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Community pitches in for couple's new home
BENKELMAN -- Hardy midwesterners look out for each other. When someone needs help, everyone pitches in, never expecting anything in return but knowing that, if the tables ever turn, the favor will be returned.
Residents of Benkelman, in 2007, helped one of their own, when Janet (Pursley) and Chester Smith needed a more substantial home.
Janet grew up in Benkelman and was living in Kearney when she met and married Chester. They moved back to Benkelman, Janet said, because her parents left her their home overlooking the canyon on the west edge of town. "We were tired of paying rent," she said recently, and although the house was probably a hundred years old, "It was a roof over our heads."
The couple struggled to live in the drafty old house, which was wired so poorly, they could run only the refrigerator and maybe one other appliance at the same time. They heated with a wood-burning stove and the wood that Chester cut, split and stacked.
Chester's twin brother, Chuck, was uncomfortable visiting because his visits forced Chester and Janet to sleep on a small single bed in a tiny spare bedroom.
Chester was trying to save money to build a garage and update the electricity, and although the couple lived very frugally, it was hard -- and getting harder all the time -- to make ends meet.
But Chester and Janet, who is blind, had good friends watching and wanting desperately to do something to help without hurting feelings.
Chris Crossett's mother's house was on the market during last winter's cold-cold-cold weather, when the real estate agent heard water running and discovered four to five feet of water in the basement.
She shut the water off, and before Chris could see the basement, most of the water drained into a sinkhole somewhere. The damage in the basement was done -- to the floor, the walls, the furnace, the water heater, the ceiling beams. The house sat, and Chris pondered.
Just think ... with some work, the basement could be cleaned up, repaired ... the ground floor would need mainly cosmetics ...
Chris approached his wife, Caroline, with the idea of donating Chris's mother's house to Chester and Janet. Caroline said, "Perfect," and the project started gaining momentum.
Last fall, Chris approached friends and businesses in the community about donating time, talent and supplies to fix up his mother's house for Chester and Janet, and they responded well. The Crossetts hoped they could surprise the Smiths with a new home for Christmas.
Chris was visiting with Janet one day, and she mentioned that she couldn't move from her parents' home. Chris practically panicked. "Here I had people donating time and money and supplies, and Janet tells me she wouldn't want to move," he said, so, he reluctantly let Chester and Janet in on the project.
Chris and Caroline asked Chester and Janet to walk through the little house, and decide if they could live there ... if Janet would feel comfortable leaving her childhood home.
Chester and Janet's answer came back "Yes," and the renovation project continued.
A core group of volunteers did the work, Chris said, and businesses and friends very generously donated supplies, fixtures, a water heater, a furnace, a stove, furniture. They cleaned, painted, wall-papered, textured walls, refinished hardwood floors, hung new ceiling fans. They updated the bathroom, they installed new cables for Janet's talking computer.
"It turned into a beautiful home," Chris said. "We did the whole place for less than $3,000, with the help from the community."
As the renovation progressed, Janet got more and more excited, and became determined to move in by Christmas. Which she and Chester did. "The house wasn't quite ready," Chris said, "but Janet was so excited ... " Friends set up a Christmas tree in the new home.
Some small projects -- like patching cracks in the walls in the guest room designated for Chuck and hanging wallpaper in the front foyer -- still need to be finished. New sidewalks will have to wait for warm spring weather.
But Janet very proudly leads friends on tours of her new home. The living room and dining rooms are spacious, with just the right amount of furniture. That way, Chris said, Janet doesn't have to worry about maneuvering around items, like a coffee table, in the middle of the rooms.
The kitchen has a convenient layout, a sunny breakfast nook and an enclosed backporch for the couple's pets.
Janet's computer is set up in its own office. Chester and Janet's bedroom is sunshine yellow.
"I love my new house," Janet said, curling up on the living room couch with her dog, happy-go-lucky Taylor. "And Chester likes it."
Chester agrees. "We're enjoying it. And it's a much better layout for Janet."
A cold winter wind howls down the canyon, slamming against the walls of Chester and Janet's old house. After so many years of trying so hard to shelter a family, its usefulness is exhausted ... it's tired.
It can rest easy now ... Chester and Janet are sheltered in a new home across town.