Home Repair Program Makes One Shiloh Resident Dance with Joy

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Written by Pat Bacon, Habitat’s Family Support Specialist

Eugene (Gene) Rone’s mother died in 1929, just thirteen days after he became a year old. On her death bed, his mother asked his seventeen year old sister, Willie Mae, to take care of him; and she did. Willie Mae also taught him to care for himself and to seek a good life. As a teenager, he cooked, washed and ironed his own clothes, cleaned house, went to school and worked a part time job. He earned $1.00 a week and every week he gave his dad fifty cents. Later he met and became “family” with a Cuban family that owned a grocery store. He started working for the family at $3.00 a week and when his income increased, so did his dad’s – “$1.50 a week.” Gene said that along the way he grew tired of “lamp light,” especially when he was entertaining friends, so he saved his money and before long and much to his and his family’s pleasure,  he was able to have electricity and a telephone installed in the family home.

After graduating from Stephens Lee High School in 1949, Gene started doing domestic work and in 1953 he married his sweetheart, Mary, who at that time lived in the Shiloh Community. From 1954-1956 he served in the Army, barely missing a stint in Vietnam. Upon his return to Asheville, fifty-eight years ago, he and Mary purchased their home in the Shiloh Community for what was then the colossal sum of $4,500.

The Rone house is modest by conventional standards – two bedrooms, one bath. But it is rich because of a unique nuance, wonderful pictures and a cadre of mementos from many years of special occasions, family and community events which adorn all the walls, nooks and crannies – including ballroom dances with Mary who died in 1993. On a wall in the living room is a smiling picture of Mary and a framed poem dedicated to her – lit by an eternal candle flame.

Gene indicating damage near a windowGene is very proud of his community and he knows everybody on his street and everybody knows him. They all take a lot of pride in their homes and their yards. When Gene noted that his house needed painting, downspouts and gutters, he learned from a neighbor who happened to be a Habitat volunteer, about Habitat’s Home Repair program. Gene obtained and completed an application and as we say, the rest is history. Habitat’s Joel Johnson assessed the work and made the needed arrangements to get it done.

Habitat did a variety of repair work including servicing the oil furnace; scraping and painting exterior windows, doors, and trim; replacing rotten window trim and broken siding; re-routing water runoff from downspouts away from the house; replacing missing gable vent trim and installing a new gutter.

Gene is very grateful to Habitat for repairing his cherished home. He readily admits that it would have been very difficult if not impossible, to afford the work on his retirement income. He said that “these days folks charge an arm and a leg for anything that they do for you. Folks like me need organizations like Habitat.”

Gene has wonderful recall of the past and a positive outlook for the future. He remembers riding street cars at six cents a pop and cutting wood for the kitchen stove. These days he enjoys the good feeling he gets from driving his 1995 white, convertible mustang and entertaining family and friends. He speaks readily about what it means to live a full, rich life with no regrets. He smiles and says, “I’m still dancing with Mary!”

ReUse Contest Winners Announced!

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We are pleased to announce the winners of the third annual ReStore ReUse Contest. The forty entries ranging from furniture to houses and everything in between, were built using predominantly reused materials. The judges selected winners in five categories: Furniture, Homesteading, Live/Work Space, Best in Show and the add-on category Most Unique. And for the first time, voting was also open to the public. Public voting in the ReStore and on Pinterest generated the winner in the People’s Choice category.

The winners are:

Homesteading – Tim and Amanda Sorrill

Furniture – Ana Medina

Live and/or Work Space – Wayne Ruth

Best in Show – John and Diane Vogt

Most Unique – Jeff Tallman

People’s Choice – Doug Parris

Photos of  these and all entries, can be viewed in this FlickR album.

The purpose of the contest is to showcase innovative projects constructed predominantly of used building materials. Entries were judged on quality of design and execution; replicability of concept; clarity of description; and quality of photos. “We really saw a lot of ingenuity and complexity this year,” said judge and ReStore General Manager Scott Stetson. “We even decided to add a Most Unique category to more fairly judge the entries that did not necessarily fit neatly into one of the other pre-established categories.”

In addition to Stetson, the judging panel included:

Joel Johnson, Asheville Habitat’s Home Repair Project Supervisor

Linda Keep, 2013 winner in the Furniture category

David Earl Tomlinson, local metalworker/metal artist and musician

Brigitte Bassham, Habitat homeowner, teacher, and reuse enthusiast

Keep, who won the Furniture category in 2013, especially loved this year’s winning entry in that category. “The door and bathroom vanity cabinet transformed into a mudroom bench is completely replicable – one of the criteria for judging. I could find a vintage door and old cabinet at the ReStore and make this project myself. And I think I might!”

