WELLS -- The Rev. Eugene Stenzel has been many places in a 35-year career as a Roman Catholic priest.

Only one such place touches him more than others. That is Honduras.

But the path to Honduras begins in the backyards of Wells and neighboring communities.

This summer a group of 24 people from St. Casimir Catholic Church, Wells, and a sister Catholic church at Preston will

visit a Honduras mission operated by the Rev. Emil Cook.

Eight years ago, Cook visited the Wells parish and, Stenzel recalled, the priest "challenged us." The challenge was to assist Cook's mission in Honduras, where he helped the homeless, orphans and battered women. "It was a unique idea Father Cook had," Stenzel said. "He would start the mission and then turn it over to Hondurans to operate and this pleased the government."

Since 1995, more than 100 St. Casimir parishioners have made the trip to Honduras each summer.

Clearly, the Honduras experience has impacted on the Catholic parish and its priest.

"Not a day goes by that I don't think about Honduras," Stenzel said.

This coming Saturday, Stenzel and the St. Casimir parishioners hope to inspire others to think about Honduras. The Mission Honduras Garden Tour of Wells will be held 1 to 5 p.m. that day.

The Catholic priest is opening his own unique gardens and the grounds of his well-known Stone House at Wells to the public. Eight other gardens will also be showcased.

Austin connection

Stenzel, 62, served Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Austin from 1970-75. "Those were excellent years," he said. "The people at Queen of Angels were so down-to-earth and the church was so inspiring. I think that's where I really came to love the liturgy, performing Mass at Queen of Angels church."

His Austin roots run deep. He was a seminary student with Richard Cook, a long-time Catholic schools administrator in Austin. Today, the Rev. Tom Cook, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Cook, is a Catholic priest at a parish at Easton which is near Wells.

Stenzel gained fame three years ago, when his home and garden were featured on a public television special.

"I've been gardening all my life it seems," he said, "and since I was 10 years old, I've been interested in stone masonry. "I've built all the walls, arches, bell towers, everything you see at my home," he said.

"This is my hobby. This is what I do in my leisure time, I

love mixing cement."

Bus tours regularly visit Wells to see St. Casimir church's grounds, but also to visit the parish priest's Stone House and gardens.

For the last three years, he has opened his property to the public for the annual summer garden tour fund-raiser for the Honduras mission.

But, there is more to see in a community where home gardening

is a passion.

More to see

A favorite starting point on the garden tour is St. Casimir Catholic Church at 320 2nd Ave. SW, where the parish's own "Peace Garden" displays its own master gardener's -- Stenzel's -- eye for design and color. A statue of St. Francis of Assisi watches over the garden's perennial beds.

A wealth of antique containers and arrangements greets visitors at the home of Dawn and Dave Erdner, where tour organizer Kathy Schultz predicts an "enchanting surprise at every turn."

A few blocks away, Ron and Sandi Hartman have turned a former neighborhood football field into a flower garden that will score points with visitors.

A five-foot waterfall, flowing into ponds filled with water lilies and a flagstone walkway are among the highlights.

Dick and Marion Sonnek, of rural Minnesota Lake, are opening several acres filled with thousands of flower beds to the tour's crowds for the third straight year. Unique metal sculptures and "found art" in flower beds compete with the Sonneks' huge assortment of lawn ornaments for viewers' attention.

LuAnn Schroeder and Francis Linder will share their side-by-side

gardens near Easton.

Also featured this year are Colleen Jahnke and daughter, Kelly.

Colleen and Ron Jahnke operate a dairy farm near Alden. Kelly and her husband, Ross, live nearby.

The multi-faceted garden tended by mother and daughter and their husbands features, ponds, walkways, secluded sitting areas and more.

But, it is the Catholic priest's own Stone House and garden that will have visitors awed.

Nestled among trees and shrubs along pathways, arches and walls all constructed by Stenzel, the garden features a burst of color from perennials and annuals plus a gazebo and parabola where visitors can sit and admire the creations.

New this year is a vine-covered shelter Stenzel completed this spring.

When visitors reach the Stenzel property, they will step back in time and be treated to a Victorian tea party.

Stenzel said it will be a good time for old friends from Austin and Queen of Angels parish to get reacquainted.

Tickets for the garden tour are $7 each and can be purchased by all garden locations.

For information, call the St. Casimir church rectory during business hours at (507) 553-5391 or visit Hills Nursery, Albert Lea, for advance tickets.

Wells is located northwest of Albert Lea at the intersection of Minnesota Highway 22 and 109.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com