FREDONIA — Demolition of the tower at Family Church commenced Monday in a delicate operation to ensure the safety of bystanders and crew.

Tony Maxwell, project manager from GC3, a construction company which works for GuideOne Insurance, was overseeing the process.

“Piece, by piece, by piece. One piece at a time,” Maxwell said. “We chose not to take it down in one big chunk with a crane; some folks bid it that way, but it’s too dangerous. So we decided to take it down one section at a time.”

He went on to talk of the planning process and how to sustain the building until it can be rebuilt.

“It’s taken weeks to get it planned and all we’re trying to do now is get it down to a safe structure. For now, we’re going to cover it up with a rolled roof system because it’s going to take months till something is figured out and put back. We’re going to treat it as if it’s going into winter. It’s burned all the way through so everything as far back as the chimney will have to come out.”

Questions from spectators soon turned to the two clock faces that had remained untouched in the blaze, and from those individuals stepped Lynda Marquardt, a former Fredonia resident who is visiting family in the area.

“I instant messaged Mayor Landis on Facebook after I visited the steeple” she stated. “I said I wanted to preserve the clock hands at least and give them to the Barker Museum, back to the village, or to go back in the steeple, whomever would want them. She (Mayor Landis) loved the idea so she called the foreman this morning and told them to hold the clocks.”

Associate Pastor Scott Wise commented on the weathervane cross that once stood on the tower.

“The cross was saved from the top, it’s currently in one of our board member’s barns at the moment for safe keeping. We’re not sure if it’ll be going back up on top yet but we’ll memorialize it some way,” he said. “Our goal with the whole process has just been to restore the structure, and to harness the history of it. The steeple was 132 years old but the square base was part of the original building that was built in 1853. Originally, there was a tall spire on top that was taken down when the clock went up. The base was 165 years old. A lot of history there.”

Wise quickly commended the fire departments’ aid in saving the building.

“The quick thinking of our fire teams was really what saved it,” he said. “There’s a door on the other side of our attic that Assistant Fire Chief Kurt Maytum can see from his office at DFT. When the Dunkirk Fire crews got here, he sent them in there to push the fire out, and if they hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t have a building.”

Fundraising is coming along for Family Church, and at the moment they’ve collected about $6,500. Churches from around the area have reached out to the congregation, offering them spaces if they needed to meet and volunteers, which will come in handy when the time comes to redo the interior and landscaping.

To donate, visit gofundme.com/fredonia-clocktower.