Brady Chapel holds fall fundraiser

Friday the 13th and just shy of two weeks from Halloween.

Brady’s Chapel decided to make Friday the 13th the fall fundraiser for the chapel. The theme for this year’s fundraiser was “Before All Hallow’s Eve, Twilight at the Brady Chapel.”

Community members came out to learn all about the history of the chapel, which was built in 1918. With pictures, video and lots of history, people of all ages could learn about the chapel.

There was also a scavenger hunt through the cemetery to find some of the cemetery’s most notable graves.

The goal of the fundraiser was to raise as much money as possible to go toward the continued restoration of the chapel.

Latecia Herzog, member of the historic preservation committee, said last year the weather was poor for their fall fundraiser. So with better weather, and capitalizing on Friday the 13th, Herzog said they expected a larger turnout than last year. They were hoping to get between 200 and 300 people to turn out for the event. They hoped to raise at least $300 in donations.

“If the community didn’t help support these types of restorations, the city wouldn’t have the funds to do more than just general upkeep on the building,” Herzog said. “Just keeping it weather tight, those kinds of things are important but when we can go above and beyond and protect it for future generations, that’s where the importance lies.”

Once enough money has been raised for the chapel, the next step in restoration is to put back the chapel’s pinnacles. Herzog said they estimate that could cost about $10,000.

Other upcoming work on the chapel is to protect the stained glass and to fix and restore the foundation and walls.