From the Spring 2008 Edition of Clippings Magazine

by Bill Lawrence

L-Shaped Room

We spoke with four people about what OLQM life was like before we got here.  The first was Rita Dolan who, with her husband Bob, has been married for 43 years. They came to this area about 30 years ago.

Q. – What do you remember of that early time?

Rita – Well, our parish was St. Patrick’s then.  We used to go to Mass at Camp Alvernia, but later OLQM became a mission church - part of St. Philip Neri in Northport.

Q. – When did you start coming to the L-shaped church in Centerport?

Rita – Oh, we were here before it was L-shaped, that was later. It was a big garage and didn’t look much like a church, just a long, narrow building.

Rita Dolan

Q. – How and when did it change?

Rita – It was Father Colligan – he knew what to do.  There was talk of raising funds for repair, but he said we needed a new, a real church.  In the meantime, money was raised, some stained glass was installed, and the look of the altar improved.  In fact when that old church was demolished, Bob and I salvaged a section of stained glass that pictures a carpenter’s saw in color and we have it in a window at the porch entrance to our home in Centerport.

Q. – Do you remember the very beginning of OLQM church?

Rita – I do – 1984. In fact, I was part of the ground-breaking committee over where the Outreach offi ce is now, and I brought my own shovel.  There were others, of course, and they had their own bright clean shovels, but I used a shovel from my father’s garage still stained with cement.  My father was in the building business and came here from Richmond Hill when I was just a tot.

 Q. – Where did the money come from for the new church?

Rita – It just happened that Mrs. Virag was closing her nursing home and said she wanted to offer the land for sale to the church.  It was George Rousseau who handled the transaction for Father Colligan, and that was the beginning.  I was an active part of the building fund and we raised over a million dollars.

Q. – That’s very impressive.  What is your background, Rita?

Rita – Richmond Hill.  I have a B.A. in History from Seton Hill College in Greenburg, PA.  I worked in the Treasury Dept. of the American T. and T., and retired in 1980.

 Q. – You don’t sound like the retiring type.  You must have been active in the parish over the years, yes?

Rita – Oh, yes. I was on the Census Committee under Father Colligan in 1978, and of course, the Building Committee in 1980, the Finance Committee and budget research from 1987 to 2000.  We started Coffee Fellowship in 1986.

 Q. – Who is the “we”?

Rita – The Guild, I was in it for years.  Ron Mugavin was President in 1986, a great guy.  We had breakfasts for newcomers, people new to the parish; we arranged lobster fests, organized New Years Eve parties.  It wasn’t all fun and games though – I was also one of only two trustees on the Finance Committee from 1995 to 2000.

Q. – With all the work you have done in the parish, which project was your favorite?

Rita – The Respect for Life Committee, which I was active in for five years in the 90’s.  It appealed to me more than any other committee I served on.

Q – What did Respect for Life do?

Rita – We had showers for newborn babies, we raised funds - mostly we wanted people aware of the horrors of abortion.

Q. – Rita, what would you say is the most noticeable change in the parish?

Rita – The increase of numbers in the congregation, but I suspect it is declining some.

Q. – If you could change anything in our parish, what would it be?

Rita – (Thoughtful pause) I can’t think of anything.

Our next interview was Jeanette Bradford, an 80 year-old lady with four children, who has been active in the Outreach Program for the past 10 years.

Q. – How long have you been in this area, Jeanette?

Jeanette – I came here in 1952 from California, newly married.  We had our honeymoon in Mexico…in Acapulco.  We built a house on Mary’s Lane.  Our Lady Queen of Martyrs was the nearest church, so we came here.

Jeanette Bradford

Q. – What was it like then?

Jeanette – Well, Mrs. Brunswick owned a lot of property here.  She had a nursing home – it was on what’s now the Outreach building – I think it was called the Echo Home.  She also had a lot of property on Prospect that included a boathouse – that was our first church.

Q. – Do you remember going to Mass there?

Jeanette – Oh Lord, yes.  Cement floor, folding metal chairs – and you had to open and close your own chair.  And no kneeling benches.  My daughter Maryjo was married in that boathouse 30 years ago.  You want to hear my first meeting with Father Colligan?

Q. – Sure.

Jeanette – I was teaching Maryjo to drive – she was 16.  We drove through the parking lot and she managed to swerve the car and crash into a fence next to the rectory.  Father Colligan was inside having lunch. I knocked on the door, he opened it, and I said “Good afternoon, Father, I’m new to the parish and my daughter has just broken your fence”.  We had a laugh over that.

Q. – Are you any relation to Dr. Mary Bradford?

Jeanette – She was my sister-in-law.  She was the first woman pediatrician on Long Island.

Q. – Beside Outreach, have you been active elsewhere in the parish?

Jeanette – Yes, in religious education.  I taught third graders in my own home for several years.

Q. – What priests do you remember most?

Jeanette – Father Paul Sarli, a wonderful man.  His homilies were almost always directed to the kids, very warm.  He would stand right in front of them and talk to them in a language they could understand.  And, of course, Father Larry Chadwick – he was a very friendly and lively man.  He christened my son Patrick.  He took over when Monsignor Colligan had his heart attack.  And Father Paul Walsh, I remember well.

