D’Aste celebration planned for Aug. 25
Mary Herak Sand photo
The D’Aste Church, on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999, is a community center owned and maintained by the D’Aste Women’s Service Group. Insert early photos of D’Aste Church.
Mary Herak Sand photo
Special guests Inez Evans Freshour Pounds (102 years old) and Lila Fay Evans Kranz are two of 11 children of D’Aste settlers Jesse and Lila Evans. Inez is 102 and the oldest of all the living children of the original D’Aste settlers.
Courtesy of Facebook
Pat Quinn, former Governor of Illinois, is a great-nephew of Tom Quinn, a beloved early D’Aste leader.
Janis Keith photo
Gallagher sisters, Ethel Mcready and Fran Keith, are the nieces of Mike Gallagher, an early settler. Ethel and Fran’s parents, Frank and Mabel Gallagher, moved to D’Aste in the 1920s and attended mass in D’Aste for decades.
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
CHARLO — Celebration of the historic community of D’Aste, Montana, will include special guests, memories, gratitude, and children’s music and games on Sunday, Aug. 25, from 3-5 p.m., at the old D’Aste Church between Charlo and Moiese on Dublin Gulch Road. The celebration is sponsored by the D’Aste Women’s Service Group (DWSG). All are invited to this free event.
Four special guests will share memories: Pat Quinn, former Governor of Illinois, is a great-nephew of Tom Quinn, a beloved early D’Aste leader; Inez Evans Freshour Pounds and Lila Faye Evans Krantz are two of the 11 children of D’Aste settlers Jesse and Lila Evans, (Inez, now 102, is the oldest of all the living children of the original D’Aste settlers); Ethel Gallagher McCready’s uncle, Mike Gallagher, was an early settler, and her parents, Frank and Mabel Gallagher, followed in the 1920s, raising 13 children and attending Mass in D’Aste for decades.
Musician Chris Sand and his band will perform songs for children from his new album, Magic Beans. Chris is the great-grandson of early immigrant settlers Nick and Angela Herak and John and Julia Sullivan.
The old church is the only structure that remains of the old town of D’Aste (pron. DeeAStee), which was settled by mostly Irish Catholic immigrants who moved from Butte together in the early 1910s to escape the dangers of the mines. Originally, they had to travel to Mass in Dixon or St. Ignatius, but together in 1916 they raised money, with neighbors both Catholic and Protestant, and built St. Joseph’s Church. It served the Catholic community until 1978, when a new church with a kitchen and indoor plumbing was built in Charlo.
Thanks to the efforts of many over the years, the old church is now a community center owned and maintained by the DWSG. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. In 2021 the women’s group raised funds to hire historic preservationist Mark Kersting to prep and paint the building’s exterior, a massive project helped along by a few volunteers. As can be seen driving by today, foundation repair is the group’s current project.
All interested are welcome to the Aug. 25 celebration. Contact Mary Herak Sand at 406-203-8716 for more information.
