♪ Let Jesus in ♪ Let Jesus in ♪ Jesus on the mainline ♪ ♪ Tell him what you want ♪ >> It's who you are that counts.

And if you're a child of God, if you recognize who you are, you are somebody!

♪ God above ♪ Tell him want what you want ♪ >> My primary goal is to educate people about the history of African American culture.

And I started going to West Baden French Lick prior to 2014.

I was interested in the Black community that I heard lived there in the late 1800s, early 1900s.

And then didn't exist anymore.

When I first saw the church, it was when the whole town was broken down.

Then going back to see the town when everything was renovated and refurbished, and then you turn the corner and see this church that had not been touched, with some of the wood missing.

It was almost like an eye was out.

♪ And then you see the marquee saying "First Baptist Colored Church."

I knew how many other buildings that were part of the Black community that had been demolished or just somehow burned.

And that's Dunbar School, that's the colored hotels, the other African American church, the Babylon entertainment.

Everything connected to the Black community, gone, except this one church standing alone on a corner.

Why that church?

Out of all these buildings, why is that still standing?

It has a story to tell.

♪ >> A good way to tell a story is to start at the beginning.

>> Late 19th century, African Americans emancipated, but not free in Alabama and Mississippi and across the South, because of Jim Crow segregation discrimination, because of lack of economic opportunity.

Sharecropping and other jobs were not sufficient for many families.

>> You want to have a good job for your family.

You want your children to be educated, and you want them to have opportunities that maybe you didn't have.

And that was the purpose of leaving the South, coming across the river into supposedly the land of freedom.

>> French Lick got its name from early French settlers.

They came through the valley of discovered mineral springs bubbling from the ground.

Animals liked the springs and the settlers needed the animals for food and clothing.

>> Now, people start to settle the area, and a fellow over in Paoli, Dr. Bowles, sees some value in this smelly water, the mineral water.

So he builds the first iteration of the French Lick Hotel here in 1845.

People start to come.

>> Now, Bowles is an interesting fellow.

Even though his hotel is a success, he decides it's a good time to go South to fight in the Spanish-American War.

>> In the process, he leases his hotel out to a fellow named John Lane.

Lane really gets Bowles' French Lick Hotel going.

It was a health resort.

Bowles comes back from the war, wants his hotel back.

Lane says, well, there's some bigger potential here.

He goes a mile down the road and builds what will become the West Baden Hotel.

So now, you have these two fiercely competitive hotels growing up just a mile apart.

Lobbying for the same customers, the same clientele, but both successful, and both grow.

The Monon punches a railroad spur here, which all of a sudden now connects us to Louisville, Chicago, Indianapolis.

That's big!

>> Some stories say that as many as 14 trains a day came into this valley, and we didn't have enough hotels.

So people were adding rooms on to their houses.

>> So the areas really start to boom.

>> But not without some difficulties.

Gangs of vigilantes known as white caps became active in Southern Indiana.

Their alleged cause was to combat misbehavior in the community.

But race was a part of their intolerance.

Direct threats were sent to the hotels' Black staff and many left town; however, there was no violence and most of the Black staff returned.

The hotels change ownership over the years.

Tom Taggart buys the French Lick Hotel.

He's the former mayor of Indianapolis, former United States Senator, and Chairman of the National Democratic Committee.

Lee Sinclair now owns the West Baden Hotel, and he has a very strong connection with Republican politics.

>> Both sides of the aisle are covered.

So illegal gambling flourished here from about the late 1800s through 1949.

Basically, on the strength of the ownership of the two hotels and the government turning a blind eye.

Law enforcement saying, gambling?

What gambling?

It really helped put this place on the map.

We were Vegas before Nevada was even an idea.

>> Another reason so many people visited was the mineral water.

It was advertised as Pluto Water, and was said to be good for constipation, biliousness, dyspepsia, stomach troubles, skin diseases, jaundice, and for persons of a phlegmatic temperament.

Taggart really gets French Lick going.

He was a big marketer, and comes up with marketing Pluto Water.

When nature won't, Pluto will.

Taggart's got that stuff bottled next door to the hotel, going out of here by the boxcar load.

>> Both hotels were very expensive, and the thousands who came demanded a superior level of service, food, and amenities.

