I congratulate the Kingfisher First United Methodist Church on their new location south of Will Rogers Drive on 13th Street. The old location was obviously outdated and in need of major repairs in excess of 1 million dollars, but does that mean it has to be razed to make room for another modern convenience store/ gas station or another fast food restaurant?

I’m aware that adequate funds are not available from the state or national historical preservation organizations, but I’m sure there are many people like me that would contribute time and money to save it. Sadly, I doubt we could equal the amount of money an investment opportunity company or individual will offer, and I guess it’s all about the money here in good ole America.

I’m writing this to raise the question of why we destroy such grand old works of architectural marvel, only to replace them with something that has less appeal to the eye of most others. I’m not pointing the finger at the members of the First United Methodist Church, or their board of directors, I’m just trying to figure out why we don’t protect our antique architectural structures like the people of Europe, Asia or other older countries do.

Many Americans like myself choose to travel abroad for this very reason, instead of visiting other destinations in the U.S. Although I’ve visited many major cities in the U.S., I’ve focused my travels to European cities because I have a strong love for antique architecture and other man-made structures.

Most of my photos are of the old buildings, or man-made works of art, less are of the local landscapes.

Instead of razing buildings that are much older than the ones we destroy, they do research, they reinforce the foundations, then they restore or repair them to last another 100 years and beyond.

I was surprised to find out that the Kingfisher First United Methodist Church wasn’t on the National Registry of Historic Places, but it should have been in my opinion.

We’ve already lost our old Kingfisher County Courthouse to the wrecking ball back in the late ‘50s, only to be replaced by a not-so-attractive modern looking (at the time) courthouse in 1960.

My point is that Kingfisher will not be a tourist attraction for the new structures that we build to better serve our local citizens, and I doubt that the new buildings will capture the imagination of others 100 years from now either.

People visit small towns for the history and culture of the past, as well as the modern accommodations, so why do we continue to destroy works of art from our past? They are a testament to those that were here before us, the ones that founded our great little (and growing) community.

The builders of these old structures had very few tools to work with, and no electrical power tools either, like today of course.

They carved the woodwork by hand with chisels and fine crafting tools, they chipped some of the rock on site by hand and made them fit properly, and they built their own scaffolding to reach the work above their heads.

They put their heart and soul into their work, not their initials, and they took pride knowing that whomever entered the doors was moved with emotion.

Those that passed by on horse, carriage, or early motorcars were amazed at the creation that men like us could accomplish with their hands. Even today people still marvel at those accomplishments. At least I do.

I’d love to hear what others think about this, and I encourage others that feel the same as I do to help preserve our history.

I collect old artifacts, photos and postcards of Kingfisher and it’s old buildings, and I will share a few to help explain the buildings I mentioned. These images will be the only proof that they existed to our future generations, and I’m sure some will regret our actions in not preserving those grandeur monuments of our past.

– Mike Atchley Kingfisher Proud!

(Pd. Adv.)