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Rural Rehab - A Feature Story on the "Star Lake Project"
Cynthia had very accurate written directions for each driver about how to get there and sent along bottles of water and bags of apples. Dick Partch brought along much-appreciated Joe-to-Go to share. Later in the morning, one of the Star Lake volunteers came with a fresh batch of coffee and freshly baked brownies and muffins. The homeowner gave us a delicious lunch of goulash, salad, and bread, and then Jane Wells pulled out some home-baked cookies to finish the meal.
PHOTO ALBUMRural Rehab Project at Star Lake
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Dawn Theisen, Erin Anderson, Jane Wells, Dick Partch, Armond Spencer, Amy Walker (and Martha), Eleanor Hopke and Norm Marshall joined four Clarkson Sigma Phi Epsilon undergraduates, six Clarkson graduate students, two volunteers from the Western Adirondack Church in Star Lake, both homeowners and Rural Rehab Work Coordinator Jo Ann Mathews to install skirting on a trailer in Star Lake. All the Potsdam people were at the church parking lot at 7:15 AM to get some information about the job and driving directions from Rehab Chair Cynthia Coleman. The weather could not have been better, and there was almost nothing which would have made the work go more smoothly.
Jo Ann had all the materials we needed ready to go and set us right to work. While one group was painting the boards for the skirting, others started digging a bit to flatten a trench on which to set the framing. Some measured the lengths of boards needed and cut them, after which others started fastening them together with screws. Completed frames were screwed to the frame of the trailer and installing the completed cover boards finished the job. There was enough work to keep everyone busy without being overwhelming, and even though not everyone knew each other before Saturday morning, we all worked together as a great team. Jo Ann had been expecting that it would take us until around 5:00 p.m. to finish, but everything was cleaned up and we were ready to leave by 2:30 p.m. We all enjoyed meeting and working with the homeowners, too, and what a good group we all turned out to be!
Not only will this young couple and their 3½ year old and 8-month old be warmer and their pipes be unlikely to freeze this winter, their purchase contract requires that they have some insurance. Without adequate skirting they would have lost their insurance and maybe their home. How wonderful to work together to make a home safer and more comfortable for some people without the resources to get this work done on their own. All sorts of good experiences can happen when we take Jesus’ commands to love God and love our neighbors to heart and action.