by Fred Hernandez
This is the sequel to last week’s story about The House That Neighbors Built. When Mrs. Martha Starr of Cañon City found out that the house of her friend, Ms. Judy Field, co-volunteer at The Pantry, had burned to the ground, she made up her mind that Judy would not be homeless for long. The Pantry, where both Mrs. Starr and Ms. Field volunteer tirelessly, supplies food products from Care and Share, Loaf N’ Jug and other sources to over five hundred households in Fremont County. Now focused on a different and urgent mission, the first item on Martha’s agenda was to get a partner to help her. That is when she went to her neighbor and longtime friend Mr. Chris Jenkins, owner of Jenkins Homes, an accomplished builder in the area. Now Mr. Jenkins is not just a neighbor; their friendship extends to family members such as when Mr. Jenkins stood as best man at the wedding of Martha’s son. So, when Martha approached with the story that there had been this tragedy, that the person affected was one who “gives and gives and gives” and now she herself needs help, and how this would be a really, really good cause; Chris at first thought “Oh, I can do this. Draw up a set of plans and just drop it off”.
Well, as Chris says with a polite chuckle; “But, if you know Martha you know it does not end there”. He quickly realized that the “set of plans” was just the beginning. Martha wanted a house built and she promised to get volunteers to help. Chris’s main concern was that there is a big difference between volunteers and paid professionals. Despite the great hearts and overflowing enthusiasm of volunteers how was he going to get this project done? Chris admits that without Martha’s “lighting fires and cracking the whip” this house would never have been built. So, for dear friends Chris and Martha, this cooperation started on January 12th and ended on July 3rd (six months later.)
Work began almost immediately. It was February 2nd when they started clearing the rubble from the fire, old cars and other stuff littering the property and preparing the land for the construction of a new home. Volunteers did all the “heavy lifting”. Chris and his crew of professional builders, paid by Jenkins Homes, worked weekends. Still, Chris is careful not to take away from the volunteers because, as he puts it, they couldn’t be given enough credit for all their efforts. They did a myriad of the chores involved in a construction project; from carrying material, prepping for paint, filling holes and even framing which was the hardest of days for Chris because despite all the enthusiasm, but lacking the knowledge, constant supervision was needed, and by the end of the day, Chris was running out of steam. Some individuals gave more but all gave generously of their time. Nearby neighbor Dick Cook opened the gates every day at 7 a.m. He supplied materials and offered his equipment such as a skid loader, compressor, generator, power tools and, very important, water from his property. All throughout the construction period Martha maintained close contact with all the companies and other suppliers who gave product or service. All of them were equally generous and, as Martha says, we could not have done it without the wonderful support they received from each and every one of these donors. Mr. Shawn Noble, store manager of Home Depot in Cañon City, not only gave the kitchen sink (no pun intended), he also gave the shower, the stove, the vanity, the windows, the front and side doors, electrical lighting, the fixtures for the toilet and ninety percent of the flooring. By the time Ms. Field moved in on July 3rd, this project had been completed in record time, (approximately ninety days).
“This project could never have been done without the volunteers and the cooperation of all the donors,” says Martha and she goes on,” but, without Chris Jenkins it would never have happened.” And so, a beautiful story comes to a most happy ending as friends helping friends, neighbors helping neighbors shows the world that loving thy neighbor as thyself is the second most important of all God’s Commandments.
Love they neighbor! Yes! Love thy neighbor indeed.