News Release
Highlandlake Church Gets Two Grants

Editors Note:  Highlandlake is the correct, official spelling, in this instance

Mead, CO ---  Historic Highlandlake Church, Inc. (HHCI), has received two grants,
totaling more than $20,000, from the Colorado State Historical Fund (CSHF), to
begin stabilization work on the church structure, which was damaged by heavy snows
in this year’s March blizzard.

The two grants were announced by Lyle Miller of CSHF, during the 82nd annual
Highlandlake Reunion, held Sunday on the grounds of the church, one mile west of
Mead.

The first grant, for $10,000, will be used to pay for an architectural assessment of
the damage, by architectural historian, John Fienberg, of "The Collaborative," a
Boulder firm.  The second grant, totaling $10,890, will be used to pay for repairs to
the foundation of the 107-year-old church, with work scheduled to begin June 16.
Additional grants and private funds will be needed to continue structural restoration
and repair work on the church during the next year.

During initial assessments of the storm damage, in April, three structural engineers
determined that the heavy snow load on the church’s roof caused all four walls to
bow, and the entire structure to shift on its stone foundation.  Diagonal stress cracks
are visible in the plastered walls of the sanctuary of the church and some panes of a
large, stained-glass window have "popped" from their leadings.  The engineers who
inspected the church have advised members of HHCI that if remedial reinforcement
work on the structure is not performed in the next few months, the church may
collapse, and at least, will be tagged as "unsafe for occupation." 

In addition to the grants presented Sunday, approximately another $180,000 will be needed to
complete the structural renovation, and of the total amount, 25 percent, or about
$50,000 cash, will have to be matched by private donations.  HHCI will have until
January 20, 2004, to raise the matching funds needed to complete the work.

The structure, which was placed on the register of National Historic Places in 1991,
was used for weekly church services for only 20 years, from 1896 to 1916, but it
has served as a community center for more than a century.  In addition to the annual
summer reunion, the church opens it doors each December 21, for an evening
service.  The church is also the setting for several weddings each year, and in 1990,
it was used in the filming of the movie, Die Hard II, starring Bruce Willis.  "A
Hollywood location scout recognized the beauty and value of our historic church as
background for one of the movie scenes," said HHCI representative, Pauli Smith,
"and it would be a shame if we were to lose it for ‘live’ viewing by future
generations."

Tax-exempt donations, payable to Historic Highlandlake Church, may be sent
to:  Carla Brossman, Treasurer, at 1794 CR 34, Mead, CO 80542.