THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407190534
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: AHOSKIE LENGTH: Long : 150 lines
Not often does a group of strangers walk into a Burger King and receive a standing ovation from restaurant patrons. Nor does the local Wal-Mart usually extend hours just so these ``tourists'' can browse.
Then again, it's not often that the town of Ahoskie gets a visit from 400 teenagers and adults who've come from all over the country to repair homes for the needy - and pay for the privilege.
``I live in a very middle-class area, and just being here to see the different sites really opens up the door to what's going on in places that you've never heard about,'' said Jason Willer, 16, of Reston, Va.
Willer may never have heard of Ahoskie, which he initially mispronounced, but the town and its surrounding communities certainly knew about Willer's group.
The Coastal Plains Group Workcamp, sponsored by Colorado-based Group Publishing, spent last week in Hertford County upgrading 69 substandard homes inhabited by some of the poorest people in the state.
Each volunteer paid about $300 toward transportation, a week's stay at Hertford County High School and $24,000 in locally purchased building supplies.
A Hertford County steering committee worked the past 18 months to ensure volunteers enjoyed their visit, which ended Saturday, and knew how much their work was welcomed.
About 50 merchants, businesses and civic groups helped stock canvas welcome bags, supply prizes for talent contests and donate time and money to special events throughout the week.
``The community effort has been wonderful,'' said Sallie Surface, executive director of the Choanoke Area Development Association, which extended the invitation to Group Workcamp.
CADA, now in its 34th year, is the public housing agency for Hertford and Bertie counties.
Group Workcamp volunteers rose each day at 6:45 a.m. and ate breakfast in the school cafeteria before arriving at work sites by 8. Most labored without benefit of shade, air-conditioning or sometimes running water, until 3:30p.m., bringing a bag lunch with them.
Each group of five to eight people caulked, stripped, painted and replaced windows, rotted wood, vinyl or aluminum siding, porches, doors and roofs to make a place more pleasant for its inhabitants, who remained at home while the work was done.
``People here are amazed at the amount of work they are able to do,'' Surface said last week. ``And they're amazed at the amount of work they're willing to tackle.''
And there was plenty to do here.
``Hertford County is one of the 10 counties in North Carolina that has the highest percentage of low-income families living in substandard housing,'' Surface said.
An estimated 70 percent of low-income Hertford County households have housing problems, according to the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency in Raleigh.
``It may mean overcrowding, or it may mean some kind of water or sewage problem,'' Surface said. ``It could be any number of things.''
For most Group Workcamp volunteers, their only home repair experience comes from past summer Workcamps.
Jacquelyn Dickerson, 15, spent her last summer break putting a new floor in a rundown home near Bluefield, W.Va.
``From where I was, this is probably a step up,'' the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., student said. ``There are a lot of bugs here, but you don't have to worry about where you step.''
Tales of housing horrors were exchanged on the job or during dinner and the evening entertainment.
There are also uplifting stories, such as the 102-year-old Ahoskie woman who was homebound until Group Workcamp built a wheelchair ramp at her home last week.
``I think it's a wonderful experience just because you really do have a chance to do something for other people,'' said Robert Herron, a northern Virgina cardiologist who made the trip with his son, Chris.
Herron came with about 90 others from St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church in Vienna, Va., the largest organization represented.
Another from the Vienna group was Meg Gallagher, a Virginia Tech sophomore, participating in her fourth Workcamp.
``Going home is really hard because you're on this emotional high,'' she said. ``You're ready to take on the world, and nobody can relate because they haven't experienced it.''
The biggest attraction, say the volunteers, is the sense of satisfaction and, at least in Hertford County, the appreciation from townsfolk.
Cultural exchange is another big draw for the young volunteers.
Part of last week's late afternoon activities included a tour of a Murfreesboro farm and an afternoon trip to the Chowan River beach.
A midweek pig pickin' featured distinctively Southern foods: barbequed pork, cole slaw, hush puppies, baked beans, watermelon and homemade brownies.
Despite the hard work, the blistering sun and the annoying bugs, everyone said they'd gladly forsake another traditional summer vacation for one spent helping the poor.
The volunteers say they'll never forget the summer. Neither will some of the people who benefited from their labors.
Elizabeth ``Betty'' Hall, who turns 82 this month, had trouble tending to her two-bedroom bungalow after she broke her arm and suffered nerve damage.
A Workcamp crew spent the week refurbishing the 45-year-old home and adding a porch.
``It's so refreshing,'' she remarked while volunteers brushed cream-colored paint over aging chartreuse siding. ``It's sort of like an ice cream cone - it's so soft and pretty.
``I've just told them every minute how wonderful they are,'' Hall said. ``They give you hope for the next generation.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
BILL TIERNAN/Staff
Elizabeth Hall, 81, watches and praises the youths who built a back
porch and repainted her house and garage last week. She has had
trouble caring for her 45-year-old home since she broke her arm and
suffered nerve damage.
Coastal Plains Workcamp volunteers Chad Scarbrough, Jason Miller,
Robert Herron, Jacquelyn Dickerson, Meg Gallagher and Marge Fisher
stand in the backyard of a house they repainted.
Meg Gallagher, 19, a Virginia Tech sophomore, squeezes between
shrubs to paint part of Elizabeth Hall's house Wednesday morning as
part of Coastal Plains Workcamp. ``Going home is really hard because
you're on this emotional high,'' she said. ``You're ready to take on
the world, and nobody can relate because they haven't experienced
it.''
Graphic
COUNTY PROFILE
Hertford County is rural, located about 60 miles west of
Elizabeth City and a 75-minute drive from Norfolk. About 20 percent
of the population resides in Ahoskie, where property taxes are 81
cents per $100 assessed value. County property taxes are 21 cents
higher.
POPULATION: 22,523 in 1990; 23,368 in 1980.
POPULATION BY RACE: 9,200 whites; 13,008 blacks; 427 from
``other'' races, including American Indian, Asian and Hispanic.
OCCUPATION: White-collar jobs, 3,884 (40.8 percent) ; blue-collar
jobs, 3,843 (40.56 percent); service jobs, 1,293 (14.1 percent);
farming, fishing and forestry jobs, 499.
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $18,180; ranked 94th out of 100 North
Carolina counties.
POVERTY: 5,381 people, or about 25 percent of the population,
live below the poverty level.
POVERTY BY RACE: 841 whites (9.7 percent); 4,415 blacks (34.9
percent); 66 American Indian (39.8 percent); 59 Asian (89.4
percent); 7 Hispanic (16.3 percent)
EDUCATION: 58.15 percent graduated from high school; 10.75 are
college graduates.
Source: U.S. Census
by CNB