Prairie Churches - Buildings are Total Sensory Experiences

NDSU Architectural Historian Ronald L. M. Ramsay says some prairie churches are lean and spare, some ornate, but all are influenced by their immigrant congregations’ old country traditions. The story of St. Joachim Catholic Church, La Broquerie, Manitoba, illustrates the point.

The prairie is dotted with unique and picturesque churches, many of which are in danger of being lost forever. Prairie Public’s documentary Prairie Churches preserves images of this priceless heritage and tells the story of Count Berthold von Imhoff, a painter whose artwork lends a unique beauty to 18 churches.

Often the first community structure built, these landmarks represent the hopes and dreams of settlers who sought to forge a new future for themselves and their families. Prairie Churches explores the role churches have played in sustaining the history and culture of the vanishing rural landscape. The program takes a visual tour of 117 outstanding churches scattered across the Northern Plains through all four seasons.



Download Video Right Click for Download Options

Producer

Kim Stenehjem and Bob Dambach (Producers), David Geck (Editor), Steven Allen, David Geck, Travis Jensen, Kak Lee, Mitch Lee, Heidi Nelson, Michael Stromenger, Lee Westad (Videographers), Greg Habeck, Tim Stanek, Erik Wohlrabe (Production Assistants), Barb Gravel (Production Manager), Bob Dambach (Executive Producer)

Source

“Prairie Churches” Prairie Public 2008

Related Media

  1. Prairie Churches - Manitoba Prairie Churches Project
     Video: Ed Ledohowski, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, explains the Manitoba Prairie Churches Project, highlighted by the story of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Sifton, Manitoba.
  2. Prairie Churches - Lighthouse on the Prairie
     Video: Film features David Haslekaas and his personal crusade to preserve Hitterdal Lutheran Church, Milton ND, as well as a photographic tour of other beautiful churches in North Dakota, Manitoba, and Minnesota.
  3. Prairie Churches - Immigrant Church Artist
     Video: Berthold von Imhoff graced more than 90 churches with his art, but St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Reading, Pennsylvania, may be his finest work.
  4. Prairie Churches - Hope and Prayer
     Video: Dedicated in 1909, Viking Lutheran Church, Maddock, ND, was at that time the largest Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church between the Twin Cities and Seattle.
  5. Prairie Churches - Hail and Brimstone
     Video: Stories of building the South Immanuel Lutheran Church, Rothsay, MN, and St. Peter and Paul Church, Strasburg, ND, the latter including a significant hailstorm.
  6. Prairie Churches - Expressions of Faith
     Video: A montage of northern plains churches illustrates NDSU History Professor Tom Isern’s assertion that we can learn from prairie churches about the people of the plains who built them. Vikur Lutheran Church in Mountain, ND, is featured.
  7. Prairie Churches - Count Berthold von Imhoff Part 2
     Video: A Roman Catholic, Imhoff painted for churches of many denominations, often donating his work and making each unique.
  8. Prairie Churches - Count Berthold von Imhoff Part 1
     Video: A German immigrant artist, von Imhoff began in eastern Pennsylvania, then moved to Saskatchewan, his base for work that spread to the Dakotas, Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
  9. Prairie Churches - A Hammer and a Nail, A Shovel and a Pail
     Video: Father Phillip Ruhe, self-taught architect, was responsible for the building of 40 churches, including the elaborate Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception at Cooks Creek, Manitoba, built over 22 years by volunteer hand labor.