To the Editor:
Reading the obituary for Father Joe Rogers in the March 7 Catholic Messenger brought to mind an encounter I had with the priest. I was bending over floor joists to be installed at 202 Timber Valley in Blue Grass back in 1977. Before Dad and others arrived to help that warm day, a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he could lend a hand. He sort of startled me at the time and said, “My new neighbor sent me over here because some young kid is trying to build his first house; he may need some help.” So yes, he helped me for an hour or so until other help arrived that Saturday morning.
As he was leaving, he said he heard my family was Catholic and invited us to the Blue Grass Community Center the next morning. He confessed he was a priest, recently out of the army as a chaplain and was trying to get a new Catholic church started in Blue Grass. Yes, this was Fr. Joe, who got my family back on track with attending church and helped us over the years to come.
Steve Geering
Blue Grass
