The Superior Express -

"Restore . . . "

"Re-build . . ."

Not much difference in the looks of those words. It's sort of like dates. Some stand out as more important than others. Like July 4th is remembered as the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. June 6th is the day of the largest battle in WWII. And, we all have our own special dates, like birthdays and wedding days.

Oct. 12, 2023, is much like one of those "special days" for people in and around Lawrence. For it is the day the parishioners of Sacred Heart parish in Lawrence learned of the differences between those two words at the beginning of this story.

That date changed what the parishioners of the parish had been working on for about two years. Under the direction of former pastor, Father Jamie Hottovy, parish members had been planning, and working on, the restoration of the building. The building was showing serious damage because of its age and the parish had a deadline to meet. That deadline was December 2024 which will be the date of the 100th anniversary of the parish church dedication.

A significant amount of the improvements decided upon by several parish committees had already been completed by that Oct. 12, 2023, date. It appeared that the December, 2024, deadline would be easily met.

However, early in the morning on that October 12th, parishioner Gary Lemke, approached the church to unlock the building allowing workers entrance when he found the building was filled with smoke. Trying two entrances, he found he could not see more than several feet into the building due to smoke.

A 911 call soon brought the Lawrence Volunteer Fire Department to extinguish the fire. The Nebraska Fire Marshall later determined the fire was caused by improper disposal of cleaning material.

The exact beginning of the fire is unknown as Mr. Lemke was in the building at approximately 10 the night before. Everything seemed OK at that time and he locked the church doors. It is thought the spontaneous combustion started after that time but never was able to grow into a large inferno because of a lack of oxygen.

Necessary safety steps began soon after the fire and the time from Oct. 12, 2023 to about the beginning of February 2024 had to be spent in legal formalities concerning insurance matters and making plans for the "re-building" of the church.

For about a month or so now, workers have been making steady headway towards this re-building.

To date, Kucera Painting has been using a method to clean the smoke soot off of the walls. It is a method involving 'rubbing alcohol' and ice blasting and seems to be doing a fantastic job. The cleaned walls are then coated with a Shellac which will then be painted, again.

A contract with a company that specializes in stain glass windows was signed and the company has already removed the windows high above the altar on the north end of the church. They were taken to Omaha where they will be cleaned.

"Rutts Heating and Air Conditioning" out of Hastings has the contract to replace the heating system. However, the replacement will also include air conditioning. The insurance company made the decision the current system was damaged to the extent it could not be repaired. The new system will include an air conditioning system as well. Parishioners may, (or may not) miss the loud banging of the radiators and pipes during winter.

The entire basement has been cleared to the bare walls. All new kitchen equipment will be installed. Part of the basement will be converted to CCD classrooms and the restrooms rebuilt.

Tons of material have been carried out of the building as the re-building is taking place.

Scaffolding now covers the north end of Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence and the south end, above the choir loft as work progresses on repairing the damage done to the October 12, 2023 fire in the church. It may be hard to see, but the white appearing walls that have been cleaned are a sharp contrast to the blackened ceiling in the building. On the right side of the picture is shown one of the stain glass windows covered with wood to protect them during the cleaning process of the walls.

A number of the projects parish members will see after the work is done are projects originally decided against by the "restoration" committee because of the expense. However, the insurance coverage demanded they be changed. The changes will be a large improvement to the building.

The improvements to the physical plant of the building have been on-going. Some see the 1993 repair and covering of the stain glass windows as the beginning of this whole process. The complete replacement of the roof in 2009 is also viewed as being included in the process.

No 'exact' date for the completion of the work has been set. However, many are praying that the original Centennial Anniversary date of the church dedication can be met.

Father Hottovy originally employed the services of Jean and Char Kriz of Lincoln to help provide guidance and experience in such a large restoration project such as this. The Kriz's expertise in projects such as this at Sacred Heart involved helping more than 42 churches in the Lincoln diocese more than 26 years. They have stayed involved in the re-building work to date and will continue until the work is completed.

The re-building of the restoration is a complicated process.