine McAllister Munn, the granddaughter of Frank and Anna Baumann. 

The Frank and Anna Baumann family was well established in Kalamazoo when the St. Joseph Mission Church was formed in 1904.  Anna Isabel Haughey was born on November 12, 1853 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  She married Frank Baumann on November 12, 1874.  He had a three story structure built on South Burdick Street in 1892 and operated a retail store in the building. Frank died on March 11, 1899 and Anna on September 26, 1930.

They had six children: Nicholas, Kathryn, Besse, Irene, Elizabeth, and Effie.  They owned a considerable amount of property on Michigan Avenue and South Burdick in downtown Kalamazoo.  Frank Baumann died when Josephine McAllister Munn’s mother Effie was seven years old. The family lived on the corner of Clinton and Fair Streets. All five girls were the first students to attend Nazareth Academy. Besse was a graduate of the English Course and was awarded a Gold Medal and a diploma. She was the second person to graduate from Nazareth Academy.  Besse, Elizabeth, Irene and Effie are listed on the 1900-1901 register of Nazareth Academy, a School for Young Ladies.

Frank E. McAllister married Irene Baumann and F. Eugene McAllister married Effie Baumann.  Two brothers married two sisters.  Frank and Irene had four children: Florence, Robert, Frances and Helen.  Frank became mayor of Kalamazoo in the 1940s. Frank and Irene’s family lived across the street from Eugene and Effie’s family for many years.

Eugene and Effie had six children: Frederick, Anna Isabelle (Annabelle), Jean Margaret, Edward, Kathryn and Josephine.  Eugene owned a men’s clothing store, Gene McAllister’s Clothing Store, on Michigan Avenue.  Effie and Eugene were very active in St. Joseph Parish.  They hosted many dinners and parties for the local and area priests.  Effie transported the nuns to wherever they had to go.  Effie was also active in the Ladies’ Altar Society, Catholic Daughter Society of America and the Legion of Mary.  She was one of the first graduates of Nazareth Academy.

Nicholas Baumann married Media Doyle.  They had four children: Elizabeth Anna, Nicholas, John and Frank.  Nicholas owned a car dealership on South Burdick Street.

Kathryn Baumann married Eugene Winburn and moved to Erie, Pennsylvania.  They had two children: Isabel Marie and Elizabeth. Isabel married Vice Admiral George Berkley of the Medical Corps U.S.N.  He was personal physician to Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

Elizabeth Baumann married Hugo Neumaier.  They had four girls: Carolyn, Elizabeth, Pauline and Irene.  Irene became a Sister of St. Joseph of Nazareth and was known as Sister Mary Rose Elizabeth.
Bessie Baumann married Albert Meisterheim.  They had three sons: Carl, Henry and Philip.

Most of these families were first parishioners of St. Joseph Church. At that time families donated towards a pew.  Each family had a brass plaque on a pew with the family name on it.  Eugene and Effie had a pew near the front as did Frank and Irene.

Many other relatives lived in the vicinity.  Aunts, uncles and cousins lived on Reed Street, Clinton Street, Egleston Avenue, and on the corner of Lay Blvd. and Race Street. Eugene and Effie McAllister built a home on Lay Blvd. near Portage Road in the early 1920s.  Effie use to mention walking just a dirt path from Washington Square to her home.  There were very few houses in the area at the time. Annabelle McAllister and Josephine McAllister Munn, Eugene and Effie’s daughters, currently live in the family home and are active parishioners of St. Joseph Parish.  They regularly sit in one of the front pews.

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In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. Edw. Cagney Sr.

WINDOW OF MARY ‘S CORONATION AS QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH -LOCATED WEST SIDE OF CHURCH BUILDING.

The following account is based on information provided by Anne Cagney in 2007.  Edward and Mary Cagney are the grandparents of her husband Bill Cagney.

Edward Cagney was born in 1826 in Bollingarry, County Limerich, Ireland. His father, John Cagney, was born in Italy.  His last name was Mascagni, but he changed it to Cagney when he arrived in Ireland. His mother was Alice Horan.

Mary Stephenson Cagney was born in 1832 in Rathkeale, County Limerich.  She was the daughter of John Stephenson and Marguerette Dunn.

Edward and Mary were married in Ireland. They came to America in 1851, and Edward was naturalized November 3, 1860.

