Although the families were happy with their homes they had set up, the fact that there was not a Catholic church within a twelve-mile radius, really bothered them.  In about 1844, the oldest settler in Four Mile donated half an acre of land and another was purchased from him for $10.00.  The purpose of this land was to build a little Catholic church of their own.  On March 24, 1846, they began raising the building, which measured 35x50 feet.  The building was placed under the patronage of St. Joseph.

            On October 1, 1851, Rev. John Voll was appointed as the first steady pastor of St. Joseph Church.  The people were now able to attend Mass regularly and to receive the Sacraments at any time.  Right away, Fr. Voll began to teach the children.  Although instruction had been given prior to Fr. Voll’s coming, it was not frequent enough to be of any practical benefit.  After his daily Mass, he assembled the children in a private home and spent the greater part of the day teaching.

            It wasn’t long before the private homes of the people become too small for the ever-increasing number of children.  So Fr. Voll set to work on building the first schoolhouse of Four Mile.  This log structure was erected near the church.  This primitive structure has long since disappeared but the plot of ground where it once stood is today a part of St. Joseph cemetery. 

            In the spring of 1868, the church had just finished supplying themselves with all the essentials they needed and then directed their efforts towards the building of a new school.  The little log structure erected under the supervision of Father Voll had served its purpose well but it was now much too small for the ever-increasing number of children.  Also, up to this time, the lay teachers who had conducted the school since the days of the early 1850’s were not yet provided with a home by the parish.  So it was proposed to build a school and a teachers’ house in one.  The work was begun.  The members attended to the hauling of the material required and before many weeks had elapsed, the building was completed.  This building, a simple stone structure 48x26 feet, served its purpose for 52 years.

In May of 1888, Rev. William Hinssen received his appointment as pastor of St. Joseph’s congregation.  He found that the schoolroom had insufficient space so he had the teacher’s living rooms remodeled into an additional classroom.  He also planned and supervised the construction of a frame cottage adjoining the school for the future use of the teachers.

            In 1890, Rev. Hinssen invited the Sisters of Divine Providence to come to Camp Springs to replace the lay teachers.  The Sisters accepted the invitation with pleasure and entered into their new charge on March 28, 1890.  St. Joseph school was the first parochial school taught by the Sisters of Divine Providence in America.

            In 1923 a two-room frame school building was built.  Two buckets of water were kept on the steps, one for adults and one for children.  Everyone drank from a long-handled ladle dipped into the appropriate bucket.  Since many students’ families emigrated from German-speaking countries, they did not speak English.  Learning the new language was their first order of business.

            In 1934 Rev. Judermanns came to St. Josephs and he saw a need for further education.  The idea of a ninth grade fell through so they began having night classes.  They had agricultural study for men and advanced sewing and needlework for women.

            In the 1930’s, the parish founded its first PTA to help better the school.  Smoking was a problem with some students but the youth got the message that they could not attend St. Joseph School if they continued to smoke.  Father Woeste was disappointed that the school was unable to get a larger school library and office and that they were not able to put washrooms in the school because there was no money. 

            In the 1940’s, the county school bus system carried St. Joseph children and the U.S. Government provided surplus commodities for the lunchroom program. 

            In 1958 another nun arrived as a part-time teacher, which boosted the teaching staff to three.  Also in 1958, a classroom, the first indoor rest rooms and a modern kitchen were added to the existing school. 

            In 1964 the parish formed the St. Joseph Blackhawks, a basketball team for school age boys.  They also added an annex to the school cafeteria.  In 1966 two more classrooms expanded the school and the faculty increased to four teachers, one of which was the first lay teacher at St Joseph. 

Because of a new diocesan policy, the first grade was temporarily discontinued from 1968-1970.  An increase in population brought about the need to allocate space to children who were in second grade or older.  In 1971, the first grade was restored in the school.  By 1978, because of a shortage of nuns, the Sisters of Divine Providence no longer staffed the school.  A total lay faculty assumed their duties.

            In 1979, the stage in the cafeteria was rebuilt and the school children put on their first play.  Over the years, the stage has served as the location for the library and has been used for many purposes such as classroom skits, displaying artwork, our yearly book fair and more. 

            The Lenten fish fries, which are still held today in the cafeteria, were started in 1982.  During the church renovation in 1989, the school cafeteria doubled as the place to hold the Sunday Eucharistic celebrations.

            In the 1990’s the church benefited from a return of sisters to the parish, two of who taught in the school.  Financial trouble forced the parish to drop the seventh and eighth grades during the school year of 1991-1992.  They were reinstated the following school year.

            In 1998, a media center was installed in the room that everyone previously knew as “The Pink Room”.  With the help of many people and contributions, the Rev. Paul F. Tenhundfeld Media Center became a reality.  Today, the Media Center houses 9 computers that are used every day by the students and teachers.

            Here we are today, the 2005-2006 school year.  We presently have 4 classrooms.  Each classroom consists of 2 grades – 1^st & 2^nd, 3^rd & 4^th, 5^th & 6^th and 7^th & 8^th.    Our small school is a great place to learn and the students are surrounded by many signs of our faith.  St. Joseph’s school has a long tradition of Catholic education, which includes students from 4^th generation families as well as many new families.  Everyone is welcome here!

            The versus below were taken from a poem which was found in the estate of Frances Kremer who was buried from St. Joseph’s parish on March 22, 1983.  It was written in approximately the 1930’s by Lee M. Trauth.  The words spoken in this writing echo the feelings that are still alive today at St. Joseph Camp Springs.

ST. JOSEPH’s-in-the-hills

 

Far from modern city rumble,

Far from all industrial ills

Nestled in Kentucky’s highlands

Stands St. Joseph’s    -in-the-hills.

 

Here its spire, a rigid finger

Pointing nobly heav’ns way

Beckons to the valley trav’ler

To ascend the hills and pray.

 

 

Steeped in love and old tradition

Standing here a hundred years,

Landmark of a bygone era,

Built by faithful, stern pioneers.

 

Here they came with ax and plowshare

Tilled the valleys, bridged the rills,

And with Christian faith and labor

Built St. Joseph’s    -in-the-hills.

 

Thus their church was interwoven

With their lives, and going their way

They left it to the generations –

Thus is stands…the same today.

 

And Oh! ‘tis sacred when the sun sets

And a lonely cardinal trills

While the wind is whisp’ring softly

O’er St. Joseph’s   -in-the-hills