St. Bernard's Annual Benefit

Quite the performer, actually, our Loretta Madigan. She seemed to do a lot of performing with the Rickert family. Here's the text of the article, from February 19, 1911, when the St. Bernard's Choir held their annual benefit performance:

Men and Women of St. Bernard's
Church Prepare for Show
On Tuesday evening, St. Bernard's R.
C. Church, Hicks and Rapelye streets,
of which the Rev. John M. Scheffel is
pastor, will hold its annual entertainment
and reception at the Kings County
Palace, 120 Schermerhorn street, under
the auspices of the St. Bernard choir,
for the benefit of the church. The evening
programme will be opened with a
"First Part Minstrel" with the entire
choir participating, as follows: Interlocutor,
Daniel Thompson; tambos, Miss
Hannah Todd, Joseph J. Rickert; bones,
Mrs. George Donovan, Daniel F, Sallows,
Michael Galvin, August A. Rickert,
James F. Ryan and Master G. Onken,
and Mrs. Frances Dilberger and
Mrs. August A. Rickert, soloists.
The chorus will be comprised of the
following: Joseph Dilberger, Frank J.
Fannon, William Baker, Peter F. Kestler,
Frank J. Rickert, George Kestler,
William J. Rickert, Frank Kestler, Adam
Wunner, the misses Lillian Harkens,
Amelia Heitzman, Clara Rickert, Lorretta
A. Madigan, Anna Rickert, Lillian
Sallows, Mary Gibbons, Josephine Lesinsky,
Margaret Barret. Immediately
following the minstrels , a specialty will
be rendered by Frank J. Rickert and
Miss Lorreta Madigan, Introducing vocal
and piano selections. The evening entertainment
will conclude with a one-act
farce entitled "Too Much Married,"
which will be enacted by a strong cast,
having as its concluding number, "Carmena,"
rendered by the choir. The production
is under the direction of Daniel
Thompson. assisted by Miss Anna
Kearon.

Apparently the Rickerts were quite the theatrical family. Besides Loretta and Joseph J, the show also included Frank J., Anna, Clara, William J., August A. and Mrs. August A., all Rickerts. I wonder if they were all brothers and sisters (besides Mrs. August, that is), or if they were cousins, if the girls might have been in-laws.

We can tell that Loretta and Joseph J. knew each other for at least 4 years before they were married in 1915. I also love the similarity in names between this production and the production of All the Comforts of Home that the St. Bernard players performed a few years later. The Dilbergers, the Rickerts, the Kestlers, Mary Gibbons, Adam Wunner, Michael Galvin - those are all among the names that show up in both articles. Imagine! They must have been friends!

Were they real people, these ancestors of ours?