JULY 2022

 Saint Joseph Parish recently brought to a successful conclusion a project that began many years ago, making it easier for those who struggle with mobility to enter the church.  The project began under the pastorship of Father Joseph Bahr, back in the eighties, with the construction of a handicap ramp, which could be used instead of the steps.  The work was done by Mike Strobl and Robert Yarmer, although many men in the parish assisted.  Below are some shots of the ramp under construction.

Interestingly, during the construction, the original set of stairs, dating from the church's construction was unearthed.  When the church was first built, it was virtually on ground level, with only a very small rise in steps.

As magnificent and useful as the new ramps were, two shortcomings remained.  During the winter months, they were often enveloped in darkness, making it difficult for those who used them to see if they were iced. 

Also, once one reached the door, it was quite heavy.  At the initiative of the pastoral council, these two issues have been addressed. 

Last summer Mark Menges installed a light, mounted on the adjacent grotto and controlled by its timer, that illumines the ramps at night.  Steve Oelke, our parish custodian, recently installed a handicap accessible door.  Its mounting is so small that many may not have even noticed that it is now in place.  Steve was also able to mount the indoor and outdoor operating switches without installing wiring in the stonework.  Instead, they operate the doors using Bluetooth technology.

 

The case housing the motor is so small that many people have not even realized that it has been installed over the door for several months now.  Another nice feature of this project is that the original door knob and its casing did not need to be replaced with a push bar, which would have been much more intrusive and harder to lock securely.

Perhaps even more remarkable, Steve was able to do this work for half the price an outside contractor had quoted.  

Below: Mark Menges installs the lighting for the walkway, connecting it to that of the grotto, which is on a timer.

 

Below are scenes from the construction of the ramp in the 1980s.