They may have been in the middle of Southern Indiana, but the pampered guests expected European resort treatment.

This was provided almost entirely by a Black staff.

>> The service that the African American people gave made that community what it was.

>> These hotels would not have happened without that staff.

>> If you take care of them kids while they're here and make them happy, that's our return business in the future.

>> There was a man named Sam Townsley, who was absolutely beloved over the decades.

He was the front desk man, the lead bellman.

So he had major contact with all the guests.

Sam got way on in years, became infirmed and was at a nursing home.

And they said, Sam, what -- if you could do one thing, what would you really want to do?

He said, I'd like to go back to the French Lick Hotel and see the place.

And if there's anybody left I worked with, it'd be great to see 'em.

So we organized an impromptu reception as the van pulls up.

This man with white hair just looked as noble as the day is long, looking up, just taking it all in.

His eyes start to mist up.

And he says, "There she is."

And he's just -- again, just soaking it all in, and he looks, and he sees a couple of familiar faces there.

Sam just lit up!

The hotel was his life, and the people.

I said, Sam, what kept you going so long?

He said -- >> You've got to have it down in here.

I don't care what you are, waiters or whatever you are doing in the hotel business, you've got to have it in here.

Personally, I loved to be around people.

>> He died a short time later.

He wanted his ashes spread at the Jesuit cemetery next to West Baden.

We spread Sam Townsley's ashes up there.

So he's a part of this resort into perpetuity.

♪ >> Late 1800s, baseball is king!

You know, the country is just mesmerized by the sport of baseball.

What do you do in little French Lick and West Baden?

Stage a baseball game.

Who are you going to stage it with?

Your staff.

The staff, largely the Black waiters and all the employees at the two hotels.

So they made up the first baseball teams.

It had the French Lick Plutos, of course, and then you had the West Baden Sprudels.

The teams had their own fields at the respective hotel grounds.

Sprudels were really, really good.

Now, French Lick, they couldn't compete.

So they started recruiting all these good semi-pro ballplayers as well.

And then pretty soon, you had just a high level of baseball going back and forth, all African American.

And you also remember that we had Major League Baseball teams that would come here for spring training, the big names, the Cubs, and the Pirates, the Reds.

Well, the Pirates one day scrimmaged the Sprudels.

They didn't do that again, because the Sprudels took their measure, they did.

>> By this time, Black residents had their own hotels, stores, restaurants, school, and social clubs.

The Waddy Hotel was billed as the world's greatest and complete Negro health resort.

In the evening, they would gamble and dance at the Babylon Club and other Black venues.

In 1901, disaster struck.

The 400-room West Baden Hotel was completely leveled by fire.

Nearly all of the hotel's jobs were gone.

Sinclair was berefted.

>> He was ready to hang it up.

And his daughter prevailed upon him to rebuild, and he said if I do, it's going to be something they've never seen before.

Thus came the idea for the dome.

He goes to people and they say, it can't be done.

This -- this structure cannot be built.

So he found an architect who employed a bridge builder, and together, they came up with the idea for the supporting steel structures that form the basis of that magnificent dome that we still celebrate today at West Baden.

♪ And Sinclair then had the eighth wonder of the world when that was completed.

>> Many of the permanent Black workers were able to stick it out, while the new 700-room hotel was being built, but not without some danger.

>> In the late 19th century in Indiana was an increase in Jim Crow segregation, an increase in discrimination and segregation against African Americans.

That discrimination included violence.

>> In 1902, the white caps made another attempt to force Blacks to leave the valley.

"The New York Times" called it a bitter race war, more vicious and more bitter than any that has occurred in the state.

If they do not take their departure at once, they will be horse whipped.

Some were threatened with death.

>> There was skull and crossbones that were placed outside of town.

None of these threats worked, and they were not going to be intimidated, and they weren't intimidated.

♪ >> The church, as it does today, is a place to offer a sanctuary and support to the community.

>> Segregation was a way of life.

The white First Baptist Church in West Baden did allow Blacks to attend services, but only in the back pews.

They could not be baptized there, nor could they participate in any church activities.

Black worshipers needed their own church, their own house.

>> The first person I learned about was Eliza Cornish.

Eliza was a woman to be reckoned with.

She was very religious.

