Please Help Save Crane Chapel

Letters to the Editor

Monday, November 24, 2008

To the Editor:

At an information meeting held in the Bloomfield Library a small group of people were given a presentation on what the Navy plans to do with the Crane Chapel if no one speaks up to stop the wrecking ball.

The group was told the Navy has exhausted all its efforts to find another use for the building. If by some miracle no one comes forth to save the structure the Chapel will be demolished in the next year or two.

The Crane Chapel was built when the Navy Base came into being and was used by Catholic and Protestants services on a regular basis until recently with the decline in navy personnel and the Chapel has also suffered from the limited access for civilians to get on the base especially since 9-11.

The Crane Chapel was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 but this will not stop the wrecking crew from taking the Chapel down.

Crane Naval Base is in the process of taking input from interested individuals from now until Dec. 11. Your comment does not have to be lengthy but merely express your viewpoint on whether Crane should keep the Chapel intact or if you agree it's time has come to an end. You can make you comments know by mail:
Attention: Nancy Albertson, NAVFACMW, Crane, Bldg. 2516, 300 Highway 361, Crane, Ind., 47522-5001. You can also e-mail your comments to: nancy.albertson@navy.mil They would like for your comments to be in writing but if you have questions or want to comment verbally you can call Nancy Albertson at (812) 854-6162.

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In a notice that appeared in only one area newspaper, it appears to this writer that Crane was only asking for your input on how the building can be used for other functions and not if the Chapel should be spared. But I think you should be free to express your opinion and let them know let them know your feelings pro or con on this matter.

If I may be so bold as to say, it will be a sad day if this Chapel at Crane is demolished as it is a monument to our Creator and should be preserved. I know in today's world it may not be "politically correct" to Praise God but if we do this how can we expect Almighty God to bless Crane when we are destroying our only monument to him.

We need to find ways to preserve it, not destroy it.

Comments need to be sent no later than Dec. 11, 2008.

Louis Kavanaugh Jr.

Montgomery