A tour with a view

ByMatthew Crane Reading Time: 3 minutes

The scaffolding around the St. Joseph Catholic Church bell tower is set to come down in a few weeks but a few folks were able to enjoy some special tours on Friday. The historic church is undergoing a $10 million renovation that includes exterior updates and repairs as well as extensive work to the interior.

The tour groups received instructions inside St. Joseph’s Catholic Church before traversing the 235 feet up the scaffolding to the top of the bell tower.
A view of the roof of the church in the setting sun.
Paul Grammer and Nick Stevens head up the flights of stairs to the top.
Brothers Nathan (right) and Ben Schitter take in the view of the city from the height.
Nick Stevens frames a photo from the top of the bell tower.
Thomas Fulkerson took the opportunity to touch the base of the cross at the top of the bell tower. Small footpegs mounted into the pitch of the tower top allowed him to gain the extra height needed to touch it. He and his wife, Mary, both recently moved to Jasper and work at Kimball Electronics.
A group gathered around the cross at the top of the scaffolding and took in the views.
These ornate stones frame the tower near the four clock faces. To build the tower, workers created hills of dirt so teams of oxen could drag the stones up to the level they were at. In all, it took about 13 years to complete the church.
One of the four bells in the bell tower. Each weighs 12 tons with their hangings.
One of the four clock faces on the tower.
Caroline Ziegler, 6, tries to get her grandfather Van Ziegler’s attention while he climbed the scaffolding to the top. Van is chair of the renovation committee.

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