|
|
FATHER JOSEPH CHARLES HEESAKER.
Typically representative of that devout body of the clergy to whom from early youth the church has been law and
life, a man true to his high conceptions of the ecclesiastical responsibilities of his calling, Father Joseph Charles
Heesaker, the superintendent of St. Mary's Home for Boys near Beaverton, has also justified the solidarity of his
Holland ancestry by the stanch, consistent earnestness of his short career. He is the son of Anthony and Anna Marie
(De Grott) Heesaker. The former came as a youth from the Netherlands to America and settled in Wisconsin where,
by dint of native industry and thrift, he became a respected man in his community, whose appreciation of his integrity
was evinced in its choice of him as treasurer of Brown county. He served as a private under Rosencranz in the Civil
war. In 1880, taking his little family with him, he emigrated to Oregon and purchased a farm which he cleared and
operated in partnership with his sons until his death in 1890. Though denied the advantages of early education
Mr. Heesaker was an intensive reader who succeeded through hard study in obtaining a fund of information and a
breadth of vision which would have done credit to a man of larger opportunities. He had five sons and five daughters
in his family, all of whom have survived him and are living in Washington county. They are: M. F.; Bernard A.;
John J.; Henry E.; Joseph C., of this sketch; Mrs. Antoine Meeusen; Mrs. August Dierick, Mrs. Isador Vanderzanden;
and Misses Christina and Anna Heesaker.
Joseph C. Heesaker was born in Washington county, Oregon, in 1890, and was educated in the grade schools of his
native county. He thereafter worked five years on the home farm and then entered Mt. Angel College. Upon his graduation
with the degree of A. B. he decided to take up holy orders and subsequently entering the St. Patrick's Seminary
at Menlo Park, California, he was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic church in 1919, and was then appointed
assistant to Mons. Rauw, the superintendent of the St. Mary's Home for Boys, near Beaverton. In October of the
same year Father Rauw died and Father Heesaker was appointed to succeed him.
St. Mary's Home for Boys was founded in 1889 by Archbishop Gross. It is located at St. Mary's, Oregon, about a
mile from Beaverton. Of three hundred and twenty acres of land belonging to the Home more than half has already
been cleared. The steam and electric lines of the Southern Pacific Railroad pass on one side of the property and
the Oregon Electric line on the other. The Home has a large airy building with accommodation for one hundred and
forty boys, with schoolrooms, laundry, bakery and large adjacent buildings. A new edifice to be devoted to gymnasium
and dormitory purposes with additional space for forty boys is in process of erection at the present time. The
home is open to orphans, semi orphans and dependents from the Juvenile Court between the ages of six and fourteen
years. The course of instruction is equivalent to the grammar grades of the public schools and offers in addition
industrial, agricultural and manual training. A per capita allowance of sixteen dollars is made by the state.
Fifteen assistants, of whom five are teachers, are responsible to Father Heesaker, whose youth makes his excellent
administration of so important an institution the more admirable. Young, active and enthusiastic he makes himself
the friend of every boy in the Home. A noteworthy athlete in his college days be is able to coach the football
and baseball teams and even to take his place on either of them if occasion demands. He is necessarily something
of a disciplinarian, but his kindliness obviates harshness. Father Heesaker is also the chaplain of St. Mary's
Institute, a boarding school for girls conducted by the Sisters of St. Mary whose property adjoins that of the
Home.
Father Heesaker has won the respect of all the people of Washington county who realize that precept and practice
are consistently exemplified in his life and that under his guidance the boys in St. Mary's home are learning as
they grow to manhood obedience to the moral law as given by the Master and that they are being trained to the ideals
of good citizenship.
From:
History of Oregon Illistrated
Vol. 3
BY: Charles H. Carney
The Pioneer Historical Publishing Company
Chicago - Portland 1922
Privacy Policy for
OnlineBiographies
|
NAVIGATION
Oregon
Biographies
Online
Biographies
California
Biographies
New York
Histories
New York
Biographies
Maine
Histories
Pennsylvania
Histories
Pennsylvania
Biographies
For all your genealogy needs visit Linkpendium
|