The history of the old sanctuary at Lakeside Community Chapel has been laid bare during renovations — from the floor joists to the landmark bell tower.

Once falling in disrepair, having served as a catchall storage area, crews are restoring the vitality of the old chapel. Once completed, it will serve as the home for youth Sunday worship services and programs which the church is reviving with Cassie Speck on board as the new associate pastor.

One of the interesting finds in the old chapel has been the wood from the joists, wainscoting and wood paneling of unusual dimensions that cover the walls and ceiling. Although the sanctuary was built in the early 1950s, lead volunteer on the sanctuary renovation project and church board of trustees chairman, Sam Bagley, estimates the wood is from old-growth timber from the Somers sawmill.

“Talking to some people, and someone can correct me if they want, we’re estimating that the trees were probably from early growth, you know, 1790s early 1800s based on the population here when they were logging,” Bagley said.

During a tour of the project's progress, Bagley patted one of the walls, saying restoring the wood, which was hidden underneath drywall, would be the next step.

“Then we’re going to probably chink it, these gaps,” he said.

Originally heated with wood-burning stoves, Bagley also pointed to one of two vent holes in the wall where they may have been located or later replaced with oil stoves because of an oil pipe connector he located outside. He’s found other mysteries in the old sanctuary and bell tower, which was built by a crew of volunteers.

“On this floor, there used to be two metal grates,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out what they were used for. I don’t know if this is where they threw ash down there or they used it to get air into the building. I’m not sure what the purpose of it was.”

THE SANCTUARY renovation is part of a larger project that began with a kitchen remodel five years ago and progressed to restoring the chapel’s bell and landmark tower in 2020 — to the most recent renovation of the old sanctuary which began in August.

Bagley was an integral volunteer on the projects.

The renovations have been an opportunity to improve infrastructure safety by replacing outdated cloth-insulated electrical and removing asbestos-containing drywall and floor tiling, for example. But, along with all the improvements and interesting discoveries come the unanticipated problems often uncovered when remodeling old buildings.

“You find all kinds of crazy little things,” he said, including a power box and live wires that had been plastered over during the kitchen remodel. “You go in for one thing, you end up fixing 10 other things. So, it makes the building safer each time.”

One of the significant issues uncovered, which ate up a large chunk of the project budget was the joists.

“All the [floor] joists had completely rotted out,” Bagley said.

Outside, Bagley said the siding and lighting have been replaced and the structure reinforced, pointing to the area above the concrete foundation, which was laid in 1949.

“The kitchen was literally suspended,” he said. “Stacked two-by-fours were supporting the building, not the foundation.”

Those two-by-fours were in various states of rot. The current area of renovations was in a similar state, which caused the bell tower and a wall of the old sanctuary to sway when the bell rang until it was all reinforced. 

To further reduce swaying, the bell rope was removed and an automatic stationary bell ringer was installed to continue the tradition of the bell ringing on the hour. A week of fundraising brought in $7,000 to cover the purchase of the bell ringer, Bagley said.

“It has a big hammer that strikes the bell and the Verdin bell company’s the one that supplied that to us and Jeremiah Jennings from Glacier Perks across the street, he’s the one who installed the mechanism and then John Fox from Fox Electric, which is next door, they did all the special voltage,” Bagley said, adding that Ryan King is the contractor for the old sanctuary renovation.

Bagley, whose favorite subject was history in school, traced the bell’s origin by researching numbers listed on the yoke. 

“We know it was cast between 1882 and 1884 by the Cincinnati Bell Company. How that bell got to Montana in that era, who knows its journey,” he said.

A damaged wood sphere that used to sit atop the church spire was removed and replaced with a weather vane that features a rooster for its symbolism in Christianity and reference in the Bible. Although the sphere was damaged, Hugh Hockaday Sr.'s initials were visible. Hockaday drew the plans for the original church building.

“Hugh had his statement I’m going to have mine,” said Bagley, who selected the weather vane.

To infuse some color in the chapel, the goal is to eventually replace the windows with stained glass. Stained glass windows will also flank glass double doors planned to be installed in a currently framed-out wall adjoining the fellowship hall.

LOCATED AT 236 Adams Street, at the intersection of U.S. 93, the chapel is a landmark for the Lakeside community. In the book “Stoner Creek and Beyond (Landmarks and Legends of Lakeside),” author Sylvia Murphy described the church as a “cornerstone in the community.” Outside of serving as a place of worship, it also served as a community gathering place and civic center where at one time public hearings and town hall meetings were held.

