March 5, 2025

By Keith Benman
Contributing Writer

A Catholic craftsman’s well-traveled labor of love is once again on display for the public to see at the Town of Massena Museum.

A 10-foot replica of Sacred Heart Church, crafted 47 years ago by parishioner Howard J. Premo, is now housed in the museum’s new wing.

The replica has intricate features such as a carved marble altar, stained glass, pews with collapsible kneelers, and even tiny confessionals.

It went on display at the museum at 79 Main St. in time for the 100th anniversary of the actual church at 212 Main St. last year.

“To have someone take the time and the patience to make something like this – I thought it should be preserved and displayed,” said Sacred Heart Parishioner James Beckstead. “You don’t see craftsmanship like this hardly anymore.”

The efforts of Beckstead and former Town Historian MaryEllen Casselman were crucial in preserving and protecting the model church through the years.

Beckstead first encountered it more than two decades ago, when he was employed by the town highway department and it was stored in the basement of the Massena Museum, then located at 200 East Orvis St. His boss sent him over with another worker to remove it and bring it to the town barn for storage. Years later, when the new Massena Museum opened on Main Street, it was brought there under the direction of Cassleman and put on display in 2017. But space constraints there forced it into storage again. This time it went into the basement at St. Joseph’s on Malby Avenue and then to the former convent at Sacred Heart. Before that convent was demolished last year it came back to the museum, which now has room to display it long-term due to a new addition there.

By the time it was displayed for the first time in the new museum its creator had passed away. Premo was well-known in the area for a lawn and garden equipment dealership he operated on S. Raquette St.

“He thought a lot of Sacred Heart church and his religion to do such a thing … to make something like this as a remembrance,” Beckstead said.

It’s the sheer amount of detail in the model that always struck Beckstead.

“Right down to the little pews, the little kneelers, and they’re all actually functioning,” Beckstead said. “And those little book holders on the back of each of those pews are so small and intricate – that would take a lot of time and patience.”

The 100-year history of Sacred Heart Church is explained in a display accompanying the model church along with a selection of implements used in church worship.

The Massena Museum is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays and Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Admission is free.