St Bernard Church in Alpena

St Bernard church in Alpena houses the oldest Catholic parish between Bay City and Cheboygan. Remember the snowshoe priest, Bishop Baraga? Well, he slogged his way through the snow and ice from Sault Set Marie in 1861 and founded a catholic church in Alpena. Although the cornerstone was laid in 1880 for their new church, the parish split into three. The French retained the original structure and named it St Anne, the Polish faction became St Mary's and then the Irish kept St Bernard which we see above.