From the outside, and much of the inside El Sermon Del Monte didn't look like much of a church. After many years of neglect the wood and stucco structure was in bad need of repair. All that began to change after the first of this year(2015).
I received a call from one of the elders and the pastor. They asked if I could come out and give them an estimate of restoring their 100 year old stained glass windows. The stained glass, like the structure itself was largely in very bad shape. Some of the windows had large areas where the glass was missing. Others had been repaired over the years with anything from brightly colored plastic, to badly matched stained glass. Virtually all the the double hung window sash were inoperable. Some were painted shut, while others had had the ballast cords cut.
Because of budget restraints I bid the restoration in three stages. First restore the windows that had gaping holes, were structurally weak, and were previously repaired with mismatched glass. Then the windows that were sound, but had broken pieces, and finally repair and reputty various areas of others. We were able to get good matches on some of the glass from Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co. It was fairly obvious that Kokomo had supplied all or mostly all the the original glass. As we progressed, and the revelation of restored glass was evident, the church members decided they wanted all the windows totally restored.
I brought in a great handyman, Don Van Cura, to save the sash. He removed the sash, rebuilt some making new styles, and or rails, glued, and the restrung ballast cords. In many cases he had to rebalance the windows with added weight so they would work properly. Don saved the church many thousands of dollars on the cost of replacing the sash entirely.
It honestly was a very rewarding job. Working on 100 year old pieces that had been made by craftsman just like us gives one a sense of brotherhood,and a connection to a previous century. We still have some repairs and puttying to do, but for the most part the job in finished and the congregation is inspired by the new brilliance of the simple, but tasteful stained glass.
