Information concerning donations, restoration, salvage of St. John's Anglican Church, Lunenburg

Two sources will be utilized below, "Official" and "Conversation". These are not press releases - the information has been gleaned from personal contact.

Current News Updates
Archived News Updates - December 22, 2001 to February 23, 2002
Archived News Updates - November 16 to December 21, 2001
Archived News Updates - November 5 to November 11, 2001

Week of December 15 - 21, 2001

Official from emails from Edward Jordan, co-chairman along with Andrew Eisenhauer, of the Restoration Committee -

Katimavik kids on site today [December 19], hauling snow and ice out of the interior. The Town works department was in, trimming the trees on either side to make way for the cover structure. Parts of it are to arrive December 27th, but erection of it won't start until January.
The word on the mould is that we seem to have stopped its spread, but what was there is still there, mostly around the southeast corner of the "basement" where the boiler is.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has put out a press release that said to date no evidence of a criminal act in relation to their investigation into the fire has been found. This [is] after interviewing over 200 people, and, at one time, having 30 investigators on the scene. The Fire Marshall told the RCMP that he was not finished his report, and wants another couple of weeks before he releases anything.
The donation level is now over $129,000 cash plus a significant amount of marketable securities. Formal fundraising will likely start in January.

December 9, 2001

Official from email and conversation with Edward Jordan, co-chairman along with Andrew Eisenhauer, of the Restoration Committee -

Today [December 6, 2001] we signed a contract with a Halifax company called Steeplejack Services Ltd. to supply and install a plastic and steel cover structure for St. John's. It will be 75 feet wide, 130 feet long and 40 feet high, big enough to totally enclose not only what is standing now, but also the finished building, excluding only the top section of the tower. Parts for the structure will arrive in about 2 weeks, and it should be completed by January 25th. The exterior colour will be white. To see more about the type of structure, go to www.clearspanonline.com . The initial cost will be about $250,000, but about $100,000 of that can be recovered by selling the structure when we are finished with it. In the meantime, we are covering what we can with plywood and plastic tarps, but the rainwater collects into deep pools in the tarps that we have to keep pumping out every few days. A short explanation, as the website isn't totally clear: There will be 14 frames, made, in Truro, of sections of galvanised steel tube. The frames will each be assembled (bolted together) on the ground to the west of the church. Each finished frame will be hoisted into place by a gigantic crane, and fastened to the other frames already in place. The fabric is then slid into grooves on the frames and stretched tight. We doubt if we will have a tight roof on the building over next winter, so we will be able to work, clean and dry through it, under the cover.
This week saw much more charcoal debris removed from the floor between the pews, so that the floor is now almost totally clear. We have removed most of the kneelers, and will wash them off before we move them to storage. Most of the heavy debris has been removed from the chancel area, and now we can get the last of the fine stuff. Since the debris was piled nearly 4 feet deep in that area, we have made great strides in that cleanup. We had to close down the site for two days this week as trained and licensed workers removed the asbestos covering from all the heating pipes under the floor. This was classed as a hazardous material and must be specially handled and disposed of to meet provincial safety laws.
We have discovered mould growing already on the bottom of the floor joists and beams. To try to counter this, we have installed a powerful fan at the Duke Street end to pull air through the underfloor area, to try to minimize the mould, which, if left unchecked, could cause the wood to rot. Tomorrow, we will be further installing a hot air furnace at the opposite end to the fan, in order to provide hot air to help dry out the wood in the floor. A sheet of polyethylene plastic will also be spread over the soil below the floor, in order to limit the moisture coming up from that source. We are also seeking expert advice on what we might spray on the wood to kill or retard the mould growth. This also happened at St. George's Halifax, and they had to replace several of their floor beams at great cost.
The office trailer installation is nearly complete, as we now have a water and sewer connection, as well as electrical power. A propane supply was installed this week, to provide heat for the interior. We expect to move office furniture in next, and set up our project office there.
We are hiring a professional Project Manager from a company called Hanscomb Ltd., http://www.hanscomb.com, who have an office in Halifax, and who also served on the restoration of St. George's. They will, in effect, be the prime contractor for us and will co-ordinate all the architects, engineers, builders, suppliers, etc. for the project. Tenders will be put out by Hanscomb for the various parts of the building.
It is possible that up to 50% or more of the building may be reuseable in some form or another in restoration.

