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(Continued from page 17) ‘lurches tell thehistorjofthis countrjf like no other building." —Tuomi Forrest v. ' W a, tUjfifi ■ Jgr i i’ j -3 WL w Jj : :' •>•" “ r m Courtesy ofTonset Lutheran Church A crane hoists the bell into the restored tower of the !9l6Tonset Lutheran Church. p^ Ms ...w- \ a ■ '■ f ■ B* SBBh - I ■ Hg Kj |p® ~ .^i|f •% *' t <s®*- "*** Mffv | iWfit I tg&B n IhIIISBhH b 'll wI i 11' - ' &r Hi 8K . . ' I - iff iH fl Preservation on tlte prairie North Dakota, home to several thousand rural churches, has the nations most active restoration program. European immigrants built many of the churches on the North Dakota prairie from the 1880 s to 19205. By 1930, when the state's population peaked at 680,000, church steeples towered like lighthouses over the treeless prairie every six miles—a day’s wagon ride apart. “The churches stand in the middle of fields without any towns," says Dale Bentley, executive director of Preservation North Dakota, which funds restora tion projects. “It’s a North Dakota phenomenon." A 1999 survey by the grassroots organization found that 500 rural churches, out of 2,200 statewide, were abandoned. The endangered buildings, some with wind whipping through gaping roofs and walls, are testament to the faith, lives and labor of the nation s pioneers. “These churches tell stories of baptisms, weddings, church schools, picnics, funerals,' Bentley adds. "There are more human connections to churches than to any other building you can imagine.” Since the survey, Preservation North Dakota has help fund 30 restoration projects, including one at the Tonset Lutheran Church near Lignite (pop. 174), which volunteers saved—twice. (Continuer/ on page 20) Ody Berg and Shirley McEvers (below) spearheaded restoration of the Tonset Lutheran Church (at left and above) near Lignite, N.D., after lightning struck the steeple and toppled the bell tower in 2002. iMHHi Don Anderson Page 18 • www.americanprofile.com