St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church

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When I was growing up my parents made yearly summer trips to spend some time with their families in and around Hoven, South Dakota. There is an amazing Roman Catholic church there, amazing for a small town of under 1000 anyway.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune ran an article about the church in July, 2003. For some reason part of the article is on another page. MSNBC also ran the same article. This article has an interior picture. And here's a map on how to get there.

How is this Seurer related? My grandfather, Charles (aka Karl) Seurer, and his brother, Matt, moved to Hoven in 1909. Matt never had any children but Charles had 13! So there are (or at least were) LOTS of Seurer's around Hoven. A lot of the grand (and beyond) children have dispersed now but there are still quite a few Seurer's left in the area.

When I attended the funeral of my uncle Benny Seurer late in 2001 I took the following pictures of the town and church. I used the still image option on my digital 8mm camcorder so the quality is not very high. Sorry! The images are just in the order I shot them. Now that I look at them I REALLY need to go back and do a better job.

A lot of central South Dakota looks like this. :-) This photo was shot from a few miles south of Hoven looking north.
This is a bit closer in and you can actually see the church. That big white building to the right of the church is the grain elevator and is actually way on the other end of town from the church.
Main street in Hoven looking south. The steeple of the church is just peeking over a building on the left.
My grandmother's (Eva Seurer) house used to be a block away to the southwest of the church. The house in this picture wasn't there then and Grandma's house was in the trees back behind it. It was a big old farm house with a barn next door that I played in with my cousins as I remember it. The house was torn down long ago but the barn was actually moved (see below).
This is the back of the church looking west from near the cemetary.
The entrance to the cemetary east of the church.
I took a second shot with different settings ebcause of the bright sky.
The year the cemetary was started, I presume.
Just inside the entrance of the cemetary is an index to help in finding graves.
The front of the church from beyond the schoolyard across the street. This is looking east.
Hoven's main street looking north from right in front of the church.
I was still worried about the lighting so I took a third shot...
One of my Dad's siblings died as an infant.
Slightly closer so you can more easily read it.
The grave stone of my grandparents, Charles and Eva Seurer.
There was a stone for my grandfather but I didn't see one for my grandmother.
Matt was my grandfather's brother who came to the area about the same time as my grandfather. He and his wife had no children.
Slightly closer so you can more easily read it.
A memorial in the center of the cemetary.
This is the barn I mentioned above. At least I think it is.
I stopped on my way out of town and took these last three shots.

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