THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9407310071
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTERAS ISLAND LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
While his friends play baseball and splash at the pool, 14-year-old Will Lavender of Winston-Salem hangs drywall for a seaside village parsonage.
While her pals go shopping and work on their tans, 16-year-old Heather Bowles from Greensboro nails window frames to a hurricane-battered family's new home.
Greensboro resident Erin Dillon, 14, spends her baby-sitting money - and summer vacation - sanding boards and building an elderly lady's front porch.
More than two dozen Hatteras Islanders are getting help from the 50 Samaritans, mission groups from two North Carolina Methodist churches.
``All our work here is being done through God and for Christ,'' says Adrien Memory, an 18-year-old volunteer from Jamestown United Methodist Church, outside Greensboro.
``Coming here is fun. It's different because you want to do it,'' Memory said Friday. ``It's good because you're helping someone.''
During the past two weeks, 40 teenagers and 10 adults from Jamestown and Cenetary United Methodist churches have:
repaired four Hatteras Island churches
rebuilt a bridge for the Frisco Native American Museum
built steps and cleaned debris from one village family's home
hung doors and built a porch for another family
gutted and refurbished the interior of a Hatteras Village parsonage
erected a 2,200-square-foot house from floor to roof
Hatteras Island tree surgeon David Kelmer helped organize the project. And a half-dozen local families also are pitching in.
``These kids saved me two to three months' time and more than $7,000 in labor,'' says Wayne Baum, whose Frisco trailer was destroyed during Hurricane Emily. Baum, his wife, son and two disabled daughters hope to move into their new home by Christmas. The structure the teens are working on is the first house the family will have.
``They work real hard,'' Baum says, smiling at the T-shirt-clad crew on the scaffolding. ``They're always asking for something to do.''
When Hurricane Emily tore across the southern Outer Banks onAug. 31, the Category 3 storm left more than 20 percent of the villagers homeless. Many received federal and state help to rebuild. Some fell through the cracks.
Those are the people the work groups are hoping to catch.
``You look at everything you have and realize giving a little bit back is worth the effort,'' says Bowles, whose parents and 7-year-old brother joined her for the 14-day mission. ``We wanted to be able to do things for people that they couldn't have done by themselves.''
With 18 hammers banging at once and 10 pairs of hands hoisting lumber, the teens' teamwork is proving they can do things faster than most two-man contracting crews. The youths need a little more instruction - and some red X's drawn in magic marker where the studs should be nailed - but they accomplish their tasks with speed, pride and smiles.
``They've been good helpers, even slave labor, and haven't complained about cleaning up or doing anything,'' says Jerry O'Neill, a contractor whose three-man crew has been working on the parsonage. ``I'd say these kids've saved us at least a week of work.''
Most of the teens spent their own money to come on the trip. Some participated in church fund-raisers to pay for building materials. Will Lavender mowed lawns and saved his allowance for the $240 expenses.
He and others agreed it was among the best investments they've made.
``It's just like a big camping trip with a whole bunch of new friends,'' says Sam Johnson, 17, of Greensboro. ``Only you work harder here. And it seems to be better because of that.''
The teens are staying in Durant Station motel in Hatteras Village. A dozen girls are sharing one room - with a single shower - and most are sleeping three to a double bed. To cut costs, the teens canceled maid service and clean their own rooms. Meals mostly consist of cereal, peanut butter and jelly, and crackers. Sometimes, local families drop off pizza or watermelon as a surprise.
``They bang pots in our ears to get us up by 7 a.m. We have to be at devotional by 8 and our work sites by 8:30. We quit about 5,'' Dillon says. ``But we're not here for free time.''
In the evenings, the kids go swimming or walk the beach. They sing hymns and Van Morrison tunes. And talk about the Bible and boys.
``I've learned to listen on this trip. And I've learned about teamwork,'' says Julie Hudnell, 17, of Winston-Salem. ``Carpentry, too, I've learned a lot about that.
``Most of my friends are back at home doing something they shouldn't be,'' Hudnell says. ``I'm glad I'm here doing something fun - and being productive.'' ILLUSTRATION: DREW C. WILSON/Staff color photos
Jennifer Lavender, 16, right, and Alice Stevens, 17, hammer plywood
in Frisco on Friday. The two are from Winston-Salem.
Heather Bowles, 16, right, and Will Lavender, 14, both of
Winston-Salem, cut excess plasterboard to make way for a window at
the Hatteras United Methodist Church.
by CNB