Heading for the Homesteads by Martin Brodner, O.S.B.
That same afternoon (of May 15) Fr. Meinrad Seifermann left for Leofeld, becoming the first resident pastor of the this first parish of the Colony. Fr. Bruno Doerfler, who had accompanied the monks, remained at Rosthern to welcome the new settlers and help them select homesteads. He returned to his abbey (St. John's) at the beginning of the school year there in mid-September.
The remaining six monks -- Frs. Alfred Mayer, John Balfrey and Rudolph Palm, candidate Aloysius Gleissner and Bros. Adolph Steiger and Bruno Fuchs left Rosthern early on May 16, arriving at the Humboldt telegraph station for the night. The next day, Ascension Day (May 21 ) the group reached the homestead section and celebrated the first Mass on 'home territory' in a tent. The site was near the Wolverine Creek one mile south of Muenster. Today a cairn marks the site.
The monks spent the first days under a large tent and set out at once to build a 12' by 16' log monastery on the west side of the creek about half a mile south of the present st. Peter's Cathedral. And soon teams of horses were on the way again to Rosthern to bring back lumber for a more durable monastery. It was ready for habitation in later June, 1903.
More monks began arriving already in June of 1903: newly ordained Fr. Chrysostom Hoffmann (Cluny) August 1903; Fr. Casimir Cismoski (St. John's); and Fr. Dominic Hofmann (St. John's) July 1903; Fr. Leo Ojdowski and Brother Rhabanus Cononge (both of Cluny) October 1903.
Also arriving: Fr. Matthias Steger (Cluny); Benedict Steigenberger (Cluny) April 1904; newly ordained Bernard Schaeffler (Cluny) and Br. Placid (Cluny) 1905; Fr. Ildephonse Molitor (St. John's) 1905 until 1912.
And, to conclude this first list: candidate Joseph Wickel (Germany) 1905 (ordained 1911); Fr. Boniface Puth, a Salesian priest 1906; Fr. Lawrence Steinkogler (St. John's) 1912.