The Tonganoxie Community Historical Society is hosting two two-day workshops, Feb. 25 and 27 and March 11 and 13, to teach community members how to restore the windows in the organizations 1918 Reno Methodist Church building. The church, built in 1918, holds a rich history of Sunday service, marriages, death, ice cream socials and watermelon feeds. In 1993, to save the church from being torn down, the conjuration sold the building to the Tonganoxie Community Historical Society and paid to have it moved to Tonganoxie from Reno in 1994.

The windows are very simple stained glass, operated with ropes and weights. Volunteers will learn how to remove a window, restore the interior finish, replace any cracked or broken glass, remove and replace the exterior glazing and scrape, sand and repaint the exterior of the window. The windows will then be replaced in the building. The plan is for each volunteer to complete one window, under the supervision and instruction of John Wood, WoodWorks Restoration, Denton, KS.

There is no charge for this program. Volunteers should bring their own lunches on Thursday; lunch will be provided on Saturday. Work on the windows will be done in the Community Historical Society’s heated barn, 201 West Washington St. in Tonganoxie. The barn is large enough for six work stations to be adequately social distanced, but masks will be required.

For more information, or to register for the workshops, contact 913-845-2960 or email TCHSTonganoxie@gmail.com.