Until next time....

We are at the end of Day 4 and we have met with success!  Our only disappointment was not meeting the noon deadline that we set for ourselves today; otherwise, the new roof looks excellent.   Our work crew increased by one today; a young man named Zach, employed by Hopeforce International, seemed to enjoy working with our students.  This crew learned a lot this week about working as a team, finding a way to focus in adverse conditions, and overcoming a fear of heights. 

After dinner, we once again took a trip into War; this time to gas up the vehicles for our trip back tomorrow.  This should have been a simple task, but the only employee at the station had a difficult time with the idea of putting the cost of gas for two vehicles on one credit card.  In the middle of the transactions, he ran out of paper and was unable to print a receipt (sorry, Maria.)  Our quick trip ended up taking us about an hour.

We returned to the house with plans to have a movie night and watch “October Sky” in recognition of this area’s most famous former residents.  Just as we were getting ready to settle in, the homeowners dropped by to visit and share their gratitude for what we have done for them.  This is the best part of being involved with Building Construction Cares, understanding that we can impact many lives through the use of our skills.  We wish to thank everyone who supports us in every way; it is only through your generosity that we are able to continue with this organization.

Thanks for following us on this the 12^th trip for Building Construction Cares.  Please join us we when make our next trip during the first week of October.

Catch Up, Mustard, and Relish

It has been another beautiful day in West Virginia.  Day three of our adventure started a little earlier so that we could get ahead of the predicted heat.  We also paid more attention to the crew’s hydration needs before the temperature went up.  These plans seemed to have worked since we were able to finish shingling the rear of the house, complete most of the tear off of the front of the house, remove a chimney which was about to fall down (the homeowner will have to do some reconstruction of the other active one so that he doesn’t lose that one too), and start installing ice guard, felt and shingles on the front of the house.  Currently, our goal is to finish the job by noon tomorrow – fingers crossed.

During our trip to War last evening, we saw signs to Lake Berwind, and we decided to pack a picnic dinner and check it out.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a nice park with lots of benches, tables and small pavilions for public use.  After Brightbill warmed up for field day by cooking us hotdogs and burgers, the seniors told stories of the antics in shop over the years.  We definitely wore them out today; at least one of them fell asleep on the 10 minute drive back to the house, and they all crashed upstairs in the bedroom by 7:15 – definitely a record for Building Construction Cares.

Going to War

We started day 2 of our West Virginia adventure with hopes of completing half of the job before day’s end.  With that in mind, the crew quickly donned their fall protection and climbed back onto the roof.  We were making great progress until the sun broke through the morning fog and the temperature started rising.  We enjoyed the cloudless sky after days of rain at home, but there was little relief in sight.  Our crew downshifted about an hour before lunch and never got back into high gear even after a break.  Nonetheless, we believe we came close to meeting our goal and should be able to start on the front early tomorrow.

 The project manager at Hopeforce International has left us to attend a graduation in New Jersey and so we are on our own for the remainder of the week.  Before leaving, he shared some interesting information about the organization that we are supporting.  Hopeforce is fighting a war on poverty by providing assistance while trying to minimize entitlement.  We have met some nice young men who had to work to qualify for the program; one in particular returned to school at age 28 to earn his GED.  They are now officially employed by the organization and are required to attend classes at a technical school (they get a small stipend for doing so) and participate in counseling sessions.  These men are very interested in what we are doing and Brightbill was honored when they asked his opinion of their work.

The highlight of our day was an evening trip into War, the southernmost town in West Virginia.  This town is full of empty storefronts, railroad tracks and churches. We were able to do some shopping at the Dollar General and Rite Aid along with some of the more entertaining residents of the town.  

West Virginia Style

Welcome to Building Construction Cares – West Virginia style.  Our trip here last night was very uneventful; unless you count almost running out of gas, driving over some beautiful but deep gorges, and taking too many switchbacks to count.  We arrived before nightfall and were pleasantly surprised to find the nicest volunteer housing that we have ever encountered.  With good Wi-Fi but no cell service for miles, we found unique ways to contact our families.

Our job this week is to replace a roof on a home two doors away from where we are staying.  This is the most challenging job that Building Construction Cares has ever attempted, based on the height of the house, the steepness of the roof, and the placement of an electrical service line.   This is also the dirtiest job that BCC has attempted because years of coal dust have permeated every crevice imaginable.  Today’s work included shingle tear off as well as ice guard and felt paper installation and, of course, clean-up, clean-up, clean-up.  After our crew put in an eight-hour workday, we were able to sit down to a delicious lasagna dinner, courtesy of Christine Noll.

Tonight, we participated in a form of West Virginia entertainment by driving some of the Hatfield McCoy Trail System.  Our drive terminated at a culm bank, the area that the local coal companies dump the waste products after sorting through the coal. The views were nice and the kids took advantage of the first cell signal they’ve had in 24 hours.