She moved into the area with her husband early on, and she coined the phrase "the devil's hell hole," because there were so many devilish activities going on that she didn't approve of, gambling, women of the evening.

So Eliza really wanted to establish a presence of God, of faith.

>> In 1905, she brought in Dr. C.H.

Parrish.

He had been born a slave and was now the president of Simmons College in Louisville.

He was a minister and educator with many degrees.

Together, they organized the First Baptist Church mission in West Baden, and he became the pastor.

Sinclair knew that satisfied employees resulted in happy customers who would continue to return, and he recognized the importance of the church in the lives of his workers.

So early in 1909, he deeded Lot 2 at the corner of Elm and Sinclair Streets to West Baden church leaders for $1.

The lot was on a floodplain, and the gift did not include any mineral rights, including any healing waters.

It would be another 11 years before their church was constructed on the lot.

Lee Sinclair did not see it built.

He died in 1916.

♪ >> After years of fundraising, the First Baptist Colored Church was built in 1920 by Black volunteers.

It became the center of the Black community.

At this time, there were about 350 Black residents in West Baden and French Lick.

>> Indianapolis Recorder stated that the homes in French Lick West Baden by the colored population were up to date, that they were high-quality, educated folk.

>> The church has always been a significant resource in all Black communities, just as it was in West Baden.

>> So if you were new to the area, the church had a welcoming committee.

They had the pastor's support committee.

They had tag committee, where they would have tag sales to support people who didn't make as much money.

It didn't matter what color you were.

French Lick Bethel AME, West Baden First Baptist Colored Church operated together.

>> This unity was critical, because there was continued racial unrest in the area.

A branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had opened in French Lick.

Mrs. Bessie Jones was the vice president.

In February 1923, a letter to the national office described some of the racial threats they experienced.

♪ >> In spite of, or maybe because of these tensions, the new church thrived with about 80 members.

The congregation included George Waddy, the owner of the Black hotel and health resort located close to the church.

Yarmouth Wiggington, who dressed in a flaming red devil costume and dipped Pluto Water for visitors.

Heavy weight champion Joe Louis, when he was in town for training, also attended the church.

Perhaps the most widely known and respected member of the church and the community was Birdie Sebree, the only Black nurse in Springs Valley.

Another member was the beloved Sam Townsley.

♪ The church was well known for its gospel choir.

>> You could walk down by the church on the sidewalk any time of the daytime they was having church, the windows would be up, you could hear 'em singing.

♪ They done some nice singing.

>> The doors would be opened, and they sang from the heart.

It just seems to come from angels.

Yeah.

♪ >> Then on October 29th, 1929, it seemed the angels stopped singing.

The stock market crashed, triggering The Great Depression.

Literally overnight, panic struck the nation.

In West Baden and French Lick, hotel guests abandoned their rooms, sometimes even leaving their possessions.

Now, the train station was empty.

The depression wreaked havoc on the resorts and other businesses, both Black and white.

While the French Lick Hotel was able to stay open with a minimal staff, the West Baden Springs Hotel was forced to close.

Many people, especially Blacks, moved away.

>> By the 1960s, the building had greatly deteriorated.

The congregation had dwindled, but services were still held there.

In 1964, Reverend A.L.

Scott traveled with his family from Louisville every other Sunday.

>> My father was the pastor of this church.

It was a small congregation, about 10, I would say, but on some occasions, it was a full church.

Me and my sister became the pianists of the church.

And then we started working the -- the little organ that was here in the church.

>> We can hear it.

Can't you hear it?

>> Yeah, all in my imagination.

That's what we had to play on.

Yes, we did.

We come here and pump this and everybody would sing.

We would miss a key, well, keep on singing.

Yeah, I remember, we used to pull these little keys out here, here and there, and just keep on playing.

We was wore out after we was done after the song.

That was -- that was -- when you were playing, you could tell when you missed a note because it wasn't working.

It was a little out of tune, but we made the best of it.

>> But other much more serious problems persisted.

>> It was built on marshy -- marshy land, and every time it rained, it would flood.

So all the hills around just dumped right down into Lick Creek, and it came right out over this direction.

>> It was a lot of flooding, to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get to the steps.

Sometimes we couldn't have service.

We had to actually have service at one of the members' house.

>> In 1964, another major flood inundated West Baden Springs.

