At St. Mary's Mission in Stevensville, we visited the cabins, where many Fathers of the chapel stayed. The cabin ceilings were very low to the ground and the doorways are also very small. In the cabins, there were fireplaces, handcrafted rocking chairs and beds. Father Anthony Ravalli carved some of the rocking chairs. The rocking chairs that he carved had a different look to them than the others. The difference was that when he made the chairs, the backs of the seats would be slanted back farther for more comfort.
In the chapel, Father Ravalli carved many figurines all around the church. There are also pictures on the walls of the church. The pictures were of the crucifixion of Christ. Father Ravalli painted the originals on burlap but they didn't last.
We also visited the cemetery where there are graves of many of the Indians who lived at the St. Mary's Mission. At the cemetery, there are also the graves of Fathers who helped the Indians to be Christians and they even baptized some of them.
Father Ravalli was very resourceful and was a very resourceful. He produced a saw when he took a metal tire off of a wheel, straightened it out, and he cut the teeth with a cold chisel. He used this for cutting lumber to make the different buildings. There were approximately six total buildings at the Saint Mary's mission. We were very glad to have the chance to visit the mission and we hope that future students will continue to enjoy this wonderful historical site.
Written by Nathan P. and Kyle A.
