"Devout Belgian settlers built shrines out of faith, gratitude" from the September 7, 1978 Door County Advocate
By JOHN KAHLERT
Stone wayside chapel built by Joseph Destree around 1870. —Al Quinlan
Devout Belgian settlers built shrines out of faith, gratitude
By JOHN KAHLERT
Religious buildings which are unique to the Belgian community in the southern part of the county are the wayside chapels built by individual Catholic families, in some cases, more than a hundred years ago. The oldest chapels were built not long after the Belgian migration to Door county so it is fair to assume they represent a set of values and traditions the early settlers brought with them. They are the best examples of the direct transplant of ethnic culture from the "old country" that we have.
In the early days of Door county when the only mode of travel was on foot, three or four miles through the woods was a long distance to travel to church, especially in bad weather. Consequently, many of the early Belgian settlers were unable to attend mass as often as they would like. Furthermore, the few priests assigned to the area had such large territories to cover they were unable to visit the various settlements very often.
The lack of spiritual guidance is said to have worried mothers who feared their children would fall away from the church. This is said to have motivated some families to build chapels or shrines along the road near their homes. However, from the limited information available, it would appear that most of them were built to honor some saint for favors granted or sought, although some were dedicated in a general way to the Blessed Mother of Jesus. They were used for family devotions after a day's work, and on special occasions people would gather to say the Rosary. They were never locked so individuals might stop for private devotions at any time.
Wayside chapels are small, the largest being about 8 by 10 feet. Sometimes they have two small windows on either side, but mostly the only light comes through the doorway. Inside is a simple, homemade altar and some kind of a prayer bench. On the altar will be religious statues, sacred ornaments, candles and perhaps some holy water. Ideally there would be fresh flowers, but since this is impractical, colorful plastic flowers are substituted in abundance. Religious pictures line the walls. There is no exterior ornament except a cross over the entrance.
A very interesting chapel is the one built by Joseph Destree about 1870. He was a stone mason who got some hot lime in one of his eyes so that he feared for his eyesight. He built a chapel in honor of St. Odile, patron saint of eyes, who was born blind but was relieved of this infirmity when she was baptized. Naturally it was built entirely of stone. The interior was plastered and painted a light blue. After all these years it is still intact although cracked in some places.
Detail of Destree chapel —Al Quinlan
The chapel served the family for many years and is still used occasionally. It belongs to Mr. Destree's grandchildren and is located on Fox Lane about a half mile west of county route C north of Brussels. Incidentally, Mr. Destree had no further trouble with his eyes.
One of the best maintained chapels was built by Constatine Flemel about 1900 on a farm now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jules Vandertie on Low Road, a short distance east of Route C south of Brussels. All of the other frame chapels are painted white. This one is painted blue.
Interior of Vandertie chapel —Al Quinlan
The Flemels had several children who died in infancy after suffering convulsions. After they built this chapel in honor of St. Ghislaine, patron saint of small children, they had three additional children who were perfectly healthy. Many parents came to pray for their afflicted children and many are said to have been helped.
Mr. Vandertie recalls that is was used a great deal about 1915, and that as many as 20 people would gather to say the Rosary although not more than 2 or 3 could get inside at the same time. The rest knelt on the ground outside. This was around the beginning of World War I when Belgium was overrun by hostile forces. The chapel is still used occasionally.
Early this summer Mr. and Mrs. Harvey LeMense, Rosiere, took Dr. Bill Laatsch, UW-GB, and me on a safari to locate wayside chapels in Door and Kewaunee counties although Mrs. LeMense had scouted the area pretty thoroughly in advance. Originally there seem to have been at least 18 chapels in the two areas but we found only 13 still in existence and 3 of them had been abandoned for all practical purposes. There were five in Door county.
In addition to the Destree and Vandertie chapels Pauline Baudhuin built one in the 1880's in honor of the Blessed Mother in gratitude for her husband's recovery from illness. On the wall is a confirmation certificate for Marie Baudhuin dated Oct. 6, 1886. In case this seems very quaint it might be recalled that a few years ago an Egg Harbor family built a chapel in thanksgiving for the recovery of their son from an automobile accident. Whereas the Belgian chapels are simple, anonymous structures that are hard to recognize unless they are pointed out, the Egg Harbor chapel was designed by a distinguished Chicago architect.
A chapel built by Ernest and Mary Baudhuin, also in the 1880's, on a farm now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Louis Jadin also is very well maintained. It was built in thanksgiving to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Another was built in honor of St. Roch by Mr. and Mrs. Philip Jadin in about 1915 in the hope that World War I could be brought to an end. Eventually it became the property of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Wautier who gave it to the Belgian-American Club. It stands on the grounds of the club house at Namur, awaiting restoration.
Modern transportation perhaps has lessened the need for shrines of this kind but they remain a reminder of beautiful customs of earlier, simpler days and are a valuable part of our Belgian heritage. They ought to be preserved.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive.