St. James Parishioner Profile Allan Schacherer: Carrying The Torch Of Faith Across The Generations

When Allan Schacherer was a young child, our Lord in the Eucharist came to his home in a remarkable way — one that left an unforgettable impression on his heart and soul.

“My parents, Wayne and Gertrude, had Mass in their home for a couple of years in the early 1940s,” Allan says. “Soon after that, my grandfather, Albert, was instrumental in obtaining the new parish building on the north side of town, which is now St. James Parish. It was finally finished in 1956.”

Looking back, he remembers how hard our parishioners worked to build up the church community.

“They all worked very hard together to make the new parish a success and keep it going,” he says. “It took the dedication of many parishioners, and my family was quite involved. The sod for our new parish came from my grandfather’s land and the landscaping of the parish lawn was done by the parishioners. In the early days, we hosted chicken dinners to raise funds for our parish, and for many years, we have held a fall festival as well. We have always been a close parish that did many things together.”

Over the years, he has enjoyed watching our parish community flourish and become what it is today.

“St. James has really grown over time, and now we are growing in numbers as well, with outsiders coming in and babies being born,” Allan says. “We have the youngest congregation of the tri-parish cluster. It is really nice to have so many children and young people around. They really need each other.”

Looking back, Allan sees how extraordinary the devotion of his family really was, and how much their Catholic faith meant to them.

“To them, everything revolved around their faith in God,” he says. “They were involved in all of the parish activities, and they were always helping out however they could. My mother took care of the church linens and surplices, and I served Mass from the time I was about 12 years old until I got married.”

Allan and his wife, Donna, have six sons, 15 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Following in the noble footsteps of his forefathers, Allan has sought to bring the Catholic faith to his family. One of his grandsons, Travis Schacherer, is a generous, active member of our parish community. With Allan’s full support, Donna converted from Lutheranism and taught religion at St. James for about six years.

Looking forward, Allan has a beautiful vision for the parish family — one we may all seek to embrace.

“I hope we can continue growing as a vibrant parish community,” he says. “I even have hopes that more men will become priests so that we can have more clergy to serve our parishes. We have so many young families at St. James Parish in particular, and this gives me a lot of trust that we can carry on as a parish and not have to close down. The number of family farms is dwindling, so the number of Catholics in rural areas is also dwindling. However, I am thankful that our area is very industrious, which helps us keep families living here. This is needed to keep a parish up and going.”

Allan and Donna Schacherer with their sons