.

FdmwrI ICl, 11106

The Fern

dale HIstor
Ical Society
is working

to preserve
the Jeffries

Baptist
Church,

located at
165 E. Nine
Mile Road,
and other
historical

buildings In
Ille city.
-\(,

'"

--

Group wants to preserve

city's -oldest church

Developer says it never

intended to demolish

Jeffries Baptist

,he northwest ooml'f ofNinc Mile

Road and Bermuda Strm.
~l don'r W:1Il1 to S :l. histQri
cal b.ndrn:l.rk 10rl1 down and

rumcd into a parking Iot.~ he s:lid.

However, Adam Wol(,oo,
By jEREJoI" SUWIOSKI
C & (j SrafflVrilPr

FERNDALE - It is a AAga
or 1ll;sc:ommuniCltion: "11>.. [-em
JJJ... IlistOric.1 Sod~[r is fighting
\0 presenc The aldesr church in
rhe city. bm rhe local dt'\oclopcr

who owns w propo.;rty said he has

00 intention of learing j[ down.
Garry And~ws. dir",cror of
pubJicicy :rnJ 'Olllmw,i.... ,ions for
(he FHS. IS worried about Ihe
rurure of rhe ne:lr1r 90-year-old
jdfoo Ibptisl OlUrch. located :11

S:lIcs and dc-.'rlopmem dircclor for

True Lofl Living in Ferndale, is
confuse(l as (0 wh,' (he FHS
would anume his ~omp"ny is
plJnning 10 destroy the church.
~We wanl to prescrvt the
bui1ding,~ he s.1id. ~It W,IS ncvcr
C"en thl' ~C0I'C of our plJn' [0
dClllOlish 1( \V/t belie"c in
r~por\Sible dC\"Clopmenr. and we
arc no enemy 10 history."
S(ill. Andrews is not con
vinced. ~\Vt\c had vcrbal :l!.SIlTSee CHURCH on pace SA

The church. built in 1920, Is the old

est In Ferndale.

Church
from paCilA
an~ mat it would be prc.o;ervcil, but
we have no proof,~ he said. "We
warn (0 5Cl' it in writing,"
Formerly knowll as the Taber

nacle. the Jeffries Baptist Church

was buill in 1920 and is Ferndale'.!

oldesr dJurch. Prior ro its constmc
tion, the Ioc::ition housed the city's

polia and fire ~llmem5. During

World % f, the ch\ln;h "':IS ll...M 2S
a ~ for women ro carry oU{ ROO
Cross activiti~.

According

[0

Isaac Kumer. an

uchifCCfural hismrian who has

worked Of} hisloriCl1 preservation in

Michigan and K\~ral other nates,
the Jeffiies &prist Church is "one of
the most imporcalll buildings in Fer
ndale. [t brings to mind Ihc great
churches of England and rhose of
l.he early AmaiCll\ colon~.... The

goal should be [0 preserve it ;lIld

make jf fit in "",h Ihc more modan
building>: surrounding it."
In Lhcir endeavor \0 save Ihc

church. Andrews !>aid.

me FHS has

wrincn numcrOlll ICHers to True

Lo& Uving but has 00( ~TI Ruiwd

a response from them. "Why havell'L
rhcsc people rome down here to (;Ilk
ro wr he ad:d.
13m Jc.:or,ling \0 \I;'olf>oo. his
romlX'ny Ius received only 00( lcnet
fmm the FHS, pmrnurked JJn. 29
- several U;LyS afler Ihc'FHS lim
contacted membcrs of rhe media
about the church, He 6:b frusrrJroo
rnat the FHS did nor m'lke an drort

to COlll;K1 rum first.

hi~orialluc:J.(iuns in Ihe city.
-In this dar and agt", where 1
-It will allow (hese old build
recci\'\" 10 vi~if' andfor phone calb a
in~ ru be dc:<ignatl'd hisroriCllland
week from oq;arwmioJlS looking fOr marks," he.-.aid. Kll", couneil could
support of their respective auses. ir appoint lTkrnlx-r.; hen: tar the HIS)
shocks me lha~ I have: not h:ld but a who have f1r~(hand knowledge of
phone G111, e-mail or n1:~ ;1 drop-in thc:.e buildings. All the ci(ies around
face-Woface encounter wi III Mr.
us have historical commissions; our
Andrews or anyone else from Ihe biggesr qu~rion is: Why nor Fern
d1k?W
FHS,~ he said. KWc'd be, happy ro sit
down and talk with them,w
11Mt quotion may be.- answered
For Wol&on, the FHS' matcgv soon - bUI not 100 $OOn. Accord
seems like a blar:anl m .. ck~ OIg3inst ing to MarDI Cnig CQ"ey. "The ciry
his company. "The actions of ~he' did take initial S(CPS (0 begin the
FHS appear as an altempt at our process of cn:ating a historical com
expcn,;c to g:Jin publici!:) and rele mission, bur we are not there )"'~t.
vance by wing the mr-dia to m:Ute This is not a f.l.ll rrack; cn:ating sueh
an issue our of something mat quile a thing rakes time.~
simply w.l5n't one and isn'l one." he
Covey added Ihal he does not
said.
nippon the ide:I rearing dOlwn his
HO\l'C\'er. Andrews firmly mu ronca/landmarks simply for lhe sake
ed thar the FHS' goals ..re only to of development. How('\er. the oou:
preservc the chun:h and other city should be dealt with un .. caseb)
landmarks. We're talkin!,> .. bout C35C b:uis.
valuable historiC'll bl,;ldin& - WI:
"Nor everything old should be
don'r want to make this a biS politi. kept, but I'm in favOl" of rehabilitat_
cal ~ue.w he said.
ing buildings with historical ,J.!ue,
[n addition, he's hoping rhal
he said.
Ihe preselYation of the Jdtri", &p
And lOr Andrews, lhat', alv.ap
tin Church is only Ihe first step been the bottom line. "Buildings
toward esrablishing 11 historical com
roday are mass-produccd.~ he said.
misoion with rhe 1\'rlld,,1c Ciry "Thcx (old) hllildinp Wf'n: huib hy
Council.
_h"nd by early Ferndale artisans.
"The church is a cataJyst to ge~ They make Fanc:bIe what ir is....
this ntT the ground and light a fire \YJe walll ro makc Stlre we have
under (tll.' ~ouncil'~) rtlI cnrb," h~
something f'uill our p...~t preSt:rvcd
to draw peopk imo our communi
said.
Aoorc:ws belirvc'i tho:' formation 'Y."
rOT morc informa,i"n about
uf such .. ~/llmi5Sion would bring
additional m'"nue ro r1u: ciry by giv Ihc Jeffries Baptist Chu,ch or the
ing lhe FHS rhe oppommiry ro hOSl ferndale Historical Soeiery. call
rO\lIS and s~lJ souvenirs al \':l.rioU'!
(248) 545-7606.
K

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