THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604280047
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Helen Dawson looked up at her house in awe on Saturday as 45 men and women took turns scaling ladders and scaffolding, filling the Colonial Place neighborhood with the screeching of scrapers against wood.
``Big house. Big crew. Big hearts,'' said Jim O'Brien of the Norfolk Rotary Club, reacting to the spectacle.
Dawson's home was one of 52 in Norfolk and Chesapeake that got a face lift Saturday in the Rotary Club's answer to an Amish barn-raising. More than 1,000 volunteers showed up for Paint Your Heart Out to scrape, caulk and paint; mow lawns; and spruce up flower beds.
One of the most daunting projects was Dawson's house in the 600 block of Delaware Ave. With dormers 40 feet in the air, the house posed such a challenge that it almost wasn't included in the program. But a crew from the carrier Eisenhower volunteered to take it on.
``Oh God, this is just a blessing. I'm so happy, I could shout for joy,'' said Dawson, 64. ``I've heard about things like this happening, but I never thought they would happen to me. I'm blessed all around.''
Dawson has lived in the home more than 20 years and last had it painted about 10 years ago. ``We just never could afford it,'' she said.
At midday, Lt. Cmdr. Mike Weeks looked down at his watch and back up at the crew with a worried look. ``I think we can get it done,'' he said. ``Well, we are going to get it done, even if we have to come back.''
Weeks estimated that the project would take 1,200 to 1,500 man hours. The volunteers scraped, caulked, glazed windows, replaced rotted banisters and rain gutters, mowed and raked the lawn and planted geraniums and impatiens.
Dawson stepped back to avoid a cloud of paint chips being blown off the porch and said she had forgotten that Saturday was the big crew day.
Smaller crews had been at the house on the past two weekends, preparing the surfaces. But after Friday night's rain, Dawson was expecting a storm, not a crew of workers.
``I heard all this noise this morning and I thought a tornado had hit,'' Dawson said. ``I jumped up and looked out the second-floor window right into a man's face. I think I scared him worse than he scared me.''
Dawson said that when she came outside she couldn't believe what she saw. ``It seems like a dream,'' she said. ``I'm not really looking at all these people, I'm dreaming it.''
Inspired by the Chesapeake Rotary Club, which originated the Paint Your Heart Out program five years ago, the Norfolk Rotary Club started with three houses last year. This year, the goal was 10 more, but so many people volunteered time and money that 27 homes in at least 16 neighborhoods were included.
``This thing's gotten bigger than the Normandy invasion,'' said co-chairman Gene Justice. ``It restores your faith in humanity. This is something the city can be proud of. It's becoming big time.''
To be eligible for help, homeowners must be at least 62 years old, live in the home and have a maximum household income of $12,000. Handicapped homeowners and others with special circumstances can also apply.
Volunteers came from all walks: Master Gardeners, Navy ship crews, church groups and businesses such as Virginia Power.
The Eisenhower volunteers finished working on Dawson's house at 5 p.m. They couldn't fix the leaky roof, and they couldn't paint the three dormers on the steep roof because reaching them would have been too risky without special equipment. Still, they felt a big sense of accomplishment.
``At day's end,'' said volunteer John Herring, ``next to the sore muscles, you have warm feelings.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by GARY C. KNAPP photos
Eisenhower crew members tackle Helen Dawson's home. Ed Rethman,
left, Jim Passaretti and Terry Monral helped paint, glaze windows,
replace banisters and gutters, and spruce up the yard.
Helen Dawson, 64, and her great-granddaughter Alexis Foreman, 2,
watched Saturday as the crew worked on her house. ``I'm so happy,''
Dawson said, ``I could shout for joy.''
by CNB