St. Mary’s at McGowan
I’ve ‘known’ the little church at McGowan all my life but, until Saturday, I had never been inside. When I was a girl, the old-timers referred to it as “Stella Maris Chapel” or “The Star of the Sea” and I thought of it as the most important landmark on the long journey from California each summer. We would pass it shortly after leaving the ferry at Megler and I then knew that we were “almost to Oysterville.”
Nowadays, I believe the official name of the church is “St. Mary’s Catholic Church – McGowan.” It was built by P.J. McGowan for his family and cannery workers in 1904 – just twelve years after the Oysterville Church was built. Although the churches are about the same size and seat approximately the same number of worshipers, the cost of St. Mary’s ($3500) was more than twice the cost of the Oysterville Church ($1500.) Now that I have been inside, I understand why.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
For starters, of course, the McGowan church is much more elaborate – all those gorgeous stained glass windows and, inside, a balcony with decorative balustrade as well as a more ornate altar area. And, too, perhaps the costs of things had increased during that time lapse. Whatever the reasons and whatever the cost, it is an absolute jewel.
We were there for a wedding – as it happens, the marriage of P.J. McGowan’s great-grandson. The decorations had been done by the bride and, from the moment we entered, we were totally enchanted. Tall, elegant vases of spectacular roses lined the aisle from vestibule to altar. In fact, lovely pink blossoms were everywhere. I couldn’t help but think that the configuration with that center passageway (as opposed to our side-only aisles) is so much more wedding-friendly! Another plus for the McGowan Church!
It was a lovely ceremony and, as is often the case these days, the bride and groom paid homage to those who had gone before. I thought about my own great-grandfather, R.H. Espy, who built our Oysterville Church just as P.J. McGowan had built his – strong men of deep faith who, way back then, were friends. How fortunate all of us descendants continue to be friends and can celebrate the milestones of our lives in the churches they left us.
in 1987 my mother, children, & I moved to Chinook. Not long after that we befriended a father David who was at the time the priest at St Marys in Seaview. He was young and lively and his elderly parishioners paid little attention to him. So my mother and I decided to invite him to dinner one Sunday. It was a Sunday in November and a storm came up while we were eating dinner. The conversation turned to the Church of McGowan and as I said I had never been inside father David said, “How would you like to go out and see the spiders? I have the keys.” So with flashlights in hand his car and my children mother and I loaded into my 1978 Buick station wagon we made the short trip from Chinook to McAllen and that was my first introduction to St. Mary’s at McGowan. Fr. David said that in olden times during storms the women and children sought shelter in the church to pray and await the return of their seafaring men. I don’t know if thatis location would have been my choice in a truly wild storm, situated so close to the river. It wasn’t until the following summer when we picniced at Ft. Columbia that I attended a mass at the church and found it charming. I agree that it’s a shame that the Oysterville Church doesn’t have a center aisle for weddings!