Friends of Paplin, Inc.
Our Mission: "Repair, Restore, and Preserve the Historic Paplin Church Property"
About the project
According to local legend, the Paplin church was blown off its foundation by a tornado in 1896. Then, before repairs could be made, a strong wind blew the 50-by-100-foot church back in place (Hammel, World Herald 2018).
Many local residents have been doing their best to preserve the church, hall and surrounding property, but it had become a monumental task. As with all things, teamwork is the best approach.
The Loup City Entrepreneurship Club (LCEC) saw a great opportunity to reach out and help the “Little Church that Did”. After a September meeting with those interested in preserving the church, The LCEC lent their expertise and set up a checking account in Ashton for tax deductible donations. And, with the help of Heather Sikyta of the Sikyta Law Firm of Loup City, they were able to set up Articles of Corporation for the Friends of Paplin, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.
This ultimately led to the first annual meeting of the Friends of Paplin, Inc. on October 28, 2018, at the St. Francis Church in Ashton in which officers and a board of directors were elected. Now, the church property officially belongs to the Friends of Paplin, Inc.!
Donate
We have achieved our goals of putting a new roof on the church and hall, restored the stained-glass windows, sided the church, updated the electrical panel in the church, lowered the ceiling in the hall, painted the interior of the hall, and sanded its floors. This past summer, the statues and altars were professionally restored. To keep these improvements from deteriorating, a new furnace was installed because the old one was not working. Our future projects include air conditioning and the monumental task of removing peeling paint from the interior tin walls & ceiling, and concrete columns. This daunting task will be complicated with the heights of the ceiling and columns. Consider donating to the cause--the church our ancestors worked so hard to build 140 years ago--the church many were baptized, received their communion, confirmation, were married or had a funeral. Your contribution is tax-deductible. If you can not give money, then maybe you can lend your talents by helping in some other way. Please let us know! Thanks and God bless!
Click here to go to our Go Fund Me page. 
OUR MISSION IS TO REPAIR, RESTORE, AND PRESERVE THE HISTORIC PAPLIN CHURCH PROPERTY
Join us today and help us make a change!
Get involved
- Loup City, NE 68853
- 123 N. 8th Street, P.O. Box 53
Happenings, The Past
Officers and Board members
Mike Gappa
President
Mike is president until October 2026.
Joe Jonak
Vice-President
Joe Jonak is Vice-President until October 2026.
Rose A. Kowalski
Secretary
Rose holds the office of secretary until 2025.
Diane Chelewski
Treasurer
Diane serves as our treasurer until the end of October 2026.
Janelle Mostek
Board Member
Janelle is a board member until October 2026.
Stacie Gappa
Board Member
Stacie is a board member until October 2026.
Diane Jonak
Board Member
Diane serves as a board member until the end of October 2026.
Bonnie Badura
Board Member
Bonnie will serve as a board member until October 2025.
Mike Ference
Board Member
Mike was elected to serve until October 2026.
Betty Poss
Board Member
Betty will be a board member until October of 2025.
Travis Jonak
Board Member
Travis will be serving as a board member until October of 2025.
What You Need to Know
Below are links to the most recent "Friends of Paplin, Inc."
Minutes_9_15_24.pdf Meeting Minutes
We also have links to the Grain Commodity Donation forms:
