Inspiration

Thanks for your love and dedication to humanity - and for rebuilding lives one house at a time...

Have a safe journey back home.

Here's Rob....the ever faithful driver...doing a final headcount as the crew leaves the worksite for the last time.

The Crew

Card Idea?

How about this for Jon and Nancy's Christmas card photo?!

Ta Dah

A job well done

EEEEEK...a ghost

Brenden - our friendly, neighborhood ghost.

Winding down the week

Laura Downes saying goodbye before she catches her early flight back. Dick says, "No Chris, we don't always hug everyone goodbye when a memeber of the construction crew leaves the site."

Current and Past President

This picture really deserves a caption. Please submit your ideas in the comments for this page. Here's an idea I'll throw out there to get you all started...."Mike, as I told you before, you were supposed to shave before getting to the job site in the morning."

Lunch on Thursday (Thanks St. Tammany!)

Getting ready for lunch. The cutting station doubles as the dining table for lunch. East. St. Tammany sends lunch over to the site every day. Dick says, "No really Chris the crew boss doesn't always make us sanitize our hands before lunch."

Ribbet...rrrribbet

Dick takes a moment to introduce everyone to his new friend.

Bipartisan Siders?

We set up to have one team work the left, one on the porch overhang, and the third on the right of the house. The cutting station stays busy supplying all the pieces needed to the teams. Here are Chris, Maureen and Rob (a.k.a. - the team on the right). Maureen says, "No one ever accused me of being on the right before!"

To Saw or Not To Saw

(Top) Peter, Elaine and Nancy explore using a electric saw instead of hand clipping multiple small soffit pieces. (Bottom) At first, we think the electric saw is the best thing to come our way since the invention of sliced toast...only to later discover there is nothing like hand clipped soffit pieces.

Soffit: An underside of an architectural feature, as a beam, arch, ceiling, vault, or cornice.

Here's Chris putting up soffit. We all worked on putting the soffit all around the house and on the porch.

Getting Some Work Done!

We hope everyone is enjoying the great pictures that Pam is taking and downloading to Martha. It is wonderful to see how she is capturing both the working moments and the fun times. She is a great resource for us with her professional talent!

On Tuesday morning we headed back to the flooded East Elm Street in Lancombe, LA. Our "talent" for installing vinyl siding was put to work on the last house to be completed in a group of 18. Craig, our supervisor, is anxious to get people in their homes. By laying down boards we were able to work around the house on the outside. A large group of our crew worked inside on installing insulation. Thank goodness that the weather turned cool for that work! Pam's pictures show people up on scaffolding and ladders, working around the thick mud.

By the end of the day the entire inside had insulation installed, the front and backs of the house had vinyl siding and the homes all had their house numbers posted. The town's final inspection for occupancy requires clearly posted numbers.

For families and friends at home you'll be happy to know that everyone worked safely. There was the one tense moment when Judy got stuck up to her ankles in yellow mud. Rob to the rescue - pulling her out and managing not to tip over both of them! When I interviewed everyone about their favorite moment of the day, many said it was "Judy getting stuck in the mud" or Judy saying it was "getting unstuck so that she didn't have to spend a night with the alligators."

Laura - Completing the back and front peaks (including one section that required climbing on the front roof).
Dick - Met one of the future owners of a home in the neighborhood. Her house is ready but she doesn't want to be the only occupant in the neighborhood. So close to moving in! They also planned gumbo for next year's block party!
Peter-working on the roof with a "bird's eye view" of the neighborhood
Mike-playing host in his room for our end-of-work-day beer
Chris-FINALLY managing to get a piece of siding in place on the front peak
Jon-Good lunch provided by a local restaurant and using a front porch as an "internet cafe".
Nancy-Feeling herself sinking into the gravel at the first driveway that Rob tried using for the van. Thank goodness he moved it quickly elsewhere.
Maureen-Watching Mike and Chris get "the giggles" on ladders, trying to install siding.

We celebrated Elaine's birthday at a local restaurant, Copeland's, for cajun food. As we were toasting her, "To Elaine" slid over to become "Tulane" - a very appropriate cheer for the rest of the evening. So when she is back in town, be sure to greet her with her new nickname.

