By Mary Jo Wolfe In 1911 construction of mining facilities,
business offices, and homes was underway in the town of Jenkins.
Mr. John G. Smyth, manager for Consolidation Coal Company, wrote
to Bishop Maes of Covington,a late that year requesting that he
send a representative to visit the site and ascertain the needs
of the Catholics. At that time, there were two routes open to
Jenkins. One was by C & O Railroad to Hellier, Kentucky and then
•twenty miles by horseback. The other was through Norton,
Virginia to Pound Gap to Jenkins. Bishop Maes chose Father
Ambrose Reger of Corbin, Kentucky to go to Jenkins and report
his findings. Taking the Norton, Pound Gap route, Father Reger
visited Jenkins early in 1912. He found a large part of the
population were immigrant European Catholics who were engaged in
the construction work. There were about four hundred Italians as
well as smaller number of Polish, Albanians, Hungarians, and
Slavs. On receiving Father Reger's report, Bishop Maes
immediately arranged for a prie