Talladega-Calhoun-Clay County AlArchives News.....Faith, Work Produce Tiny Cheaha Chapel September 18, 1963 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Shirley Mellon Dewberry dewberry@cableone.net November 12, 2010, 5:50 pm The Anniston Star, Anniston, Alabama September 18, 1963 Source: The Anniston Star, Anniston, Alabama Date: September 18, 1963 Spot Attracts Motorists Faith, Work Produce Tiny Cheaha Chapel By George Butler Faith, ingenuity, hard work and patience are among the ingredients used by a rural couple to construct one of the world’s most unusual churches – a tiny wayside chapel on the Cheaha State Park road. This chapel – built of scrap lumber, tarpaper, chicken wire, barrel staves, oil drums and other unlikely objects – is a monument to the faith and religious devotion of its builders, U. M. Cooper and his wife, Lola, of Munford, Rt. 2. Called by them “The Garden of Prayer,” the chapel is perches on a scenic hillside amid many hand-lettered signs of Biblical verses. Arranged neatly among the pine trees around the chapel are artificial flowers, butterflies and bird. There is even an artificial spider’s web stretched between two trees. Uses Sewing Thread Mrs. Cooper made the realistic web from sewing thread. The “spider” in the center of the web was purchased from a 10-cent store. The chapel – garden – located near Camp Mac and about 18 miles from Anniston – attracts the attention of many motorists traveling the Cheaha Park road. Frequently, they stop, read the numerous signs, inspect the unique garden and are invited inside the chapel by the Coopers who live nearby. The interior, which might seat up to 25 persons, is quite neat and attractive. Cushioned benches stretch the length of the side walls. There is an improvised pulpit. Several framed pictures of Jesus hang on the rear wall above the pulpit. Neat curtains, made of the same material as the bench covering, hang at the four small windows. But the most eye-catching object in the room is a small non-electric organ, powered by foot pedals. Mrs. Cooper plays favorite hymns on the organ – such as “Amazing Grace” and “The Old Rugged Cross” – and the visitors usually join in the singing. At times, her husband accompanies her with his violin. Both said they learned to play their instruments by taking correspondence courses. Often a preacher will stop at the chapel and he is invited to “read some out of the Bible” and lead the Coopers in prayer. So far, none of the visiting ministers has preached a full sermon. From Far Away A guest book, in which each visitor is asked to write his name, shows that since July, 1962, when the chapel opened, people have come from as far away as California and New Jersey. Neighboring states are well represented. One visitor – remembered only as a Seventh Day Adventist preacher – donated a large framed picture of Jesus. The Coopers had it “waterproofed” and placed it in a vantage spot – just beneath the steeple and directly over the front door. Decision to build the Garden of Prayer goes back to October, 1960 when Mrs. Cooper had an inspiration. “The thought just struck me one day – how we might build a chapel, using the scrap lumber and the stuff lying around.” He Has Attack The chapel, she figured, would not only give the Coopers a place to worship “whenever we felt like it” but would offer a spot for prayer and meditation for any passing stranger. (The Coopers have never been to Mexico where wayside chapels and shrines are often found.) Her husband was working then at the Anniston Army Ordnance Depot at Bynum and had access to some scrap lumber. The pulpit, she pointed out, was improvised from an old box that came from Bynum. Shortly after the Coopers began work on the chapel, the husband suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire from his depot job. Gradually his health improved and he was able to help his wife on the chapel. But he concedes that she did most of the actual construction. The exterior has tarpaper walls, painted white which are stretched over the wood frames. Inside, the walls are painted tarpaper over scrap lumber. Empty oil drums, painted white, flank each side of the entrance steps. The Coopers figure they have spent – in actual cash outlay – not more then $250 on the chapel. This includes $100 for the organ, the most expensive single item in the building. “It was priced at $300 but had been used a lot for demonstration purposes and they let us have it for $100 cash,” she said. Other money went for floor linoleum, window, cloth to cover the cotton – stuffed benches, curtains, and for the garden items – flowers, birds and butterflies. The cash outlay might be small but the amount of time spent on the project has been large. Mrs. Cooper has worked long hours producing neatly lettered signs placed at vantage points around the chapel and nearby home. Oil Drums Used Painted on such discarded objects as oil drums lids and old chair bottoms, the signs carry Biblical messages such as: “Lo, I am with you even to the end of the world” and “I am the resurrection and the life” and “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” One sign is painted on a queen-divider board that once saw service in a bee hive. Another sign bears the words: “The hem of His garment.” By way of illustration, there is a piece of purple cloth tacked to one end of the board. Mrs. Cooper printed the word “Faith” on a board. Underneath was a mustard seed package, telling in this fashion the promise of Christ that if one has faith equal to a mustard seed one can move mountains. The garden has many more illustrated Biblical passages. Beneath one pine tree is a toy house and a rock foundation, standing erect. Beside it is a house “built on sand” which is in a state of collapse. An old alarm clock has been used by the Coopers to show the hours of darkness on the day of crucifixion. Black paint on the dial glass indicates the darkness from the sixth to the ninth hours. Had No Training Although she has had no formal training as an artist, Mrs. Cooper painted an impressive, large “floating” angel, suspended between two trees by the chapel entrance. Another large painting, titled “Christ’s Ascension,” is placed by the chapel, near a wooden cross. The Coopers are continually getting new ideas for the Garden of Prayer running across scrap items that can be pressed into service at the chapel. They doubt if the project will ever be entirely “completed.” The wayside chapel has been a “labor of love” for the Coopers and is serving its purpose – a quite, restful spot amid pleasant surroundings where a passerby can stop, rest and engage in prayer or meditation. “In the kind of world we’re living in today, people need more placed where they can rest and pray,” said Mrs. Cooper. “We hope this little chapel will help to give many persons the spiritual strength needed to meet the problems of life.” This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/alfiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb