One Week Later

It's been back to work for most of us and hard to believe that this time last week we were in 70' weather thinking about caulking, painting, hammering, drives around to see post-Katrina clean-up and the many other volunteers we met who had also traveled from home base to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Everyone is talking about "next year" and we've tentatively set a date for week of February 16, 2009. It has been good to get to know the Bay/Waveland Habitat staff and we are thinking about a multi-year commitment.

Overall, most of us were encouraged by the progress in Mississsippi during the past year. Bay St. Louis is definitely in better shape -- from fewer FEMA trailers to no more debris piles to new highway lights to a sign that said "ask me about Girl Scout cookies." Civilization is returning.

Anyone that wants to be on the Paterson Habitat email list to get notices about trips to the gulf coast (both to New Orleans and Mississippi) should email pat@patersonhabitat.org.

And finally when you go to the Paterson Habitat website http://www.patersonhabitat.org/ check out some of the local opportunities to "Help Build It" and help build homes for your neighbors right here in northern New Jersey.

Barb Dunn

LAST DAY FOR SOME OF US

I promised introductions on Day One, but now, on my last day, let me give some "goodbye" introductions. First, here is a pix of everyone after our last day together. Now on to meeting the individuals in our group who developed quick group identifiers...

The Morris guys -- that's Mark (master carpenter from Morris Habitat), Ralph (maker of granny apples slices with cinnamon) and Jerry (organizer of the group who saw the notice by Paterson Habitat in Our Lady of Consolation church bulletin and set up the trip.)

The Siblings -- Susan (part-time Outward Bounder lives in Idaho and is heading to New Orleans on Sunday to run a marathon there), Brian (economist from Boston) and Sally (the farmer who works at Shelburne Farms in Vermont teaching kids where our food really comes from.) These siblings take a trip once a year together to reconnect with each other. This is their first service trip and we hope not the last.

The early arrival/late departure group of Barb/Andy (Exec Dir of Paterson Habitat and husband/veteran Habitat volunteer), Marie (the "ever-ready bunny" with endless enthusiasm & Habitat board member), Kathy ("Women Raise the Roof" veteran and nurse practioner), Craig (current board president and attorney), Paterson Habitat's graphic artist Nancy and her son Bob who turned out to be a great builder. Plus Pastor Bob (of Saddle River Ref Church and Pete Fountain fan fame) who had his own travel schedule and won the "best packer" award showing his former boy scout training.

The Casino group: No, not compulsive gamblers but rather those who want to do good Habitat work but not endure the dormitory life. They opted to stay in the hotel up the street at the Casino. The group consisted of: Judy (past board president and the one who kept reminding us of "every job is important" because another family will have housing), her choir friend Mary and Mary's friend Hiromi from Chicago.

As always it's the people that you meet through Habitat that make the experience so special. We've shared a lot this week -- perhaps not as much hard construction work as we'd have liked, but overall it's been a worthwhile time.

Barb

WEDNESDAY

As I write this tonight, the moon overhead is in eclipse. Oh, the wonder of it all!

This morning we were sent to another site in Diamondhead. Wow, we thought....Hawaii? No, just a nearby community with a couple of mostly finished Habitat houses. An exterior paint job was needed as well as some inside touch up to walls and trim. We naturally did a terrific job. Painted the complete exterior by lunchtime with the help of an Iowa crew who were also here for the week.

In the afternoon, our Paterson Habitat team were able to get assigned to do a blitz wallboard installation on a building here at Lagniappe in Bay St. Louis. When finished it will become a counseling center. Good job, as we hoisted the 12' boards and fastened them to wall studs. There were a few Americorps young people in the building also, and we enjoyed working with them.

On the way to that new worksite in Diamondhead today, we spotted the 3 signs above. They tell a sad story of the after effects of the hurricane. The residents obviously survived as told by the third sign, but the regulations and restrictions following the storm did them in. Their house still stands, a silent memento of the sorry aftermath.

So what do you do after a day like this? Go to a jazz show of course. We discovered that legendary jazz clarinetist, Pete Fountain was playing with his 8-piece band here in town. Pete used to have a jazz club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, has been on the Johnny Carson show more than 60 times, played for four of our presidents and now lives in Bay St. Louis. He was devastated when Katrina washed away his home on the beach road, but music has sustained him and he is back on the stage again. It was a great evening, a nice break from our workweek.

