Restoration is underway for six stained glass windows that have been stored for over 50 years under the stage at the United Methodist Church in downtown Redding.
John Morton, a subcontractor for Makin Glass in Anderson, was hired to turn the six windows into three windows that will be placed in the church's library and social hall.
According to Marge Dunlap, librarian for the Redding church, the windows are from the Methodist church completed in 1907 after the previous church, constructed in 1884, burned to the ground in 1905. The United Methodist Church has been part of Redding's history for 140 years.
"My understanding is that nothing was able to be salvaged from the first church, so what we call the 'old church' was then built on the corner of Market and Sacramento streets," said Dunlap.
When the old church was condemned by the city of Redding as unsafe for public use in September 1950, talk of building a new church began because the cost to repair the old church was too high and the congregation had outgrown it, explained Dunlap.
The stained glass windows were taken from the old church and then stored under the stage of the new and current church located on the corner of East and South streets.
"They weren't stored standing up like they should've been, instead they were placed face down on a cart you would use to store chairs or tables under the stage for over 50 years," Dunlap explained.
"Because of this, the windows started to sag and deteriorate," Dunlap added.
In 2006, Morton said the church wanted to restore the windows, and he, as well as Kim Makin, owner of Makin Glass, bid for the restoration. However, both bids were higher than the church had anticipated, so they declined, said Dunlap.
The issue of what to do with the eight stained glass windows recently came up again, and this time members decided to bring in someone to restore them. Dunlap suggested her old friend Morton, who had made one of the original bids in 2006, and after meeting with him, gave him the job of restoring six of the windows.
"I have had to cannibalize glass from the different windows, so that I can make two compete windows," said Morton. "I won't have to use any modern day glass; all the glass will be original."
It took Morton several days to remove the old leading and clean the glass, which was covered in years of dirt and grime.
"We had to call people from Oroville to come up to reclaim and dispose of the old leading," Morton noted. "Any lead used in the glass isn't toxic or dangerous, so I don't have to worry about any type of poisoning."
Aside from cleaning the glass, every piece also had to be cataloged and given a number, which corresponds to a spot on a hand drawn design, which matches the former design of the window.
This makes the whole process like more of a jigsaw puzzle, as the glass is combined with new leading to keep it in place, said Morton.
"It's going to take me until around Christmas to get these windows done. The original windows were about 200 pounds and the new ones will weigh in at about 165 pounds," said Morton.
He added that they will be protected from the elements, because they will be put inside the church's library, in front of the clear glass windows, so the light will show through, but nothing can damage them.
