2020 Westminister Presbyterian Church Remodel.

By Joyce Abernathy, J.S. Custom Sewing and Upholstery

Church History:

The Westminister church first organized April 28, 1889. The first building was dedicated December 14, 1890. The current Westminister Presbyterian Church at 13th and Boswell in Topeka, broke ground November 2, 1924 and was completed in 1925.

In June of 2020, JS CUSTOM SEWING was hired to reupholster 30 pews, a heavy pulpit chair, a bench and four ice cream parlor chairs.

Our crew of four: Tom, Hannah, Haylee and myself.

We started by removing all the red velvet from the pews. The reveal of the wood pews told the story of great craftsmanship made so long ago. B-E-A-UTIFUL!!

Next came staple pulling. It seemed endless until many members of the church arrived. They had different tasks to do that day, but instead, they all found pliers and screwdrivers and helped us pull staples. Thankfulness is an understatement. After all staples were pulled, we worked one pew at a time.

Gluing and stapling on the foam and Dacron. In this area, the pews had been unfastened from the floor in order to replace the carpet. This was a godsend for us. It enabled us to tip the pews back and forth is needed to glue and staple.

And finally it was time to apply the beautiful blue velvet to the pews. One by one by one by one until all the seats were blue. In the choir area, all seats remained fastened to the floor. We had to lay on our backs to staple them on. After one pew, I was dizzy and not feeling well. Hannah to the rescue to finish them up.

Under the first pew there was a label that said “Mike Read February 15, 1976.” I assume that was when the red velvet was put on the pews. And possibly the red carpet on the floor.

The story goes… There was a bride that wished to be married in a church with red carpet and red seats. Her wish may have come true.

It was a total teamwork from start to finish. Hannah, Haylee, Tom and myself together, put in 150 labor hours, in nine days. We cut, glued, and stapled nearly 152 linear yards of blue velvet, foam, Dacron, and tack strip. Used a case of spray adhesive and stapled in approximately 25,000 staples.

We also found a little time to enjoy the beauty of the church and its people. I am particularly enjoyed the chimes of the bells on the hour, the stained glass windows, and the view and old pews in the balcony.