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In early 1998 Dora Coffey offered to give the church some
General Electric stock if they would install an elevator with the gift.
She said she wanted to see the results of her gift and not wait until the gift
was a part of her estate. It was a challenge for the church to handle that
kind of a building project, but right away the decision was made to put in a
first class elevator and to keep the addition in harmony with the original
building.
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Jim Wilson of APA was hired as the architect. From his
association with building projects at the Crowell Home, several members knew of
him and his work. At the first meeting of the building committee and the
architect, the project was outlined as having three main objectives: (1) an improved stairway so that
everyone--young, old, or handicapped-- would feel safe
on the stairs, (2) a
handicapped accessible rest room, and (3) an elevator. The elevator would
give access to all three levels of the church. |
| The
architect when looking at the existing floor plan, surprised us by adding the
condition that the pastor's study should be reached through a hallway which was
on the same level as the sanctuary. We had become so accustomed to going
up and down stairs to get to that room that we had not noticed the inconvenience
of all those steps. So the floor plan was drawn and approved. The
windows that were to be removed would be reinstalled in the new addition.
There were three windows: the restroom window, the window on the west wall
of the south annex room, and one of the south windows in the pastor's office
(formerly the Sunday School room upstairs). One of those windows had
stained glass and the other two did not. Through another gift, a new
stained glass window was added to the project. |
| Construction
began in 1998 when we let a contract to Welchert Construction for the
demolition. Steve Peterson was the contractor for the concrete and the
concrete block work. Forman Brothers were the framing contractor.
They
completed their work in the fall of 1998. |
| Duane Matzen was the roofer, and
the roof was done in red cedar shingles to conform to the requirements for an
historic building on the National Register. The contract for the elevator
was given to Complete Access, who would install a Concord three-stop
elevator. The plumbing and heating contractor was Jack Brothers of Tekamah,
and the electrician was Judt Electric. The insulation, R-19 in the walls
and R-25 in the ceilings, was installed by Cornhusker. Dan Baker was the
drywaller. Finish carpentry was done by Ed Jipp and Hugh Shields, using
millwork produced by S. E. Smith of Blair. Bob Welsh repaired one of the
original windows as well as producing the stained glass for the window on the
west wall. All of the handrails and special woodwork for the stairs were
constructed by Paul Jipp. Hugh Shields did the painting. The ceramic
tile work was done by Paul Jipp. Northeastern was the suspended ceiling
installer, and the carpet was installed by Nebraska Furniture Mart. |
Brian
Lunn worked with the drywall crew. Lavern Schmidt worked with the
clean-up crew, and Craig Schmidt helped with some of the ceiling
insulation. Further help was given by Ed and Darleen Ferris, John Stepanek,
Ken Rhoades and Ken Beaty. Shirley Schmidt, Shirley Jipp, Phyllis Shields,
and Rose Ruzika were among those who furnished coffee, pie, and
cookies. |
One of the special features of the
building is that the elevator has three stops enabling access to all three
floors. This necessitates entrance to the car on two floors from the east
and on the grade entrance floor from the west. By state regulations, the
elevator must have a phone line and a phone in case there is a mechanical
failure and the passengers get stuck between floors. It must also have
certain safety devices on the doors and the way they open as well as a safety
catch mechanism in case the car would begin to fall for any reason. The
elevator shaft and shaft ceiling must be fireproof as well as the equipment
room. The elevator is operated hydraulically with a pump and cylinder, but
a cable and pulley system actually attaches to, and operates the car. |
Other
features of the renovation are that all the doors and woodwork are done in natural
red oak. The finish is provincial stain with two coats of satin
polyurethane varnish. The tile work is done in 12x12 ceramic tile in two
colors and includes the outside walls of the elevator shaft. |
| The
design of the addition was approved by the Fire Marshal after he ruled that the
entire addition could be a contained area, shut off from the rest of the
building by fire doors and two-hour fire-rated walls. The alternative was
to enclose the stairway in a fire rated enclosure with fire doors that must be
closed at all times. The storage area under the stairs was added later and
is also totally fireproofed with a two-hour fire rating. |
| The
ground was broken to commence construction on August 16, 1998, and the
dedication service was November 7, 1999. That service included dedication
of the new stained glass window in honor of John Fritzmeier and the handrail in
honor of Jeri Fritzmeier. |
