<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614121604527.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMES BELL Hays PostELLIS — Peppered throughout the
downtowns of cities across northwest Kansas, many century-old buildings are quietly
falling into complete disrepair — silently awaiting an inglorious demolition.Among those buildings is an occasional
church, at one time a point of pride for communities, but with congregations
long disbanded and little commercial interest, these centers of worship far too frequently suffer the same fate as many of those other old buildings as populations
decline.But for the 112-year-old Ellis
Congregational Church, a daily stream of community members still take advantage
of the building’s hand-hewn limestone walls.The building is home to the Ellis
Nutrition Center, where prior to COVID-19, community seniors would gather daily
to enjoy a hot meal together and the local Rotary Club, where members find ways
to serve the community.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122402703.jpeg" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>A few times a year the chapel, adorned
in simple Christian iconography, even continues in the shadow of its original purpose,
as a host to community weddings.Perhaps most notably, the building is also
the home of the Bukovina Society, one of three museums in Ellis, a feature
rarely seen in a town of of its size.“This whole town is full of history,”
said Guy Windholz, Bukovina Society museum curator. “You’ll see here Walter P.
Chrysler, we have the Railroad Museum, and we have this ancestral museum. … You
show me a town with 2,000 population that has three museums of significance
that attract tourism. I don’t know where it is at.”Since the disbanding of the
congregation in 1973 and the subsequent creation of the Ellis Arts and
Historical Society to oversee the building and its use, great care has been
given to maintain the old church, but even the hardiest building materials cannot&nbsp;hold up forever against the biting cold, terrible wind and torrential downpours
that plague the area.Water has deteriorated the wood around
the original stained-glass windows, the roofs of the building's two towers are
leaking water into the pressed-tin ceilings, and soft stone and mortar
have worn down, creating dips and gaps in the exterior.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122137290.jpeg" alt="Guy Windholz, Bukovina Society Museum curator, shows damage caused by water leaks in one of the building's two towers." />
 <figcaption>Guy Windholz, Bukovina Society Museum curator, shows damage caused by water leaks in one of the building's two towers.</figcaption>
 </figure>Now, caretakers for the building are
reaching out to the public in order to help secure funding that will allow a
grant application of $50,000 to be submitted that would be used to alleviate
some of the most pressing concerns and allow the facility to continue serving
the community well into the future.In December, Gov. Laura Kelly announced
applications were open for the Kansas Historical Society’s Kansas Rural Preservation
grant program.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/d6d3f681-f921-4463-ac73-9a4543c35540">The program was funded by the Paul Bruhn Historic
Revitalization Grants Program, who gave the society $500,000.</a>“The Kansas Historical Society has been actively
working to preserve and share Kansas history for nearly 150 years,”&nbsp;Kelly then said. “The Paul Bruhn grants will go a long way
in ensuring historic properties across the state can get the upkeep and
treatment they need, so we can continue to celebrate and learn about our rich
history for generations to come.”The church qualifies for the grant — a non-government building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in a community of
less than 30,000 people.After learning of the grant program, Perry Henman, Ellis
Arts and History president, was approached and along with the organization’s
board, including Windholz. They decided to apply for the full amount of
$50,000, but to be eligible for that full amount, the organization must raise a
10 percent match.The grant application is due March 1, but they
believe they will raise the money from the community in time and will continue
to raise funds that will be used for repairs — even if the grant is not awarded.Ellis Alliance
Executive Director Sophia Henrickson will oversee the funds as grant
administrator.Donations can be submitted to Henrickson at the Ellis
Alliance office, 820 Washington, in person or via mail, and should be made out
to the Community Foundation of Ellis.“The Ellis Alliance office and the Community Foundation
is excited and happy to help projects like this and excited to see people in
the community take them on and hopefully it can help beautification and
tourism,” Henrickson said.Keeping the building in good repair and usable for
the foreseeable future, is seen as important for the community, not just for
the group's currently using the facility, but also for community members now and
in the future.“Ellis doesn’t have a true community center,” Henman
said. But the building frequently will be used for things like
family reunions and celebrations.“It’s a community building downstairs, basically,” he
