Old Cataldo Mission shines on historic day
<p>Assistant Capitol Curator Amy Burton gives a presentation of her findings on John Mix Stanley's watercolor painting, right, during Friday's commemoration event recognizing the Old Mission, in Cataldo, as Idaho's oldest building and its connections to the U.S. Capitol.</p>
<p>Coeur d'Alene Tribe Chairman Chief James Allan, middle, presents both Vicki Risch, second from right, and Senator Jim Risch, far right, with a Pendleton Blanket as he explains the significance and ties of the Tribe to the Catholic Church and the Jesuits' long history of commitment to the Tribe.</p>
<p>John Mix Stanley's original watercolor was painted in the mid-1800s, turned into a lithograph and was published in the Pacific Railroad Report Volume 12 book seen here during Friday's Old Mission commemoration event.</p>
<p>North Idaho State Historical Society Executive Director Janet Gallimore, right, turns pages of the Pacific Railroad Report Volume 12 book very carefully for both U.S. Senator Jim Risch, middle, and North Idaho Museum board member Don Pischner.</p>
<p>Andy Rae Zachary of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe plays an honor song with the Rose Creek Singers during the Old Mission commemoration event on Friday.</p>
<p>The Old Mission, also known as Cataldo Mission or the Mission of the Sacred Heart, was built between 1850-1853 by Catholic missionaries and members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. The building is Idaho's oldest building in the state and has connections to the U.S. Capitol.</p>
CATALDO — It began with a blessing.
The beating of drums and ethereal singing of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's Rose Creek Drummers were powerful within the Old Mission in Cataldo, where more than 70 people gathered Friday morning.
For Coeur d'Alene Tribe Chairman Chief James Allan, the Old Mission has always been a sacred place.
"I used to drive by on I-90 to see Cataldo Mission and what it means to our people, what the Catholic faith and the vision of the missionaries, what they wanted to do. It was to help our people expand," Allan said. "This is the shining light on the hill for our people. It’s awesome, I can’t even put it into words."
The mission was filled with excitement during a
commemoration event to highlight a new discovery in the history of the Old Mission. Sen. Jim Risch and his wife, Vicki, as well as tribal elders, members of Idaho historical societies and more, were in attendance.
Assistant Capitol Curator Amy Burton gave a detailed and enthusiastic presentation about how she linked a fresco in the U.S. Capitol Building to a watercolor painting John Mix Stanley created while on a railroad expedition through North Idaho in the 1850s.
U.S. Capitol Artist Constantino Brumidi painted eight wildlife frescoes when he was commissioned to work on the Senate wing of the Capitol. The frescoes were not labeled; they were thought to be generic scenes of American wilderness. Through extensive research, Burton realized the frescoes were based on paintings from railroad expeditions.
The fresco of Cataldo Mission and the surrounding area is the only one with a building that still exists.
"The West was John Mix Stanley's studio," Burton said, adding that the world may never know exactly why Brumidi chose this scene for a fresco.
"He was painting something that gripped the attention of the nation," she said.
Allan said he was humbled when he heard this site, which means so much to his ancestors and the entire community, has had a special place in the nation's Capitol for 150 years.
“I am feeling, for a lack of a better word, American,” he said with a smile. “We’re people, people first. If we can be people first, everything falls into place.
"When the missionaries came here and when our chiefs had that vision, that’s what they were talking about, being that shining light for everybody. Not just our tribe, but for everybody."
Allan and members of the Tribe honored Burton and the Risches with symbolic blankets to thank them for their work in uncovering this piece of history and bringing it to the people of North Idaho.
Several guests spoke during the event, including Kathleen Durfee, the Old Mission's on-site manager for Idaho State Parks. She got a little teary-eyed during her speech.
"Part of the reason why I’m so emotional is we’ve been doing some work out on the columns and we took it clear down to the bare wood and we were working on pieces of the building that were original," she said. "When you think about touching where people have touched back in 1859 to put that in there, just to think of the hands that created this and the people that created it without modern-day power tools. It was ropes and pulleys, whipsaws, broad axes and the labor that it took to build the building. It’s an honor to be a park manager here and to share this with the people of Idaho and everyone who stops off on I-90."
She said it's always amazing when something like this happens because it makes the history real.
"We had no nuns here during that time period, but when we get the fathers and the priests and the blackrobes, and you see them walking up the hill, it just makes it come to life. Same when the Tribe is here for pilgrimage," she said. "We all work together to preserve this."