Water and mud filled the church.

It had to be shoveled out before actual cleaning could get underway.

Sunday, July the 25th.

It was reported that the foundation in the church was in bad shape.

It will take approximately $4,000 to repair.

By common consent, it was suggested to move worship services over to the parish.

We are not holding services regularly, and there is no money coming in, plus regular monthly bills are still due.

We will cut off the water.

>> An attempt was made to repair the damage, but the building proved too much for them to maintain.

The church closed in 1965.

>> This is where I started from.

It's still a part of my home church, part of my roots.

>> The church stood empty and neglected for 19 years, but it was not ready to die, and neither was racism in the valley.

>> It was in the '70s.

Probably '74.

There were cross burnings.

I was working as a bellhop at The Villager when all this went down.

And I knew the people that they put crosses up, and lit them on fire.

I knew some of those people.

>> And why do you think they burnt the crosses?

>> Because they're prejudiced, and they wanted to get them out.

>> Did it work?

>> Nope.

Nope.

Nope.

>> In 1984, after being closed for 19 years, another attempt was made to hold services at the church.

It was reopened by two white ministers from Louisville as a West Baden Christian Assembly.

A noble effort, but, again, low membership, the deteriorating building and flooding forced it to close in 1988.

Miraculously, it was still standing!

>> I think this church has been, in a way, protected from above.

>> And I think this church has just been blessed.

>> Dorothy "Shorty Joe" Smith and her husband Artie were the last living members of the church.

>> Well, she just didn't know what was going to happen to the church.

And so she decided to give it to the town of West Baden.

We had already established the West Baden Historical Society.

>> So it was up to us to do what restoration we possibly could.

>> I think because we've lost so many -- so many wooden structures, and this church held such a high place in people's hearts in both towns.

>> We would love to see the colored church in West Baden restored.

It's part of our history here, and it would be an asset to the community.

>> I pass by it all the time, and I thought it was a shame that that building had to sit there looking like it did, and I'm glad you're rebuilding it.

It's going to be a great opportunity for the -- the neighborhood to have a building like that and a church like that.

>> And why am I passionate about this project?

I believe in the restoration of the community.

I believe in the passions of others.

And not only do I want to encourage, but I want to support and see that that project is completed.

>> In 1997, a professional structural evaluation was done for the West Baden Historical Society.

The condition of the church was, well, heartbreaking, and yet there was still hope.

The report said, even with the damage due to fire and flooding, the structure is in good condition and could be stabilized and restored.

♪ >> And we had chili suppers, bean dinners, tag sales, like they had done in the past.

There was a fund at Indiana Landmarks that did help us financially.

We were just trying to come up with as many ideas as possible to gather funds to help this building to survive a little longer.

>> They spent a lot of money on the roof, foundation, and basement.

But more problems were found, and a hard decision was made in 2011.

>> Now someone else needs to take the future efforts.

We unanimously voted to return the building to the town of West Baden.

It killed us.

Killed us, but we did it.

And it was the best thing we could have done.

>> If the West Baden Historical Society had not intervened, the church could not have been saved when others arrived to take on the future efforts.

But who could do this?

Who would do this?

♪ >> In 2014, the church was placed on Indiana Landmarks' most endangered list.

This designation was critical.

It did not include funds for restoration, however, the publicity of the designation greatly increased awareness.

Reverend Donald Griffin, Sr., pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Bedford, Indiana, thought something could be done to save the church.

So he contacted Reverend Anthony Toran, who was the moderator of the Southeastern District Missionary Baptist Association.

The association includes 19 churches in Indiana.

>> Our church was hosting the Southeastern District Convention.

Moderator Toran made a recommendation.

He had a picture of the West Baden church, and he thought we should do something to save it.

He understood that we could negotiate with the town and possibly get it for $1.

We went to the town board, told them we thought we had in-house capabilities to be able to do a lot of the renovations, and to see if they would approve it.

So they approved it and gave us seven years to get it completed, and I was wondering how in the world are we going to do this, because I knew the district itself was not financially able to make all the restorations and stuff.

So it set a couple years, and then the town board was starting to say, hey, what are we doing?

We haven't heard anything, haven't seen any progress and nobody else was taking the leadership.

So I just felt a burden.

