University Daily Kansan / Wednesday. August 22, 1990
9
Chapel offers peace
Special to the Kansan
By Katie Stader
Nearly 4,000 weddings have taken place in Danforth Memorial Chapel since it was dedicated April 2. 1946.
The tiny stone chapel, nestled among redbud, crabbage, jumper and pine trees between lilac Lane and pine groves, offers shelter and solitude for braver.
The chapel, open from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily for meditation, originally was open 24 hours a day. However, in the mid-1960s, a painting of Christ and other items were stolen, so a nightly lock-up was instituted.
William H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina Co. of St. Louis, provided the first gift of $5,000 to build Danforth Chapel He also gave money for 14 other chapels on various streets throughout the Danforth Foundation.
Keith ThorpeKANSAN
Danforth Memorial Chapel, near Fraser Hall, is available to those seeking a quiet place to meditate
He specified that the chapel have a stone tablet with the inscription, "Dedicated to the worship of God with the prayer that here in communication with the highest those who enter may acquire the spiritual power to aspire noble, adventure daringly, serve humilly," and also asked that a woman should meditate on "Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane" be吊ained in the chapel.
Danforth hoped his chapels around the country would inspire others to challenge themselves. Danforth's grandson Don remembers his life-long motto, "I dare you to be your own self at your very best all of the
The chapel, which seats about 90,
has inspired many students to adventure
into marriage. Danforth has been not only a haven for meditation
but also a heaven for holy matrimony.
Ann Eversole, director of the organizations and activities center, which is in charge of scheduling for Dantorth, said, "For wedding, it has an intimate feel. It is a very calming, nice atmosphere when you go in."
Edward W. Tanner, a 1916 graduate, designed the chapel Tanner, a Lawrence native and KU's first graduate in architectural engineering, was also principal designer for the building designed most of the buildings on the Country Club Plaza and more than 2,000 homes in the Country Club
District and Johnson County
The Fanbellie Council gave $2,000 for the windows as part of a University-wide campaign that raised the rest of the $2,000 spent on the chapel. More than 200 faculty, alumni and friends also donated funds.
Student groups such as Student Council sang Christmas carols and Student Union Activities sponsored a Danforth Chapel in the early 1940s.
father, A.D. Weaver, who operated Weaver's department store before turning it over to his son. The organ was replaced in 1808 as a gift from Arthur and Eileen Burkhardt Multhy both in 1915 KU graduates.
A. B. Weaver, who graduated in p15, gave an electronic Hammond organ in 1946 as a tribute to his
The Reuter Pipe Organ Co. of Lawrence made the tiny oak 96-ip, mechanical-action organ that now sits to the right of the altar.
Grounds, hauled the pre-shaped stones back to Mount Oread
The chapel is built of native limestone found two miles south of U.S. Highway 40 between Topeka and Lawrence, German prisoners of war during World War II, who were working at University Buildings and
A tattered green spiral notebook that signifies what Danforth Chapel means to the people who use it is under the altar. It is nearly full of letters, poems, scripture quotes and prayers.
"I came here often a few years before," a woman wrote on the first page, dated Sep. 22, 1988, "and there used to be a notebook (in which) people wrote their prayers and shared their faith with each other. It was a wonderful gift to me then, and I think it will be for all of us now."
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