Deck your tree and preserve Cd'A history

COEUR d’ALENE — The Fort Sherman Chapel, Coeur d’Alene’s oldest standing building, needs a new roof and the public’s help to make it happen.

“We received a grant for $7,500 from the Idaho Heritage Trust to help pay for the repairs,” said Dorothy Dahlgren, director of the Museum of North Idaho in Coeur d’Alene. “As part of the efforts to match the grant, we are selling chapel ornaments.”

The estimated cost of the project is $33,600.

This year, Idaho Heritage Trust's Board of Trustees awarded $147,444 in matching grants across Idaho to preserve historic buildings, sites, and artifacts.

“We are pleased the grants this year are going to the small Idaho communities who are recognizing the importance of preserving their historical past,” said Marla Krigbaum, an Idaho Heritage Trust board member. “Our matching funds help small communities create exciting ways to re-adapt the old homesteads, depots, schools, churches and courthouses into community meeting places, learning centers, and tourist attractions.”

The Fort Sherman Chapel continues to be a historic landmark in North idaho. Built in 1880 by the U.S. Army, the chapel is Coeur d’Alene’s oldest church, school, library and meeting hall. It was included in The National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and was donated by the Athletic Round Table to the Museum of North Idaho in 1984.

Dahlgren said normal wear and tear have taken their toll on the roof.

“We want to replace it before it leaks. It’s time for a new one,” she said.

Dahlgren hopes to have the project completed by the fall of 2016, “before the snow flies.”

The chapel ornaments are custom made of solid brass and can be purchased for $19.95 plus tax at the Museum of North Idaho, 115 Northwest Blvd., or at three other local locations: Everson’s Jewelry, 310 Sherman Ave.; The Long Ear, 2405 N. Fourth St.; and Christmas at the Lake, 519 E. Sherman Ave.

A free ornament is offered with any donation of $100 or more to the museum or chapel.

All proceeds will go into the Chapel Fund to match the Idaho Heritage Trust grant and for continuing maintenance and preservation programs.

“We need to grow the fund to ensure the Chapel will be preserved for future generations,” Dahlgren said.

For more information, call 664-3448 or go to www.museumni.org.