 

Pisgah Brewing Company, F.A.T.E., Asheville Area Habitat and WNCW Join Forces for the end of season closer on the Outdoor Stage for WNCW’s 25th Anniversary

{From Pisgah Brewing Company press release}

Pisgah Brewing Company is hosting their end-of-season celebration for the Pisgah Brewing Outdoor Stage the last weekend of September, which will jointly benefit and celebrate 25 years of stellar local radio from the North Carolina media gem that is 88.7 WNCW. Pisgah and WNCW will also trade help hand-in-hand with Funding America Through Entertainment (FATE) as well as Asheville Area Habitat For Humanity for this special occasion. The free community event will take place on Saturday, September 27th and will feature a headlining set on the Outdoor Stage from local new-grass pioneers Acoustic Syndicate. Other acts for the event will include a special set from guitar virtuoso Shane Pruitt Band and Friends, as well as an opening set from the Pisgah Brewing house band, Phuncle Sam. The event is set to be an all day celebration with the gates opening at 4pm and music starting at 5pm. Click here for more information.

Bring your friends and family to what is sure to be a fantastically fun event!

ReUse Contest: People’s Choice voting 9/5 – 9/15

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Voting is now open for the People’s Choice award in the 2014 ReStore ReUse Contest! Vote in the Asheville ReStore (lower level showroom, on the wall) and/or on Pinterest between 9/5 and 9/15. One vote per person, per location. Our panel of judges will be convening next week to select the winners in the three main categories: Furniture, Homesteading and Live/Work Space. Winners of those categories as well as People’s Choice, will be announced later this month (September). Check out the 40 entries, vote, and be inspired to take on your own creative reuse project!

ReStore Thanks Customers with Big Sale

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We’re saying thanks to the community for its ongoing support by offering 25% off storewide from 9am until 6pm on Saturday, September 13th. All ReStore merchandise – including furniture, housewares, appliances, building materials, antiques and more – will be 25% percent off! 98.1 The River will be broadcasting live from 9-11am, and free hot dogs and soft drinks will be served between noon and 2pm.

One of the highest ranked Habitat ReStores in the country, the Asheville Habitat ReStore was voted #1 Used Furniture Store in WNC by readers of Mountain Xpress, so check us out before you head anywhere else!

We are pleased to provide the community with a source for affordable home improvement items, while diverting 1,500 tons of usable material from the landfill each year!. And did you know ReStore proceeds help cover Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s administrative and fundraising expenses and provide funding for our building programs? So go ahead, shop — and feel good about it!

This kind of sale only happens twice each year, so come on out and see us on Saturday, September 13th from 9am until 6pm. Find a bargain and help us build and repair more homes in Buncombe County – without even lifting a hammer!

23 Years and Still Going Strong

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Last Friday, under a hot end-of-summer sun, we kicked off Labor Day weekend “Habitat-style”. With the help of local United Methodist and Presbyterian churches, Elisabeth Pallante and her husband Joshua London celebrated new beginnings as they raised the very first wall of their new home.

Local Presbyterian and United Methodist churches have been helping Asheville Area Habitat build homes for 23 years now; each year renewing their commitment to provide funds and volunteers to help build. This year, members of the various congregations along with the London-Pallante family and Habitat staffers socialized over lunch before raising the first wall. View pictures here.

We are grateful to these sponsoring Presbyterian Churches (PC) and United Methodist Churches (UMC):

Abernethy UMC
Asbury Memorial UMC
Central UMC
Christ UMC
Francis Asbury UMC
Grace UMC
Groce UMC
Oak Hill UMC
Oakley UMC
Sardis UMC
Skyland UMC
Snow Hill UMC
St. Paul’s UMC
Trinity UMC
Black Mountain PC
Christ Community Church – Montreat
First Presbyterian Church of Asheville
Grace Covenant PC
New Hope PC
Reems Creek-Beech PC
Warren Wilson PC
West Asheville PC

And did you know that each home’s lot has a sponsor that helps to offset the cost of purchasing and developing the land for the home. An Adopt-a-Lot sponsor donates $10,000 and a challenge grant supports the remaining $5,000 needed for each lot. We are grateful for this home’s Adopt-a-Lot sponsors: David M. Greiner & James A. Gray.