Friendships, firmly cemented

The first LDS Church building in Pueblo, Colorado
Seventh Street and Fountain Ave
picture dated 1908

The first [LDS Church] meetings (about 1896) were held in the homes of various members for the first few years. The first regular meeting place was in a lodge hall over White & Davis Store when it was located at Third and Main Streets. The next place was the old D.A.R. Hall. In 1903, lots were bought at Seventh Street and Fountain Avenue and a one-room building was erected in which to hold church meetings. The money for material was donated by the local members, and they did the actual work of building the church. Three additions were made to this building from time to time as the membership grew.

This building was where Mable first attended church after she started meeting with the missionaries. This was also the building the family when the family attended when Lou was baptized in 1931. The building was sold in 1940.

Second LDS Church in Pueblo, Colorado
Fourth Street and Kingston Avenue
in use 1937 - 1955

[In 1937] the church building at Fourth Street and Kingston Avenue was purchased. But with the steady growth of the Pueblo Ward, it became apparent that the membership would soon outgrow this building, and a building fund was started [for the purchase and/or construction of a new building.]

Within a few years, the church at 4th and Kingston was in constant need of repairs, and the membership had grown until, even had the building been in perfect condition, it would still have been inadequate.

In the early part of 1950, John Bonforte, an aeronautical engineer who became a home builder after World War II because he needed a house himself (according to an article in the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper), started developing the Belmont area of northeast Pueblo, and early in 1951 he started building the first residences. Bonforte knew that to make Belmont attractive to the people who would move there, that they would want schools and churches, and he gave liberally of land to the school districts, and he let it be known that certain sites were available to new churches who would erect a building that would do justice as a place of worship and help make Belmont beautiful.

Louis Butler
2nd Counselor in the Pueblo Ward Bishopric

As a member of the bishopric, in July [1954] I got to turn over a spadeful of earth at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new chapel.

By August 1954, he had deeded to the Pueblo Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a plot of ground at Constitution Avenue and Bonforte Boulevard, and construction on this beautiful building had begun.

During August, 1954, the actual construction of the church was started with the labor of the many men, women and children who were members of the Pueblo Ward, and also many who were not members; firms helped by discounting the cost of work and material other members who were heads of construction companies gave freely the use of their time, equipment and employees.

Those who donated the most labor (hours) on the building were Pearl Shaner and Jesse L. Butler. A railroader, Jesse would come in from a run for the railroad and go immediately to the construction.

Friendships, firmly cemented with the laying of each brick, grew as members industriously worked to furnish the building, do landscaping, and pay off indebtedness. many remember the tantalizing odors of baked goods wafting from the kitchen as members, under the direction of Ream Carpenter, a baker by profession, fill previously taken orders each Friday and Saturday.

Completed building
Constitution Avenue and Bonforte Boulevard

On October 12, 1957 we attended the dedication of the Pueblo Ward Chapel. The dedicatory prayer was given by Elder Mark E. Peterson.

The historical narrative, written by Maurice Evensen and Verda Gibson, was taken from a program dated October 24, 1982 commemorating the 25th anniversary of the building's dedication.

Stories about Jesse Butler and Ream Carpenter's involvement in the church construction will be told in a later post.