The little Handy Chapel has held a big place in Colorado’s black history since 1892, but preserving this singular sanctuary hinges on scarce dollars in tough times.
And time is short. If state and federal grants of more $210,000, awarded Aug. 1, are to be available for restoration of the chapel, supporters must raise matching funds of almost $50,000 by July 31, 2012, said Patrick Eidman of the nonprofit Colorado Preservation Inc.
From the beginning, Grand Junction’s Handy Chapel was a refuge for the Western Slope’s small and isolated African-American community. It served as way station for travelers stranded in a time and place where there were no hotels for black people. It also was a shelter for down-on-their-luck townspeople.
The chapel has been held together in recent years by the spiritual glue of 88-year-old Josephine Dickey, the great-granddaughter of one of its builders.
Then it made the 2011 list of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places. The attention brought some helping hands to the chapel.
In the spring, HistoriCorps, a preservation group, labored on a small house adjacent to the chapel. The crew repaired the leaking roof and stabilized the front porch of the little dwelling that had sheltered so many people over the decades.
Preservationists also applied for a grant from the State Historical Fund, which awarded about $204,000. The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded more than $6,000.
But the big money is contingent upon matching funds of $46,855.
“I put it all in the Lord’s hands,” Dickey said Friday. “He puts wonderful people in your life to accomplish your dreams. It’s wonderful how he works.”
Eidman wants to begin restoration of the chapel in the spring. The chapel is run down. The tiny congregation has put all its resources into helping people rather than helping the building, he said.
“It’s a project we’re hugely thrilled and proud to be involved with because this little building tells the story of the African-American community in western Colorado,” Eidman said.
It tells the story of segregation and of simple human decency transcending bigotry, he said.
“I would love for people to understand more about this,” Dickey said.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
