The Holy Cross Community of Faith - The Early Years                                                             by Wilma F. Kozlowski Note:      Wilma created this history by staying awake into the early morning hours on August 13, 2006 using her memory and many of the artifacts and pictures she has from the past.  We are forever grateful to Wilma for filling in the details of the history when Holy Cross began.  She was a “powerhouse” of energy through the history of this wonderful Parish and Community of Love and a true matriarch of and inspiration to Saint John Vianney Parish.             The Church of the Holy Cross was here in name as early as 1927.  I have a First Communion certificate for my late husband Paul which reads: “Paul Kozlowski received solemn Holy Communion in the Church of the Holy Cross on the 28th day of May, 1927.  Reverend Vincent J. Gorski, Pastor.”  Father Gorski was the first priest in the community.  I don’t know where the celebration took place, but I do know that Mass was held in various Catholic homes in the Snyderville area.             My recollection goes back to the late 1940's when Father Thomas Tooher was pastor of the Germantown Church of the Resurrection and Nativity in Linlithgo.  In the summer time, Father Tooher said Mass at Lake Taghkanic in Fritz Koenig’s Checkerboard Tavern.  This was when the west side of the lake was still owned by private families.  Mass was always crowded and the collection was taken up in Fritz’s beer trays!             After Father Tooher was transferred to Wyantskill to start a new parish, Father Thomas Scott and Father Bernard Alford were pastors of the Germantown parish.  The held summer Mass at the Seven Sisters Restaurant which was owned by the Bartolotta family.             Father Alford purchased the building which was our church from the Taghkanic Grange.  It was called the Church of the Holy Cross as Father Gorski had already planned.  The Germantown Parish consisted of three churches: Nativity, Holy Cross, and Resurrection depicting the Lord’s life.             It took a lot of hard work and quite a few years to transform the Grange Hall into a Church.  The Holy Cross Society was formed.  Members were men and women from the new Church.  It afforded the opportunity for us to get to know each other and also formed a group of people to raise money to furnish our new church building.  Charter members were Dave and May Garrick, Ruth and Jack Lynch, Agnes and Jack Mulvey, Martha and Matt Wheeler, Nancy and Dick Bauer, Marie and Victor Dowling, and Paul and Wilma Kozlowski.  Many others joined later.  We held many different functions: Communion breakfasts, bake sales, dinners, card parties, and summer bazaars to name a few.             The Church received many donations.  The Carmelite Sisters gave us the pews and the confessional.  Tom Ham gave the altar in memory of his wife, Mary.  The statues were donated as well as the stained glass windows and all of the furnishings for the altar.  The Holy Cross Society raised money for the Nativity Scene.  The stable was made by Florido Testa.  Finally, we had enough money to purchase the organ and then the chimes were donated.             The new Church grew quickly.  In April, 1957, Bishop Scully made his first visit to Holy Cross to celebrate Confirmation.  Thirty-three children were confirmed.  At one time, there were as many as six weekend Masses.  Two on Saturday and four on Sunday.  Priests from the Marion Fathers in Stockbridge, Massachusetts came to help Father Alford.  He was also assisted by seminarians and newly ordained priests.  The Church continued to grow and finally the Bishop decided to create a new parish.  The Church of the Holy Cross became an independent parish on June 28, 1970 with Father Peter V. Kranch as our first pastor.