The recipients of the first house, an 1,194 square
foot, three bedroom house, were all there, as were many contributors,
spectators and the press. It was a very festive occasion with a
Bar-B-Que supplied for all in attendance.
Now lets meet them:
The Rhodes family is a family of four: Joseph, Julie,
Joey II age 6, and Jonny age 3. They are all very excited about finally
owning their first house. Julie already has more decorating ideas than
can fit in the house, but since she also suffers from MS, she is going
to need a lot of help from "her boys". And she'll get it too,
we bet!
The boys are also very excited, especially Joey, as
Julie relates in this story:
"Our 6 year old son for two years running now has
had on the top of his Christmas list a house for his mommy. He is always
picking up those free 'Homes for Sale' papers and telling me he's going
to buy me the biggest house he can. As we arrived at the Ground-Breaking
Ceremony we heard from the back seat 'All my wishes came true!' I just
cried. Thank-you, Habitat for Humanity, for making my son's and my own
wishes come true."
The Rhodes' were living in a 19 foot travel trailer when
they first applied to Habitat for Humanity, six years ago. Since that
time, they have been considered for two other houses, but other families
were better suited for those projects.
They have also been able to improve on their housing by
qualifying for a low income apartment. In 1996, Julie was diagnosed with
MS, and in 1997, was put on permanent disability. Joseph has changed
jobs twice, and the two cats they had in the trailer had to be put to
sleep. Since they are not allowed any pets in the apartment, Joey is
looking forward to being able to have his own dog. Things are looking up
for them, and with the perseverance they have shown so far, and a little
help from caring friends, we are sure they can overcome almost anything!
On Oct. 17,1998 the foundation was poured for the house.
Julie and the kids all helped out, and the kids had a great time
dragging the re-bar out of the way for the cement truck to get to the
forms. It was a beautiful sunny day, with mild temperature. All in all,
just about perfect for pouring a foundation!
On Oct. 21, the forms were removed.
On Oct. 24, there was a conference for habitat for
Humanity, so no work could be done.
Oct. 28, and 29, we were able to clean up the area under
the house. That is removing roots, plants, excess building materials, etc.
Oct. 31 was Halloween, and it rained. No work.
Nov. 7, rain. No work.
Nov. 14, we finally had some good weather. The floor
joist's were installed.
Nov. 18, the drains were installed.
Nov. 21, rain. No work. It looks as if Summer really is
over.
Nov. 28, Beautiful weather! But, since it was also
Thanksgiving weekend, and quite a few of the volunteers were out of town
with family, there was no work.
Dec. 5. The day dawned bright and cold. The work crew
all showed up at the site ready to work on the house. The floor
"decking" was installed just before lunch. After lunch,
however, the sky opened up, and it hailed off and on for the rest of the
day!
Dec. 12. Another beautiful day! The crew was able to put
up the four outside walls, and Joe was able to get the morning off work
to help with the first wall. Joey was kept very busy hammering nails,
climbing ladders and anything else we could think of. Jonny even pitched
in to help raise one of the walls, and Julie kept the crew from
starving. All in all it was a pretty emotional and productive day!
Dec. 19. The day dawned bright and COLD!!! The crew
showed up ready to work, and Ross started laying out the inside walls.
The wind kicked up in the afternoon, and the walls were finished by the
time everyone left. Joey again was kept very busy bringing nails,
climbing ladders, etc. and Julie served an excellent turkey-noodle soup
for lunch that warmed up everyone's insides.