So I was really reluctant because I didn't know where the money was gonna come from because I remember asking Pastor Toran, the moderator.

I said, where we gonna get the money?

And he said, the Lord will provide.

And I'm setting there shaking my head, like -- but he also says in the word, before you build, you need to count the costs, and I knew we couldn't -- we couldn't afford to do it.

But he was right.

The Lord has provided every step of the way, but that's how I became involved.

♪ Amazing grace will always be my song of praise ♪ ♪ For it was grace that bought my liberty ♪ ♪ And I do not know just why he came to love me so ♪ ♪ He looked beyond my thoughts and saw my need ♪ ♪ And I shall forever lift mine eyes to calvary ♪ ♪ To view the cross where Jesus died for me ♪ ♪ And how marvelous that grace that caught my fallen soul ♪ ♪ He looked beyond my faults and saw my need ♪ ♪ >> So the project, restoration project, actually started in 2016.

The volunteers from Second Baptist were 70 and 80 years old.

The regulars were about six guys who faithfully came on their own, their time and their own dime.

Periodically, people in the community would show up with water and lunch for us.

The owner of McDonald's restaurant gave us certificates so that every Wednesday we were able to go to lunch.

People were so kind and caring.

Mount Lebanon Church, they paid for a rental van to move all of the original pews into their older church for storage.

Reverend Finney actually helped, and he was in his 80s, picking up those pews.

>> Volunteers restored the pews, repaired, sanded and painted.

♪ >> Just the excitement and stuff was -- [ Laughter ] The camaraderie.

>> Help also came from Second Baptist Church in Bedford.

Like the workers from Bloomington, they came every Wednesday and Friday.

>> And it was just a sense of we're gonna make this happen!

Ron Williams, he was my deacon.

He was a skilled carpenter.

Toran asked him if he would be the project lead.

I told Pastor Toran, I said he's not gonna do that, I said, because he likes to get paid.

He said, ask him.

He said, sure, I would love to do that.

He said, as a matter of fact -- he told me later -- he said, I was praying to the Lord that I would be able to do one more major carpentry project before I died.

>> I said a prayer a long time ago that God will give me another chance, another job, and -- and I just realized that it's happening right now.

To me, it's something special.

>> And it just so happened when he took this one on, this was his last major project before he passed on.

The exterior walls of the church were serpentine.

Now, how in the world are we going to make this happen?

And they put those come alongs on there.

And to watch he and Cleveland Thomas and climbing scaffolds, you know, at 80 years old, watch them pull those wires together and take all of the curves out and the bows out of the exterior walls.

They had those skills and those talents.

And they worked hard.

They were there -- some of the first people there, some of the last people to leave.

>> The most visible feature of the church is the belfry, but the bell would no longer ring.

So there was a campaign to re-ring the bell.

The West Baden Volunteer Fire Department placed a banner on the belfry to confirm this commitment.

>> I have come down here to help support the Baptist Church in West Baden that was built in 1909.

And we need to put life back into this church.

And like my pastor says, the bell needs to ring again.

>> The town people came and helped us do the scraping of the outside.

The town board and the city garage gave us pressure washers to use.

The city came, turned on the water, donated it to us.

>> Indiana Landmarks wanted to preserve as much of the old exterior wood as possible, but some of it simply could not be saved.

>> There was a deli, we used to eat lunch, called Mickie's.

Her husband used to be a contractor, and he had renovated an old farmhouse and he had some of that exact siding.

And he said, if you want it, I'll give it to you.

So we could tear out all the damaged siding, and it covered 90% of it.

The Lord always provided.

>> A large stained glass window was offered to the church by an antique dealer in the Terre Haute area.

>> I refused it, said, you keep it because I knew the value of it.

And she said, no, I want the First Baptist Colored Church to have it.

So Pastor Rose got a group.

They went over and got it and brought in.

>> And we're gonna have to have part of this -- >> It had a lot of repair work that needed to be done.

>> Before it has to be re-leaded and everything, and put in it.

>> And there was a stained glass company in New Albany.

So they willingly came to West Baden, fixed it, and then used that as a donation.

♪ >> Not all of the donations were large or elegant, but were no less significant.

>> A lot of people come here and they realize that we are restoring the church, and that we are in need of funds, plus we want to have some funds available for the congregation to help them until they start up.

