Repairing Rotting Rafters and “Talk of a New Hall”

In 1936, the roof of the school had to be completely repaired because the box drains had become inoperative and rotted rafters and valleys. Also, the valleys in the transept of the church were rotted and had to be replaced in part. This repair job again was about $7,000 and was raised by assessment and sub­scription without debt. The pastor was anxious not to use any of the funds that had been set aside for building a parish hall.      

The “hall talk" kept growing and finally, in the early 1950s, it was decided that if $30,000 would be subscribed on the basis of another assessment it would be considered a vote for the hall. In a short time, pledges of about $28,000 were in. There were bonds on hand with a face value of about $28,000, so the church committee with the pastor decided to seek the necessary authorization. Mr. Robison of Kansas City, Missouri was engaged as the architect and the firm of Busboom & Rauh of Salina, Kansas was awarded the general contract at $85,685. The completed hall, with the architect's fees, furniture, etc. totaled nearly $90,000. The last note on the debt for the hall was paid in March 1956. At the time of construction, “the hall” was connected to the central heating plant by a tunnel that also runs between the heating plant and the church.