Paul and Virginia Messmer

- Jasper, Indiana

 

People of Wisdom

Name: Paul and Virginia Messmer

Parish: Charter members of Precious Blood Church, Jasper

Married, number of children, grandchildren: Married for 51 years; seven children, 17 grandchildren, one great-grandson, and another great-grandchild on the way.

Tell us three things about yourself: Virginia: I like to be organized, and I’m a sensitive, loving and sympathetic person. Paul: I’m friendly, easygoing and calm.

What form does stewardship take in your life? How do you give of your time, talent and treasure to your parish? Virginia: I’ve been chairman of the welcome committee for the past 20 years. I am a lector and Eucharistic minister, and I take Communion to shut-ins. I also help with the bereavement dinners, dinners for older parishioners, and the church picnic, and I am chairman of the Prayer Chain at Precious Blood. Paul: I am also a Eucharistic minister and lector. I take turns serving for funerals and daily Mass. I have held several offices in the Men’s Club. For seven years, I was on the parish building plan commission, and I was the liaison between the contractors and parish when we built our new church and school addition. When our parish first started, I remember spending a lot of nights painting the rooms in the new school.

What was your first job and what did it pay? Virginia: When I was 12, I babysat. We’d babysit for six to seven hours and get paid only 25 cents . . . two dimes and a nickel! In high school, I started working at the glove factory. I worked there until we had our first child. Paul: I delivered papers when I was in high school, and I delivered milk on a milk route, door to door. I also worked on a farm in the summer. My first full-time job was at the telephone company. I got paid 63 cents an hour. I wasn’t allowed to climb the poles until I was 18 years old. After that, I got a raise of 3 cents an hour. I worked for the telephone company from 1947-62 and worked my way up to being an area supervisor.

Where did you meet? Virginia: We met at the skating rink. Paul didn’t skate, but he stood outside the rink and watched me, and then he walked me home. We started dating and were engaged when he was shipped overseas to Korea for two years. We were married on Aug. 1, 1953.

Tell us about your childhood. Virginia: I’m the oldest of six children — four sisters and one brother — who grew up on Jackson Street in Jasper. We had a happy childhood, and there was a lot of prayer in our family. My dad was a devout Catholic. He would go to daily Mass on his bicycle before he went to work, and he had a prayer hour at church from 1-2 a.m. every Friday morning. Mom would always see that we said our prayers before meals. We would say the family rosary every May and October. This is something Paul and I carried on with our own children. As kids, we played a lot of games, like hopscotch, jump the rope and paper dolls. I remember making long chains with the white clover and pretending they were veils and wedding dresses. Our family would go to the free movies at Ireland. They had a screen on the side of a building, and we’d take the back seat out of our car and go there with popcorn and Kool-Aid. Paul: I am originally from Huntingburg, and I also grew up in a Catholic family. I was the second oldest of five children. My mother still is a faithful Catholic. She celebrated her 100^th birthday on Nov. 22, 2004. After my dad went to work and we went to school, she would walk to daily Mass at St. Mary’s … she would be there in church when I would go to Mass with my classmates.

Who is someone you consider to be a hero? Virginia: Father Robert Green, a native of Jasper who was a Maryknoll missionary. He was held prisoner in China and was tortured miserably. He is the author of Calvary in China. Paul: When I was in the fifth grade during the second World War, our teacher, Sister Eugenia, gave all the students a man in service to write to as “pen pals.” I wrote to a Tom Conroy until he went overseas. I lost contact with him until 1987 when he came to Jasper to look me up. He still had my school picture and one of the letters that I had sent him. How many men would keep a strange kid’s picture and letter for over 40 years? We still communicate with him.

Describe a time in your life when you relied on your faith:. Virginia: Our twin grandsons were born early . . . they were not even seven months along and were not ready to be born. We prayed a lot for them, and worried they were not fully developed, but they were . . . they were just fine. Today, they are 14 years old and are strong and healthy. I feel like they were miracle babies. Also, my faith helped me when Paul was in Korea. When he was in the service, I went to Mass every day to pray that God would bring him back to me. He was on the front lines, and was hit by shrapnel that went clear through his boot and into his ankle. It was a miracle, because it could have gone straight to his heart. I feel like by praying for him that God saved him for me. Paul: When I was in Korea, I attended Mass whenever I could. Sometimes we’d have to drive 20 miles for a field Mass. I feel my prayers and going to Mass helped me, but I took a lot of ridicule for it from some of the other servicemen. My faith brought me through.

What is your first memory of church? Virginia: We belonged to St. Joseph Church in Jasper. My First Communion was a special day for me. To get all dressed up and receive Jesus for the first time was very exciting for me. We’d also go to vespers on Sunday afternoons. In those days, everyone was assigned a pew, and we’d sit in the same place every Sunday. Paul: When I was about 3 or 4 years old, I remember sitting in church at St. Mary’s in Huntingburg. The windows were open, and I was catching flies. Father Francis was giving a sermon about St. Peter and St. Paul, and when I heard him say, “Paul,” I froze right there because I thought I was in trouble. I didn’t catch any more flies!

What do you like most about being Catholic? Virginia: The Mass and the Holy Eucharist. I just feel like it gives me a peaceful feeling. We go to daily Mass every morning, and I can’t say enough for the Eucharist. It makes you feel closer to God. Paul: It’s the faith. They always say if you pray together, you stay together. I just believe the Catholic religion is the right religion. It makes you feel good.

What’s your favorite religious item? Virginia: My mother’s rosary. She died 14 years ago, and I carry her rosary in my pocket all the time. I also have a wooden crucifix one of my granddaughters brought back from Mexico when she was an exchange student there. On the front of the crucifix is a thorn in the shape of Jesus’ crucified body. Paul: I have a rosary that I’ve carried for 25-30 years, ever since I came back from the service. It has a cross that opens up. It used to have a relic in it, but it has been lost for some time now. Also a statue of the Blessed Mother that I received from my aunt. My great-grandmother brought it over from Germany many years ago.

What’s the best advice you could give someone? Virginia: Always know that God is beside you. Walk with Him, talk with Him, love Him and pray to Him. When my children and grandchildren were getting married, I would tell them it is not just the two of you. It is you, God and your spouse. Paul: I’ve told our children, when you get married, it’s not a 50-50 proposition . . . you each have to give 100 percent.

Tell us about a favorite saint: Virginia: The Blessed Mother. We go to Monte Cassino, the beautiful chapel at St. Meinrad, for services on Sundays in May and October. I feel like she has really protected our family. Paul: St. Paul.