Posted by N. DeVries

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, TUESDAY

The building behind is complete and our team of Paterson Habitat workers celebrate with the local Habitat staff. HOORAY!

TUESDAY WORKDAY

It was another day at the site. A number of projects had been lined up for us to complete as part of our "pre-build".

So on the list is to cut sill plates for the windows with the power mitre saw (see Andy and Craig above), finish the 12' exterior shed, build the front stairs up to the porch and make headers for the doorways and windows, and frame out boxes with trim attached for the interior side of the windows. All of these will be caulked, painted and ready for the blitz build next week. Weather wise, it was perfect sunny day with temps in the 60s.

STAIRS: an exacting construction endeavor requiring tedious and meticulous measurements and cuts, to ensure the perfection of the finished product. Fortunately we had master carpenter, Mark from Morris NJ Habitat, who led his team of 2 hard workers to assist. The stairs were laid out on Monday and on the next day, with final installation: pouring of footings around the newel posts, afixing risers and treads, and very important, making sure that everything is level and lined up, and is pitched away from the house. (See below for the team's finished product.) By mid afternoon the stairs proved useful for those needing to work on the deck of the yet-to-be-built house.

Photo above: Ralph in foreground with Mark and Nancy in background

Post by N. DeVries with Andy and Mark

FIRST WORK DAY ON SITE

A beautiful day with warm temps greeted us as we arrived at the site for work. In Waveland, same town as our worksite in 2007, this year we will not be doing a "blitz" as previous when we had everything ready for us and we put up a house in 5 days.

This time, we will be doing "pre-site" work, which means, working at various local Habitat sites, building roof tresses, nailing together walls for later raising, painting or anything else necessary to help the teams coming in next week for a "blitz".

So with enthusiasm for the work ahead, we carried, we nailed, and more. The most significant project was building a 6' x 12' shed at a homesite on Forest Street. From plans sketched out on a board for us, we built the floor, dug and cemented the footings, erected walls and finished the roof. And, constructed a door which was hung with a couple of hinges. Good work!

Now we have tired muscles, but they did not interfere with a drive to nearby Mexican restaurant for some burritos and other favorites from the extensive menu. Oh, and we got to sing Happy Birthday while there to one of our Jersey guys whose birthday it was today. Of course, the waiters brought out a tasty morsel topped with whipped cream.

More tomorrow.

Post by N. DeVries

FIRST NIGHT AT LAGNIAPPE

It's Sunday about 10:51 pm. Our group is gathering...several arrived yesterday, the majority on various flights today and I'm waiting for the last 3 who should have landed about 10 pm. We spent the day in New Orleans, walking around, eating, sitting in the 70' sunshine in the park, eating, listening to music, eating, taking a riverboat ride on the Mississippi and, of course, eating. Kathy says it's like carbing up for the big race...which makes it sound almost athletic.

New Orleans is crazy with the NBA All Stars game this weekend and several "greats" like Magic Johnson and others were spotted as well as "the Arnold" from CA ( Iwrote it that way because I can't spell his last name...) We spent all our time in the French Quarter today so it's hard to see much change from last year because that area came through Katrina/Rita relatively well. As we drove to and from the airport, you can see other neighborhoods and there are definitely fewer blue roofs -- but you can still see lots of construction going on.

There was, however, a dramatic change driving into Bay St. Louis tonight with so many new stores, street lights and activity. Our home this week -- Lagniappe Presbyterian Church -- has a wall of artwork from visiting work crews and it's uplifting to see all the names and groups who have come here to rebuild this coastal area.

The Paterson Habitat group was all alone last year here at Lagniappe and we arrived to a parking lot full of cars, trucks and vans -- a rough count seems to be about 75 in attendance with the biggest group from Concord, Mass -- 38 kids and a dozen adults. We have bathroom duty tomorrow and so are calculating the implications of this large crowd :-)

It will be hard to match the terrific construction experience we had last year -- seeing a house virtually completed in 5 days. But we'll be good volunteers and cheerful with whatever is our assignment because "every job is important" (that's a direct quote from what I tell our volunteer groups in Paterson, especially on the days that lots have to be cleaned up) ... Maybe this will be payback/my turn to do one of those "jobs that are important."

