Holy Rosary Mission of Alaska: November 2008

Friday, November 28, 2008

Annunciation Stained Glass Piece Donated

By Father Scott Joseph Garrett, Pastor

Matteo Guarino donated a beautiful stained glass picture of the Annunciation to Holy Rosary Parish. The Angel Gabriel is announcing to the Virgin Mary that she is pregnant with Jesus. He made the stained glass image from a picture he took while traveling. He started and completed the glass while here in Dillingham.

Matteo works at the Kanakanak Hospital, here in Dillingham, during the year. He usually arrives in August and leaves at the end of November. I have had the pleasure of knowing Matteo for the three and a half years I have been pastor of Holy Rosary. He attends Mass regularly.

A very talented artist, Matteo paints with water colors, makes religious plaster art, and has drifted into creating religious stained glass. His idea for Holy Rosary is to put two stained glass pieces in the windows right behind the altar. The first piece has been made and delivered and he hopes to complete the next piece when he arrives back in Dillingham in August of 2009.

Below is the Beautiful stained glass piece of the annunciation and a few more of his watercolors. The Angel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she is pregnant with the Christ Child.

A few of Matteo's water colors:

Please click on “comments” just below. I have asked Matteo to monitor these comments. If you would like to contact him you should be able to monitor the comments section and exchange information.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Smoking & Canning Wild Alaskan Salmon

By Father Scott Joseph Garrett, Pastor

One of the many fantastic benefits of being a Catholic Priest in the Alaskan bush is fishing! I love salmon, especially when it is smoked and canned. Out here one can catch the salmon in a net. All residents of Dillingham can get a free subsistence license, i.e. we can catch as many salmon as we can eat in a year, for FREE! I also clean them, fillet them, smoke and can them. It is about a three day process if done right.

There are several different ways to smoke salmon. Below is just one example. My dad taught me this method when I was growing up in Bend, Oregon. My great grandfather (who grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon) taught my dad. So, it is a special recipe handed down from generation to generation. My mom taught me how to can the salmon and my grandmother taught her.

Smoked Salmon Recipe

1. Wild Alaskan Sockeye (Red) Smoked Salmon; eight Salmon.

2. Brine: (Two to One) i.e. two cups brown sugar to one cup salt (my dad always told me to use non-iodized salt).

3. Mix brown sugar and salt.

4. Layer salmon fillets in pan coating each layer with brine.

5. Put in fridge for at least one hour (a day is fine).

6. After brine, rinse each fillet off in cold water.

7. Glaze: Place fish on oiled racks, blow fan over fish for up to 24 hours.

8. Salmon is glazed when the surface of each piece is slick on top.

9. Smoke four hours for canning (flavor intensifies when canning).

10. If not canning, smoke for eight hours.

11. Use Alder wood or what ever you prefer, i.e. cherry wood.

12. The finished product ready to be canned.

Canning Smoked Salmon:

NOTE: This canning process ONLY applies to smoked salmon. Other meats or vegetables require a different set of instructions.

· Put 1.5 inches of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker.

· Wash all the jars in the dishwasher (use ONLY wide mouth pint jars).

· Put something on bottom of the pressure cooker, preferably a rack.

· For smoked Salmon, do not put water in jars.

· Put lids and rings in a pan of hot water on the stove; do not bring them to a boil.

· Rims of jars must be spotless after putting the salmon into jars, use a clean rag.

· Do not fill jars to the top, leave 1/4th inch of free space between salmon and top. This is done so lids can seal properly.

· Put hot lids on clean rims of jars and screw ring down tight.

· Put jars in canner, put lid on canner, turn stove on high.

· Leave the pressure regulator off.

· Let steam blow out of hole for 10 minutes (important for sterilization).

· Put pressure regulator on (the little circular donut, put on 10psi).

· After the gage reads 10psi, start decreasing heat.

· Watch closely; do not let it get over 10psi or so.

· Some canners have special donut regulators that do not allow going over 10psi.

· Donut regulator: Set stove heat so the pressure regulator barely has a hissing noise.

· At 10psi, cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

· After 1 hour and 45 minutes, slide cooker off of hot burner and let cool.

