2012-2013
President’s Report
Oregon Catholic Historical Society
October 5, 2013
Annual Fall Event & Business Meeting
Holy Names Heritage Center
Marylhurst, Oregon
Sister Ruth Etzel, SSMO, Society Secretary, announced the results of the election of the new
officers of the Society at the 2012 Fall Business Meeting:
President: Msgr. Gregory Moys
Vice-President: Connie Lenzen
Secretary: Gerry Lenzen
Trustee: Eileen Duyck
Monsignor Moys thanked Sister Charlene Herinckx, SSMO, and Sister Ruth Etzel, SSMO, for
their past years of service as President and Secretary for the Society at the October 20, 2012
meeting.
Executive Committee Actions. The Executive Committee of the Oregon Catholic Historical
Society met four times in 2013 at the Saint Paul parish offices in Saint Paul, Oregon, where
Monsignor Moys is pastor: January 26, March 2, April 12, and July 20, 2013.
Dan Haskins, Archives Record Manager for the Archdiocese, moved away from Oregon, leaving
his position of Society Trustee vacant. According to the Society bylaws, there was no way of
replacing him until the fall meeting. The Executive Board, after much discussion and research,
voted to recommend to the Society Membership at the fall business meeting an amendment
giving the Executive Committee the power to replace officers in the event of their resignation or
death in between our annual membership meetings.
Website. Thanks to Connie Lenzen, our vice-president, the Oregon Catholic Historical Society
has launched its own website to help publicize our organization. The web site can be found at
www.oregoncatholichistoricalsociety.weebly.com.
2013 Newsletters. Marc Covert, our Newsletter Editor for a number of years, announced his
resignation. Eileen Duyck, our newly elected Trustee, volunteered to edit and publish our
Newsletters after a number of potential editors were contacted and turned our offer down.
Eileen Duyck provided a number of news items in the 2013 newsletters, including the campaign
to preserve the old Providence Academy in Vancouver, Washington. Connie Lenzen provided
historical articles on Madame Marie Dorion Toupin and the Civil War veterans originally buried
in East Portland’s Saint Mary’s pioneer Catholic cemetery that was later transferred to Mount
Calvary Cemetery in Portland to make way for the construction of Central Catholic High School
on South East 24th and Stark.
The Executive Committee continues to seek recommendations from our Membership for articles
for our Spring and Fall Newsletters. Two suggestions so far have been an article on the two Saint
Pauls. Saint Paul parish in Silverton will celebrate its centenary and Saint Paul in Saint Paul will
celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2014. The two archdiocesan high schools are celebrating major
anniversaries. Central Catholic will be 7t years old next fall and Regis in Stayton is celebrating
its 50th anniversary this year. Etienne Lucier, our first Willamette Valley settlers, has also been
suggested as the topic for an article. Are there any other suggestions?
Spring Event. Connie Lenzen was our guest speaker at the June 1, Spring Event at the Mount
Calvary Mausoleum in Portland on the Civil War veterans from the old Saint Mary’s Cemetery
who are now buried in a special section of Mount Calvary.
Fall Business Meeting. The Fall Business Meeting and Historical Event was set for October 5,
2013, at the Sisters of the Holy Names Heritage Center at Marylhurst. Karen Kinzey, Heritage
Center Program Manager, has agreed to host the meeting with a tour of the Heritage Center
archives and a short film on the history of the Holy Names Sisters in Oregon.
Elections. Mark Bliven and Dave Wendell agreed to run for the position of Executive
Committee Trustee to replace Dan Haskins. There is an amendment proposed by the Executive
Committee to add a third Trustee position in today’s voting by the Membership.
Leipzig Award. As far as I know, there is no winner of the Leipzig Award this year. The winner
is selected by the Portland Archdiocesan Historical Commission and announced at our Society’s
Fall Meeting. The Award, given in the name of Bishop Francis Leipzig, the late bishop of Baker
and founder of our Portland archdiocesan archives, is awarded to individuals who have made
significant contributions to the study of Pacific Northwest history.
Future Meetings. The Oregon Catholic Historical Society Executive Committee will meet on
Thursday, November 16, at 9:30 a.m., at the Saint Paul parish offices in Saint Paul. The Spring
Event will be announced later.
Submitted by Msgr. Greg Moys
October 5, 2013, Marylhurst, Oregon