Mud and more mud

Judy examining the damage after being rescued from the mud by Rob

Inches or feet?

Always good advice from our crew chief, Craig.

An apple a day

Stepping back to admire the work.

Up on the rooftop

Busy - busy - busy - - - siding the front.

Another Dr. J?

Dick Johansen working on installing J trim needed before the crew can finish the siding on the front.

Lifting Hearts...Choosing What Matters

T'shirts given to the crew from East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity

Siding the Peak

Peter Scarafile and Laura Downes use the scaffolding for siding the peak

at the back of the house.

Who's that masked man?

Jon Leckerling installing insulation - never an easy job but our crew tackles it this morning without a complaint.

Wednesday, October 24th - 5:30pm

We just returned to the hotel from a full day of work. Circle time was much shorter today, and we were off to the original work site that was covered with rain water yesterday morning.

Today we were able to work on the siding using scaffolding and ladders. Our group installed installation on the interior and, to finish off the day, we had the privilege of putting up the house numbers on all of the houses.

Pam Skelly

Happy Birthday To You

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Elaaaaainnnne,

Happy birthday to you -

......and many more!

News Flash...just in

Report just in via phonecall from Slidell (no names mentioned) that Elaine Romano entertained the whole restaurant last night by playing the spoons? Tell us more!

Faithfully reporting,
Martha
p.s. Somebody take a picture of that great lady behind the camera. Thanks, Pam...we are all really enjoying your great pictures!

Notes from Pam Skelly - Crew Photographer (or should I say...Photographer of the Stars!)

For now I'll fill you in on what I know:
The 9th Ward is part of New Orleans. It was hit hard. I think it was the poorest area hit and the lowest. The Musician's Village (pictured previously) is a village built on the land where an old school was located. The large parking area is also used as part of the development. Habitat for Humanity is building it but not the same group as Slidell. It is the group in New Orleans. On Monday, the group doing the build there was having a dedication for one of the homes. There was a crowd of people mulling around and we got to walk in the house. Many neighbors were there and the news. Just down from the house the group is just starting to build a community center for the musicians. So, the first block has houses redone just on the right and then at the end of the street the houses are being built on both sides along with the community center. I'll try to send you pictures of the other side of the road. The houses on that side all need to be redone and have debris out in front. I don't think anyone is working on that area.

Here is a quick story of what we did today but Maureen will be writing a better, more detailed narrative:
We had a short circle and were on our way to our assigned site. The first site was a 25 minute drive. There were several different streets that had homes by the Sidell HH being built. This area though got quite a bit of rain on Monday and the drainage was not good because the yards are still just made of clay without the finished grading and grass. We were told by the crew to go back to the site in Slidell, just five minutes away from the church we met at that morning. I sent the picture of the two houses yesterday. This is the site we ended up spending our day. We put siding on the first house and Dick Johansen worked inside doing electric work. The whole group was quite happy with the progress we made. We hope we can go back and work on the same job tomorrow. Now we will be heading out to New Orleans at 4:00...

Siding and more siding

Now that's what I call team work!

M. M. Hammertime

Mike Maguire nailing on some siding.

Nancy Leckerling and Elaine Romano - their first job cutting and putting up the window sealer.

Dr. J

Rob Ryan putting up the J channel around the edge of a window.

Muddy Feet

Here is the bottom of one of our shoes. First we step in the clay, and then everything just piles up on top of that. Messy and s-l-i-c-k!

Tuesday, October 23, 4:30 pm

You will see postings, thoughts and comments from other members of our Madison Cares crew, as time permits. In the meantime, I (Maureen Lopes) will try to post the basic of our activities every day.

A bit of a slow start but, in the end, a productive day. We started out traveling about 20 minutes to a work site where 20 homes are being completed on one street. The area is wooded with live oaks and small homes surrounded by vegetation. Pam, our photographer, will have photos to share. I was told that it wouldn't be surprising if we saw an alligator in rain ditches along the roads. Yesterday's rain left half of the street under water and the yards not passable. There is no place for the water to go (because it is everywhere!) until drying occurs.

