Mid-March through April 2023

“The Cove” in Dade City, Florida, is the name given to a street of ten homes being constucted by Habitat for Humanity.

We signed on as Care-A-Vanners for a two-week build commitment in March. You never know exactly what you’ll be doing on one of these builds. It could be trim details, siding, painting, cleaning, yard work, or working your way through the task punchlist to ready these homes for their new owners.

We’d worked on a build here in December, so we felt at home with the crew, the location, and the project.

The Care-A-Vanners stay at Lake Thomas, a property owned by the local Habitat affiliate.

The campground has all that we need, including a shared full kitchen, laundry, showers, and a large screened-in porch for gatherings.

Our team leaders, Corinne and Steve, were gracious hosts. They kept things lively with pot luck suppers, movie nights, and runs to the local ice cream shop.

This time around, I chose to volunteer in The ReStore.

I’d sprained my knee in early March and, even though it was almost healed, I needed a way to help out without kneeling. The store in Zephyrhills was a perfect option. I enjoyed the fast pace of the retail operation and loved working with the dedicated team members.

It was a nice change of pace to be zipping around a store, helping with displays and merchandise.

The ReStore is a vital component of Habitat’s revenue stream; the store proceeds help fund the cost of building the homes.

John worked on house construction for most of this build. On our last day, John went out with a small team on a Deconstruction project. Folks who are remodeling can arrange for Habitat to come deconstruct their kitchen, and then take the cabinets, fixtures, and countertops back to the ReStore for resale.

The big challenge is to take everything apart without damaging anything – an installation in reverse – no scratches, dings, or crunches allowed. I think John had fun with this project – a kitchen with 18 cabinets!

After our build in Florida, we went to Alabama to see a few sights we’d missed on pevious trips.

Alabama

Montgomery

In Montgomery, we went to the Rosa Parks Museum and learned more about the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Civil Rights Movement. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks defied local law by refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. This led to her arrest and, ultimately, the 382 day bus boycott.

It was our country’s first sustained mass demonstration against segregation. It also thrust Martin Luther King, Jr. and his philosophy of non-violent protest into the spotlight. This is a well-done museum that tells this story powerfully.

Muscle Shoals

We continued north to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to learn more about the famous Muscle Shoals Sound and its part in American music history.

We stayed at Heritage Acres RV park. A privately owned rv park, centrally located, with nice facilities.

The nearby, small, unglamorous FAME recording studio turned out chart-topping hits for scores of artists.

Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Ronnie Milsap, Otis Redding, Bob Seger, Bettye Lavette, Jason Isbell – even the Osmonds- came to record with producer Rick Hall and the band of talented musicians. Hall passed away in 2018, but his sons have made sure that the studio is still a recording destination.

We also visited the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. We were amazed to see how many famous artists came from Alabama. Hundreds. Well worth a visit!

The two room log cabin where W.C. Handy was born is also nearby, in Florence.

John went into the museum, while I took a little break. In the end, I wished that I’d also visited. W.C. Handy was an internationally prominent figure in the music world. He’s known for writing the “Memphis Blues,” “St. Louis Blues,” and “Beale Street Blues.”

He was a successful musician, band leader, educator, music publisher, and excellent businessman. To honor his accomplishments, Florence hosts a W.C. Handy Music Festival each year.

Tuscumbia

Here we toured Ivy Green, the childhood home of Helen Keller.

Helen Keller’s story is known to most of us, primarily, through the movie The Miracle Worker. The guided tour through the museum reflects that narrative. The water hand pump, where Helen learned the word “water” from her teacher Annie Sullivan, is on display.

Visiting school children come by the busload and try their hand at the pump. Its amazing that the handle stays on! Once a year in the garden, the community reinacts the play, The Miracle Worker.

Helen Keller had an IQ of 160, was the first blind deaf person to graduate from college, (Radcliffe with honors) and was co-founder of the ACLU.

However, a deeper dig, which isn’t prominent at the museum, reveals that Helen Keller was a complex individual. She was a member of the socialist party and, for a time, she was an outspoken supporter of eugenics.

She was lauded and awarded, met with Presidents and foreign leaders, traveled to 35 different countries as an ambassador for persons with disabilities… and was also surveiled by the FBI.

Still, her accomplishments were groundbreaking and inspiring, even if her stand on certain issues was more than disconcerting.

Florence

In nearby Florence, we toured the Rosenbaum House, which Frank Lloyd Wright built for Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum in 1940.

This classic example of Wright’s Usonian style is the only Frank Lloyd Wright building in Alabama.

Usonian homes were intended for everyone. Wright wanted to develop a housing style for middle class Americans. Usonian stands for an inhabitant of the United States. (USoniAn)

The earth-hugging homes shared the design elements of flat roofs, large cantilevered overhangs for passive solar heating and natural cooling, natural lighting, and radiant-floor heating. It’s easily recognizable as a Wright house and stands in contrast to the other homes in the neighborhood.

