Asbury man restores statue of Christ

Generations of Ben Springer's family prayed beneath Jesus' outstretched arms in Immanuel Lutheran Church. Family baptism and marriage photographs were taken in front of the classic statue.

The Christ figure held a place of honor on the church's altar for 111 years, even after a falling ceiling piece crashed down, badly damaging its arms.

When the Earlville church was closed two years ago, Springer wanted to save a part of it. He bought the statue, in pieces in a box.

'No one else would have wanted it or could have restored it,' said the Asbury man, who has carefully reconditioned numerous antiques handed down in his family.

The statue sits serenely in Springer's garage, incongruously close to a huge Chinese guardian lion sculpture he also is restoring to put in his karate school. The garage doors are usually open, so curious neighbors stop in to chat while Springer works.

He painstakingly recreated missing fingers and seamlessly reat­tached broken arms, using the original sculptor's burlap and plaster technique. After sanding every rough surface, he applied two coats of paint and brushed on delicate shadings and details. A local paint store matched one hue exactly and labeled the can 'Jesus's Robe.' 'All my relatives would have worshipped in front of this. I remember as a child looking up at it when we went to church with my grandparents,' Springer said.

Just one of his ancestors' families would have filled the little Earlville church - Robert and May Rose Hunt, Springer's great-grandparents, had 20 children.

Springer is a passionate genealogist and has detailed family trees on display in his home. He has taken over organizing annual family reunions.

The next one will be in July in Earlville, and the restored statue might show up there amid the 100 or so people who are expected.

Other than that, Springer, who is a member of Resurrection Catholic Parish, does not know where the Christ figure will end up.