SALVATION ARMY TOPS FUND GOAL

A $1 million capital fund drive now complete, the Salvation Army will begin construction of its new headquarters in May or June, Capt. Elmer Trapp said Monday.

"There really was no doubt in my mind we would make the goal," Trapp said, "because the people in this area respond to the needs of the Salvation Army."

The capital campaign, which began in March 1992, was headed by co-chairpersons Fred R. and Judy Wilferth. It began with about $400,000 in building funds, but Judy Wilferth said there were times when her husband "Rock" worried whether the money would come in.

She recalled the captain saying, "Rock, relax. If God wants us to have a building we'll get it.

"And the money came," she said.

Trapp said a $200,000 contribution from the Oklahoma-based Mabee Foundation and a $100,000 donation by the Cape Girardeau Kiwanis Club were big lifts to the campaign.

The final campaign total will be announced at the Salvation Army's annual dinner April 19.

The planned structure, to be called the Salvation Army Worship and Community Center, is to be a pre-engineered building with a gray brick exterior.

It will provide space for a large multipurpose room, a classroom, a chapel, a nursery, a kitchen, a library, administrative offices and a fellowship room.

The building will be adjacent to the Salvation Army's current home, the former Farmers and Merchants Bank at the corner of Sprigg and Good Hope streets.

The bank building is to be razed when the new facility is completed eight months after ground is broken.

The city's Historic Preservation Commission and the Historical Association of Cape Girardeau fought to save the bank building. But the Salvation Army board decided that renovating the organization's current home would be too expensive and would not yield the space needed for activities.

The bank building has about 4,200 square feet of usable space, compared to 17,200 square feet in the planned structure.

The new facility will be built with expansion in mind, Salvation Army officials say.

Cape Girardeau architect Thomas C. Holshouser is working on the final drawings, to be completed in March.

The Salvation Army originally estimated that ground would be broken on the new building by late 1992 or early 1993.

"We didn't realize the length of time involved in detail drawings, and there was some other paper work," Trapp said, explaining the later date for the start of construction.