Grace Episcopal Church, Jamestown, ND

On a fall day Zach and John ventured out into the sprinkling rain to check out Grace Episcopal Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, looking at wheelchair accessibility. Father Kevin Goodrich met us at the door and explained that the Episcopal Church often serves as a bridge between the Catholic Church and Protestant churches. It is a good denomination to consider for families where one of the parents is Catholic and the other is not.

Father Kevin was pleased to show us around this wonderful church building, basically all on one level with easy wheelchair access on the southwest side. One of the patrons of the church is a wheelchair user and has provided much input into accessibility accommodations.

The church building was built in the early 1880's and was modeled after a Gothic style church in Medway, Mass., a church which had been modeled after an Anglican Church in Medway, England. Fargo architect George Hancock, designed the building. The church is built of native fieldstone.

The ramp and automatic door on the west end of the south side brings this building into the 21st Century. For someone in a wheelchair looking for a church to make them feel right at home, they need look no further.

Accessibility Highlights:

* Ramp & automatic door on SE corner of the building.

* All on one level.

* Regular wheelchair-using church member promotes accessibility improvements.

Photos by Zach & John

United Presbyterian Church

Zach and John pulled up to the United Presbyterian Church in Jamestown, ND on a rainy morning in early October. We came to check out the wheelchair accessibility in this beautiful vintage building and meet with Pastor David Thompson. We were already impressed by Pastor Thompson's quick response to our email requesting a visit. Not every church gets right back to us when we tell them we want to come and check out their wheelchair facilities. But then not every church has such great accomodations in place.

Pulling in to the parking lot on the north side, we noted the glass doors with an automatic door opener as promised by the Pastor. The door button did not work so we had a bit of a struggle getting in through the door, then a quick left to the elevator to take us up to the second floor where the offices are located. We met Pastor Thompson and he was aware of the automatic door button being out of order and assured us it was soon to be fixed. He shared some background history of the church and his joy in serving there for thirteen years. He then showed us around the building poiting out the accomodations for wheelchair users.

The elevator access is very impressive. It stops at five different levels, two in the basement, the ground floor, the offices level, and another level upstairs. The only area in the church not accessible by wheelchair is the choir loft. The two levels in the basement allow you to exit on two different floor levels depending on which elevator door you exit.

The church boasts a large fellowship area with chairs and round tables. There is also a large room with couches and lounge chairs for meeting in a more relaxed setting. We were pleased to hear that a wheel chair user attends worship regularly and that students in wheelchairs from the nearby middle school do service work in the church.

The mission: The United Presbyterian Church of Jamestown is a Christ-center Bible-based community drawn together to worship God, to learn about the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit as we share the Good News.

The worship service is at 10:30 am from the Sunday after Labor Day to the Sunday prior to the Memorial Day weekend. Sunday school classes for all ages are at 9:00 am. During the summer months worship is at 9:30 am.

Their web site is http://www.upcjamestown.org/

Review by John

Photos by Zach and John

Stutsman County Museum has Elevator, Stair Lifts

The Stutsman County Memorial Museum in Jamestown, ND, USA is a lot like many museums in the midwest United States, except that this one is handicapped accessible! With an outside elevator on the east side of the building and stair lifts inside, you can get to the area of the museum you want if you are willing plan ahead.

The museum is located at 231 3rd Avenue SE and is open from June - September.

The outside elevator must be opened and operated by museum staff so wheelchair users will need to call ahead or have someone along who can climb stairs to enter the museum on the west side and alert staff that you are needing their assistance around back. The elevator will accommodate 500 pounds.

Once inside the building from the elevator you will find yourself on the 1st floor.

There is enough to see on the 1st floor to make the visit worthwhile but, should you wish to go upstairs a floor or two or downstairs a floor, you will want to ride on the stair lifts and may need assistance transferring from your wheelchair to the lifts. You may also want to bring along a basic folding wheelchair to use on the other floors if your chair is difficult for someone to move up and down the stairs. The hostess shared that the museum hopes to eventually have wheelchairs in place on each floor. There are a few narrow areas on the 1st floor that we encountered but we were able to navigate pretty much everywhere we wanted to go.

The museum is free but there is a place on the 1st floor to sign in and make a donation if you have the funds. The house was originally a mansion built for George Lutz (see photo above) in 1907. Lutz was a lumberyard owner. The house had steam heat in the early 1900's from a steam plant that supplied steam for much of the uptown area.

The interior photos above were all taken on the main floor. Soon, we hope to return with an extra wheelchair and continue our exploration of the museum.

Photos by Zach & John

New Elevator at 1st United Methodist Church

On Friday, November 21, 2008 Zach, along with his outreach guy John and his nurse LeAnn, went to check out wheelchair accessibility at First United Methodist Church in Jamestown, ND, USA.  It was a chilly day and we hurried while loading Zach and his wheelchair into and out of the van.  