So back in the van to the site we drove by yesterday on Eleanor Street (closer into Slidell). We hit pay dirt! Two homes, side by side, are approaching completion. Dick worked on electrical projects while the rest of our Madison Cares crew learned to install vinyl siding. Our crew chief, Craig, was a very good teacher, both showing us what to do and explaining why. And allowing for expansion and contraction of the material over time is very important. Jessica kept circulating to find us tools that we needed and answer questions. By the time we started cleaning up the work site at 2:00, there was siding on all four sides, as high as we could reach with 6' ladders. And Rob had almost completed the "J channels" around the windows on both houses. Installing siding is very satisfying - you can really see the results by the end of the day.

The temperature was actually chilly this morning (high 40s) with a strong breeze. And we were worried about working in the heat! By lunch time our work had warmed us and the yellow mud was starting to "set up" a little bit.

All the way from Cape Cod

Here are Judy Walden-Scarafile and Peter Scarafile who joined in with Madison Cares all the way from Massachusetts (with Jon Leckerling in between).

Thanks for jumping in and helping out Slidell!

Is this a great looking group or what?!

Here is the crew yesterday in front of a rebuild in "Musicians' Village - 9th Ward."

Today they are going to be working all day (until 3:00) instead of 1/2 day as planned because they couldn't work at all yesterday. They are still going into New Orleans for dinner by 6:30. That's what I call energy!

During yesterday's tour, Pam Skelly mentioned that one of the streets they went down to get to the 9th ward was flooded with debris floating back into the road. They fought the rain and flooding roads all afternoon. She said it felt like spending the day on a log flume at an amusement park! Most of the group are painting today.

Martha Hoffman reporting...more later...

Tuesday, October 23, 6:21 am

We have greater hope today of working on a site. The torrential rains of yesterday have blown through (7" in New Orleans when the average for this time of year is .10"). Rob was the hero for the day, driving us around in a 15 person van.

After lunch, provided by Habitat, the rain gave us the opportunity to see areas damaged by Katrina and Rita. The Habitat Volunteer Coordinator, Lindsay, agreed to join us. She is spending this year in Slidell with Habitat and funded by Americorp. (If you are not familiar with Americorp, it is a federal program to encourage Americans of all ages to spend full time in working with non-profits).

In Slidell, the storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain (south side of the city) came five miles inland at a height of 26 feet (about a 3 story house). On the one hand, driving south on one of the main roads to the Lake, you do not see "blown out" buildings - much debris has been removed. On the other hand, the Lake shore used to be covered with houses and boat docks. All gone, only pilings sticking up out of the water.

The bus is leaving - got to go work!

Maureen Lopes

Bearing Witness

Continuation of journal for Monday, October 22 - Maureen Lopes

If you pay attention to homes where a FEMA white mobile home sits in the front yard, you know that the home is inhabitable. And other homes on the street are more noticeably empty. It is emotionally devastating when one family loses its home to fire or flood but where do you find the strength to rebuild when your neighborhood and entire community is affected by the same disaster? Watching people fleeing their homes in southern California is the same community-wide pain.

After we crossed Lake Pontchartrain on Route 11 (the older bridge that did not sustain damage) Lindsay directed us south toward the area of Chalmette, along the Mississippi River, around the bend from the French Quarter. When the storm surge receded from Slidell, pulling cars, homes and peoples' lives into the Lake, the force "boomeranged" toward New Orleans. This force was one of the reasons that the levees were breached.

Chalmette, and the Ninth Ward next to it, are where the most terrible pictures of the rising waters were taken and broadcast to the nation. We traveled down streets of mostly ranch homes sitting on concrete slabs, barely above sea level. It was not a ghost town - even along the flooding streets there was steady car traffic. A few homes, here and there, had FEMA trailers in the front yard. But most homes had sprayed painted symbols on the front - the date the house was visited by a rescuing team, which team went through the house, whether animals were found and where bodies were found. Block after block after block.

The homes in the Ninth Ward, were in general, in worse shape prior to the levees breaking and neighborhoods seemed emptier. The sheer size of the affected areas is hard to grasp but seared in our minds and hearts.

Two bright points - (1) We passed a Home Depot that was able to reopen after the waters receded by bringing in their own trailers into their parking lot and providing housing and salaries to their employees. They helped both their employees and the local area with much needed supplies. (2) Habitat in New Orleans has rebuilt an entire block with support from musicians from around the country.

