Photos: Steeple repair in Barnard

Jan Lewandoski, of Stannard, second from right, helps lift a secondary rafter into place with, from left, Adam King, of Roxbury, Mike Cotroneo, of Morrisville, and Joe Cotter, of Northfield, right, to reinforce a truss that supports the back of the First Universalist Church and Society’s steeple in Barnard, Vt., on Thursday, June 22, 2023. “A lot of church king post truss systems would have had this built in originally,” said King. “For whatever reason, the framer of this one decided to not double the rafters.” The rafter is made of spruce cut from Lewandoski’s property. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News photographs — James M. Patterson

Aura Paige, costume and prop designer for the Barn Arts, searches the former choir loft of the church for clothes to be used in a production of Newsies on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Barn Arts stores props and costumes in the space that has suffered from water leaking down from the damaged steeple. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Jan Lewandoski, left, and First Universalists Church and Society of Barnard Treasurer Anne Marie Delaney, right, watch as workers rig the spire to a crane to be removed in Barnard, Vt., on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. “I’m up in the middle of the night weeks in advance thinking about it - I figure it’s healthy to worry about these things,” said Lewandoski of the preparations for removing a steeple. “Wen it comes to doing it, I’m quite calm.” (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Jan Lewandoski, of Stannard, stands below waiting to receive a lengths of trim Mike Cotroneo, of Morrisville, and Adam King, of Roxbury, in the basket of a crane, are removing from the steeple of the First Universalist Church and Society of Barnard in preparation to remove the spire in Barnard, Vt., on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. “Imagine when you have a thing that’s 70 or 90 feet long and a powerful wind hits it, once every 30 years even,” said Lewandoski who is leading the restoration of the structure. “It’s a tremendous lever arm and it jams it backward. Almost all of them you’ll see lean back a little bit.” (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

The bell cast for the new First Universalist Church and Society of Barnard, Vt., meeting house in 1844 by G.H. Holbrook of East Medway, Mass., rises out of the belfry on a crane cable on July 19, 2023. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Clockwise from top left, Jan Lewandoski, Dan Larocque, of Classen’s Crane Service, Adam King, and Tony Mason, of Classen’s Crane Service, remove the rigging from the First Universalist Church spire in Barnard, Vt., on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 after setting it on a temporary platform where it will be repaired and reclad in metal roofing. When preparing the spire to be plucked from the building Lewandoski found severe rot in the timbers holding the structure up. “No plate was continuous,” he said. “Every one was patched in with two-bys.” (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Adam King, of Roxbury, second from left, Joe Cotter, of Northfield, second from right, and Mike Cotroneo, of Morrisville, right, look over a map for an assessment project of King’s as Jan Lewandoski, of Stannard, left, relaxes during lunch at the Barnard General Store after taking down the spire of the First Universalist Church in Barnard, Vt., on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. “Thank God,” said Lewandoski when the spire was safely on the ground. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Staff Report

Published: 07-20-2023 11:25 PM

Barnard Vt

The First Universalist Church and Society of Barnard was formed in 1802 and built its first meetinghouse two years later in 1804. When that building was converted for use as a school and other purposes, a new meetinghouse was built in 1844. Only four years later, membership declined and services became irregular and only occurred a few months out of the year.

The church hosts a small active congregation, is now open on Sundays in July and August, and has an annual Christmas Eve service. In the building’s 179th year, they have raised $225,000 to restore the building’s leaning steeple, suffering with rotting timbers that had been repaired piecemeal over the years. Another $75,000 is being raised to pay for accessibility improvements and painting. Anne Marie Delaney, the church’s treasurer, said donations are being accepted for a new roof and bell cradle, needs that have become apparent in the course of the other work.

Jan Lewandoski, of Stannard, Vt., is leading a crew of four independent contractors — Mike Cotroneao, of Morrisville, Vt.; Adam King, of Roxbury, Vt.; and Joe Cotter, of Northfield, Vt. — who specialize in restoration of existing old structures. Lewandoski, who started in the field in the late 1970s, said he has worked on roughly 25 steeples, including at the Strafford Town House, and 25 to 30 covered bridges, including the Cornish-Windsor bridge.

On Wednesday, July 19, a crane picked up the spire and bell from the church and set them on the lawn in order to remove and replace rotting timbers that support them. With the ongoing work, Delaney said that a couple planning their wedding at the church in August may have to settle for pictures next to the steeple and bell on the ground.