HILO » More than two years have passed since the two large earthquakes of 2006 knocked gaping holes in the walls of historic Kalahikiola Congregational Church near the northern tip of the Big Island.

Now those shattered walls have been demolished in preparation for a $1 million reconstruction of the church.

The long wait has had a good effect on church members, said interim pastor George Baybrook.

“;We are a more unified church now,”; he said. “;People are just ... well, they have faith.”;

Kalahikiola, meaning “;The Day Salvation Comes,”; was consecrated on Oct. 11, 1855. Its roughly 30-inch thick walls were made of irregular river stones and its timbers were brought from the nearby Kohala Mountains.

On the morning of Oct. 15, 2006, a 6.7 magnitude quake, followed by a 6.0 aftershock, left such huge holes in the walls that their ability to continue supporting the roof seemed miraculous.

“;We're kind of the poster child for the earthquake,”; Baybrook said.

Rebuilding would have been hard for the congregation of just 80 people, but the structure was insured for about $1 million. Demolition and reconstruction is contracted at $1.1 million. The church has some additional money but Baybrook expects more expenses, such as rebuilding the floor.

Reconstruction is expected to be complete by this summer.

Rebuilding with river stones was out of the question, so the congregation had to decide between concrete blocks or wooden walls. They decided on the blocks, boosting the cost by $100,000.

The old outside walls had false lines incised in them to look like building blocks. Since the building is on the state and national registers of historic places, it must be rebuilt to resemble the original building, complete with lines.

“;The architect (Glenn Mason) spent more time talking about the lines than anything else,”; Baybrook said.

A special craftsman is being brought from the East Coast to do the plastering and the decorative lines.

Another architectural trick will be to build an interior wall that gives the impression of the old 30-inch walls, since the concrete blocks will be only 8 inches thick.

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