said. And, as home to the Bukovina Society, the building is
not just important to locals, but to those communities that immigrated to
locations across the Americas.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122179630.jpeg" alt="The Bukovina Society" />
 <figcaption>The Bukovina Society</figcaption>
 </figure>“You have people from all over the United States and
actually from all over the world that come visit,” Henman said. In fact, the largest group of Bukovinia immigrants settled
in Ellis and was the largest population of the group outside of the area that is
now located in Austria, bringing with them their religious traditions.“This was a congregational church,” Henman said, as Bukovina
immigrants, unlike the Volga-German populations that also settled throughout
the region were not all the same faith.The congregation that built the church had early in
the cities history and had been meeting in a simple wooden building constructed
in 1873.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122732371.png" alt="The church as it originally looked with the bell tower that would be removed in 1952. (Courtesy photo)" />
 <figcaption>The church as it originally looked with the bell tower that would be removed in 1952. (Courtesy photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>By 1906, the congregation had decided to build a more permanent
worship building, built in an eclectic style, borrowing heavily from the Gothic
Revival architecture and constructed with the same limestone often
used in early Ellis County settlements and which can be seen in many
churches built in that era throughout the county.The land was donated by businessman, banker and
church trustee J.S. Nicholson and his wife Annie, both prominent members of the
community and great-great-grandparents of Henman.It would built by Tony Jacobs and Chris Wise, who are
noted for building many prominent structures in early Hays, including the Saint
Anthony’s hospital, the Lamar Hotel, now known as the Chestnut Building in
downtown Hays and Thomas More Prep-Marion, originally Saint Joseph College.Outside of the removal of a bell tower in 1952, the old
church is virtually the same as it was when they completed construction and the
congregation began meeting there in 1907.And planned repairs would not change that.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122330223.jpeg" alt="The roof of the south tower of the historic church. (Courtesy photo)" />
 <figcaption>The roof of the south tower of the historic church. (Courtesy photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>A major portion of the grant would be used to remove
the tower roofs, to be replaced with new materials and designed to better
ensure water can flow from the roof and new flashing to keep the water out of
the building.The grant would also be used to fix and restore the integrity
of the mortar and address wear on the lower limestone blocks worn from over 100
years of wind and rain.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122074747.jpeg" alt="Perry Henman, Ellis Arts and History president, notes damage to limestone blocks around the foundation of the historic church." />
 <figcaption>Perry Henman, Ellis Arts and History president, notes damage to limestone blocks around the foundation of the historic church.</figcaption>
 </figure>The wood holding the stained-glass windows in place
will also be addressed, and the protective screens that cover those windows will
be replaced with new glass coverings to ensure the original windows can be enjoyed
by future generations.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122113849.jpeg" alt="A screen made of chicken wire remains in place protecting the original stained glass windows of the church. If an upcoming grant application is accepted for the full amount requested the wire will be replaced with protective glass." />
 <figcaption>A screen made of chicken wire remains in place protecting the original stained glass windows of the church. If an upcoming grant application is accepted for the full amount requested the wire will be replaced with protective glass.</figcaption>
 </figure>While the group is hopeful they will be awarded the
full $50,000, they will be grateful for any amount given and Henman said they
will prioritize repairs to use the award as efficiently as possible.“We will fix what we can,” Henman said. “We will prioritize stuff, but certainly the towers
are number one because if we don’t stop the water from migrating in — then we
are in trouble,” Windholz said.While they wait from donations to come in and hope for good
outcome on the grant application, Windholz said the building will continue to
serve the community.“We are keeping this building alive. … Activities are
keeping this building alive and vibrant,” he said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1614122290911.jpeg" alt="Perry Henman observes as crews notate damage to the historic church from above. (Courtesy photo)" />
 <figcaption>Perry Henman observes as crews notate damage to the historic church from above. (Courtesy photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;

A little bit goes a long way: Ellis groups solicits fund for historic church repairs