Women Build 2011 West St. Paul home week 9

Since the last time I visited Deppe Street about a month ago, there been many changes. The garage now has siding and a roof, the kitchen has cabinets and there is a bathtub in one bathroom. Just this week, floor coverings of laminate and vinyl have been laid, all the electrical switches and fixtures have been installed, as well as the interior doors. Outside, the sidewalks have been laid and a retaining wall has been built along the driveway.

On the day I visited, a team called Metzger’s Niners was busy building a retaining wall behind the garage, installing trim on interior windows and doors, and putting baseboards in every place where a floor meets a wall - including inside closets. The team leader for the day, Jane Von Haden, told me that the core members of her team are a group of classmates who attended grade school and high school together. In their earlier years they also played softball together. Most are celebrating their 50^th birthdays this year. They have stopped playing ball but are enjoying the strenuous work they are doing here. The team name celebrates Metzger Building Materials, a firm that donated many of the materials used in building this house and the size (9) of a softball team.

Jean Kochevar and Kathy Biddick were working on the retaining wall. Both were grateful for the experience because they plan to use what they have learned to build retaining walls in their own yards. Jean is a teacher in the Minneapolis Public Schools who plans to volunteer for weekend projects this fall. Kathy is a speech therapist who said she gained an understanding of how hard construction workers work. She found the hard work invigorating.

Sue Dimke, Molly Sarakaitis, and Birdie Mularky were all cutting baseboards for a small closet. After using a power saw to cut the pieces they fit them into the closet. It’s a tribute to how svelte they are that they could all get into the closet at once. Molly, who sews, found this work more exacting than her work with fabrics. Sue is an interior designer who usually hires people who do this kind of work. She gained an appreciation for how nerve wracking the tasks can be. Maureen Bausch is another volunteer who often works with professional construction workers in her position at Mall of America. Her work on this project helped her to have a greater appreciation for those professionals.

I looked into the classification “Construction Worker” on a Department of Labor web site (http://www.onetonline.org/). It told me that construction work requires little formal education with most of the training taking place on the job. Clearly, the women working at Deppe Street have all gained a new appreciation for the precision and skill involved in construction work.

Special thanks to Team Leaders and Lunch Providers Anne Moore of Cargill and Jane Von Haden of Metzger Building Materials. Thanks to Lunch Providers Rebecca Kvasnik and Cecil’s Deli, Council Person Darlene Lewis and Barbara Eschle.

Soon, we will be wrapping up the summer build in West St. Paul and moving on to our second Women Build home in Columbia Heights. We still need volunteers for a variety of dates in September and October, so visit Volunteer Hub to sign up. Please help us spread the word!

Lenore Harmon
Habitat for Humanity Volunteer