So we get a lot of donations like this, $5, $10, and every penny counts!

>> I see people literally driving by and stopping to take a picture.

>> And every time we come, I say, please just take me by that little white church.

I love that church.

Every time, and I take a picture of it every time.

>> Because they can see that something is -- positive is happening here.

It's incredible!

It's thrilling.

>> Oh, thank you!

Thank you.

How are you?

>> I'm good.

>> Well, if you think it looks good out here, it's beautiful inside.

We're getting ready to come back and resume the work and get it finished.

>> Thank you.

>> All of the pews are done, and all the -- everything's done inside.

We've got to get those front doors in and the trim, and we're ready to move in.

>> If I ever get a chance, I'll come down and join you.

>> Please do.

>> This church said, we still have a purpose in this community, and we're standing here and we're staying here until you do something about us.

>> In spite of generous monetary and community support, and the dedication of unpaid workers, the money ran out.

>> One of the lows would be when we were completely -- completely out of money.

All funds were gone because we did the restoration as the funds came in.

We weren't gonna sit and wait.

So as money came in, we did what we could, and sometimes we got low, but at one point, it was absolutely zero funds.

Pastor Rose came back to Bloomington, Indiana.

>> And I remember it was a Wednesday night, came back from West Baden, and I was in a dejected spirit because I'm like, here we are.

This is what I -- my fear to begin with, we weren't gonna have the money to finish.

And we're just getting started good, and we have absolutely no funds.

♪ I remember coming in to Bible study prior to anybody getting here, bending down at that front pew and just praying.

Lord, I know this is what you want me to do, but how can we make it happen?

♪ >> Inside Second Baptist Church, I prayed.

The next day, we got $10,000.

Again, God's hand was in that.

♪ >> So the work could continue.

♪ Bow down in a saintly prayer ♪ ♪ But if the Lord is not in your plan ♪ ♪ Your home is not started there ♪ ♪ Because it takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ I know ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ >> Mountaintop to the valley, tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of frustration.

>> The bell is stable.

The bell ain't going nowhere.

>> Everything up there -- >> But we've had our times where we were at each other's throats, you know, at the same time.

[ Laughter ] And so those were stressful times, you know?

The devil's whispering in your ear, see, you can't get this done.

You're not gonna make this happen.

But at the same time, to get past that -- >> Whatever is the easiest.

>> And so that's always a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood.

>> When we first took on the project, I thought we had bitten off a little too much.

But with a lot of prayers and a lot of dedicated young men coming down, working every day, working hard, working together, it's been awesome.

>> I feel great about it.

We've come a long ways from the way it looked when we first got in, to the way it looks now, and all the work that we put into it and all the fun that we've had so far.

I thank God for all that.

♪ Because it takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build your home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ >> You were in the dark, and now you can see the light, and then it's coming to form.

>> The joy, tremendous joy.

Along the way, just a sense of accomplishment.

♪ >> Throughout the restoration, Liz Mitchell was always spreading the word.

♪ >> A church restoration in Southern Indiana isn't just bringing back a building.

It's restoring an important legacy in African American history.

Tonight, our Jennie Runevitch goes back in time to show us the inspiration for this project's new beginning.

>> Of all the struggles that they went through, and then out of their struggles, they found success.

>> Just as volunteers have done now, reviving an Indiana landmark.

>> During the restoration, descendants of the church's original members were invited to visit.

One family who came back was the Pollards.

Harry Pollard had been deacon of the church, head bellman of the West Baden Hotel and part owner of the Sprudels baseball team.

>> If you're gonna preserve the history, you have to preserve the history.

>> Absolutely.

>> But one of the reasons I really wanted to come here is to see where we began.

My mother tells a story.

She was working in the West Baden Hotel.

She's a waitress, and she goes up to one of the patrons and she says, I love that blouse you are wearing.

I have the same one, which was -- it was not -- she said, that ended my waitressing career.

[ Laughter ] But it -- it meant that their parents -- she felt equal to anyone in this fine hotel.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> But it -- but it was close enough for her father to walk to work.

>> That's right.

>> My mother had told us stories all her life of how beautiful it was, the house that her father built with his own hands.

And at first, we didn't think we'd be able to find the house, and we looked.

A few false starts.

Also, I want to get out.

