WITZ Climbs St. Joseph Church

Jasper - WITZ's Charlie Wayne and Gene Kuntz made the trek to the top of St. Joseph Church in Jasper on Friday.

On Friday, members of the media were invited to make the 235-foot climb up scaffolding in place as part of the church's ongoing restoration project.

Looking up at the scaffolding ahead of them was a bit daunting, Wayne said.

"Honestly, fear, 'What am I Doing?', 'I must be crazy' - no, it was a little intimidating when you look up at something that's 235 feet and know that you have to go to the top", Wayne joked. "But, it was a spectacular view and we learned a lot of history along the way."

Contractors are nearing the end of the St. Joseph exterior work - including the renovated clock faces.

If Wayne had any second thoughts on the way up, they didn't last long.

"I was doing okay, we got to one point and I just kind of stood there for a moment to breathe a little bit, caught the view, and decided I was going to go all the way," Wayne said. "I did get to launch my paper airplane from the top and that was a childhood dream."

The scaffolding is set to come down in the coming weeks.