Steeple hoisted into place atop Grace Church

NEW BEDFORD — Construction crews succeeded Friday morning in hoisting the new Grace Episcopal Church steeple framework into place at the top of the church’s bell tower.

They had managed to install metal braces connecting the top and bottom halves of the Douglas fir framework, which had proven troublesome on Thursday. A year in storage had evidently put some connecting bolt holes out of line but that was overcome mid-morning.
The project enjoyed perfect weather for the second day. Even the wind cooperated by staying light.

Bill Reed, former senior warden of the parish, said that construction crews have remarked that “this is the windiest job they’ve ever worked,” he said. “That’s what you get when you live on the ocean.”

Before the steeple was raised, it was signed by former pastor Rev. G. Kenneth Garrett and his wife Mary Lou.

This article originally appeared in the Standard Times on October 7th, 2016 – see the original article here