>> Yeah.

You want to walk where your mom had her -- where her footsteps were.

>> Yes, I absolutely -- >> Yep, put that right there.

>> Thank you.

>> We had never seen it.

We grew up in New York.

So we went up -- and it's up a steep hill, and that's what she told us, up a steep hill.

It was called Overlook Cottage.

But then, there it was.

And it was a bittersweet memory.

It's now little more than a wreck.

You can see what my mom was talking about, the view from the home, but I was still happy to see it.

I remember walking into the hotel, the hotel that my grandfather worked in, and it's jaw-dropping.

And you walk into the grand atrium, that huge, soaring space.

And all you can do is just turn around 360 degrees and just take it all in.

It's a magnificent space.

And I was very proud to know that my grandfather worked here.

And I was even more proud to know that I'd be staying there that night.

When my grandfather, when he worked there, he couldn't stay there.

He couldn't be a guest there.

So even though this hotel is way beyond our budget, I'm gonna stay in this hotel at least once in honor of my grandfather who never could.

♪ Let the word of God be your house rules ♪ ♪ You abide by his command ♪ If the love of God fill every room ♪ ♪ Your home is sure to stand ♪ Because it takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ It takes God to build a home ♪ ♪ >> It's been a while since we've been there due to the pandemic.

The volunteers have been unable to go down and finish up the work.

It's about 95% complete.

Ah, there we go.

Well, everything is just like we left it.

You can see it's a work in progress.

Here's the list.

List of things that we had made that this list should be done.

That's for the electrician, and this is what -- the volunteers have made this list.

Once we get the new front doors installed, the trim will go up.

We will empty out this whole place.

Okay.

You want to lift it?

>> Yeah.

♪ >> It looks dry.

I don't see where any water was in it.

Do you?

Is it dry or wet?

Does it look like it's been dry for a while?

Well, that's good!

We'll resume the work.

So I'd say middle to late June.

Again, the problem is getting those front doors in.

I'm excited about seeing it.

I can't wait to get the pews in.

We've worked hard on every little thing, and then the community has been really great.

I'm sure they're anxious for it to be reopened too.

>> So it's probably been eight months or a little longer since we've been down here to do any work, but coming in today, just really -- I just shake my head in amazement and and thank God for the progress that we've been able to make and look forward to getting it completed.

♪ And I'll rise up ♪ I'll rise like the day ♪ ♪ I'll rise up ♪ I'll rise unafraid ♪ I'll rise up ♪ And I will do it a thousand times again ♪ ♪ And I'll rise up ♪ High like the waves ♪ I'll rise up ♪ In spite of the ache ♪ I'll rise up ♪ And I'll do it a thousand times again ♪ ♪ For you ♪ For you >> It was important for us as a church community to restore that church to its former glory.

It surpassed my expectations.

I thought we would at least get it up to where it kinda sorta would look like it did in the past, but it's absolutely stunningly gorgeous!

♪ We will rise >> God had it in his hands the whole time.

>> We just want to say welcome, once again, to all of our major donors and to the volunteers for all the time, the effort and the financial support to take what was an endangered building, close to being in total collapse, and look where the Lord has brought us today.

♪ We are marching ♪ We are marching ♪ We are marching ♪ We are marching ♪ We are marching to Zion ♪ Beautiful, beautiful Zion ♪ ♪ We are marching to Zion ♪ That beautiful city of God ♪ ♪ We are marching to Zion ♪ Beautiful, beautiful Zion ♪ ♪ We're marching to Zion ♪ That beautiful city of ♪ >> So God bless you.

We just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, and we're looking for God to continue to do great things here in this place.

>> Everybody that has helped us, God has used you -- >> Mm-hmm.

>> -- to make his will come true.

>> All right.

All right.

>> This church, this hour, is God's will for this juncture in history.

♪ This is the day that the Lord hath made ♪ ♪ We've come to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ We've come to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ We've come to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ We've come to praise the Lord ♪ [ Applause ] >> I thank God for Liz Mitchell.

She helped -- yeah -- who every step of the way kept encouraging me.

Kept on saying, we're gonna get this done.

>> I have been on an incredible, unforgettable journey of discoveries through oral histories, newspaper accounts, census records, interviews, to uncover the hidden past of people who were an integral part of the fabric of this community.

