Silverhill's Zion Lutheran Church was built about 1915. Just like today, there are a variety of materials that can be used in building. The problem arises when technology makes old materials obsolete and difficult to replace. Zion was built before modern dry-wall. The exterior of the building was wood, but the interior had a material somewhere between cardboard and paper mache for its wallboard. Imagine what happens to this wood-based material as it alternately dries and humidifies in our climate! It actually may sometimes be reduced to a cellulose-type powder.
The area immediately over Zion's altar was deteriorating from a variety of causes over the last 93 years. Zion members Becky and Steve Vasko decided to attack the problem head on. After discussion with Charlie Canning, Zion's Maintenance Supervisor, they proceeded to pull some molding out with the idea that they would just put a strip of thin plywood over the gap in the cardboard/paper mache wallboard.
Guess what! The material was so fragile that it could not take that piece of plywood laying over it. The whole arched panel over the altar had to be replaced. Wall board out, plywood in, new arched ceiling installed! This was not an easy task, but the resulting refurbished altar area has been restored to something very close to the original. Hooray for the craftsmanship of the Vaskos!
