| OCR Text |
Show HflWte 0el" Iflonors the Past, Enriches the Present, Insures the Future fej' Geri Taylor As the Old White Church takes on a new persona, there are many who wonder if the change will be good, or if the memories collected from within its walls, in the Grove and even on the tennis court, will be surreptitiously washed away in the remodel. To the credit of owners own-ers Randy and Vickie Bott, they have meticulously researched re-searched and incorporated the history and spirit that makes this building . more than a former church house, and while the transition is mostly cosmetic, bits and pieces of this grand old edifice edi-fice are being preserved in unique and reflective ways. Even the name Stone Gate has a significant connection to the past. It isn't common for an in- Owners Randy and Vickie Bott have meticulously researched and incorporated the history and spirit of the "Old Wliile Church" as they remodel it as a reception and art center. pho0 courlcsy ofTlmpanogos Times dividual to purchase a church house, but that has been a dream of Vicky Bott's for as long as she can remember. Growing up in Cache Valley, Vickie has the fond memory memo-ry of a ward building being turned into a reception center cen-ter and having the thoughts of how much fun that project would be. When she saw the For Sale sign on the lawn of the Manila Ward house, Vickie imagined it was a joke and continued on her way. But that life-long dream of owning own-ing a church stuck in the back of her mind and on the return re-turn trip, she stopped to look around. The No Trespassing signs were a sure indication the building was in fact for sale and a visual check of the foundations assured her the structure was sound. However, How-ever, when she came to the back of the church and saw the Grove, she knew her dream was coming true. Hesitant, but hopeful, she brought Randy to see her find, and when he came to the Grove, he also was sold. Their tour inside was almost a formality, for they sensed this location was special from the beginning and were anxious to learn its history. Of the numerous remodeling remod-eling ventures on her own homes as well as others, Vickie especially remembers when her husband was in the Stake Presidency and their building needed to be modernized. mod-ernized. She was shown the architect's blueprints and off- handedly remarked that his plans didn't have good traffic flow and simply didn't work. Asked if she thought she could do a better job, Vickie said "yes" and was given the challenge to draw up her own design. It was presented to the stake president and architect, archi-tect, who admitted her traffic traf-fic flow was much better and concluded her suggestions would be used. She was also given the honor of being an advisor on colors and items to decorate the church. Vickie doesn't pretend to be a contractor, but with her remodeling experiences, she has learned the ins and outs of the business to the point she knows what can and can't be done on a job. Even more importantly, on this particular mission, she has relied on the feelings of her heart as each room is transformed, and in some cases, restored. The vision of a reception center was soon expanded as the Bott's explored the vast building, knowing they would need to utilize all the rooms in order to make the enterprise financially viable. The remodeled church would once again become a place of learning, as the vision of an Arts Center took form. The Botts' love of the arts helped them picture how each area of the church could be used to teach everything from oil painting, to dance, to drama. dra-ma. The downstairs would be perfect for a preschool and as they formulated plans, people seemed to literally come out of the woodwork to offer the services - Vickie had hoped for. Sensitive to the long and sacred history of this church house, Vickie has read ev- " erything she could find that would tell her about the people who built, rebuilt and worshipped within these walls. Her goal has been to create a feeling of home and as different aspects of the building have been uncovered, uncov-ered, she has been vigilant in preserving the historical nature na-ture of the find. One exciting surprise came as the workers were removing re-moving the lowered ceiling in the original chapel and found a beautifully preserved bell-shaped bell-shaped ceiling ten feet above the current one. It was decided de-cided to restore this room as much as possible, including the south door that was closed in during the 1960"s remodel. Therein came another sweet surprise as Vickie asked for "Old While Church " continued on Page 5 "OldWIiite Church" continued from page 1 as possible. Their theme of Honor the Past, Enrich the Present, Inspire the Future, is a testimony to the simple faith of a hard-working group of saints who sacrificed to create a worthy place of worship wor-ship and learning. Instead of a homecom- . ing, it is hoped the current residents, as well as former ward members will feel they are "coming home" and will find joy and a sense of belonging be-longing when they enter the building. The Open House will be held August 26 and 27 and all who have memories memo-ries of the Manila Ward are encouraged to write them down for future generations. For more information on the many services offered by Stone Gate, contact Jennie Johnson, Director at 801-995-0006. the south wall to be torn down. A bolt-like object proved to be a time capsule sealed in the wall during the 60's renovation renova-tion and will be opened for the public at the Open House on August 26. The oldest living original member of the Manila Ma-nila Ward, Alex Wadley, will have the honor of opening the capsule. He will turn 100 in October and well remembers all of the changes made on the building. As each story unfolds, it becomes a part of the what makes Stone Gate unique and endearing. As lathe and plaster plas-ter were pulled off the walls, they found brick instead of the usual wood studs. Through research Vickie uncovered un-covered the history of the school ward members had purchased and found they had taken the building apart, brick by brick, cleaned each one and used them to give more strength to the walls. These bricks have once again been cleaned and restored and were used to create the gift shop inside the front foyer. foy-er. The Utah Baroque Ensemble En-semble will make its home at Stone Gate, having recognized recog-nized the great acoustics created cre-ated when the Bott's decided to angle the doors coming into the "Great Room", the former newer chapel. They unknowingly constructed a curved wall, which makes sound reverberate and is a sought after quality for musical musi-cal groups. These and numerous other tales are why the Bott's feel so passionate about preserving pre-serving as much of the history his-tory of the Old White Church |
