Up until 1988, the building was used fairly regularly for weddings, baptisms, funerals and services whenever the plane brought the latest "Father" to the area. Pilot and Father Ivan McCormack, would make a wide pass in the air and then "People came from out of the woodwork...(to attend the service)" recalls Betty Domonkos, a local Topley Landing craftsperson and historian.

Betty and her husband Bill Domonkos, an avid bush pilot, moved from Prince George to take over the Totem Lodge in 1967 (now called Coyote Lodge). In those days, the only ways to access the area was with planes, boats or crooked gravel logging roads. When two copper mines were opened in nearby Granisle, 11 km further down the lake, the road to Topley was straightened and paved. Traffic increased dramatically, unfortunately taking most of the business to Granisle. That included the churchgoers.