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In Lincoln

Fr. B.'s first assignment was at St. Patrick's in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1944. "The parish was on the rocks," he said. "It was War time. The Burlington Northern railroad had a strike and the Burlington shops were in Lincoln so the parish went broke, completely broke. The bishop there asked the Franciscans to take it over -- from the diocesan priests. Friars worked for free, you know. We didn't take a salary. So it was sold back to the diocese for $32,000 and we got it paid off and it belonged to the people again."

"There wasn't an awful lot for me to do at Lincoln -- I was the assistant pastor and it was a small parish of 125 families," said Fr. B., "so I drove to the Newman Club at the University of Nebraska every day and spent my mornings there. It's right in Lincoln. Students would stop by the office before class and ask me questions. Some professors were apparently saying things not in accordance with the Faith so it was a time of teaching. And some were taking instructions to become Catholic. That's where I developed a love for convert work. It was a marvelous way for me to strengthen my faith, too."

Why were there two Franciscans serving one small parish? "We don't put out a priest by himself," said Fr. B. "It's for the sake of community." He explained that although there was only one Franciscan priest assigned to the various parishes like Victoria, Chanhassen, and Chaska, they enjoyed their evening meals and prayer together as a community at the large Friary in Chaska, which closed in 1996.

In Sioux City

Then Fr. B. was sent to St. Boniface in Sioux City, Iowa, for four years. "I liked it there because I liked the pastor," he said. "I was the assistant pastor to Father Cloud Billig and he was a great athlete. I went up to him one time and said, 'My conscience is bothering me. It's such a nice day and here we are indoors. We should be out on the golf course.'

"He agreed and so we drove to the LeMars golf course, which was in our backyard, and so we'd shoot nine holes and be back at the parish in no time. And then sometimes he'd ask me, 'Is your conscience bothering you again?' and so we'd go to the golf course, or I'd report that my conscience was bothering me again. His mother had 16 children and they also adopted two seminarians in Germany and paid for their education."

Where did Fr. B. learn to play golf? "You see, I was a caddie before I entered the order," he replied. "I caddied at the Omaha Field Club. Caddies watched the players and learned to imitate them. John Goodman was a caddie there who became an amateur golfer and went on to nationals where he beat the great Bobby Jones in the National Open. No amateur had ever done that before -- that was in 1933 -- and it's never happened since. Then he drank himself to death."

Added Fr. B., "Golf is a fascinating game. You walk a lot. I never would ride one of those carts. If I couldn't walk, I wouldn't play golf."

In Victoria

After his stint in Sioux City, Fr. B. arrived at St. Victoria in the summer of 1952. "Victoria was flourishing," he said. "It was growing. I had to take the side altars out of the church to make room for people. Sylvester Schmieg had 15 children by that time!"

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