Much of what Wright built wasn’t successful in his day. Roofs leaked, the iron pipes used for radiant heating rusted and failed, cantileverings sagged. He abandoned garages, which he deemed junk collectors, for open carports. Kitchens were small and almost an afterthought.

A true minimalist, Wright installed bookshelves, but not much other storage. The Rosenbaums had four young boys. They convinced Wright to add a wing that added space, a bigger kitchen, a dorm room with bunks, a studio for Mildred, and lots of storage.

What our guide so aptly pointed out was that Wright’s designs were way ahead of their time; the technology to properly support them hadn’t yet been developed. Conceptually, the unique design elements are strong and are widely used today.

Wright also insisted on designing the furnishings in his houses. Not so practical or comfy, his chairs and tables were rather spartan.

His clients were more interested in his architectural concepts. The natural lighting and windows that draw nature inside are wonderful.

When Mildred Rosenbaum died in 1999, the city acquired the property, and then meticulously restored it to Wright’s original design – with modern infrastructure. The docent-led tours are really worthwhile.

Floyd, Virginia

Our next Care-A-Vanner assignment with Habitat for Humanity was a three-week build in Floyd, Virgina.

We had visited, and enjoyed, Floyd several times during our motorcycle years. It’s a quirky mountain town, not far from a favorite ride: the Blue Ridge Parkway. The shops are small and independent. No Walmarts here.

This particular build held interest for us for a couple of reasons. First, the construction is a block of seven townhomes.

Until now, we’d only worked on single family homes. Second, the construction technique was ThermaSteel panels, which is a technique we’d not worked on before.

So, we signed up. A great bonus was that our brother-in-law Steve decided to give this a try and he also signed up for the first ten days of the build.

Originally, we’d been told that we’d be doing interior finish work (painting, trim, etc.) However, the project was running behind schedule.

The type of construction had led to interesting challenges for the building crew, electricians, and plumbers. The construction panels are five inch thick styrofoam framed by steel studs. Unlike stick built structures, the walls have no easy places to stash electric or HVAC lines.

So, we jumped in and helped where needed. John helped dig out stone and level areas in preparation for pouring concrete, and then he worked on framing out areas for hanging cabinetry.

In order to run lines in the walls, the electricians and plumbers had carved channels in the styrofoam panels. My main job was filling in the channels with spray foam. Foaming is almost meditative. You get the hang of it, develop a rhythm, and time flies. (Cleaning foam guns is not meditative or as much fun, but it has to be done.)

Our team of volunteers was provided campsites at the Floyd Family Campground, which was beautiful. During our time here, we watched springtime come to the hills. Bare trees sprouted tender pale green leaves. Dogwoods and azaleas came into bloom. And birds were busily building their new homes.

We made friends whom we hope to see again down the road. The local community was very supportive of our volunteering. Local churches often provided lunches and the local Habitat affiliate treated us to several restaurant meals. The staff and our team leaders were terrific.

During our last few days on the job, John and I both had turns learning how to operate a manlift, which was a hoot.

I’m not the best with heights, but with all the straps and gear we had to wear, I was confident that I wouldn’t fall out of bucket. It really was fun!

We also assembled some Adirondack chairs for the front porches of the new homes. A nice way to end our volunteer time.

On one of our weekends off, we were treated to a visit from John’s sister Diane and her spouse Ric.

We visited Villa Appalachia Winery and Chateau Morrisette Winery, and had a super meal at Geraldi’s Italian restaurant in Floyd.

Friday Nights in Floyd

Floyd is a music destination on Friday nights.

The General Store has a stage and a dance floor. For a very modest admission price, you can listen to live Appalachian music and dance. Outside the store, musicians come together and jam along along the town’s main street.

It’s an old-timey, feel-good evening. Families come out and enjoy being together. Musicians of all ages join in the fun. It’s fun to see children playing banjos and fiddles – with great seriousness and concentration.

How wonderful to know that this music is being handed down and embraced by the next generation.

People dance – the country dancing here is flatfoot dancing- kind of like clogging- and young and old dance together.

We also listened to live music at Buffalo Mountain Brewery – a great pub in Floyd!

On our last weekend, we returned to Appalachian Winery, to bid farewell to the mountains.

We had such a good time in Virginia, that we’ve signed on for another two-week build in late September. As they say, “The mountains are calling…”

Between now and then, we plan to cover a lot of territory in our van. Stay tuned for more tales of adventure as we head west.

Notes about photo credits:

Rosa Parks and W.C. Handy images from Wikipedia

Helen Keller image from the American Foundation for the Blind

Rick Hall from the FAME website

ReStore images from their Facebook page

Some of the construction site images in Floyd were taken by the affiliate’s team photographer

Most other images by Sally and John Kutyla