The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • 289

mm i 9 ia. i all aft- ij 8 uflding Becomes lurch Dancer9 or -ft s-. i "-V ft V-r -)'-- I is 'nit In another corner of the former sanctuary, Erika Thimey sits on a sofa formed hy two straw beds placed head to head. A bell mobile chimes in the doorway. 1 tct ra It ii TTa'i'' 'J-'Vv tions of hooked rug, stuffed with newspapers, form a semicircle of floor cushions.

A formal dining space was defined by two pews placed at right angles in one corner of the sanctuary. Under a tablecloth woven by the sisters' grandmother, an old bedboard serves as a table. On the other side of it are child-size classroom chairs, mounted on rollers and softened with cushions. The red corduroy-covered chairs arranged around a low table on the other side of the room no longer bear a resemblance to lawn chairs. A pew, cushioned with handmade pillows, rests against the back wall.

Curios from around the world, mostly gifts from Miss Thimey's students, fill shelves and adorn walls. Wrought-iron candelabra provide old-fashioned lighting. Mrs. Woltersdorf displays 66 pieces of her macrame in the church. She teaches the art to local senior citizens and has held an art show in her home.

On the rare days when the sisters don't have guests, they retreat to the more personal quarters in the classrooms. Mrs. Woltersdorf's combination room, furnished with family pieces shipped from Germany when she emigrated to the United States after World War II, is reminiscent of her homeland. Notable for their massive detail are a grandfather clock from Danzig and a chest from the Netherlands. Pewter displayed along one wall belonged to their grandparents.

Again, twin beds, placed head to head and slipcovered, form a sofa during the day and a bed at night. One side of the room is set aside as a kitchen and informal dining area. The church is energy-efficient. An old German coal stove which burns soft coal heats the back room downstairs. Miss Thimey's bedroom has a wood-burning stove.

Mrs. Woltersdorf's room and the sanctuary are heated by kerosene stoves. Every room has candles and storm lights which are used as often as electricity. On warm days the sisters dine outside under the trees. A square table is set up for meals and a round one for coffee.

A vegetable garden is flourishing where the parking lot once stood. was moved from Hagerstown to Smiths-burg around 1913 and later became a Seventh Day Adventist church. As years went by, the congregation grew. The sanctuary could hold 150 pews, but the tiny parking lot couldn't accommodate the people who filled them. Since houses stood to either side of the structure, which is located on one of the main streets in the town of 600, the congregation had no choice.

In 1968, a new church was built a few blocks away. The old church was put up for sale. Miss Thimey had been looking for a weekend cottage at the ocean, where she could escape from the heat and noise of her Georgetown dance studio, when she came across the ad for a church property that required imagination. Curious, she immediately set up an appointment with the real estate agent. Although she had never heard of Smithsburg before and hadn't even the slightest idea where Hagerstown was she decided buy the church the moment she saw its white steeple.

Her recently widowed sister agreed to join in the endeavor. "For me, it was the opportunity for creativity," Mrs. Woltersdorf says. "Since we did everything ourselves (except plumbing and roofing, I could use my fantasy." For the first 10 years, the sisters commuted to the church from Washington on weekends and holidays, gradually fixing up the edifice. When they retired last year Erika from her studio and Hertha from a post as German teacher with the State Department -Smithsburg became their full-time home.

Still actively involved with dance, Miss Thimey travels much of the time. Mrs. Woltersdorf, who used to design costumes and sets for her sister's dances, has focused her artistic talents on decorating the church. While most of the sanctuary has been left open as a dance floor, each corner and side of the room has been crafted into a functional space. Two straw beds were fitted head to head, slipcovered with blue fabric and propped with pillows to serve as a convertible sofa along the main wall.

In front of it, macrame pieces and sec classroom was converted by Hertha Woltersdorf into an efficiency apartment combining bttdroom, living room, dining room and kitchen. Hi -v iii ii: a fflm i i r-r MM i. ,....771 I 1 rje contains a guest bed, the corner a dining table with cbssroom chairs 09 37.