The couple lived in Bridgewater, Massachusetts until 1868. Six of their seven children were born there. These children were John, Alice, Morris (died young), Maurice, Bridget, and William.  Edward worked in an iron foundry, which caused health problems, so they moved to Michigan in 1968 and stayed a short time with Mary’s mother in Kalamazoo.  
 
Edward and Mary bought a farm in Pavilion Township on January 27, 1869. Their youngest son Edward was born later that same year. The farm was named a Centennial Farm in 1969. It is still in the Cagney Family to this time in 2007.
 
The Edward Cagney Family belonged to St. Augustine Parish, then St. James Mission on Cork Street while it was in existence from 1890-1893. When St. James Mission closed, they went back to St. Augustine’s. Edward Sr. died during this time.  When St. Joseph Mission was formed in 1904 and the family attended it. Their transportation was by horse and buggy during the early years. Edward Sr. never had a car. His son William got an Overland car in 1912.  It was never used in the winter so during the winter transportation to church was still by horse and buggy weather permitting.

Edward died September 15, 1903 at age 76. He is buried in Old Catholic Riverside Cemetery in Kalamazoo. Mary died April 21, 1907 at age 75. She is buried by her husband. The funeral bill for her funeral from G.S. Harrington was $113.00.

Edward and Mary both had many relatives who settled in the Kalamazoo area. Mary had a brother who died in the Civil War. Their grandson Bill Cagney as well as many great-grandchildren and their children are still active parishioners.

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In Memory of Edward Cryan

WINDOW OF BIRTH OF JESUS -  LOCATED EAST SIDE OF CHURCH BUILDING.

The following account is based on information provided by Bill Cagney in 2007.

Edward Cryan was the son of Pat Cryan whose wife died young. They had two sons, Lawrence and Eddie. When Eddie was sixteen years old, he ran away and took a freight train to Chicago. After he had been there awhile, he realized that Chicago was not the place for him. He came back on the freight train again, but when he jumped off the train in Kalamazoo he died. His father donated this window in his memory.

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Donated by John Fitzpatrick

WINDOW OF MARY AND JOSEPH FINDING JESUS IN THE TEMPLE THREE DAYS -  LOCATED ON EAST SIDE OF CHURCH BUILDING.

The following account is based on information received in 2007 from Helen Honeysett the granddaughter of Michael Fitzpatrick, the brother of John Fitzpatrick.

John Fitzpatrick came from County Meath in Ireland. His brothers were Michael, Patrick and Peter. Michael came as a stowaway at age 12. He later returned to Ireland, married and then returned to the United States with his wife Alice.

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Information about Fritzpatrick family from Paul Fitzpatrick in 2011:

Michael Fitzpatrick is my Great Grandfather. He had come to this country and became a citizen, but when his mother became ill, he returned to Ireland to care for her. It was there that he met and married my Great Grandmother Alice Lynch. They had several children born to them in Ireland including my Grandfather. They came to settle in Kalamazoo because of the paper mills and I believe that they had some family in the area as well. They were members of the "old St Augustine" and then St. Joseph parishes.

In Memory of Wm. and Jane Gillick

WINDOW OF ST. CECILIA - LOCATED IN THE CHURCH BALCONY.

The following information was provided by Marjorie Plourde of Portsmouth, RI in 2011. She is a great, great granddaughter of William's brother, Peter, who died in Drogheda Ireland in 1889. 

 William Gillick was born to Patrick and Catherine Ann Gillick about 1844 in Virginia, County Cavan, Ireland.  Jane was born in Ardee, County Louth about June 1845. William married his wife, Jane Curran, at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Drogheda, County Louth on the 27th of July 1871. John Taaffe and Anne Gargan were witnesses to the marriage.

