#anadarko

A Nation Is Not Conquered Until The Hearts Of Its Women Are On The Ground.

This is the remains of the First Baptist Church, Colored, of Anadarko, Oklahoma. Built in 1910. I don't know how long she has been abandoned.

I assumed that the interior would have been long ago emptied out, or that it would be filled with trash, but as the video and picture above attest, she has some treasures within, still. I count three pianos, if you look closely amid the many church pews and othe pieces of furniture.

I had a flash in my mind when I first saw her. It came to me all at once just as vivid as if it were real... If my circumstances were different, I would love to buy her and pull her back from the edge of destruction. Add on a period looking kitchen area in back and convert the church itself into a warm and welcoming dining area. I'd open Friday and Saturday evenings with a limited, but well done, Southern menu.

The Church is in a hard scrabble economically depressed area a couple of blocks from thriving downtown Anadarko. You know the kind of place. It's where people get shuffled away and forgotten..

The Wife had an awesome idea when I told her about my thoughts of renovating the old building: On Sunday evenings we would have "Sunday Dinner", where we would serve a different main course with sides and dessert for free to anyone who lives in the neighborhood surrounding the Church. No paying customers. Just a way to reach out to the surrounding people and let them know we see them. That they matter.

Man... that's a dream that I would surely love to see come true.