The Lakeside Community Chapel can be traced back to a Sunday school that began meeting in 1905 and for decades met at the “Lakeside School House.” Interest in building a church gained momentum. Methodist pastors conducted a survey in Lakeside and surrounding communities. In October 1947, the Lakeside Methodist church was organized with 24 charter members. Although United Methodist, Murphy noted back then — as Bagley and The Rev. Lee Eung-Sang noted today —  the church is open to all denominations. 

“That’s the name the founders of this church decided on — Lakeside Community Chapel,” Eung-Sang said. 

“We kind of run the church the way we want to run it for our community with the umbrella of the United Methodist Church,” Bagley said.

After the foundation was laid in 1949, the all-volunteer crew began building the chapel as money was available. Six years after the church was dedicated in July 1952, the church expanded its facilities to the north and west with many volunteers returning to help, according to Murphy’s book. The expansion included the current fellowship hall, kitchen, office space, storage and a restroom.

The church expanded yet again in the 1970s to build a new chapel when property was acquired to the west. This time, Murphy wrote that it was “not a volunteer do-it-yourself project as the first one had been,” and was funded through a mortgage and fundraising.  A rededication service was held in July 1979.

BACK INSIDE the chapel, Bagley wanted to show two illustrated antique Bibles displayed on a podium at the front of the sanctuary. The Bibles, possibly dating back to the 1890s have since been sent to be rebound in Missoula.

“These are treasures, right?” he said, turning the page to an illustration.

Reading the title, “Jesus Blessing Little Children,” he smiled. Realizing the context was fitting to the intended purpose of the chapel when it is completed.

“To me, when I see that, I think this is what the whole thing is for, our kids, right?” he said.

“I think you have to start at the ground up to rebuild — to give children the opportunity to define their faith — you know, their compass,” Bagley said.

Speck said she has a vision for the church’s youth ministry programming for the next five to 10 years.

“I want to start out with a general nursery and elementary education-type of program,” Speck said. “Start getting more families and youth involved. I’m also looking to revive a Wednesday night youth group.”

With her children of her own between the ages of 2 and 6, she sees the light youth can bring to a community.

“I see how my children deeply impact the community just by being present. I love that and I want to facilitate that for all families,” she said.

Although the completion date for the chapel renovation project is open-ended, Bagley said, the goal is June 2024. In the meantime, the church is fundraising to cover expenses. 

With the extensive unforeseen expenses, the original budget of roughly $65,000 (including contingency funds) stands at approximately $140,000. Replacing the rotted wood and concrete footers, for example, ended up costing $32,000.

“We've raised about $25,000 give or take so far to cover that costs,” he said.

Eung-Sang said the church has already received donations from people who have written about family members attending the church.

“We are getting checks from people in Kalispell telling us, you know, my grandpa used to go there,” Eung-Sang said.

Donations for the project may be mailed to: Lakeside Community Chapel, P.O. Box 162 Lakeside, MT 59922.

For more information about the chapel visit https://lakesidecommunitychapel.com.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.

  

    Lakeside Community Chapel Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. The church is in the midst of renovating the original sanctuary. Exterior siding, lighting and doors were replaced. The bell and bell tower were restored and structurally reinforced in 2020. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Floor joists are exposed during renovations to the old sanctuary at Lakeside Community Chapel in this photo taken in September or October 2023. The wood is thought by church members to have been harvested from old-growth trees. (Photo provided)
  

   The Lakeside Community Chapel.    

    Lakeside Community Chapel board of trustees chairman Sam Bagley shows two antique Bibles at the church Saturday, Oct. 23, 2023. The Bibles have since been sent to Missoula to be rebound. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    The old church bell rope at Lakeside Community Chapel was removed to install a stationary automatic bell ringer. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    A stationary automatic bell ringer replaced the traditional rope at Lakeside Community Chapel Saturday, Oct. 23, 2023. The bell and belfry were restored in 2020. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Crews discovered the kitchen at Lakeside Community Chapel was resting on the rotting two-by-fours stacked on top of the concrete foundation during renovations in this September 2023 photo. A similar situation was discovered under the bell tower. The unforeseen expense of replacing the joists ate up a large portion of the church's original budget. (Photo provided)