Both left siblings behind when they immigrated from Ireland in 1881. We know that Jane left her brother Patrick Curran in Ardee and William left his brother Peter and sister Bridget Gargan in Drogheda. It is very likely that Thomas Gillick who married Henrietta Holtz in Climax in 1894 and died in Kalamazoo in December of 1903 was also a brother.
 William and Jane Gillick traveled, as a couple and separately, to Ireland during the years 1900-1908. Excluding time spent in Ireland visiting family in Drogheda and Ardee, they lived exclusively in Kalamazoo, Michigan until their deaths at age 65 and 68 respectively. Both were employees of the Kalamazoo Paper Company. They had no children in their 38 years of marriage. 
According to the 1905 Kalamazoo directory their residence was “ss E St James 1 w of Portage, Kalamazoo City”. William and Jane Gillick had 35 acres of land valued at $400, when adjusted for debt, in 1887. The same 35 acres were valued at $500 in 1895, again adjusted for debt. As a widow in 1910, the census shows Jane to be living alone on Reed Street. 
William Gillick was buried in Section M, Lot 34, of Mt.Olivet Cemetery on December 12, 1909. He had died December 10th. Jane was interred in the same plot on July 30, 1913. She had died July 27th.

The question of who memorialized this couple remains. There were no known living relatives in Kalamazoo and family in Ireland were struggling. It is noted that neighbors of William and Jane Gillick included the Redmond and Fitzpatrick families. There were several other families from Ireland who lived in the area and worked at the Paper Mill. Perhaps someone from these early families has more information about William and Jane and might know who memorialized the windows.

The connection between Gillick and Fitzpatrick families in Drogheda, Louth: Peter Gillick/McGillick, Wm's brother in Ireland, has a daughter, Margaret (b.1866) who marries (1885) Christina Fitzpatrick and John Quinn's son, Francis Quinn (b 1863 Drogheda). 

Do you know who memorialized the window for them? Are you able to add any more information?

Note: Information may be sent to Marjorie Plourde and Sister Mary Catherine.

Donated by Miss Nellie Locey   

WINDOW OF THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON PENTECOST  - LOCATED WEST SIDE OF CHURCH BUILDING.

The following account is based on information provided by Joe Locey whose father was a nephew of Nellie Locey.

Ellen “Nellie” Locey was born in May 1855 in Van Buren, New York.  She died April 9, 1907 in Mendon, Michigan.  Her parents were from County Cork, Ireland.  Her father, Cornelius was born in 1822.

Ellen “Nellie” Locey’s tombstone in St. Edward’s Cemetery in Mendon has been raised and is enveloped by a large tree.

She had one child, Emmett Gaffney. He was born September 24 1894 and died on October 4, 1965 in Chicago.  He had become a Vincentian Priest and was ordained June 26, 1921.  He was a professor and a dean at DePaul University in Chicago.

Joe Locey remembers taking a short car trip when he was about 10 years old with his parents and Fr. Emmett.  It was probably to Mendon to visit Nellie’s grave. The trip was memorable for Joe because a dog bit his hand. The wound bled and Fr. Emmett comforted him.

It is Joe’s guess that Fr. Emmett arranged for the donation of the window in his mother’s name.

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Dr. Sage Family

WINDOW OF JESUS WITH A CHALICE - LOCATED TO THE LEFT OF THE MARBLE ALTAR

The following account is based on comments for various parishioners in 2007.

Dr. E. D. Sage was the neighborhood doctor and treated many of St. Joseph’s parishioners.  He was well respected in Kalamazoo. He had the reputation of being generous and genuinely interested in helping people.  He would make house calls anywhere and everywhere.

Chuck Shane remembers being treated by him once when he cut his hand on some glass and was rushed to Dr. Sage’s home to have it sewed up. The task was accomplished in the kitchen at the kitchen table.

Dr. Sage was a member of the Church Building Committee. His picture is in the 1915 Dedication Souvenir.

            Who were Dr. Sage’s family members?  Where did they live?

In Memory of Mrs. Ellen Stephenson

WINDOW OF MARY AND JOSEPH PRESENTING THE INFANT JESUS IN THE TEMPLE -LOCATED EAST SIDE OF CHURCH BUILDING.

The following is based on information provided by Bill Cagney, a grandson of Mary Stephenson Cagney, in 2007.

Ellen Stephenson was the wife of a brother of Mary Stephenson Cagney. This is all that is known.

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We have no information about the following people whose names are on our windows: 
In memory of Mr. & Mrs. Jno. Hogan - Annunciation Window
In memory of Michael McQueen - Visitation Window
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Murphy - St. Joseph Window near marble altar
In memory of Mrs. Stephen Simonds - Resurrection Window
In memory of William White - Ascension Window

Contact Parish Office 343-6256if you have any information to add to the above accounts or information about other people whose names are on our church windows.