A permanent location for St. Michael's was secured at the comer of College and Heard Streets in 1915. The church was located across the street from the Act Academy, formerly North Wart Elementary School at 510 Heard St.

The church was moved from its original location at the edge of town in a hollow. This is the second location, but the same church that was built in 1895 or thereafter. The land for the church was purchased from Mr. W. H. and Mary Sandidge by Rev. Joseph Lynch, Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, for the sum of $600 on March 13, 1914. Bishop Lynch was Bishop of the Dallas Diocese from 1911 - 1952.

The deed states as follows:

The above described lot is not square but is wider at the South end than the North end. (long & narrow). Eighty-eight (88) feet fronting on Heard Street and extending South one hundred feet (100) and including all the land between Sherman and College Streets for one hundred feet (100) south of Heard Street. Note: (Recorded in Land Records Dept., Collin County Courthouse, Volume No. 204, pages 61-62. Recorded: March 13, 1914.)

Fr. McCarthy was serving St. Michael's as pastor from 1915 - 1917 when the church was moved to its second location. During this time, it had the largest attendance ever recorded, with sixty (60) members present. The Vincentian Fathers (Congregation of the Missions) was the order of priests who served St.
Michael's for a total of forty years, from 1910 to 1950. This was the order of priests that Fr. McCarthy had chosen as his vocation.

The following is a description of the exterior landscaping and interior of the church on College and Heard Streets: 

The exterior of the small-frame church was white with a large cross cut out over the front door entrance. Two large tiers were out in front. There were a lot of trees on the right side and shrubs on the left, with a spacious yard on both sides.

As you entered inside the front entrance, everyone made the sign of the cross with holy water. Once inside, it was very quiet and peaceful; you could hear a pin drop. All adults and children would wear some type of head covering (mantilla). If you didn't have your head covered, your family member would stop you at the door and attach a Kleenex on your head with a pin. All the men removed their hats. The purpose of the head covering was to show respect for the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. This is also mentioned in Scriptural reading in the Bible.

There was absolutely NO TALKING inside church and no immodest dress in God's Holy House. It was
forbidden! In churches and cathedrals, you were not allowed in church at all unless you were properly dressed; the priest would not allow it. When you approached your pew, you genuflected on your right knee and made the sign of the cross which was Always A Must. Your eyes caught a glimpse of our
small, beautiful, white three-tiered altar. In the front, there were three or four white round columns. You also saw the beautiful tall brass candles and candelabras on the altar. In the middle was our beautiful tabernacle. On both sides of our altar were our three statues--all the same size. St. Joseph on
the left, the Blessed Virgin Mary (as Our Lady of Grace) on the right, and high above the tabernacle (next level) was our beautiful Sacred Heart of Jesus statue.

All of our statues are very old and very exquisite. The Blessed Virgin Mary's original color of her mantle was a light sky blue. Both statues were repainted in February, 1981, and at the present time, she has a teal (blue green) mantle. The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue was red and white. (Note: During the move from College and Heard Street in 1960 to our present location, the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue was stolen, and the statue never reached the church at 412 Paula Rd. with the two remaining statues. No one has seen the stolen statue or knows of its location.) All three statues were donated by Mrs. Alice Phaff, a long-time parishioner who owned and operated the Commercial Hotel in Downtown McKinney.

THESE STATUES ARE NOW LOCATED IN OUR CHAPEL.

The dark brown communion rails were on each side of the altar with a small gate in the middle. You went through the gate, approaching the inside altar. Attached to both communion rails was a long white cloth. The altar boys who served most of the time were Bill Moore and Donald Holmes who would drape the long white communion cloth over each rail prior to receiving Holy Communion. Also serving as altar boys were Tony Whitehead and Butch Ford and others I cannot recall. When the time came to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, all members were kneeling at the altar rail, placing their hands under the communion cloth. The purpose of this was in case any particle of the communion Host accidentally fell; the communion cloth would catch the particles of the Host instead of falling on the floor. Rules for fasting 24 hours before receiving communion were that everyone fast from midnight until the next day after communion. Also, everyone received communion on the tongue -- a must. This was the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church. Receiving Holy Communion was a very holy and beautiful experience.

The seating capacity was 50 to 70 people. There were two rows of dark brown pews at the front on both sides and seven long rows of seats following on both sides with one big aisle in the middle. The fourteen Stations of the Cross were small, brown wood-frames with a cross above each station; two stations between the windows. All the windows were long and narrow, always raised during the summer because there was no air conditioning. Hand-held small fans were in the pews for use always in the hot summer months. In the winter months, a Dearborn gas heater was used to heat the church; but it was never warm enough. There were no conveniences -- no air-conditioning, no restrooms, nor running water.