December 7, 2001

Conversation with Ed Jordan, during a hard hat tour of the interior with the webmaster (and some observations by webmaster) -

Parks Canada experts, advisors and resources are being extended to the parish.
The Project Management firm will not make decisions concerning furniture, artifacts, stained glass windows. Their job is to co-ordinate all the architects, engineers, builders, suppliers, etc. for the project.
A firm in Toronto still has all the intricate drawings from many of the windows which they installed in the nave many years ago.
All brass plaques have been removed from the walls, however the marble plaques are still up as they are solidly imbedded in the walls and properly qualified inspection and supervision is necessary before their removal.
At least one, if not two, of the marvellous hand-painted panels in the chancel is virtually intact and, again, is being left until properly inspected and proper supervised measures can be taken to remove it.
Most of the pews are in such a condition that restoration is possible. Only a few suffered construction damage by beams etc. falling on them. Even those broken pieces of wood are restorable apparently.
The construction methods that have become exposed or found are impressive - from the mortise and tenon construction of a cross beam to the octagonal support columns which have an airspace between the marbelized wood covering and the single supporting beam which is also carved octagonally. The roof was also constructed with mortise and tenon, but we have only a six foot square section of that left, and it's badly charred.
The little statue of Rev. Jean Moreau was found, with only a few nicks. It was made of lead, not bronze as was thought.
Volunteers have done an incredible job of cleaning up the masses of charcoal debris. Along the pews of the north and south walls of the nave, the debris on, underneath and around each pew was cleaned up separately and sorted for glass fragments of the stained glass windows.
In the project trailer are boxes of the old nails which have been labouriously removed from wood.
A real dent is being made in the approx. 4 feet of debris that filled the chancel. That morning, a worker was shovelling the charcoal into bucket containers but looking for glass bits before emptying by hand into a refuse bin.
The tarps that are all over the exposed parts fill with water when it rains and have to be pumped off. Today, December 9th, we had a couple of inches of snow which is supposed to melt over the next couple of days - yet more water to be pumped off.

December 7, 2001

Official from email and conversation with Ed Jordan -

Committees and subcommittees formed are:
1. The Restoration Committee - co-chairs Andrew Eisenhauer and Edward Jordan
2. The Construction Subcommittee - co-chairs Ben Smith and Jim Morrow.
3. Fundraising - chairman Jim Eisenhauer.
4. Treasurer - Rosemary Smith
5. The Conservation of Non-Structural Materials Subcommittee (otherwise known as "furnishings") - co-chairs Ralph Getson and Grace Swan.
6. Public Relations and Media Relations - Amy Bennett.

December 6, 2001

Official from email from Ed Jordan -

The unsolicited funds bank account (the Re-Building Fund) stands at just under $100,000, even before our serious fundraising program has begun.

December 3, 2001

Official -

Result of the congregational secret ballot voting held over the past week: New Building - 5%; Replica - 4%; Restoration - 91%. A total of 311 unspoiled ballots were cast, 6 were spoiled. The parish council unanimously passed a resolution to ask the Bishops to approve going ahead with full restoration of the building, as a National Historic Site. (alternative #4 below). It is understood that the Bishops have already informally granted their approval.
Heritage Minister Sheila Copps was advised at 8:30 pm via the Halifax office of Parks Canada.

November 25, 2001

Official -

Today, November 25, 2001, the congregation of St. John's have been presented with the 4 alternatives for "replacement building" of St. John's by the parish council. On December 2nd, voting by the congregation will be completed - with secret numbered ballots.
The four alternatives presented were:
1. Memorial Park: There would be no building on the site, only monuments holding the memorial plaques now inside the church building. A cemetery area would hold the remains now buried under the church. The grounds would be suitably landscaped. Estimated construction cost $200,000.
2. Modern Building: All the remaining structure would be removed and a building with a modern interior, but a "heritage" exterior to meet the town requirements, would be built. It could have basement offices and meeting rooms, which might make the Hall building redundant. Estimated construction cost $3.5 million.
3. Replica with no heritage status: All the remaining structure would be removed and a copy of the old church would be built using modern materials and techniques. It could have basement offices and meeting rooms, which might make the Hall building redundant. Estimated construction cost $4.5 million.
4. Rebuild to maintain the heritage status: The building would be totally restored using as much of the remaining structure and materials as possible in order to preserve the heritage status. Estimated construction cost $6.0 million.