Q. – What do you like most about the parish?

Jeanette – The feeling of community, of friendliness.  You feel you are a part of something special.  You can tell that when you let someone know you’re from Our Lady Queen of Martyrs.

Our third person was Father Larry Chadwick, now assigned to St. Matthew’s Church in Dix Hills, where they serve 4,300 families.

Father Larry Chadwick

Q. – Father, I understand you took over for Monsignor Colligan when he had his heart attack.  Is that so?

 Fr. Larry – No. Monsignor Colligan went to a collegium in Rome on a sabbatical leave for 2 to 3 months in 1978, and I was the assistant pastor.  His heart attack was in 1983, I believe.

Q. – What do you remember of the first OLQM Church?

Fr. Larry – It was a garage, or a boathouse.  It always reminded me of two buses that had a right-angle collision.  It was L-shaped.  But that was not the original church.  The original parish was St. Philip Neri in Northport.  Then a satellite parish was created in Centerport, a mission chapel with priests from St. Philip’s – that was in 1953.  Father Jimmy Green was pastor in 1966.  He died two years later, and Father Colligan became pastor.

Q. – How long have you been a priest?

Fr. Larry – Well, let’s see. I’m 59…ordained at 27…I’ve been a priest for 32 years.

Q. – What brought you to OLQM?

Fr. Larry – Bishop’s Order, or Diocesan Transfer, if you prefer.  A priest’s assignment in the beginning is from 3 to 5 years, then he is usually moved somewhere else.  I came from St. Paul’s to Centerport.  “God closes one door and opens another”.  It’s always a welcome trip over the years to visit and help out in Centerport.

Q. – Who were some of your priest colleagues back then?

Fr. Larry – Oh, there was George Ryan from the Brooklyn diocese, and Michael Hynes – I didn’t know him personally, but I knew his reputation.  Angelo Resultay was a brilliant guy, particularly in language skills – he translated Scripture from the original Greek to Tagalog, his own language of the Philippines.  There was Ernesto Fernandez, also from the Philippines, and Bill Marrin – he was a naval architect.  Father Colligan introduced him at a meeting once and said, “Here’s a man who not only is an expert on Scripture, but he’s also a naval architect!  So, if you want to know anything about Noah’s Ark, see him”.

Q. – Of all the priests you have known does anyone in particular come to mind?

Fr. Larry – Joe Colligan – Monsignor Joseph Colligan.  What a fantastic memory!  Within ten minutes in a crowded room he would know everyone’s name.  He had a great personalism about him.  And as a pastor he was always deeply concerned that his congregation be nourished spiritually – he was seeking priests who provided a challenging sound in the pulpit that would nourish the parishioners with a theologically sound and challenging presentation of the Gospel.

Q. - What would you like to see happen at OLQM?

Fr. Larry – It already did happen – it’s the new church, and it is beautiful.

Our fourth witness is Nancy Kenny, mother of four children.  She has been in the parish for over 40 years.

Nancy Kenny

Q. – Can you tell me about the first church?

Nancy – It was a boathouse, and it was called Our Lady’s Chapel. Mrs. Brunswick originally owned it.  There was no heat, as I recall.  I’ll always remember one Midnight Mass at the boathouse when they carried the figure of the baby Jesus out into the sparkling cold night.  I was about 12 years old.  It was most memorable.

Q. – Anything else? Nancy – Well, there was no heat at first – you kneeled on the cold cement in winter. Father Sarli married Gene and me in that church in 1974.  I’ll never forget the reaction of our relatives from Connecticut when they realized their entrance to the wedding ceremony was under a large overhead garage door.  My father helped dig footings for the new church.

Q. – What have you been doing most of your life?

Nancy – I am now a physical therapist and have been for 43 years.

Q. – Have you been active in parish activities?

Nancy – I would say so.  We’ve been in the small Christian community, a prayer group for 35 years – it’s a world-wide group.  St. Vincent de Paul, the choir and the folks group – out whole family sang.  Gene and I were the lead couple in Pre-Cana and also marriage encounter.  We are still involved in Pre-Cana.  And I’ve gone to Nicaragua twice.

Q. – How are things going there?

Nancy – Oh, it’s so much better each time.  But there’s still a lot of work to be done.  They at least have a community center in Amititan.

Q. – What do you remember of the early music here?

Nancy – Sister Elaine Jahrsdoefer, a Dominican nun, was music director and involved with the liturgy, among other things. She made home visits.  In fact, she was the original parish outreach before there was a Outreach Program.

Q. – When you went to Nicaragua, did you go as a physical therapist?

Nancy – Yes, and we brought a psychologist, a speech pathologist and a nutritionist, as well as a group of teenagers and adults from the parish.  There have been about a dozen trips down there since.

Q. – What else do you recall of the early church?

Nancy – Jerry de Signo designed and supervised a summer bible camp at OLQM in the L-shaped church.  It was for special needs children; they read and discussed Bible stories.  I remember the visiting priests, like Father Ron Darwin and his great homilies, Father Bill Marrin, Father Hynes, and Father Larry Chadwick.

Q. – What are you most proud of at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs?

Nancy – I’m most proud of Father Peter and his sense of social justice.  He started the Nicaragua visits and he himself has gone down there a majority of the times.  He puts his money where his mouth is.  He’s one of the reasons we’re glad to say, “I’m from OLQM”.