I'm ready to sign-off for tonight. We'll do introductions of the group tomorrow. Stay tuned -- we've got some adventures ahead of us, I'm sure.

Barb Dunn

PLANNING FOR 2008

Most of the builders who traveled to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in '07 have been anxious for a repeat trip. So Paterson Habitat went ahead and scheduled another Build for a time period in mid-February. We fly once again to New Orleans on the 17th and head out to the same accomodations in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Some new faces will be joining us this time, as well as many repeats including our leaders, Barbara and Andy Dunn.

Photos and stories to be posted soon.

NDeVries

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

To all of us, the house looks GREAT!

We leave here with a very satisfied feeling.

We got a good start in the morning and managed to finish the project list for the day by early afternoon. The exterior is 90% finished, all siding has 2 coats of paint, but the side door deck is still to be build by next crew to come in. Inside only needs finishing work, kitchen cabinets, hardwood flooring and painting. Another project for next crew.

How's that for 5 days work ? !!!!!

NDV

Katrina, still not over

Where are all the folks?

Now, 18 months later, families are still living in FEMA trailers, parked in front of houses that they cannot yet live in. Monies allocated haven't been distributed, unsafe buildings still standing, and more.

What can be done?

The government could step up and correct this injustice. Individuals can organize, fund or participate in much needed help rebuilding the Gulf Coast. You can make a difference by joining us when Paterson Habitat returns for a second building trip.

Businesses that are not going to be back in business for a while.

Lot has been cleared and the slab is all that remains. We wonder if the homeowner will build a home here or ultimately put the lot up for sale as so many of the others have done. But, who is buying?

Examples of two homes, side-by-side on Beach Road, standing watch, overlooking the gulf. Built in 1840 and 1820 (l-r) and still awaiting restoration. Not liveable.

At our sunset visit, the gulf looks very placid. No thoughts of the 30+ foot tidal surge that took out people and houses and wrecked havoc in Bay St. Louis and Waveland, MS.

Nancy DeVries

Logistics for the building

Although our location for the week was centered in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, the house we are working on was 10 minutes west, in the town of Waveland. Both were under the eye of hurricane Katrina, which affected 90% of dwellings and businesses in both towns.

The Lagniappe Presbyterian Church provided simple sleeping areas for us and in an adjacent building, meals and restroom facilities. If you served in the any of the armed services, you get the picture.

But we weren't looking for a many starred luxury. Simple was good, as at the end of every day we came back in our well-worked and paint-spattered clothing.

Here's a look (above) at the sleeping quarters.

NDV

At the end of day, Thursday

For the record, this is the group, gathered at the end of day four. Left to right....oh, too many to identify. All Habitat builders!

The crew...

Homeowner hooray

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: It was hoot, hoot and hooray as the girls cheered. (l-r) Toni's daughter, homeowner Toni and a cousin, express their pleasure on the as yet unfinished front porch.

And on the fourth day......

This is what our house looked like at 5:30 p.m. Thursday after our day's work!

Work continued on this fourth day with an emphasis on siding the complete house. Two areas were set up for saws, scaffolds ringing the house and so it began. Off to the side another project got underway as a team started to construct a storage shed and set it up behind the house.

By day's end, house siding was complete, caulking done and one coat of paint in place. It had been a long day during which we continued to be attacked all day by persistent gnats. They never let up. And it was also a day with a satisfying end. As I walked towards the van for a return to our accommodations, a man came up. He lives across the street, in a FEMA trailer in front of his house, which is still not livable since the hurricane. The construction of our Habitat house has amazed him. He said, "Incredible and in only 4 days. Thank you." This from a neighbor. Then he asked to give me a hug and so it was that I received a second thank you.

Nancy DeVries

End of third day

Since the weather wasn't very cooperative, an end-of-day photo wasn't taken. But Thursday morning, the shot above was made. You can see that some of the siding was installed during a few rainfree hours in the late afternoon of the previous day.

We have been putting in full days and are amazed at the progress we have made so far:
6:30-7:30 a.m. Breakfast
7:45 Drive to Site
8:00 Arrival, get-together meeting, including prayer before work
8:10 Work begins and doesn't end until sometime between 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. with break in the middle for lunch.
Evening is dinner and early to bed to relax those very worked muscles!