November 24, 2001

Official -

The Re-Building Fund bank account stands at approximately $69,000.

November 20, 2001

Official -

The cash reward for information which would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for setting fire to St. John's has grown to $8,500 CDN. It will be capped at $10,000 CDN.

November 17, 2001

Official from Edward Jordan, co-chairman, along with Andrew Eisenhauer, of the rebuilding committee (his words from an email) -

At the site today we had two boom trucks working, and lifted a lot of heavy material from the balcony, where it had fallen. The load of that material was causing the balcony to slowly collapse, so that was a good job done. Also a lot of the copper roofing was cut away, and carefully dropped onto plywood protecting the tops of the pews. Several young volunteers from LaHave Lutheran church spent most of the day shovelling up the small stuff around the exterior. A bigger group is coming tomorrow, to start painting the fence, while the weather is good.

November 16, 2001

Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps announces federal help -

see Minister Announces Assistance

November 16, 2001

Official from Edward Jordan, co-chairman, along with Andrew Eisenhauer, of the rebuilding committee (confirming figures published in the newspaper) -

St. John's was insured for around $2,000,000 and the contents for around $400,000.

November 16, 2001

Official from Edward Jordan, co-chairman, along with Andrew Eisenhauer, of the rebuilding committee (confirming figures published in the newspaper) -

Donations in the Lunenburg branch of the Bank of Montreal Re-Building fund account total between $40,000 and $50,000. It is not known if this includes inter-branch donations or donations sent directly to the church by postal mail.

November 16, 2001

Official from Heather-Anne Getson, Nova Scotia Member, Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada -

On November 20, 2001, a presentation will be made to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board in Ottawa by Mart Johannsen, Parks Canada superintendent for Mainland Nova Scotia. This is being done in order to make all Ottawa and cross-Canada members of the Board aware of the magnitude of both St. John's Anglican Church and the devastation on November 1st.

November 16, 2001

Official from Edward Jordan, co-chairman, along with Andrew Eisenhauer, of the rebuilding committee (his words from an email) -

[News reports had mentioned a figure of $100,000 as being the amount Canada's Heritage Minister, Sheila Copps, had committed at a meeting in Lunenburg Nov. 16, 2001, to stabilize/protect the remaining building. Those in attendance at the meeting had not heard her state such a figure]. The number of $100,000 was only mentioned during the media scrum in front of the building after her tour through it. That amount will help cover the protection/stabilization costs, but not all. We have quotes of between $100,000 and $500,000 for a temporary enclosure to cover the building remains. The fence is about $12,000, the shoring up we don't have a cost on yet, as it is being done on a time and material cost basis.

November 16, 2001

Official from Mayor Laurence Mawhinney (speech) & Heather-Anne Getson, Lunenburg Town Councillor (telephone conversation) -

The Town of Lunenburg's initial response was to provide support in the form of providing electrical, water and sewer services to the site. This has been at a cost of between $2,000 and $4,000.

November 16, 2001

Conversation with Heather-Anne Getson -

At least one painting from inside the church has been sent to a Halifax conservator. Information is being obtained as to how best to clean and restore sheets of music.

MORE LINKS:

Photographs of the church before, during and after the fire:

November 1, 2001 - The Burning
November 2, 2001 - The Aftermath
The interior after the burning - November 2001
The interior clean up progress - December 7, 2001 and December 28, 2001
The exterior encapsulation progress - January 16, 2002, January 23 - 27, 2002, January 31, 2002, February 7 - 15, 2002 and February 23 - March 2, 2002
Non-structural elements
The restoration of the altar
The exterior before
The interior before
The interior Christmas 1991
"Simon Birch" 1997

Canadian Heritage Minister, Sheila Copps, commits financial assistance at parish hall meeting November 16, 2001
Photograph of Solomon Morash, master builder in charge of the 1892 changes
A Short History of St. John's Anglican Church
People buried under the Church 1761 - 1826
Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia Historical and Architectural Survey and relevant Links
The Commemoration of St. John's Anglican Church as a National Historic Site October 11, 1998
Interesting Facts & Figures about St. John's

Home Back