The controversy goes on whether these low lying neighborhoods should be rebuilt or people be bought out to live in safer areas. The decisions are so wrenging, and fraught with political, historical and racial tensions, that progress seems slow.

Which house?

Here is a shot of a few potential work sites on Eleanor Street. Not sure which one will be ours...or if this day will be rained out. Stay tuned!

Here's a shot from the Morning Circle which meets at 6:50 a.m. each morning. The group was hearing about the storm and safety. They told the crew to come back around 11:30 because it just wasn't safe to work in all the rain. We've got our fingers crossed!

Lunch at Phil's

Our trip from the airport here in Louisiana was an eye opener. There was the contrast of new construction and the homes and businesses that were devastated. We stopped at a place in Slidell for lunch called Phil's located on the water at Oak Harbor Marina. The food, view, and people were great! It was the first time I had tasted deep-fried, breaded bowtie pasta with a crab dipping sauce (of course, delicious!). The owner, Lisa, told us how she had 8 feet of water in the restaurant. The deck we were sitting on was at least 12 feet above the dock so it is hard to imagine the water being that high. Her husband, who is a ship captain, was out at sea and did not know what had happened to his family for over a week. The reconstruction of the restaurant took them over a year and they just reopened last November.

Elaine Romano

Checking the map

Jon and Maureen checking the map at the car rental

Slidell Journal - Monday

The day of our trip finally arrived and we left before dawn brightened the sky on the big yellow school bus. Interstate 95 cooperated and it was smooth travel until we crossed the Triboro Bridge on the way to LaGuadia Airport. Our first clue that directions were going awry were the signs, straight ahead, for JKF Airport. The signs for the direct route to LaGuadia seemed to indicate that a bus was not allowed on the parkway.

So began our tour of Queens. Then Jon, native son of Queens, came to the rescue by helping the driver with routes. Finally, we stopped near a local bus for directions and were reassured that the bus could use the direct route. We were off again and quickly in front of the Delta terminal.

Judy and Peter, from Cape Cod, caught up with us at New Orlean's airport. The number one topic was the final Boston/Cleveland game. Peter has already contributed to the trip by bringing a mobile GPS to get us from one point to another. And Laura and Maureen were checking everything against a map. We are well-covered with map readers!

Monday morning has brought fairly heavy rain. As we arrived at Habitat's gathering site, everyone was hopeful that indoor work can keep us busy. But the morning is "on hold" because safety rules against being on the work sites in lightning and heavy rain. The earth is clay and does not absorb water. Instead, it sits in pools and creates a thick slippery mud. Over 30 volunteers gathered from all over the U.S. including a large group from Kraft Foods which is a major corporate sponsor for the East Tammany affilitate.

Maureen Lopes

Bus Pictures

Rise and shine :-) Here are a few pictures from Tammy Stemen of the send-off...

And the journey begins....

At 6am this morning, a bus arrived at the Exit 61 commuter lot to pick up our punctual Slidell Crew and head off to La Guardia airport. Thank you, Magda, from Madison Public Schools Transportation for providing the complimentary shuttle service!

The drive was uneventful until we missed our exit, were barred from expressways, and headed deep into Queens. We saw several areas that were not on our planned route, but thanks to Jon Leckerling and the bus driver, Chris, we made it to LGA well ahead of schedule. Everyone is in great spirits (lots of laughing), and we are looking forward to getting to New Orleans, driving to Slidell and checking out the area.

More when we land and arrive in Slidell!

Chris Stemen

17 days and counting...

It's hard to believe that the trip date is almost here! We had a great gathering at Jon and Nancy Leckerling's home a few weeks ago. It gave the group going to Slidell a chance to meet each other, visit, and go over some trip materials. Thank you, Jon and Nancy, for your warm hospitality and sharing your beautiful home with us.

So...here's the crew (from left to right):
Laura Downes, Jon Leckerling, Mike Maquire, Nancy Leckerling, Dick Johansen, Elaine Romano, Chris Stemen, Pam Skelly, Rob Ryan and Maureen Lopes. Our two other trip participants (not pictured) are Judy Walden-Scarafile and Peter Scarafile....who live out on Cape Cod.

Until next time,
Martha Hoffman