Each week, Mrs. Mittie Holmes and the ladies of St. Michael's Altar Society would bring everything needed to clean the church. This would include mops, water, and dust cloths. And people complain today about what conveniences they don't have!

To decorate the church altar on Sunday, Mrs. Mittie Holmes would pick flowers from her own garden and bring water and vases for the flowers. She was also known to be a wonderful cook. She was always ready to help with bake sales, and was known for preparing chili suppers at the cemetery to raise money for the upkeep of the cemetery. I am not certain of the exact year the organization began, but I do know they had an Altar Society in the 1920's and early in the 1930's. I'm not sure if the men of the church had an organizational name at that time, or if the men just worked together as a group.

In the years following, The Holy Name Society was selected as the men's group. In 1938, an addition was added, and a large group of men worked on this project, as well as others when necessary. In 1938, an addition was built onto the church on the left side, and the altar was also moved back and extended to the rear of the building in order to have more space at the front of the altar. The addition built on the left was for a new confessional. Prior to the new addition, confessions were held behind the altar.

The men in the church who participated in these projects were the following: Mrs. George Britton, Mr. Garcia, Mr. Hensley, Mr. Connie Holmes, Mr. Lambert, Mr. Sanchez, and Mr. Bernard Spurgin and others.

On Sundays and Holy Days, you heard the beautiful music of the organ played by Mrs. Phaff, our organist, and also Mrs. Young, part-time organist. The organ was located in the back of the church on the left side. Anyone who desired could gather around the organ and sing. There was a small group of people that accompanied Mrs. Phaff and Mrs. Young. All the music was very beautiful.

The Masses were always held in Latin. Everyone had his own missal (individual prayer books) following each step of the Mass. Latin was on one side of the page and English on the other. The priest's back was toward the people; the priest was always facing the tabernacle. The altar boys also responded in Latin. The Masses were not held every Sunday; instead, they were held once a month. Because of the priest's schedule, he was not available to come every Sunday to McKinney.

Masses were also held at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in the hospital's chapel, completed in 1943. The chapel was located on the grounds of the hospital mainly for patients and hospital staff. This is where the Job Corps is today. The chapel was used for all denominations of Christians. The Catholic services were held first, beginning at 7:30 a.m. every Sunday. After the Catholic services were held, other denominations could use the chapel for their services.
 

Fr. Charles Mulholland arrived in August of 1950. He was in charge of the Diocesan Charities office in Dallas. At first, Fr. Mulholland was not a permanent resident priest (1950-1952). He resided in an apartment for weekends and holy days, and sometimes the priests would reside at the Commercial Hotel in Downtown McKinney. Mrs. Phaff was owner and operator of the hotel and also a member of St. Michael's Church. During Fr. Mulholland's term as pastor, there were many social events, such as ice
cream socials; picnics in the summertime on the church premises. Fr. Mulholland worked very well with children, taking the religious classes on swimming parties at the park in Dallas. At one time, Fr. Mulholland scheduled a private ferryboat ride at Lake Dallas for all members of the church who were interested. During those years, all the parishioners always had a good time! Under Fr. Mulholland, the first rectory was set up across from Staley's Beauty Shop.

St. Michael's was not blessed with any Catholic schools for the children to attend in this area because of the very small Catholic population at that time in McKinney. Those families wishing to educate their children in Catholic schools had to go to Dallas or Sherman.

The Sisters of Charity came from Sherman and Greenville and instructed the children in Catechism classes and preparing them for First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Classes were either held once a week in the church, and classes were held behind the altar because of lack of space. If there were no teachers available, the families of the children or other adults would instruct them. If there were no priests, adults would also teach converts to the faith.

In 1925, St. Michael's had scheduled a mission service for one week during Lent. Mr. Bernard Spurgin had to carry the Aladdin lamp back and forth from his house to the church at night for the mission services. This was a very important necessity because there was no electricity in the church. When Mr. Spurgin could no longer assist the priest because of illness, his younger son, James, took over his father's duties. In 1928, three nuns from the Order of Sisters of Charity came from Sherman to teach vacation bible school at the church. Mildred recalls very vividly Sister Peroubouy, one of the three nuns. The classes gathered outside the church--some of the students were the Spurgin and Hensley children. The class walked from Collin Street to 606 N. Tucker to Mrs. Evie Britton's home, where the class had a picnic and played games outside. Refreshments were prepared by Mrs. Britton, consisting of sandwiches, cookies, and lemonade, which was served to the group. Later, the classes walked back to St. Michael's. Mildred also recalls the first convert to the Church being in 1930. Mr. Apple, owner of Apple's Dairy, was a very devout man and was baptized into the Catholic Church at that time.

