GENEVA, Neb. (KOLN) – The First Congregational United Church of Christ is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, just in time for its 100th anniversary. This accomplishment was made possible by volunteers who started researching its history in 2023.<\/p>\n
The current building was established because of a demand made by the women of the congregation in 1925.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The women] told [the men] they were tired of doing all of the food preparation in the parsonage, and so the men said, \u2018Well what do you want?\u2019\u201d said Gail Chapman, a volunteer. \u201cAnd the women said, \u2018We want a new kitchen. We want a new church.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Community members moved the original wooden church, built in 1887, to the Fillmore County Fairgrounds. There, the women sold meals to raise money for the new $56,000 building.<\/p>\n
Prominent architect Eugene Groves came from Colorado to design the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy great-grandfather was actually, I think, the secretary of the church when it was established,\u201d said Diane Heath, a church member.<\/p>\n
Heath and her sister Karen Kohler are fourth-generation members of the church. Kohler leads some of the music activities.<\/p>\n
The organ is from Lawrence, Kansas, and it\u2019s as old as the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hauled from the train station. Five men took them four hours, 40 cents each,\u201d said Karen Kohler, the choir director.<\/p>\n
At the front of the sanctuary, the original stained-glass window was donated by the women of the church for $4,000. The windows on the side were painted with help from a student who learned from Louis Tiffany.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the architecture. I remember my family grew up here, and you know I\u2019ve just had lots of milestones in this church, so lots of stories,\u201d Chapman said.<\/p>\n
Chapman said research into the church\u2019s history revealed its ties to World War II.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found out the Fairmont Air Base is a few miles away and how much our church devoted to those servicemen during the war,\u201d Chapman said. \u201cAnd we would bring them to church. We gave them dinner. We sent them over to the theater to watch a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
This moment in history lists just a few of the ways the congregation gives back to the community of Geneva. And its recent designation on the register gives church members a sense of pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I wasn\u2019t going to quit until we got it done. That\u2019s how much I feel that it needed to be done for this church and for this community,\u201d Chapman said.<\/p>\n