Nancy DeVries

The Youngsters

Today it was raining. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to work. When we arrived on the job we found out that there wasn’t much to do inside but we couldn’t do much outside because of the rain. Mark, construction leader, said that there was a house not too far away that needed the inside painted. Most of the women went over to the other house, where they engaged in painting and singing. Sara and Dana, the youngest females, were annoyed of the “bad singing” the older women were doing.

The morning went by pretty fast for the singers but very slow for the two youngsters. They wanted to go somewhere special for their torture and persuaded Ruth and Jane to have them take them and others to SONIC. Sara and Dana had never been along with all the others in that car. When we arrived Ruth insisted on reading the entire menu to the people in the car before anyone could really order or think about what they wanted. The youngsters liked it a lot along with everyone else that went.

In the afternoon many planned not to go to work because it was still raining and got a little colder. Andy Dunn and Warren Heede with his sons went to see if anyone could do anything to help. When they arrived the sun came out and Mark said that there was work to be done and that everyone could help out. All the troops showed up soon after and went to work immediately. Some were cleaning out the house because the sheet rockers made a little mess, while others began to put siding on the house and other tedious tasks.

The bugs were at it again, and everyone was getting eaten, especially Connor Heede who apparently has the sweetest blood. While people were siding the house, Sara Walters and Dana Plucinski were inside, out of the bugs, talking to the soon to be owner for 2 hours about the hurricane and what she had to do during it and what she lost which ended up being a lot.

The afternoon went by pretty fast! We all decided to gather up the troops to go out to dinner tonight. Overall it was a good day minus the bugs.

Sara Walters and Connor Heede

A single nail

It all begins with the first nail. An old Chinese proverb says it best:

"A house building begins with the driving of a single nail."

More pix from Tuesday

A message for the new homeowner family, written today on the header over living room windows, from the first NJ group to donate towards this house construction. The words will be immortal, even though wallboard which we'll install tomorrow, will cover them .


Judy Keyes, president Paterson Habitat, installs pink stuff in the eaves to facilitate ventilation of the attic.

Tyvek installer, Craig, working hard, high on the scaffolding.

Friends at Paterson Habitat leave a blessing on this house.

Gnats and Swats

Photo above from end of our second day, 4 p.m. Tuesday.

What an amazing and surreal experience this has been! What was a slab of concrete yesterday morning is now an insulated house with windows, framed rooms, doorway openings, and a roof ready to be shingled. It’s fully wired, has pipes for plumbing and was given a thumbs-up from the building inspector around 11:oo a.m. today.

Our Paterson Habitat group of 22, along with some amazing young people from Amercorp, and the local Habitat crew, all waded through mud and swatted prodigious gnats (yes, we’re building the house on a swamp, but that’s what this area is essentially) to complete work in record time. Our foremen, Mark and Jeramiah, predict that the house will be completed by the end of this week. Wow! What was an empty field of broken trees and refuse will soon contain a finished home.

Homeowner: A hard-working single mom named Toni along with her 6 year-old daughter and 3 year-old son will be its inhabitants. Toni, by the way, is studying to be an R.N. but also works full time. She gets up at 4:30 a.m. each day to get to her job, picks up her kids by 2:00, rushes to class by 3:00 and doesn’t finish till 10:00 p.m. Soon Toni will have her own home to return to at the end of each long day – a place to raise her children, a place that contains, literally, our good wishes, penned in magic marker on each wooden beam.

Blessings to you, Toni. Your home is a gift to each of us.

Naomi Drew

Monday photos

4:00 p.m.: At the end of the first day, this is the house. When we had arrived in the morning, there was a only foundation and the deck. Everything else you see here, we did today.

New homeowner, Toni Thomas, center, with (l-r) Pastor John, Barbara Dunn, Paterson Habitat executive director, and Rev. Stafford.

By 9:30 a.m. we had the first wall raised and were nailing it into place.

Great day. Everyone is feeling good about getting so far with the house today. All the walls are up, house is sheathed with plywood, roof trusses are up and on the inside, plumbing and electric started. Wow. What a day!

Nancy DeVries