We parked in the handicapped parking (diagonal, in the street) on the south side of the church (the front side) and noticed a glitch as there was no cut out for us to access the sidewalk at that spot.  We had to go out into the street around the back of the van and up onto the sidewalk using the alleyway to the west.  Using the automatic door button on the church, we opened the door and entered.  It felt better inside. 

The south entrance is located near the church offices and Pastor Kenrad Pederson greeted us warmly and we began our tour.  We first checked out the new elevator which was spacious for all four of us plus Zach's large wheelchair.  There had been a small elevator in this location but it was not adequate for wheelchair users so this is a major improvement! We took the elevator  down to the lower level where the other door opened and we entered a large room with round tables set up for socializing and for adult classes.

Back to the elevator and up to the sanctuary level where we entered the sanctuary in the overflow area.  This would be the place for wheelchair users to gather.

Into the elevator again and we went up again to the Sunday school classroom level.  They have a number of very large modern classrooms. There are steps only up to the balcony so we weren't able to get up there. 

This is a beautiful setting for worship and the congregation has ongoing Bible study and an exceptional music ministry including the traditional vocal choir, several handbell choirs; a worship band (i.e. horns, flutes, etc.) and a youth worship band (i.e. guitars, drums, etc.).

We suggest you check them out!

Handicapped Access Highlights:

- The new elevator is spacious.

- Great Handicapped parking.

- Ramps front and back.

Recommendation: Park on the north side of the church in the parking lot and access the church from that side to avoid the curb problem on the south side.

Photos by John & Zach

Text by John Andrus

Photos by John & Zach

Zach Checks Out Atonement Lutheran Church

On Friday, October 17, 2008 Zach and his support staff (John the outreacher and Shari the nurse) made our first church visit.  We were looking at wheelchair accessibility at Atonement Lutheran Church (ELCA) in NW Jamestown, up the  hill by the new high school. And what we found was one of those great churches where they not only accept wheelchair users, they encourage them. 

The need for extensive repairs after storm damage on Labor Day weekend 1997 was viewed by this congregation as the perfect opportunity to address their handicapped accessibility concerns.  Pastor Steve Berntson (pictured above) was a part of that decision-making and he still serves this vibrant congregation.  

Pastor Steve showed us around while Zach snapped pictures.  There is much here that would make a wheelchair user feel at home, including other wheelchair users on most Sundays.   There is handicapped parking on the south and east sides along with ramps and automatic doors to provide unassisted building access and exit.  

The Church is almost completely on one level and there is a large handicapped restroom. Wheelchair areas are available in the sanctuary and there are even accompanying custom built hymnal holders for those areas.  

For more info on the Church, check out their web page at www.atonementjamestown.org

Wheelchair Accessibility Highlights:

* Handicapped parking on the south and east sides of the building;

* Automatic doors on the south and east sides of the building;

* Interior all on one level with minor exceptions;

* Wheelchair spaces in sanctuary; and

* Wheelchair accessible restroom.

Text by John Andrus

Photos by Zachary

Zach Visits Nickeas Park

Nickeas Park is one of Jamestown's smaller parks (6.77 acres) but it is very pretty and is cleverly hidden in the middle of a residential area in the northwest part of town.  A sidewalk runs through the park from north to south featuring a early 1900's vinatge walking bridge over the river on the south end taking you out into the sun on 8th Avenue NW.   To drive to the park, turn east off of 4th Avenue NW on the north side of the driving bridge onto 11th Street NW.   Follow that road as it curves beside the river and it will take you to Nickeas Park.

This park does not have the handicapped parking and handicapped restroom facilities that you find at McElroy Park (see post below) so you would have to plan accordingly if you wanted to enjoy some time here in a wheelchair.  We found it a great place to come take pictures when the trees were changing into their fall colors.

Narrative by John Andrus

Photos by Zach

Zach's Trip to Klaus Park, Jamestown, ND

On Monday, September 22, 2008, Zach, his nurse Heather, and his outreach guy John crossed the James River heading west on 2nd Street south, took the first left turn and drove two blocks, straight into Klaus Park.  Named after early Jamestown pioneer and promoter Anton Klaus, the Park is small (20.9 acres) but very pretty, surrounded on three sides by rivers.  

The Native People called this area "where the rivers meet," because this is where the Pipestone Creek runs into the James River.  It was an important landmark in those early days on the prairie and a good place to gather for trading.  It's still a great place to gather and we noticed several groups of Frisbee golfers enjoying the warm afternoon in the shade of the trees.  www.jamestowndiscgolf.com

The main problem for this park for wheelchair users is the bathrooms.  They were built a good time before the federal handicapped accessibility requirements of 1990.  There is not enough room to get a wheelchair close.   So, if this is a concern for someone in your party, we recommend McElroy Park. (see review below)

Accessibility highlights:

* Sidwalks provide access to the picnic areas.

* Large parking area (although no handicapped parking identified).

* Bathrooms not useable for wheelchair users.

Photos by Zach

Text by John Andrus