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Today there are those in the congregation who have been raised and nurtured within the heritage of this church, with memories of inspiration from former members and family.   Others do not have these same ties, but have instead respect for the hard-working faithful who kept the church alive as a house of worship.  

Our desires are the same as the founders in 1811.   We wish to maintain a place of worship in the community of Passumpsic, where Jesus Christ is glorified at home and on the mission field.

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On October 29, 2010, I went up into the church's bell tower (belfry) as the blown-in cellulose insulation was interfering with the large rope that hangs in the foyer (a box on the wall).  The insulation was causing the rope to become jammed where it extends through the upper inner wall plate opening.  I pulled all the surrounding insulation aside, vacuumed the space around the upper wall plate hole opening for the rope and sprayed all the cellulose with aerosol glue, effectively gluing it all around the opening so it won't fall back down into that location again.

While there, I also found that two boards holding one of several wooden spools for pulleys had become a bit loose, allowing the rope to fall off the center of the pulley and become jammed between the end of the pulley and the supporting board on one side.  I placed a strip of wood to hold the two pulley supporting side boards back into the original position so the space on either side of the old wooden pulley was closed.  Don't forget, this rope and pulley system was all made over a hundred years ago, before there were pulleys one could just buy at the local hardware store!

My wife went up and she got several pictures while we were up there:

I am in the bell tower attic space. The rope to the right serves to ring the bell on top of the belfry.



One of two main wooden pulleys that serve to guide the rope from the finished room below to the belfry roof.



Close-up view of one of the wooden pulleys.
In this photo, the rope was actually wedged between the pulley end closest to the viewer and the side board holding the pulley into position.



You can clearly see one of the problems in this picture.
The separation that has occurred of the right pulley support board resulted in the rope becoming wedged into that right space!



The large rope must have fallen off the large bell wheel, as there are (now) two ropes (a smaller one visible to the right and beyond the large one).   When pulled, the smaller rope resets the larger rope back onto the large bell wheel -- which would be handy just before a service, should the large rope fall off the 1/2 circumference of the bell wheel.

The following photographs were taken during the foundation replacement Summer, 2006.
These show the right foundation wall poured and the front of the church jacked to enable removal of the only rotted sill which was located along the front wall at the inset under four large vertical stained glass windows.

Front sill is being supported by two vertical posts with jacks while the floor structure just inside the rotted sill is supported by cribbing.

The front sill is carefully cut into sections that will be easier to remove than the entire piece all at once!
If I remember correctly, these sills are 10" x 12" beams!
Here, the worker is using a large bar to remove one of the chopped sections of sill.
The budging was difficult as there were many old rusted spikes holding the rotted sill in place.

After the sections of sill are all removed, many nails, boards, etc, have to be cleaned out of the opening to accept the new sill.

More removal of nails, wood, etc. to make room for new sill!
Sorry, I did not get any pictures of the new sill in place. It was drizzling out that day and I just wanted to get back indoors as I was not dressed for the weather.

Right concrete foundation wall all poured!

Right wall, also some support posts that would eventually be replaced with permanent support posts.

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Copyright 2009-2012

Richard Guest, Webmaster
Rick.Guest@Live.com

Created:      September 23, 2009
Last Edit:    December 31, 2011 19:18