Covenant News

1920s-Era Barn Gets New Life at Camp

MANSON, IA (July 14, 2003) - Twin Lakes Christian Center (TLCC) moved a renovated barn one-and-a-half miles from a nearby lot to the camp on Saturday, July 12 as part of a "Rally 'Round the Barn" campaign that hopes to raise funds for needed restorations at the camp.

The final adjustments to the barn were finished this morning, said TLCC's executive director Joel Rude. The camp paid the mover $8,800 for the work that occurred over the weekend. The total cost of the restoration and its details is estimated at $120,000. The camp received a matching grant from Iowa's Historic Resource Development Program for roof and floor restoration. It has raised more than $30,000 through the "Rally 'Round the Barn" campaign and needs about $20,000 more for the final payment.

TLCC was given the Charles Knapp Barn in 1994 and the structure (61 feet in diameter and more than 53 feet tall) has been refurbished with volunteer help. The barn had been built around 1920 by a crew from Illinois - Knapp, who lived in Chicago, was a Christian artisan well known for his work, according to his obituary taken from a newspaper in Illinois' Ford County.

Staff members at TLCC said that the barn will be used for indoor recreation and events as well as provide space for worship services, concerts and exhibits. The camp has also considered using it for an outdoor education program featuring a farm park element.

TLCC opened in 1956 and was primarily a summer camp for its first 10 years of existence, said Rude. The camp is the host to the original Swede Bend Covenant Church - the first Evangelical Covenant Church in the U.S., which was built in 1861 and bought by the then-Swedish Mission Church in 1868. About 7,000 use the 60-acre camp each year.

On August 15, TLCC is hosting a Grand Opening for Harvest Hall, a 13,000-square-foot multipurpose building. For more information about that event, call 712-297-7714 or email the camp at info@twinlakescc.com.

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