Hopewell Church Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

GeoCrater: I am regretfully archiving this cache since there's been no word from the owner in the month or more since the last reviewer note was posted. If you want to re-activate the cache during the next couple of months, please contact GeoCrater to see if that's possible. If the cache meets current guidelines, consideration will be given based on the circumstances surrounding the original archival.

GeoCrater
Geocaching.com Volunteer Cache Reviewer

NOTE: My preferred method of communication is through notes on the cache page in question. However, should you wish to use email - please do not select "reply". In general, a replay to the geocaching.com mail bot will not reach me. Instead, please go to your cache page and e-mail GeoCrater from the log there or email me directly at geocrater@gmail.com, referencing the cache URL, or waypoint number.

Additional translation added as I support a number of countries:

Lamento archivar este caché, ya que no ha habido ninguna comunicación del propietario en el tiempo transcurrido (un mes o más) desde que se publicó la nota del revisor. Si deseas reactivar el caché durante los próximos dos meses, por favor, ponte en contacto con GeoCrater para ver si esto es posible. Si el caché cumple con las directrices en vigor, se estudiará dicha petición teniendo en cuenta las circunstancias que llevaron el archivo original.

More
Hidden : 9/20/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

You are looking for a magnetic key holder.

Congratulations to Sled Head for FTF!



As shots rang out across the prairie, C.E. Pauly raced to stake his
claim in Oklahoma Territory. In 1898, Mr. Pauly deeded an acre of
that land for a community church, and the Center Baptist Church
emerged in the Dillon oilfield. That first building, a wooden
structure, burned, and another took its place. The second two-story
wood building was still in place when, in 1947, Pastor D. B.
Haskins and J. L. Thomas traveled to the Oklahoma University School
of Architecture in hopes of convincing one of the architecture
students to design a building for the church using, in some way,
surplus oilfield pipe that Mr. Thomas had access to.

Bruce Goff was a Professor of Architecture there, the challenge
overcame him, and, as they say, “the rest is history.”



In a “start and stop” process that continued over the next several
years, volunteers from the congregation and the surrounding
oilfields built what was once publicized as “the most unusual
church in America.” An entry from the April 26, 1948 church minutes
reads, “Motion made and seconded we give our Pastor authority to
pay up to 35¢ per ft for pipe. Motion carried.” Church minutes
reflect that on May 3, 1950, “Motion made and seconded we hire a
welder to build bell tower for our new building. Motion
carried.”

And, on August 1, 1951, “The following plan for the cornerstone was
accepted ­ to be inscribed ­ ‘Hopewell Baptist Church 1898-1951
Jesus Christ Himself Being the Chief Cornerstone. Ephesians 2:20.’
Keet Cargill, Brother Hart, Roy Wilson and Ivan Storie were elected
as a committee for the cornerstone.” In September of that year a
committee was appointed to dispose of scrap Styrofoam (Styrofoam
was used as the interior façade of the ceiling.), and the building
was dedicated in October. To see photographs of the first wedding
held in the building on November 3, 1951, click below. Visitors
came (and still come) from all over the world to see the
building.

At one point in time many years later, as the congregation
struggled with the cost of maintenance, repair, flooding, leaking
and high utility costs, estimates for demolition were obtained. The
building was spared the wrecker’s ball, however, but the
congregation was forced to abandon the building in 1989 and move to
an adjacent building on the property. The State condemned the
building shortly thereafter due to the asbestos coating that had
been sprayed on the interior of the ceiling as “state of the art”
insulation in the 1970’s.

In 1995, after a month of prayer and fasting, the congregation
agreed it is God’s will the building remain as “a landmark set by
the forefathers,” and in 1999, at a cost of $20,000, the
congregation had the asbestos removed and the site cleaned of
contamination. In 2000, the building was named by a local
architectural organization as being “one of the 20 most significant
buildings in Oklahoma City.” The “Historic Structure Report” was
prepared by Elliott + Associates under a grant from a local
foundation.

The Hopewell Heritage Foundation is now being established to
complete the restoration/renovation process, and “the rest will be
history!”









Additional Hints (Decrypt)

abg va gur gerr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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