Geri Casey; first joined the parish in the 1940s, then moved out and back again in 1958.

Shortly after they moved back into the parish, Fr. Towey approached Geri about sending their children to Incarnation School.  When Geri replied that they could not afford the uniforms,  Fr. Towey provided a way for them to get free uniforms for the three children who then started going to Incarnation School.


Harvey Young’s wife, Bonnie; Harvey grew up in the parish and Bonnie lived here two years of their married life from 1964-1966:

In the 1940s when he was in grade school, Harvey Young made a visit to church and snuck up to the choir loft.  Thinking he was alone in church, he began playing “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater” on the organ.  However, he was NOT alone and got caught by a nun who was in church at the time!

One day in 1965 or so, after Bonnie Young had walked her daughter to Incarnation School, a nun was standing outside with a little girl. The Sister said suddenly, “Now this nice lady is going to walk you home.”  The little girl knew her way, so Bonnie walked her home.  This stands as a testament to the implicit trust the Sisters and school parents had of one another in those days, since Bonnie knew neither the Sister nor the girl.   


Geri Teefy, member since 1950

The Women’s Club had retreats in the late 1960s for about five years at The Cenacle in Wayzata.  They began with Friday supper, after which silence was imposed until Sunday afternoon.  About 40-50 women attended.  The Holy Name Society had men’s retreats in the 1950s at the Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House near Stillwater. These went from Thursday evenings until Sunday evening.  Silence was also imposed on the men after the Thursday supper.

Paul and Deb Hanson; members since 1979

My wife Deb and I bought our first home in southwest Minneapolis in 1974. We clung to our old church in Bloomington for a couple of years and then started shopping for a church that was closer to us. Our next door neighbor, a retired school teacher who had taught at Southwest High School, had belonged to Incarnation as a young girl with her parents. Even though she belonged to Christ the King parish, she often attended Incarnation for daily Mass. One day she asked Deb if she would like to join her in attending a daily mass. Deb agreed and afterward came home with a glowing report of how beautiful the church was and that we should attend Sunday Mass to see how well we liked it.  We started to attend Mass fairly regularly and really enjoyed the church and Father Monaghan. 

After a Saturday Mass in the summer of 1979, Father Monaghan stopped us and said, "I think you two would make great Eucharistic Ministers." We told him we weren't members and he said "Well, then join."  We did, and shortly afterward we became Eucharistic Ministers and later Eucharistic Minister Leaders. That is almost 30 years ago and we are still Eucharistic Ministers. I can't believe how fast the time has gone and how wonderful the people have been that we have served with, many of them no longer with us. What a privilege it has been to have served Communion to our congregation for all this time.


Ted and Jean Maltese; members since 1965

We moved to 40th and Garfield in 1965.  The first event we attended was a Cana dinner.  I remember Monnie Rieger and others coming up to introduce themselves.  At Christmas time Ted helped design and paint a panel depicting the Incarnation which was hung over 38th and Pleasant.  Flo Heiman and other Men’s Club members helped Father Robert Packard with this project.  The Men’s Club Christmas party was always an enjoyable event—the men did the work!  Art Harlan had been an Army cook, so he was in charge of the food.  He also barbequed the beef for the Oktoberfest beef sandwiches for many years.  The Snowflake Frolic in January was always eagerly anticipated; many of the women wore formal gowns.  During Lent the Seder Meal usually was served on the Wednesday of Holy Week.  Leona Dolezal, with the help of her family, chaired this event for years.  The dinner was served with bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and carafes of wine on each table.  I remember Ted telling someone at our table that it was a Passover —not pass out— meal when the wine flowed pretty freely.  In May the Mother-Daughter banquet was usually served for the ladies by the Men’s Club.  Prizes were awarded to the mother with the most daughters with her at the breakfast, another for the oldest mother present, and so on.  In the summer, the parish had a family picnic with good food and games for the children.  For a number of years, the summer play provided parish teenagers opportunities to develop and showcase their organizational, theatrical, and musical talents.  The end of the summer brought the Oktoberfest for parishioner participation, both work and play:  the kids’ carnival, good food, the beer garden.  In the mid ‘80s Lonne Murphy organized the Renew groups for studying and enriching our faith, following the changes that had occurred in the Church after Vatican II (1962-65).  The groups met with their leaders several times a month in our homes and were provided with booklets and outlines to facilitate our study.  Renew also provided a chance to meet new parishioners.  We had social events at Christmas and at the end of the season in June.  When Renew began, a tree was planted on the corner where the sign now stands.  A few years later each group contributed to a fund to help move the tree to the north side of the front lawn of the rectory where it stands today.  Some of the boulevard trees were threatened by Dutch elm disease.  Ted was contacted by Vince Shea to help save the trees in front of Incarnation School.  A red circle indicated those that were slated to be removed.  Under Vince’s direction, some Men’s Club members irrigated the roots of those trees with a prescribed solution.  Those trees still provide shade today.
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