Hi, all,
I mid-October I took a break from campaigning for local candidates and flew to North Carolina to join a dozen ex-Habitat volunteers for their annual non-build. We were from the states of Washington, California, Illinois, and North Carolina; our organizer had found a delightful group featured on Youtube, the Women Roofers of Rutherfordton. A couple of the younger ones actually did tear off, repair, and replace two roofs during our stay; the rest of us stayed on the ground and painted the exterior woodwork of the local Habitat’s new (to them – it used to be a car repair shop) headquarters, removed from one home and rebuilt at another a handicap ramp, removed and replaced rotten siding, built a sturdy stoop (where a handicap ramp may go next year), rebuilt a set of rotted stairs to a deck, painted the inside of one finished Habitat house, and painted part of another (interior). The weather was mostly lovely, although rivers were brown from the aftermath of Hurricane Florence; we had a good time with the amazing Women Roofers, most of whom have regular jobs and generally roof on weekends only. To see pictures, go to the group’s website: the Sisterhood of the Traveling Stilettos. Stiletto makes titanium hammers and other tools, and despite the “sisterhood” bit, we have some men among us. The group is much larger than twelve, so different people go any given year. I went with them to North Dakota three years ago. My local candidates won their elections, and I’m already gearing up for the next round because it matters SO MUCH!
Frannie Blair
