Pane-staking care: 120-year-old stained glass windows getting new life

Joe Martinez,on ladder, installs temporary plexiglass windows with a stained glass window appliqué as David Crow steadies Saturday morning at First United Methodist Church. The original windows have been removed to be repaired so the temporary windows will be in place for that time. The two work for Willet Hauser & Associated Crafts.
Joe Martinez,on ladder, installs temporary plexiglass windows with a stained glass window appliqué as David Crow steadies Saturday morning at First United Methodist Church. The original windows have been removed to be repaired so the temporary windows will be in place for that time. The two work for Willet Hauser & Associated Crafts.

After nearly 120 years, the stained glass windows at First United Methodist Church in downtown Jefferson City need a little care.

The lead holding some of the windows together is failing, and some of the windows are beginning to "slouch" - the taller windows are bowing out at the bottom.

The Gothic Revival church at 201 Monroe St. was built 1899-1901, said John Finley, a retired librarian who maintains archives for the church.

Lon Vest Stephens, who later became governor, and his wife, Margaret (Maggie) Nelson Stephens, joined the church shortly after moving to town. In 1893, while he served as state treasurer, they built their first Jefferson City home at Jackson Street and Capitol Avenue - Ivy Terrace, a 2 1/2-story Queen Anne.

Democrats nominated Stephens for governor in 1895, and he was elected in 1896. He served one term, but continued to support the church.

"They contributed quite a bit financially," Finley said. "They got the ball rolling to build the church."

The previous church faced the river and was across the street, where the city parking garage now stands at the corner of Madison Street and Capitol Avenue. The Stephens played a significant role in the church at the time and played a significant role in construction of the new church, Finley said.

"Among the things the Stephens did that wouldn't happen nowadays," he said, "was that they would have fundraisers and other church events on the mansion grounds."

And the church's members and organizations raised money for the windows, Finley said.

Maggie Stephens taught a Sunday school class, he said. The large, round, "rose" window facing East Capitol Avenue has an inscription in the center that says "Offering of Mrs. Lon V. Stephens Class, 1900." Other windows were offered by other classes and members of the congregation.

The "Round Table" was responsible for securing funding for the round window on the south side of the church.

"A newspaper article said the Round Table was a group of women who organized sometime in the 1890s. One of their main goals was to support the church," Finley said.

That included efforts to secure a pipe organ for the older church and later to move it into the new structure.

One window memorializes William Woodrum, a church leader who drowned in the Moreau River in June 1899, Finley said. The window includes a depiction of Jesus Christ pointing to heaven and saying "I am the Way." Another depicts Harvey Huggins, the 7-year-old son of previous pastor John Huggins. Harvey died of illness in September 1895.

A depiction of ravens feeding Elijah was offered by Mrs. James M. Nelson in memory of Arthur Wesley Nelson, her son and Maggie Stephens' older brother, who died at 26.

Some of the inscriptions are very difficult to read, Finley said.

Finley began researching the windows in 2001, when the church held a celebration of the building's centennial. At the time, he was involved with a group that prepared a video on the church's history.

"That was the beginning of it," he said. "The last six months or so, I've started doing a little more."

In 1997-99, the church installed protective glass outside the 73 stained glass windows. To ventilate the gaps between the windows and the new protection, the new glass came with 1-inch round aluminum vents drilled through corners, said Jerrold Kelly, director of operations for the church.

However, it allowed dust and moisture to pass through easily and collect in the gap.

A few years ago, members of the church began preparing to refurbish the old windows. They were considering two different bids for the project.

Kelly heard about some work being done in Wardsville. He heard Joe Martinez, a craftsman with Associated Crafts and Willet Hauser Architectural Glass, was working on windows at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and decided to see "just what kind of work he was doing," Kelly said.

The First United Methodist Church stained glass windows likely were installed when the sanctuary was built in 1900 and completed in 1901, Kelly said.

"The windows are probably the most expensive part of what we have," he said. "I'm told they're worth $800,000 to $1 million."

The value can depend on the artist who built them, Martinez said.

That still remains a mystery, Finley said. In the nearly 20 years he's been researching the stained glass, he's been unable to determine an exact manufacturer.

With the "window slouch" and bowing, it has become time to repair the windows before they are damaged, Kelly said.

"It's going to cost $240,000," he said. "This is the stuff we have to do. We're fortunate to be able to fund it."

Some of the windows, such as those in a space Kelly uses for an office, had double-hung windows (placed in the wall in two sections). Those windows were crated up and shipped to a studio in Minnesota to be taken apart and rebuilt as single windows.

That's going to be more efficient, Kelly said.

They aren't the only windows that will be shipped to Minnesota for reconstruction.

Martinez said he's doing a "restoration process." The process for building a stained glass window goes beyond just fitting glass together with lead. After a window is completely leaded, there is a cementing process.

"In some way, shape or form, you have to fill the void between the lead and the glass. You have to seal the lead to the glass," Martinez said. "I would equate the cementing process to grouting tile."

As he rubbed his hands together to demonstrate, he explained artisans put a substance on the glass and work it into the edges of the glass, filling in the gaps.

"In the field, over time, that cement dries up and falls out," he said.

The product for cementing has improved over time, he said.

"Right now, the windows are all dirty and dusty. And what this material does is not only re-seal the glass and fill the voids, but it also polishes the glass," Martinez said. "You'll see a huge difference."

Martinez will restore 40 of the windows on site (those that won't need to be completely disassembled), he said. Twenty-four more will be shipped to Minnesota.

Martinez will restore the two large, round windows on the north and south sides of the church in place, he said.

The 15-by-15 windows have more bracing and smaller panels, he said, so they are better supported and haven't sagged like some of the taller windows. The tallest single-hung windows in the church are about 11.5 feet tall.

Martinez will scrape off all the old paint, cement, re-caulk and paint the windows that will not have to be removed. After he does that, he'll build new frames for the protective outer windows and install tempered glass in the new frames.

The new framing system is vented. It uses a venting system within the frame manufactured by Pella Windows.

The frame allows a free flow of air between the protective cover and the stained glass windows, he said. If there is no ventilation, there could be a build-up of super-heated air.

"As long as there's airflow, the window can breathe. The air can circulate. Any moisture that gets in there can evaporate out," he said. "But, if it's sealed, any moisture that gets in there is going to stay in there."

Moisture will collect just through condensation, he said.

Some of the windows are already in Minnesota. However, one wouldn't know it by looking for the openings in the walls where the windows have been removed. Before removing the windows, craftsmen scanned the images and printed them on transfers. Those transfers were placed on a Plexiglas-like material that Martinez placed in the window openings. They will stand in the place of the windows until the stained glass windows are completed and returned.

Some will not be completed until next spring, the 120th anniversary of the beginning of construction for the church.