Morrison church stained glass window repaired – Shaw Local

MORRISON – The Morrison Presbyterian Church has completed renovations to the coverings of its stained glass windows.

In 2015, the Presbyterian Church replaced the old fiberglass protection on its stained glass windows with a black metal covering. Recently, pieces of this metal began to fall off and weaken the structure of the covering, prompting workers at Bovard Studios in Fairview, Iowa, to replace the window coverings.

Rev. Mike Selburg said the history of the church building is closely tied to the history of the town. The Presbyterian Church was first established in 1858. According to local legend, both the church and Morrison himself arose from a feud between railroad companies.

In the 19th century, the majority of the population settled in Unionville. The land that would become Morrison was not considered ideal for settlement, but when the railroads were built to Unionville, the town insisted on charging higher tolls to cross the railroad lines. In response, the railroads decided to bypass the town, and so both the church and the population came to a settlement that became Morrison.

The Presbyterian Church building, Selburg said, was “like England – built on old things.”

The building has undergone major structural changes since it was built. At one point in its history, the church had an associated tower and gradual additions have been made over the years. The last major construction took place in the 1960s. Towards the end of the 1960s, construction began on a classroom building to accommodate the baby boomer population growth, although officials did not realize that the boom was only temporary.

Most recently, money from a donor led to the purchase of the property next to the church where the popular fruit and vegetable stand is located. The Share Table was launched in 2017 to distribute vegetables and other food to the community.

Selburg said it served as a kind of “social experiment” to show people’s generosity. The fruit and vegetable stand has now become a popular meeting place and construction has begun on a pavilion roof.

The stained glass windows have an interesting history. According to Selburg archives, the windows were covered with fiberglass after someone threw a brick through the windows. However, the material began to turn the windows yellow and since the windows were not ventilated, the stained glass began to crumble.

Sometime around 2015, churchgoers began building new window guards that would not obstruct the view of the stained glass windows. The exterior cladding was sourced from Bovard Studios. When the metal cladding around the window guards began to come loose, Bovard Studios decided to continue its work and began repairs despite the warranty having expired.

Selburg initially approached Bovard Studios to help build local businesses.

There have been talks about adding LED lights to the stained glass windows to highlight one of Morrison’s landmarks.