Service Project at Habitat for Humanity

Saturday, March 8, 2003

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Our project day dawned bright and cool, and around 8:30 a.m. Marguerite Sharp's work crew began arriving at 1041 South Patterson Boulevard.  The assignment?  Put two coats of paint on long pieces of wood molding and baseboards.  Chapter members who reported for work included Marguerite's husband Lou, as well as Bill Ashbaugh, Bob Gehman, Vic Folwarczny, Melissa Gallas, Carolyn Spiller, Bob Kreider, and Edie Kreider. 
Don Pesce, Habitat's Volunteer Coordinator, greeted us warmly and showed us around.  We wound our way through the huge combination retail store / workshop /warehouse until we emerged at the lower level — a cavernous bay to be used as our very own workspace.  Don got right down to business by showing us our painting supplies and the sawhorses on which to place the pieces of molding and baseboards.  (Did anyone think to count how many pieces there were?) 
Bob Gehman mixed the paint and poured it into coffee cans, and then we divvied up the paint brushes and — hesitantly at first — started to work. 
But, hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  We'll begin this minor work of photojournalism at the beginning . . .
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Marguerite and "Joe" stand vigilantly along S. Patterson Blvd to flag down late-arriving volunteers. 
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Edie Kreider, Carolyn Spiller, and Marguerite Sharp "paint" a picture of work-related camaraderie and fun as they mug for this picture.  Lou Sharp seems amused by it all, while Melissa Gallas is appalled.
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Appearances are deceiving.  At first glance the casual observer might conclude that our crew is rife with inaction and indecision.  Truth be told, however, they are inspired by the presence of "Joe" and are carefully making observations of their environment, analyzing the situation, and mentally preparing a results-oriented work plan.  Yeah, right!

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Dayton Chapter President Vic Folwarczny obviously has "got pride."  Multi-talented guy that he is, we see him skillfully wielding a Chinese boar-bristle brush as he uses long, smooth strokes to apply semi-gloss white paint to baseboard trim.  
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No less an industrious worker is Bob Kreider.  But we've caught him here in a momentary lapse, trying to figure out why his paint brush slipped down between two pieces of trim.  We may never know.
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Certainly not to be outdone by hubby Bob, here's Edie laying on the paint at top speed.  In fact, she's painting so fast the camera picked up just mere blurs of her oscillating right arm. Just look at that concentration! 
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Bob Gehman takes a break from his arduous labors to demonstrate the proper way to hold up a coffee can half-full of paint.  Someone noted his jacket was tan before he started to paint.
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All work and no play is not the modus operandi for this group!  A lunch break at a nearby Subway was a most welcome respite.  Bill, Vic, Lou, and Marguerite are in various stages of contemplation about the afternoon's work ahead.  
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 "Joe" actively helped out by demonstrating how you can hold a baseboard in one hand and paint it with the other.  Notice his official Penn State painter's cap. 
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With the satisfaction of a job well done, it's time to clean up.  Melissa Gallas and Edie Kreider fearlessly tackle this unseemly job. Uh, wait a minute Edie.  Is that brush really clean?
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