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This Page Updated
March 23rd, 2009
Go to our
“Upcoming
Events”
page to see what we have planned for 2009.
Latest Changes
 | This is where we'll announce the most recent changes to the ORC
historic site. If you've visited us before and want to know what's changed,
take a look here first. |
2007-08 Brought Numerous Changes to The Old Rugged Cross Church
The decision was made NOT to move the old church temporarily and NOT to put a
full basement under the church. The estimated cost of the phase ($237,000) kept
us from making any progress on the restoration for several years, and we feel
it's because it was OUR plan and NOT GOD'S plan to have a basement under the
church. Consequently, as soon as the decision was made to abandon that plan, God
opened numerous doors and the wheels of progress began to turn so fast it left
us all breathless.
Here's what was accomplished in 2007:
| A replica of the original bell tower was
constructed and lifted onto the church on September 5 with the original bell
inside. |
| Damaged siding was removed from the east
wall and replaced with new wooden boards that are duplicates of the original
double Dutch lap boards. |
| New boards were then used to replace
half of the boards on the north wall of the building, saving half of the
original boards on that wall. |
| Wooden shutters were removed from all
main floor windows and plastic sheeting was removed from the upper level
windows. |
| New window frames were constructed and
Lexan windows were installed in all windows. |
| A crawlspace was dug under the entire
building; concrete flooring was poured, concrete footers were poured around
the perimeter of the building and a permanent concrete wall foundation was
poured around all but the west (front) wall. |
| The outer walls of the foundation were
tarred and dirt was backfilled against them for the winter. |
| A very generous and beloved supporter,
Tom McCollum from Augusta, Georgia, made and donated a walnut Communion Table
for the sanctuary. |
Funds were all but totally depleted to accomplish the above, but what an
accomplishment!
Here's what was accomplished in 2008:
| The foundation for the west wall was
completed. |
| A new wooden sub-floor was installed in the
sanctuary. |
| The original side door was repaired and
will be installed in 2009. |
| New front doors and hardware were ordered. |
| Bricks were laid from Vermont Street to the
front door of the church. (Many have already been purchased and are engraved
with names and personal messages.) |
| Landscape was excavated around the
building. |
| The entire exterior of the building
received two coats of white paint. |
| Our very generous and beloved supporter,
Tom McCollum from Augusta, Georgia, made and donated a table for the entry
vestibule, two wall mounted boards for attendance and hymn numbers for the
sanctuary, and five offering poles (a nearby resident, who was baptized in
that church, says there were no offering plates, but bags on poles to take up
the offering). A wonderful member of The Hillcrest Baptist Church in Augusta,
Georgia made the red velvet bags for the poles. They are a perfect match to
the red velvet on top of the original pulpit, which will be back in the old
church again this summer. |
Here's what is scheduled for 2009:
| The new front doors have been installed and
will be painted with dark green milk paint. |
| The repaired original side door will be
installed. |
| All woodwork will be temporarily removed
from the sanctuary and will be stripped and refinished. |
| Work will begin to repair “fixable” plaster
and re-plaster walls in the sanctuary. |
| A ceiling will be constructed in the
sanctuary. |
| Refinished woodwork will be replaced |
| Work will begin to repair soffit, facia and
rafter tails (which will seal the building). |
| Basic Electric service will be installed |
Some of the above items will depend on funds raised this year. Supporters
have been generous, which has enabled all the work done to date. The current
economic catastrophe has slowed donations considerably, but work will continue
as funds allow.
What’s left?
| The roof – Once all of the above
is completed, the roof must be addressed. The current metal roof was a
temporary measure to keep out the weather, as the layers beneath it are an
eclectic mixture of a few of the original cedar shingles, old corrugated sheet
metal pieces, and the original sheathing boards, many of which are rotting.
The new roof will be a replica of the original cedar shingles. |
| Chimney repairs |
| Installing walls and ceilings in the
kitchen and upper room |
| Completing the electrical package |
| Installing heating and air-conditioning to
preserve the antiques (once this is done, the original pump organ can be
returned to the church, along with other artifacts awaiting their church
home). |
| Painting interior walls until money is
available to replicate the original wallpaper patterns |
| Replicating the original pews |
| Installing replica painted glass windows |
Thank
you for your interest and your support. For more information, please contact the
ORC Foundation via phone at
269-683-4540, via e-mail at
ORCF@aol.com,
or via mail at:
The Old Rugged Cross Foundation Inc.
PO Box 41
Niles, MI 49120
The Old Rugged Cross Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 41,
Niles, MI 49120
Phone:
269-683-4540 Fax:
269-683-4315
E-Mail:
ORCF@aol.com
Websites:
http://www.theoldruggedcrossfoundation.org
http://www.the-oldruggedcross.org
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Press Releases
These are the press releases we've issued over the last year. You may want to search for topics by keyword.
| None at this time. |
Recent Media Coverage of:
THE OLD RUGGED CROSS FOUNDATION, Inc.
| 'Old Rugged Cross' site in Cass County now on Historic Register; The
Herald Palladium. Monday, July 01, 2002 |
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