The following are collective remembrances from two long-time family members of the church on College and Heard Streets:

The Bernard Spurgin Family -- Mrs. Mildred Spurgin Ereckson (Daughter):

Mr. Bernard Spur, father of Mildred Spurgin Ereckson, served as altar boy and prepared the altar for Masses. Mr. Spurgin would go next door and carry water needed for Mass. He also assisted the priest with other duties. The Spurgin family attended the first church about a year before the church was moved to its second location in 1915, to College and Heard Streets.

Mildred "Doc" Ereckson recalls the early years of the church in the year 1914, or before, concerning her family. The Spurgin family was very active in the church and also one of the early families attending during the years mentioned above. The Spurgin Family was a very large family--total of nine. On Sunday mornings, the entire family would ride in a wagon to church. Children of Eamie and Bernard Spurgin are Malcolm, Elmo, Mary Mozelle, Mildred (Doc), Maurine, James, and Ruth. All were baptized in the old, original church.

Eddye Hensley Culberson (Daughter):

Eddye Jo recalls in 1938 her mother saying, "We are going to an Alter Society meeting tonight so bring your quarter." The little girl was about 12 years old at the time, said "Mama what is the quarter for?" Mother responded, "Your dues for the year." So she and her mom took off to the meeting held at Mr. Evie Britton's big two-story Victorian home at 609 N. Tucker. When they arrived, everyone was sitting around the big table, and a huge bowl was in the center. (In 1938, Altar Society dues were 25 cents a year.)

She recalls the home-made sugar cookies; lemonade being served as refreshments. All present had an enjoyable evening. Eddye Jo also recalls when her family arrived at the church in a wagon. The Spurgin family was the first to invite the Hensley family to dinner at the Bernard Spurgin home on that Sunday. Mr. Bernard Spurgin said to Mr. Hensley, "Mr. Hensbee, gather your family and children and all of you come to my house for a big chicken dinner. " So the two families met each other for an enjoyable Sunday.

Mrs. Ruby Schmid Prather

Mrs. Ruby Schmid Prather recalls her family driving a Model A to the church on Heard St. Family members were Della Mae, Ernestine Schmid Morgan, Eugene, Cecil Clarence, Ruth Schmid Peevy, Thomas, and Paul.

Patsy Holmes Drake

Patsy Holmes Drake has kept both of the cookbooks published by the Altar Society. The Drake building was named for her husband, Lester Drake, because Fr. Vogel liked him so much, and because he was so helpful around the church.

Because of important records and information not available or accessible to me at this time (i.e. lost records and other information), it is not possible for me to acquire the actual names of the first  parishioners at the first location, beginning in 1870 to 1915.

To the best of my ability, knowledge, and information given to me by church members, I can list some of the early families who attended St. Michael's from the College and Heard Streets location in the years of 1916 through the late 1950's. Some of these families are still attending St. Michael's today. They are the following:

• Mrs. Phaff - Owner of Commercial Hotel
• Mrs. Young
• Mrs. Harrison and daughter
• Bernard Spurgin Family
• The Morse Family - owned Morse Photography Studio on Louisiana St., Downtown McKinney. Mr. Morse was a major financial contributor to the church during this timeframe.
• *Joseph Hensley Family - Parents of Eddye Jo Culberson
• *The Lambert Family - Parents of Anna Ford
• *The Andrew Sanchez Family - Parents of Rosie and Daniel Sanchez
• George S. Britton Family - Grandparent of Linda Britton, Rusty Britton, Scott Britton, Bettie Britton Nitcholas Families and Gail Britton Wall.
• The Connie Holmes Family - *Parents of Pat Holmes Drake
• *Thurman Britton Family
• The Ed Dennehy Family
• The Garcia Family
• The Gonzales Family
• The Schmid Family - *Parent of Rust Schmid Father
• The Andy Lazerine Family
• The Rual Saba Family
• John and Roma Carlson
• The Buddy Cotter Family
• The Holloway Family
• The Collins Family -- Owner of Coke-Cola Bottling Co., McKinney
• The Vic Patricka Family
• *Marion Britton Family - (1945) Elsie Britton
• *The Lester Drake Family - (1947) Pat Drake

* Please Note -- Names with asterisks beside them denotes members attending St. Michael's to date.