The trailer contained $6,000 to $10,000 worth of tools, as well as the custom window frames.
“We’re hoping we can get back the trailer and everything that’s in it,” said Tim O’Neill, a Welton/O’Neill Studio co-owner. “But our greatest hope is that we can get the frames because they took several months to fabricate.”
The 16-foot silver trailer with the words “Noble Effort” in large letters on both sides also has a red cross on the back and sides of the trailer.
“We’ve come a long ways and it cost us a lot of money,” O’Neill said. “We’d like to be able to get the job done and go home.”
O’Neill used the trailer to transport the church window frame in five sections, each weighing 250 pounds, across the country.
The window installation was scheduled to start today. Work was planning to take about a month.
“The window is custom made by Tiffany Studios back in 1919,” said Craig Showalter, the Westminster Presbyterian Church business administrator. “It was custom made for the space, and it was handmade at that time. There’re some irregularities in the dimensions, so we had to have the frame handmade.”
Plans for a church celebration on the second Sunday in September have been postponed while waiting for the stolen items to be recovered.
“If we cannot find the frame, this puts us off at least six months, perhaps a even year, because we’ll have to wait and have a new frame fabricated,” Showalter said.
The lead between the pieces of stained glass had deteriorated over time. Bowing and sagging on parts of the the window were noticeable.
“The window had to essentially be strengthened and straightened,” Showalter said.
The church will continue the project next year if the stolen items are not recovered.
“This whole process of restoring the window has brought a lot of surprises that I’m not really worried about,” Showalter said. “It’s disappointing. It’s discouraging. I’m not pleased that it happened. But at the same time it’s not going to stop us from doing what we do as a church.
Anyone with information about the stolen trailer or items can contact Butler Twp. police at 937-233-2080.
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