| May 18, 2003 So Where is this new Parish Father Swaner is going to? How do we get there? |
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| I'm going to a town called Utica. The Parish is locally called St. Mary's although it is really the Church of the Immaculate Conception. If you have a current Illinois road map, you'll find that Utica isn't even listed in the map index . . . but it is on the map. Probably the easiest way to get there (for first-timers) is to take Illinois Route 24 to EIPaso. At EIPaso, take Interstate 39 north. At LaSalle, take Interstate 80 east and watch for the Utica-Starved Rock turn off (at Illinois 178) and go south, across Rt. 6 and down a twisting path and into town. Just before you get to town, St. Mary's Cemetery will be on a hillside on your right. Once into town watch the road signs because Rt. 178 makes a couple of turns. Downtown Utica is about a block long. At the end of the down-town you will cross over a still water-filled section of the old Illinois-Michigan Canal where there is an annual kids' fishing derby. On your left there is a small park-museum area with an old one-room school house and the LaSalle County Historical Museum. A block beyond the Canal turn right and there you are! In front of the Rectory is a large monument dedicated to the memory of the Jesuit priest-explorer Fr. Jacques Marquette who spent several years exploring the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. He arrived near Utica in 1673 and found a Kaskaskia Indian village of 74 cabins. In 1675, Father Marquette spent three weeks at this village, offering Masses on Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday and established here the first Christian mis-sion in the Illinois territory, Further south and east from Utica, on the north side of the Illi-nois River is the Starved Rock Lock and Dam Visitors Center where you can view interesting river navigation items and actu-ally watch all sizes of tow boats and long barges going through the lock . . . down toward Peoria or up toward Joliet. Across the River on the south shore is the State-run Starved Rock Lodge with camping areas, all sorts of trails to hike even up to the very top of Starved Rock itself. There are also lots of canyons and waterfalls. There is some fishing along the river bank although the waters below the dam are very treacherous. I warned you! St. Mary's Church was built around 1875. It was totally redeco-rated and rededicated by Bishop Myers on December 14,1986 . . .and I was there for the ceremonies. Clip and Save for a summer-time trip. God Bless!-Father Swane | ||