Celebration to honor history, settlers of D'Aste

A celebration of the historic community of D’Aste on Aug. 25 will include special guests, memories, gratitude, and children's music and games from 3-5 p.m. The gathering is at the old D’Aste Church between Charlo and Moiese on Dublin Gulch Road and is sponsored by the D’Aste Women’s Service Group (DWSG). All are invited to this free event.

Four special guests will share memories:

• Pat Quinn, former governor of Illinois, is a great-nephew of Tom Quinn, a beloved early D’Aste leader.

• Inez Evans Freshour Pounds and Lila Faye Evans Krantz are two of the 11 children of D'Aste settlers Jesse and Lila Evans. Inez, now 102, is the oldest of all the living children of the original D’Aste settlers.

• Ethel Gallagher McCready’s uncle, Mike Gallagher, was an early settler, and her parents, Frank and Mabel Gallagher, followed in the 1920s, raising 13 children and attending Mass in D'Aste for decades.

Musician Chris Sand and his band will perform songs for children from his new album, Magic Beans. Chris is the great-grandson of early immigrant settlers Nick and Angela Herak and John and Julia Sullivan.

The old church is the only structure that remains of the old town of D’Aste (pron. DeeAStee), which was settled by mostly Irish Catholic immigrants who moved from Butte together in the early 1910s to escape the dangers of the mines. At first they traveled to Mass in Dixon or St. Ignatius, but in 1916 they raised money and, together with neighbors both Catholic and Protestant, built St. Joseph's Church. It served the Catholic community until 1978, when a new church with a kitchen and indoor plumbing was built in Charlo.

Thanks to the efforts of many over the years, the old church is now a community center owned and maintained by the DWSG. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

In 2021 the women's group raised funds to hire historic preservationist Mark Kersting to prep and paint the building's exterior, a massive project helped along by a few volunteers. As can be seen driving by today, foundation repair is the group's current project.

All interested are welcome. Contact Mary Herak Sand at 406-203-8716 for more information.

    Pat Quinn, former governor of Illinois, is a great-nephew of Tom Quinn, a beloved early D’Aste leader, and will be on hand to celebrate the D'Aste community on Aug. 25.
  

Inez Evans Freshour Pounds and Lila Faye Evans Krantz are two of the 11 children of D'Aste settlers Jesse and Lila Evans. Both plan to reminisce at the celebration of the historic community of D’Aste on Aug. 25. (Mary Herak Sand photo)