THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170855
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Bob Schwechten, his breath smoky in the frosty air, climbed the ladder and began banging on a loose gutter with a hammer.
It was the kind of cold morning that most people would rather greet warmly snuggled under a thick comforter. But not the energetic, 55-year-old Schwechten, a retired naval engineering repair officer. As a volunteer with Catholic Charities of Hampton Roads' Fixit Force Program, Schwechten leaves his comfortable College Park home several days a week to help elderly homeowners in Hampton Roads with minor home repairs.
On this particular day Schwechten was aiding Kempsville resident Harriet Brannan, a 60-year-old widow whose brick ranch needs a lot of work. After hammering the gutter, Schwechten reached into his tool box and extracted a large set of loping shears.
``You want the bushes leveled off?'' he asked Brannan, eying the scraggly hedges.
``Yes, to here,'' Brannan replied with a gesture.
Grabbing the shears, Schwechten aggressively attacked the bushes and changed tools every so often to get to the hard-to-reach, thicker branches in the middle. Brannan watched him transform the bushes into even hedges with a big smile on her face.
``I had knee replacement in August,'' she said. ``It makes me so mad - the things I used to be able to do and now I can't do anything. This is wonderful.''
Schwechten, who is one of 20 volunteers in the Fixit Force, said that he joined the program in August because he likes to ``putter around the house'' and is good at handyman-type of repairs.
``I like to do things like this and share with others,'' said Schwechten, who spent 19 years as a financial planner after retirement from the Navy. ``Sometimes I spend as many as 20 hours a week - whatever it takes. The hardest part is taking the right tools with me.''
The Fixit Force began in August, after a summer training session for volunteers, according to program coordinator Kathy Dial. The volunteers perform the labor at no cost to the homeowner; cost for supplies is charged on a sliding fee scale based on income.
``We decided to start this program because there was such a need in the community to help these people,'' said Dial. ``A lot of our clients are women who are now widows and can't do the repairs.''
Volunteers will do anything from fixing leaky faucets and running toilets to installing dead bolt locks. Other labor includes gutter cleaning and repair, storm window cleaning and installation, minor electrical work, minor carpentry repairs, painting, changing furnace filters, replacing light bulbs, yard work and screen repairs. Schwechten, for example, has put in a sidewalk, built wooden steps and repaired leaky faucets.
``I like anything but painting,'' he said with a laugh. ``I bricked my house so I wouldn't have to paint it.''
Catholic Charities is actively recruiting more volunteers for the program. Dial emphasized that you don't have to be Catholic to volunteer - or to receive help. But you must enjoy working with older adults and be knowledgeable about minor repair work. Volunteers need to fill out an application, have two references and undergo a criminal background check, too.
If you would like to volunteer for the Fixit Force program or need a home repair, call Catholic Charities at 467-7707.
IT'S GETTING TO BE THAT TIME of year again. The Cape Henry Woman's Club Christmas in the Country Home Tour will be Dec. 5 at the home of Howard and Suzanne Horton, 4412 Ewell Road.
This is the 33rd annual home tour, one of the club's biggest fund-raisers. Visitors pay $3 to walk through the chosen home and can buy the handmade arts and crafts that club members have been making all year. This year's house used to be a tiny, four-room cottage owned by the Ewell family when Howard Horton bought it in 1960, said club public relations chairperson Ruth Christian.
``They've been renovating it ever since and have added on to it considerably,'' Christian said. ``He's a commercial builder and did all the renovations himself.''
The money collected goes to local organizations. The M.E. Cox Center for Elder Day Care and The Samaritan House benefited from last year's home tour. At last week's November meeting, the M.E. Cox Center was presented with a check for $4,000 and The Samaritan House was given $2,000. Mary Ellen Cox, who founded the adult day care center, was a longtime member of the club until she moved to Richmond several years ago.
The club donates money to the Samaritan House every year, said Christian, because the organization is having a lot of trouble finding transitional homes for homeless families.
``We have a great deal of empathy for them because of their association with women,'' said Christian. ``They're trying to get properties to help their people.''
The Christmas in the Country Home Tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 5. at 4412 Ewell Road at a cost of $3. Parking will be at Bayside Presbyterian Church and there will be a shuttle bus to transfer visitors to and from the house. A special lunch will also be served that day from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Haygood United Methodist Church, 4713 Haygood Road, for $6. Call Ethel Spruill for more information at 340-5441. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Bob Schwechten, 55, wields a large set of loping shears to trim the
shrubbery around the home of Kempsville resident Harriet Brannan,
60.
by CNB