The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

County rededicates War Album Chapel

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert County officials and others tour the expanded Van Wert Military Photo Album Chapel following its rededication on Wednesday. (Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent)
Van Wert County officials and others tour the expanded Van Wert Military Photo Album Chapel following its rededication on Wednesday. (Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent)

Van Wert County celebrated the rededication of what Ohio Veterans Services Director Colonel Timothy Gorrell called “snapshots in time” — the Van Wert Military War Album Chapel.

Calling the military photo album chapel a “reflection of history,” Gorrell said of those whose photos are in the chapel: “Many of them are captured in youth, and that will be forever preserved … they had motivations, they had dreams … many of them did not come back.”

Gorrell, a self-proclaimed student of history, said that looking at the nearly 2,700 photos in the chapel made him wonder what the people in the photos were like, and what the times were like when they served in the military.

Van Wert County Veterans Service Officer Barry Johns talked about the history of the chapel, noting that the idea began back in August 1944 when then-Sheriff Roy Shaffer collected approximately 1,000 photos of World War II veterans. Marsh Foundation students constructed the current chapel building that same year and the structure was placed next to the Courthouse.

The building underwent a $10,000 facelift in 1978, with talk at the time centered on whether the chapel should be moved to Memorial Park adjacent to American Legion Post 178 on West Main Street. That idea was ultimately rejected.

The current expansion dates to a plan created by then-county veterans service officer Keith Harman in 2003. While the plan didn’t get implemented then, Johns said Harman’s work was critical to getting the expansion completed this year.

“Keith was really instrumental in making this happen,” Johns added.

Ohio Veterans Service Director Colonel Timothy Gorrell speaks during the rededication. (Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent)
Ohio Veterans Service Director Colonel Timothy Gorrell speaks during the rededication. (Dave Mosier/Van Wert independent)

By 2007, the chapel had 2,500 photos and had reached its capacity, the veterans service officer said. Until the latest expansion, no photos had been placed in the chapel.

The veterans service officer also thanked the many donors and volunteers who helped make the project a reality. Construction work on the building was done by local contractor Alexander & Bebout, while volunteer Kenneth Stahl and students in Vantage Career Center’s Carpentry class and National Door & Trim helped make the photo frames on the chapel walls and Van Wert Glass installed glass fronts on the frames. Gibby’s Photo worked with the photos while a group of volunteers consisting of Linda Stutz, Marissa Parsons, Julie Zinn and Deb and Gary Ashbaugh sorted and alphabetized the photos and created a database of all the photos.

Johns also thanked members of the Van Wert Veterans Commission (Dennis Kimmet, Jim Mox, Steve Gehres, Willie Eddins and Ernie Baker) for their work on the project, as well as his assistant, Lori Comer, for her work in maintaining the office while he was getting the project completed. Also thanked were the current Van Wert County Board of Commissioners, who gave the go-ahead for the chapel renovation and expansion.

Gorrell also praised the project as representative of the best of Ohio’s small communities.

“This is the embodiment of small town Ohio,” he said.

Johns ended by saying that, in addition to the photos already collected, the way the new photo frames were constructed means there is now space to add many more veterans’ photos in years to come.

POSTED: 07/02/15 at 7:30 am. FILED UNDER: News