Mother-daughter duo's gingerbread replica of long-awaited new Catholic school 'a labor of love'

(OSV News) -- The new St. Mary's School in Breckenridge, Minnesota, in the St. Cloud Diocese opened this fall after nearly 10 years of planning and 15 months of construction.

As the community watched the building go up, Sue Holzbauer and her daughter, Bailey Thompson, were especially interested in how it came together.

For the past 26 years, Sue and Bailey have created special gingerbread houses for the holidays and when they heard that the school was being built, they decided that it would be their next gingerbread "house."

"When it was announced that the new school was finally going to be a reality, I told Bailey that we should do it as a gingerbread house when it was done," Sue said. "So, we had the idea in our minds for over a year."

They watched the construction of the school intently as it went along, Sue said, always thinking about what ingredients they could use to make the different elements of the school and church buildings.

"Of course, as the school grew larger, we got a little nervous about how big this project was going to be," she told The Central Minnesota Catholic, St. Cloud's diocesan magazine.
They started working in early November, taking advantage of some vacation days to get a head start on the planning and baking.

Tom Haire, the school's principal, provided a detailed map of the school to help Sue figure out the correct measurements. She used her quilting skills to create a pattern.

They started by making a model with poster board, using that to make the pattern for cutting the gingerbread pieces. They ended up cutting a total of 76 individual pieces made from 10 batches of dough to build the finished 26-inch by 48-inch project.

"They did an extraordinary job capturing the essence of the school and church in their gingerbread replica," Haire said. "The attention to detail is remarkable. The stained-glass candy windows on the church, the St. Mary's sign in front of the school, the representations of Sue's grandchildren in front -- down to the John Deere emblem on one of the backpacks -- and the colors and architecture overall all are spot on."

Haire is also represented in one of the figures in front of the school.

"It's an honor to be included," he said. "People recognize it's me right away wearing my typical blue shirt, brown khakis and greeting students at the door."

Sue started the gingerbread house tradition when Bailey and her brother, Skyler, were young.

"At first it was just a fun activity to do with the kids, but after about three years we saw a barn gingerbread house that looked a lot like my parents' lake cabin and decided to make 'E and B's Cabin,'" Sue said. "After that we started to pick a theme each year."

Over the years they have used favorite Christmas movies for inspiration, like "Christmas Vacation," "Elf" and "Home Alone," as well as the kids' favorite things, like the Barbie Dreamhouse.

Some of the themes have been special places, like the family cabin or places the family has visited. St. Mary's School is one of those special places for the Holzbauer family.

Four generations of the family have attended St. Mary's, including Sue's three grandchildren, who are current students. 

Sue volunteered in the school library and store when her kids were students at St. Mary's and enjoyed working on a school fundraiser, she said. Skyler and his wife, Megan, are also very involved in various volunteer roles at the school.

"Their family is such a great example of our school's mission and our purpose here on earth of knowing, loving and serving the Lord," Haire said. "The school and church gingerbread project was a labor of love by Sue and Bailey for our faith community and many more. We are blessed to have them share their God-given talents with us. It has brought so much joy."

Haire said his students have loved having the gingerbread house displayed in the school.

"They are amazed by how the church lights up and some of the younger students have asked about when they will get a chance to eat it," he said. "When you tell them the number of hours and all the ingredients that went in to it, they are simply amazed."

Father Leo Moenkedick, pastor of St. Mary's, is also represented in the project standing in front of the church, Sue said.

"The gingerbread model of the church and school is incredible, it is amazing how detailed it is," he said. "It is an honor to be included in such a great work of love." 

Father Moenkedick said that the attention that the gingerbread model has been getting in the local media has boosted interest in the new school.

"The time and effort put into the gingerbread project is a testament to a great love for the Catholic education of our children," he said. "The great challenge will be to live up to the high expectations by providing a quality Catholic education for our students for many years to come."