· Do not take pressure regulator off until completely cooled, may take several hours.

· After cooker cools, take of pressure regulator, then take of lid, then take out jars.

· Cricket noise: count the number of cricket noises you hear as the canner cools.

· The cricket noise is the sound of each jar sealing.

· Set Jars on dishtowel for 20 minutes, may have to wipe them off with a damp rag.

· Tap jars on the top with tablespoon, a thud sound means that it has not sealed.

· A tight clear ringing sound means that it is sealed.

The Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon is ready to store on your shelf for when that cold weather sets in and you are relaxing by the wood stove.

Holy Rosary Parish Mission

Holy Rosary Mission parishioners drive through blizzards, snow, ice, and extreme winds to get to Mass. Depending on the village location, some use four-wheelers or snow machines. Parishioners in the larger communities, such as Dillingham and King Salmon, have cars and trucks that have arrived on a cargo plane or boat. There are approximately three barges per year that sail around the Aleutian Chain to Bristol Bay.

Because of the rugged living conditions, clergy in the past have been transitional and our parishioners have had to take ownership of their churches. Determined Catholic parishioners have learned to give flawless communion services, clean up flooding basements, keep the grass mowed, patch chuck-holes in the parking lot, and basically take charge of anything that needs done. For example, Holy Rosary, has a cleaning list posted in the vestibule that is always full a year in advance. Our faithful and spirited parishioners have allowed Catholicism to remain a viable religion in the Alaskan Bush.

Located in Dillingham, Alaska, Holy Rosary church congregates on ten acres of land near the Dillingham Airport. It is considered a Mission Parish, hence the confusion of calling it a mission or a parish.

The church building at Holy Rosary was built in the 1980's with funds from several generous local parishioners and the Catholic Extension Society. It is located on the West end of a one acre gravel parking lot. The building was designed and constructed by local contractors.

Built in the 1940,s, the Holy Rosary rectory is located on the East end of the parking lot. It is a three bedroom structure with basement and garage.

Between the church and the rectory is the old church, which was used after a fire burned down the original church building. Plans are being made to repair this church so it can be used for meetings and fund raisers.

The Holy Rosary Parish Mission consists of two other church buildings located in King Salmon and Clarks Point. Additionally, over twenty villages are considered part of the mission. Mass in these other villages is normally held in houses, schools, or fish canneries.

There are no roads leading to or from any villages in the Holy Rosary mission territory. Any personal contact made to these Catholics must be done by air.

Please click here for more detail about the History of this important Alaskan mission.

Father Scott Garrett

Father Scott is the Pastor of the Holy Rosary Mission and (unofficially) he ministers to the largest parish in the world. And although geographically he covers a vast area, the total number of families in his parish is approximately 150.

Father Scott's unique mode of transportation is a 160 Cherokee Warrior which he uses to fly to the many remote areas within his parish. After landing on one of the many dirt airstrips, he is normally picked up on a three wheeler or snowmachine. He is then taken to either a viliager's house, a school, or a cannery to offer Mass and cetechetical instruction. With the unpredictable weather of SW Alaska, Father Scott's schedule is always written lightly in pencil

When not in flight, Father Scott stays busy maintaining a church, rectory, and cemetery on ten acres of property. Within the larger Dillingham community he may be found ministering to a sick person at the Kanakanak hospital , eating lunch at the Dillingham Senior Center, blessing the fishing fleet, or attending an althletic event or graduation ceremony.

Blessed Drinking Water for People in Dillingham

One of the important services Holy Rosary provides for the community of Dillingham is drinking water. The well at Holy Rosary is probably the purest, cleanest, and coldest in Dillingham.

Many Dillinghammers do not have good water and people from all walks of life line up at our pump to fill up on water. They fill up buckets, trash cans, jars, and water bottles. Basketball teams line up as do sports fisherman and airport personnel. Since many people in Dillingham do not even have water, they have come to depend on the well at Holy Rosary.

The late Jim Kelly blessed the entire well. Most people who get water at Holy Rosary all know the water is blessed. Near the well, a sign is posted asking people to slip a small donation inside the mail slot on the door to help pay for electricity and maintenance.