Crop_Commodity_Transfer_Form.pdf
Crop_Commodity_Transfer_Long_Form.pdf
**Donor is advised to consult his/her legal/tax advisor regarding the tax effects of the transfer of any asset.
FACEBOOK link to Paplin Church
Membership
| FRIENDS OF PAPLIN, INC. LIFETIME MEMBERS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Jane Atkinson | Chase Becker | Donna Fells | Mike Ference | Adeline Jonak | Cheri Kowalski |
| David Kowalski | Donna Kowalski | Rose A. Kowalski | Phyllis Piechota | Betty Poss | Paul Radke, Jr. |
| Ron Sack | Deloris Stanczyk | Jim Stanczyk | Michael Stearns | Judith Trader | Maurice Grudzinski |
| Al Kowalski | Roberta Kowalski | Mike Chelewski | Diane Chelewski | Richard Gappa | Fred Roy |
| Joe Jonak | Diane Jonak | Matthew Jonak | Breann Jonak | Mitchell Jonak | Amelia Jonak |
| Joey Jonak | Travis Jonak | Troy Jonak | Tyler Jonak | Rose Mary Kowalski | James Roy |
| Mark Czaplewski | Rita Czaplewski | Terrin Jonak | Delbert Jonak | Renee Jonak | Kathy Carson |
| Emily Gregoski | David Ference | Fr. Richard Piontkowski | Ed Kowalski | Alice Lily | Cyril Skorupa |
| Ken Pokorski | Gwen Redemer | William Kelley | John Mudloff | Sandi Mudloff | Drew Kowalski |
| Donald Gappa | John Klein | Lawrence Mostek | Kathy Mostek | Sandra Kraft | Linda Polski |
| Maxine Lewandowski | Paul Wadas | Jim Krance | Linda Lewandowski | Diane Loeffelbein | John Eastlund |
| Melissa Berkheimer | Jennifer Kopsa | Raymond Chelewski | Sharon Petrytus | Alicia Gappa | Krista Slobaszewski |
| John Gappa | Steve Slobaszewski | Donna Gappa | Steve Ference | Bernadette Ference | Phyllis Gappa |
| Edigna Herold | Delores Roy | Amy Kowalski | Bonnie Badura | LJ Kwiatkowski | Jane Keating |
| Virgil Jonak | Marilyn Jonak | Eric Wittwer | Jacqueline Wittwer | Kathy Burr | Marty Kowalski |
| Joe Kowalski | Nalalie Kohler | Ericson Wittwer | Suzette Garrison | Jonak-Packer Wittwer | Marc Wittwer |
| Koanui Wittwer | Leilani Wittwer | Jonna Wittwer | Brock Wittwer | Kjerstin Stanavige | Cameron Stanavige |
| Annika Wittwer | Mike Gappa | Stacie Gappa | Mary Gappa | Alan Dush | Steven Brumbaugh |
| John Turek | Larry Scheper | Diane Dailey | Mike Ference | Tina Dush | Janelle Mostek |
| Ruth Gappa | Catherine Spellman | Lynn Chelewski | Phil Lukasiewicz | Tracey Lukasiewicz | Fr. Dave Rykwalder |
| LeRoy Baker | Amy Christiansen | Frank Krolikowski | |||
Individual lifetime memberships are available for $100. Annual memberships are available for $15 for an individual and $25 for a family. Complete the membership form found below and send a check to Friends of Paplin, Inc. P.O. Box 53, Loup City, NE 68853-0053. Funds are used to repair, restore, and preserve the Historic Paplin Church property.
See What's Coming Up!
Church Records
There are Baptismal, Confirmation Wedding, and Death Records for Paplin from 1882 to 1907 available. If you are conducting searches for family, please let us know. We have had to take our PDF records down because of their size and privacy laws.
Paplin History
Russ Czaplewski of Shawnee, KS, compiled a deed research of the Paplin Town Lots, Paplin Church history from local newspapers, and found interesting material from Polish newspapers.
From the e-mail he wrote me: "My research has also found interesting and forgotten material in Catholic newspapers published in Winona, Minnesota. The titles were "Katolik" and "Wiarus". Both newspapers had international and national news. Reports from Polonia include--get this--some signed columns submitted from people from central Nebraska! The material I have found is from 1894 to 1913. My personal connection is that some of the columns (including poems) were contributed by Mike Mendyk, my grandmother's uncle! The attached files are samples and the file name includes the date of the issue and the column to look for. I am sorry that I do not have translations but right off place names and surnames can be spotted. and other interesting information!"
Mendyk--Paplin lot sales_owners.pdf
Church history--Chojnice.pdf (Chojnice)
Wiarus 1908-04-02 p8 col5-6--Mendyk.pdf (1908_04_02_p8_col_5_6_Mendyk)
Katolik 1894-04-05 p1 col4--Chojnice.pdf (1894_04_05_p1_col_4_Chojnice)
Below are links to a document Rose Mary Kowalski found in the belongings of her father, Cash Radke, a former member of Paplin Church. It is dated 1923. On the Expense sheet, the "Dochod" or income for the parish (left side) is listed; "Rozchod" or expenditures are listed on the right side. "Razem" means "Together" which are basically the totals of $3,689.39. In the lower center portion of the page, "Dlugu bylo" means "the debt was"; "Splacono" means "Repaid", and "POZOSTAJE" means "Remains". Page 2 & 3 of the document lists the parishioners and the amounts they donated for the year. I don't think you would do this in today's world! Enjoy!
Articles
This is the picture that adorns the cover of the 2025 Friends of Paplin calendar. They are available at the Polish Heritage Center in Ashton, NE or you can call Rose Kowalski at (308) 750-2807 for information on how to get one. They are affordably priced at $10. They also make great gifts!
Read MoreThere is an attached PDF file with a conversation between myself and Robert Starczewski, our new friend from Chojnice, Poland.
Read More
It was a rainy, dreary Palm Sunday, but those who braved the weather were treated to a breakfast of ham, sausage, pancakes, egg casseroles, fruit, rolls, coffee and juice. Thanks to all who helped in any way to make the day a success. Funds raised will help pay for the newly installed furnace in the Paplin Church. God bless you all. The cash raffle winners were: $100....Mitzi Kuszak $50.... Libby Ference $25...Kirk Harrington Congratulations!
Read More
