On July 5 regular Sunday Mass will be offered in Cleveland, White County, for the first time in its 108-year history. Mass time each Sunday will be 8:15 a.m. Ward’s Funeral Home has made its chapel available until more permanent facilities can be found. Cleveland is the county seat of White County, which is one of the four counties in the Dahlonega parish. Fr. Leonard Spanjers of the Glenmary Home Missioners is the pastor. Fr. Frank Ruff, his assistant, will live in Cleveland part-time.

White Co. is a small but progressive county in North Georgia. There has been steady growth during the past fifteen years and the future looks even brighter since White Co. is the site of the proposed Outdoor Recreation Experiment Station to be administered by the University of Georgia.

White Co. is already known to many tourists who drive through the scenic mountains, visit Anna Ruby Falls and Unicoi State Park, camp in the Chattahoochee National Forest, and fish along Duke’s Creek and the Chattahoochee River. The offering of Sunday Mass in Cleveland and the part-time residence of a priest are steps toward making the Catholic Church part of White Co.

The present number of resident Catholics is very small, so visitors are always welcome.