St. Joseph Parish, Cyclone at 20120 Farm Road 485, Burlington, TX 76519-3109 US - Learn more About Us

How It All Started

The history of St. Joseph's Catholic Church begins with a bit of Westphalia history.  The first Catholic settlers in this area were counted as members of the Church of the Visitation Parish in Westphalia.  It was a long way to travel to attend services with horse drawn conveyances so the people of the Cyclone area began to have Mass in the schoolhouse or in people's homes.

Around the turn of the 20th century, Father Simon Spinneweber of Cameron and Father Michael Heintzelmann of Westphalia came to attend the people's spiritual needs.

Recognizing the need for their own church, the people built a small house, dug a well and began to plan a church building to be built on five acres of land that had been donated by Mr. and Mrs. Fritz Schneider to Bishop N. A. Gallagher of the Galveston diocese of Texas.

The Church was erected on the hill of the plat that was bounded by St. Joseph's Road and the County Road.  The cornerstone reads "erected in 1902" and the parish was recognized and the building dedicated by Bishop Gallagher in October 1902.

After the church was erected in 1902, Father Kaspar Kacer, pastor of Frenstat, came once a month.

Some of the early settlers were Joe Geistman, Anton Geistman, Carl Schmidt, Fritz Schneider, Julius Geistman, Richard Green, V. Salac, F. Polansky, John Bartek, J. Sodek, F. Fojtasek, John Brenek, V. Feist, Joannes Mondrik, M. Manak, Jan Bartek, and A. Sivek.  Approximately 30 families of Czech and German descent were in the parish at that time.

In 1905 the bell was installed in the steeple.  The inscription reads:  "Buckeye Bell Foundry 1905.  In memory of Johanes and Apolena Bartek donated by their surviving children."  The other side of the bell reads:  "St. Joseph Church, erected June 1st, 1902 Cyclone, Texas."  The bell is still in use at the church.

In 1904 Father Kacer was transferred to Marak to serve the two communities.  It was his custom to preach one sermon in Czech and then another in German.  He remained pastor until 1940 when ill health caused him to retire.  He died in December 1942 and is buried at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Cemetery in Marak.

Cyclone became a mission of Lott in 1940 and Father Henry Schroeder served as pastor until 1945.

Acquiring the Present Day Church

Big changes began shortly after Michael O'Regan became pastor in 1945 and Cyclone was a mission of Burlington.  The church was in need of so many repairs, the decision was made to replace it.

The people began to accumulate funds with parish picnics and in 1947 applied for one of the surplus army chapels that had become available.  They were awarded one from Camp Swift, near Bastrop, by the War Assets Administration.

In November 1947, the men of the parish went to Camp Swift in shifts and in ten days completely dismantled the chapel and brought it home.  After hauling it to Cyclone, it was rebuilt on a new site across the County Road on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Schneider.

Mr. Leo "Sam" Green was the Construction Foreman.  The lumber had been numbered when it was dismantled and was put back just as it had been except that a new Sanctuary, 20 ft. square, and two new sacristies were added.

Every able-bodied man in the parish was asked to donate one day of labor a week and most of them did.  There are 84 names on the list and several who donated other things beside labor.  The finished new church was estimated to be worth $40,000 and had cost the parish $10,000.

The altars, statues and bell were moved from the old church into the new one.  The church was dedicated on October 31, 1948 by Bishop Louis J. Reicher of Austin.

Father Michael O'Regan served the St. Joseph's Catholic Church until his death in 1961 and is buried in Burlington.  Father Benedict Goertz served as assistant pastor during the early sixties and continued there after Father Arthur Michalka became pastor of Burlington and Cyclone.  During that time the Sanctuary of the church was renovated to reflect the new practice of the priest facing the people when saying Mass.  He also did extensive renovations on the school building to make it more useable as a parish hall.

Father Harry Bilski was pastor of Marak and Cyclone beginning in 1965.  The rectory in Marak was in poor condition, so the new rectory was built next to the church in Cyclone.  It was built by Leo "Sam" Green and dedicated on October 1, 1967 by Bishop Reicher.

Father Patrick Johnson came in 1969 and in 1970 new pews were installed and the floors were carpeted.

Father Patrick Murphy came for a short time in 1970.  The followed Father Rosendo Rafael and Father Peter Noble came in July 1971.  He was a native of Italy and also had his sister - a retired nun - living with him.  The windows were replaced and some interior changes were made on the rectory.

Father Clyde Holtman was pastor from July 1976 to October 1982.  His love of animals enlivened the church grounds and some changes were made in the parish house.

Again Cyclone became a mission in 1982 attached to the Church of the Visitation in Westphalia with Father Alec Lazek as pastor.  Father Adam Martinez served as assistant pastor and came to Cyclone on occasion.

For three years, from 1988 to 1991, Msgr. Marion Atomancyzk was pastor of St. Joseph's.  When he left, Cyclone was again attached to Westphalia until Father Leonard Leddy was appointed pastor in September 1992.

During the time Cyclone was a Mission of Westphalia, several Sisters of Divine Providence lived in the rectory and did pastoral work in the area.  Those who lived here were Sister Madeliene, Sister Mary Rose and Sister Barbara Zimmerer, Sister Vera Schad and Sister Olga Zotz.

The old school building which had served as a parish hall, was torn down and a new CCD Center and Parish Hall was constructed in 1986.  It was dedicated on November 23, 1986 by Bishop John McCarthy.

Father Leddy served as pastor until February 1997 when Father Charles Davis came for one year.  While serving at Cyclone, Father Davis celebrated 30 years in the priesthood with a polka Mass at Marak.

In February 1998, Father Walter Matus became Pastor of St. Joseph's.  There have been many improvements to both the exterior of the church and the rectory during his tenure.  Recent improvements include the installation of the stained glass windows in 1999, the construction of the cooking facility and enlargement of the parish hall in 2000.

The most recent upgrade was the complete interior renovation of the church, including the installation of new wiring, air conditioning, lighting, sound system, wall paneling, carpeting and seating.  A rest room and cry room were also added.

The Cyclone community and St. Joseph's Parish is bounded on the North by the Church of the Visitation in Westphalia, on the East by St. Anne's in Rosebud and St. Michael's in Burlington; in the South by Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Marak and St. Matthew's in Rogers; in the West by Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Mary's and St. Luke's of Temple.

Most of the parish is situated in East Bell County, but some of the parishioners are from bordering Falls, and Milam counties.  The children attend school in Rosebud or Rogers and all come together on Wednesday night for REP classes at Cyclone.

Cyclone in deep East Bell County - God's country - is a friendly and happy place to live, work and worship.  We are learning from the past and looking forward to the future and the next 100 years.

-- Evelyn Green