Making a difference in the lives of others

By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor

The weather was miserable – rain, snow, fog, bone-chilling temperatures.

But spirits were high on Rebuilding Day 2025 – Saturday, April 26.

For 31 years, licensed contractors and volunteers have descended on the homes of folks chosen to have repairs done at their homes on the last Saturday of April. Rebuilding Together Mountain Communities solicits applications, which a selection committee reviews and then visits those homes. This year they received just seven applications and chose five homes to be worked on.

Two of those houses required the work of licensed contractors while the other three benefited from the work of nontradesmen.

On Rebuilding Day, I toured the five houses with two board members – Tim Clarke, our driver, and Bob Mosby – as well as reporter Kari Sayers.

Given the weather, we headed to Running Springs first, where there were two houses being worked on.

At House #4, several volunteers were hard at work splitting and stacking wood in the backyard while others were trimming trees and hauling away the slash in the front. Clarke presented Norma, the homeowner, with a small house quilt, made by the Dogwood Quilters. She was very grateful for the work being done and the gift. The volunteer coordinator was Robert Block. House sponsors were Thomas and Candace Spiel.

House #5, just down the street, there was more yard cleanup being done in the front. In the back, volunteer Keith was leveling out the access to Kat the homeowner’s back door and planned to build a couple of steps. As a previous recipient of help from Rebuilding Together, Kat had received a quilt on a previous Rebuilding Day. While we were at House #5, two of the volunteers from House #4 showed up to help. Bill Conrad was the volunteer coordinator. The house sponsor was the Ted Roy Charity Foundation.

We then made our way back to Twin Peaks, where we stopped at House #2. The house captains were Wayne Palmer and his son, James, with volunteer coordinator Allison Banner. Inside the house, James Palmer was working to eliminate the drafts the homeowner, Alice, had been experiencing. He worked on the fireplace and installed a door between her back entry and the living space. In the yard, volunteers were raking up pine needles and fixing her fence. Banner said she and other volunteers would be returning to do some work in the kitchen. The house was sponsored by the Lake Arrowhead Rotary Club and Thomas and Candace Spiel. The homeowner was not feeling well so Clarke presented her quilt to James Palmer and Banner.

It was then on to Crestline, where there were two houses in close proximity.

House #1 – under the command of Willie Kanayan with Lorna Polley as the volunteer coordinator – required the most work of all the homes chosen this year. The homeowner, Irene (known as Cookie), has lived in the home for more than 34 years. A large crew was doing some decluttering and cleaning while Rick Miller and Dino Whitehead redid the bathroom. The crew also installed new rain gutters and a spark arrestor for the roof cap. The Sky Forest Elks, Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club and the Ted Roy Charity Foundation were this house’s sponsors. Cookie was all smiles as she received her quilt.

And finally, we went to House #3, where homeowner Joan was washing her kitchen floor when we arrived. The volunteer crew – under the direction of Rudy and Karyn Westervelt – had already completed their work cleaning up the yard. Joan was quick to tell us how much Rebuilding Together has done for her and meant to her over the 10 years she has lived in her home. “Without Rebuilding Together,” she said, “I couldn’t live in my house. Through them,” she added, “I discovered the kindness of people.” Her house was sponsored by the Sky Forest Elks.

All the volunteers and the homeowners were invited to the spaghetti dinner at the Twin Peaks Community Center sponsored by and prepared by members of the Mountain Sunrise Rotary Club. The day had begun at the community center with breakfast and it was there volunteers prepared the lunches they delivered to the houses where work was being done.

However, because of the weather – yes, it was still snowing – only Cookie and her daughter were able to come to the dinner. Many volunteers – after going home and getting warm and dry – chose to skip the delicious meal.

At the dinner, Wayne Palmer, president of the Rebuilding Together board, thanked everyone for their hard work in challenging circumstances. Then each house had the opportunity to share what they had accomplished.

Cookie, the owner of House #1 was quick to thank the crew who worked at her house. “Every one of these angels means so much to me. I can’t thank all of you enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you and God bless you all.”

Palmer said he had rarely seen Alice, owner of House #2, smile but, even with her mask on, he could tell she was smiling on Rebuilding Day. In fact, he reported, Alice said her face hurt from smiling so much.

“A person can struggle forever without a victory,” Palmer said, “and a few people come and change their life.”

His son, James, added, “It is a blessing to bless someone. Mountain people look out for each other. Alice was in happy tears when we left.”

Allison Banner added that “Alice couldn’t believe people would come and help her. One day out of our lives makes a different in the lives of others.” And one of the volunteers said that this was “the most rewarding day of the year for me.”

“When we see people falling behind,” Palmer said, “we don’t judge them but help them move forward.”

Rudy Westervelt noted this was the second time he had worked on Joan’s house, House #3. “It warmed her heart we cared enough about her to show up and help.”

Joan had planned to attend the dinner but chose not to drive in the fog and snow. She called Palmer with her thanks. “She can’t thank people enough,” he said. “She told me the volunteers were outside acting like they were having a good day.”

At House #4, Robert Block said, “everyone was covered in snow but no one complained.” Pastor Bill Stanley of the Lake Arrowhead Community Presbyterian Church noted the church had sponsored a house for 21 years but this year chose to donate instead to the emergency repairs fund.

There was a small team at House #5, volunteer Keith said. “We really appreciated it when volunteers from House #4 came and helped out.”

Board member Diane Davis encouraged everyone to introduce their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to Rebuilding Day. “Let them know how good it feels to give back,” she said.