“From the Archives” — Owls in the Belfry

In October 1932, the Alexandria Gazette reported:

“One or two members of the [Knights of Columbus] council who happened to pass St. Mary’s Church late at night in the past few months have been startled and not a little perturbed by weird and mysterious sounds issuing from the belfry of the old church. The mystery has at last been solved by the discovery of a colony of owls in the belfry, whose solemn hoots ringing out on the midnight air have raised goose-flesh on the anatomies of lonely and belated passers-by.

“We are rather proud of the discovery. Owls in a church belfry add a touch of Old World dignity and romance to the humdrum and prosaic atmosphere of this age of radios, around-the-world flights and dance marathons.

“The owl is a solemn and dignified bird, whose presence in a church steeple somehow does not seem at all out of keeping with the sacred character of the edifice …. Who knows but that the owls of St. Mary’s may someday figure in song and story as do the storks of Nuremberg and the pigeons of St. Mark’s?”

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series in 2022. An archive of the features is located here.