$1-million gift paves way for DeLand service center

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Oct 2, 2009 - 12:14:17pm

Good things come to those who wait, and the Salvation Army has waited nearly a decade to bring a service center to West Volusia.

The groundbreaking for a $2.2 million, 12,000-square-foot building will be 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at the corner of State Road 15A and West New Hampshire Avenue.

The land was purchased almost 10 years ago. An unexpected gift of more than $1 million from a mysterious DeLandite kick-started construction.

Salvation Army Properties Committee Chairman Paul Morse said back before the real-estate bubble burst, in about 2005, an effort to build the west-side facility foundered.

“We were having problems with the contractor,” Morse said. “The contractor was having problems getting materials and getting them within our price range.”

This time around, the committee tried shopping locally.

“We asked the advisory board that we try to select a local contractor,” he said.

Marshall Bone was chosen.

“They’re working very well,” Morse said. “We have very effective communication.”

The cost of construction materials is also more in line with the Salvation Army’s budget than it was at the height of the building frenzy.

The Salvation Army is a church that reaches out to those in need, whether they need food, spiritual support, toys at Christmas, or help with electric bills.

“We try to help most people any way we can,” Morse said.

Currently, the Salvation Army has two locations in DeLand. The worship center is at 333 E. New York Ave. and the administration center is at 121 W. Plymouth Ave.

Bringing both ministries to one central area will have additional benefits.

“Our worship center and offices will all be in one location,” Morse said. “It’s going to reduce costs by consolidation.”

The Salvation Army Corps Center is expected to open in May 2010.

The center will have a big fellowship hall and a commercial-style kitchen. The Salvation Army hopes the location on State Road 15A will benefit the greatest number of people.

“That’s where we see there is a need,” Morse said. “We can serve people from DeLand, Deltona and DeLeon Springs; it was just a central location.”

County Council Member Andy Kelly, who works with many homeless and poor people, likes the location.

“I think they’re going to be a benefit to that area,” Kelly said. “It’s a tremendous location. ... The Salvation Army has always been a friend of the people.”

Salvation Army Properties Committee Member Bob Anderson said the exact lineup of services that will be offered at the new center has not yet been determined.

“It’s going to be what the community decides,” Anderson said. “The local people will decide what their needs are.”

Anderson also talked about how one woman — whose past remains something of a mystery — helped make the project a reality.

“We’ve been working to raise the funds and get this constructed,” Anderson said. “We had one lady, Dr. Alice K. Bicknell, who left us more than $1 million in her will.”

People won out over animals, in this case.

“The story goes, she was going to leave the money to the humane shelter, for dogs and cats, but nobody [from the shelter] ever came and visited her,” Anderson said. “She had no living relatives.”

Not much is known about their benefactor, and Anderson’s research hasn’t been as fruitful as he wished.

“This is all secondhand information,” he said. “I think she had two Ph.D.s,” he said, “and she taught at Penn State University and Wayne State University.”

From what he’s heard, Bicknell was doing research in the 1960s and 1970s on anthrax.

“She seemed to be way ahead of her time,” he said.

He does know she retired to DeLand and lived on Arizona Avenue. A picture of Bicknell ran in the DeLand Sun News in the 1980s.

“She had a German shepherd, and there was an article about them,” he said. “She’s sort of a mystery woman.”

If you have a story about Dr. Alice K. Bicknell, e-mail The Beacon at info@beacononlinenews.com, or e-mail Anderson at TheFortis2006.yahoo.com.

The Salvation Army was founded in England in 1865. It came to the United States in 1880, and currently operates in 118 countries.

The public is welcome to attend the groundbreaking at 10 a.m. Oct. 8 at 1240 S. High St., DeLand.

For more information about the Salvation Army, including how to volunteer or donate, visit www.salvationarmyusa.org.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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