Those interested in contributing to the historical archives of St. Mary's Parish are encouraged to come forward. The local Catholic church will be ringing in its 125th year in the year 2020 and volunteer congregation members have put together a committee to get a jump on archiving the last 25 years of history – as there is a book for the first 100 years of the church. "We're looking for anything – stories, anecdotes, photos ... any history that people might remember," said committee member Jennifer Foy, adding that the span of time they will be organizing will be from 1995-2020, as the 100 year history book is complete. "2020 sounds like a long time away, but it's not," added committee member Susan Goyetche. The women said the plan right now is to provide something in print that would also be online through the church's website. With lean budget considerations, the committee is looking at putting together a newspaper insert as the print record to acknowledge the 125th year anniversary, to be accompanied by a celebration at the church. As the initiative is in its infancy, the women said they are hopeful others with a connection to the church will step forward to share their stories or photographs. St. Mary's is Cochrane's sole Catholic church, with three schools under its wing – Holy Spirit, St. Tim's and Ecole Notre-Dame des Vallees. The church has occupied several buildings in its lifespan, calling home the River Heights community since 2007. In 2017, the Diocese of Calgary assigned Father Dennis Vavrek as the church administrator, following the early retirement of Father Andrew Pyon due to health issues. To learn more, visit stmaryscochrane.ca. To get in touch with the anniversary committee, email [email protected] or call her at 403-851-7680.