This project was and still is a labor of love.

We never would have made it.

We never could have made it without you.

Thank you.

[ Applause ] >> So, please, I want all of the workers that are on the team, please come forward if you would, please.

Yeah.

These are the guys that walked with me every step of the way.

And there's one who was the project manager.

We'll talk about him later.

He was Deacon Ron Williams, and he was our project manager, because he had all the carpentry skills.

And he's gone on home to be with the Lord.

>> Deacon Cleveland Thomas.

>> Charles Everett Douglas, Jr. >> Wyatt Johnson.

>> And I am Thomas "Popcorn" Doyle.

>> My name is Donnie Bing.

>> My name is Thomas Brashear.

>> Deacon Brown.

>> Richard Brown.

>> I'm Elizabeth Mitchell from Second Baptist Church Bloomington.

[ Applause ] >> This is the crowd that made it happen.

Let's give them a round of applause!

Amen!

To God be the glory!

Great things he hath done.

Amen.

Amen.

>> And so I'm looking forward to seeing what's gonna come out of this restoration, and the congregation that's gonna go in and what good works are gonna come from it.

>> We just thank you for allowing us to be here this day to share this wonderful occasion to be able to open your house up, knowing that the spirit was already here when it was closed.

>> This is, indeed, the day the Lord hath made.

I'm just overjoyed, and my heart is happy for today's exciting events.

>> The establishment of this church is a story of courage, strength, and triumph, of hope over hate.

Thank you.

[ Applause ] >> One of the things that is unique about this church, we still have a bell -- a bell tower that has an old bell that had to be refurbished and Cook, and some of their expertise, wood craftsmen, have helped us.

We've got a little dedication in the vestibule back there that talks about Ron Williams.

He was the project chair with the skills and expertise in carpentry.

Ron prayed that the Lord would give him one more opportunity before -- to repair a major project before he took him home.

So on behalf of Ron Williams, here's a picture that we're gonna hang in the vestibule today, and Deacon Ron Williams.

Amen.

[ Applause ] Deacon Ron Williams.

His family is with us today, and they're gonna have the honor of ringing the church bell for the first time in a worship service experience.

Amen.

[ Bell tolling ] Isn't that beautiful?

To God be the glory!

Great things he hath done.

[ Applause ] Amen.

Thank you so very much.

It's time to rock the house!

Amen!

♪ >> Ye though I walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

I will fear no evil for thou art with me.

Thou rod, thou staff, they accompany me.

Early, early, early, early, Sunday morning, he got up from the ground.

All power is his.

If it had not been for the Lord on our side, you would not be here today.

If it had not been for the Lord who gave us water, gave us furniture, gave us carpet, gave us pews, gave us life, gave us money, gave us food, where would we be?

This is not the end.

It's just the new beginning.

God's gonna give this church one more stunning day.

♪ If the billows never cease rollin' ♪ ♪ Then it will just rain, rain, rain all the time ♪ ♪ If the moon decided not to shine at night ♪ ♪ And the stars never gave another twilight ♪ ♪ Lord, you gave me ♪ Yeah, you gave me ♪ One more stunning day ♪ ♪ Lord, you gave me ♪ One more ♪ One more ♪ One more ♪ Lord, you gave me ♪ ♪ Yeah, you gave me one more stunning day ♪ [ Applause ] ♪ Let the church say amen ♪ ♪ Let the church say amen ♪ ♪ God has spoken ♪ God has spoken ♪ So has the church ♪ So has the church ♪ Say amen ♪ Say amen >> Oh, Bless you God, Jesus in Heaven, Son Almighty.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody!

[ Applause ] >> So for this church, not having the doors opened since the '80s, it wasn't the last dance.

The church had something to say, and those walls are now saying it.

The walls are talking now.

♪ Never would have made it ♪ Never could have made it ♪ ♪ Without you ♪ I would have lost it all ♪ ♪ But now I see how you were there for me ♪ ♪ And I can say ♪ Never would have made it ♪ ♪ Tell 'em, never could have made it ♪ ♪ Never could have made it without you ♪ ♪ Never would have made it ♪ ♪ Never would have made it ♪ ♪ Never could have made it ♪ ♪ Never could have made it without you ♪ ♪ >> Yeah!