Friday, August 10

Journalist and Photographers: Brian and James

One by one, the alarms went off and in a seemingly universal response, snooze buttons were pressed to squeeze in an extra fifteen minutes of much needed sleep. Eventually, the inhabitants of the men’s dorm could no longer ignore the beepings and buzzings begging them to wake up, and they slowly rolled out of their bunks in zombie-like comatose states.
The morning was met with the moaning and groaning of twenty-four exhausted, but eager and hard working, volunteers. The sweet aroma of waffles with one’s choice of syrups and toppings instantly woke the worksite warriors and sent them into a feeding frenzy to fuel up for the long day of work ahead of them.
Morning prayer was said outside as usual and the day began. The volunteers piled into cars and departed for the worksite. This time the roofing and fire crew joined the ‘demolitioners’ in order to get more accomplished on the new work site. Several walls were pulled down using the proven chain gang method. The ground which had been overgrown with weeds and vines was raked and cleared. The debris from the downed walls was shoveled. And finally, the intact furniture and wall segments were loaded onto their corresponding trucks and shipped off to the dump or back to the compound to be incinerated.
The group broke for lunch at around 11:30 and this time several vehicles stopped at the famed slushy and coke station. Back at the compound, those who made the stop pitied the poor individuals who had returned without a delicious method of refueling.
The second half of the day was spotted with outbreaks of poison ivy and sickness. David, Susan, and Meredith, among others, were constantly applying creams and lotions to their spreading ivy rashes. Meanwhile Brian, Peter, Drew, and David (again) came down with some kind of bug with symptoms including sore throat, runny nose, congestion, headache, and exhaustion.
Carolyn, Ashley, Meredith, Allegra, Colleen, and Kristin remained at the HOMES compound, which now has a lovely new addition to its walls. A brigade of stick figures pass the words St. Francis of Assisi 2007 letter by letter across the expanse of the wall.
That night, a majority of the parishioners traveled to the famous coal church with an altar base entirely made of the former lifeblood of Neon, coal. Alex, Peter, Charlie, and David took the King’s car to Walmart to get markers to reproduce the story of Wally Amos and his Famous Amos cookies on the kitchen wall. As the adults filtered out of the room, the teens remained to conclude the night with a friendly game of mafia, ping-pong, pizza, and BLOKUS TRIGON!

PHOTO ONE: Dennis Meighan and Jim Smith remove part of the wall as others, including David Aaro holding the shovel, shovels debris.

PHOTO TWO: The men prop a large portion of the structure’s right wall onto the bed of a HOMES dump truck.

PHOTO THREE: Charlie “Free For All” Smith, a St. Francis Knight of the Sledgehammer, in mid-swing.

PHOTO FOUR: HOMES coordinator, Greg Hawkins, thanking the crew on a job well done.

PHOTO FIVE: David Aaro, relaxing at the compound after dinner.

PHOTO SIX: Honorary Moral Officer and Mission Mixmaster, Greg Beutler raises his boom box for one last blasting of the mission trip’s official fight song, the Mission: Impossible theme.



1. Demolition piece by piece






2. Take that!






3. Rake, shovel, dump






4. Loading the truck






5. By Friday, the teens directed the adults






6. No more pictures






7. Music man






8. Dance to the music






9. Relaxed






10. Friends






11. More friends






12. Greg from HOMES






13. We did that

Thursday, August 9

Journalist and Photographers: Carolyn and Ashley

Today was a very successful and interesting day. Breakfast was from seven to eight and prepared by Dennis, Carolyn, Charlie, Peter, and Linda. Everyone enjoyed the eggs and sausage and it gave us energy for the rest of the day.

Today we started a new project on a different site. We had to clear out a new lot that was overgrown with weeds. There is also a very old house with its roof caved in. Greg, Graham, and Dan worked really hard getting out the weeds as did everyone else. We also all worked very hard while playing tug-of-war with part of the house. Meredith and Allegra also worked very hard while planting new grass at the old site. The heat and humidity was really hard to work in but within the first few hours, we had all the weeds and plants cleared out. Jim, Peter, David, and Drew stayed back at the house and burned all the weeds the rest of us pulled out of the lot.

Dinner was a total success with chicken stir fry, Asian Salad, and rice made by the same cooking crew from this morning. Everyone enjoyed it and it provided energy for the big square dancing lesson on the basketball court. A woman named Irene came and taught all of us and the new group of people that came how to square dance for an hour. Roger, Drew, Ashley, Jim, and Greg didn’t go to the square dancing lesson but instead went to a service by one of the fellow workers on the work site.

We concluded our day with a usual rousing game of mafia, but this time, a lot of the parents joined in on the fun.

PS: Linda wishes her sister Mary a very happy birthday



1. Morning Prayer






2. Temperature in Neon






3. A lot full of brush before the workers arrive






4. Clean lot after clearing






5. Tug of war - How demolition is done in Neon






6. Back porch coming down






7. House coming down






8. Water relaxation






9. Who gave Joey the hammer?






10. Another end






11. Dead tired

Wednesday, August 8

Journalist and Photographers: Meredith and Colleen

Wednesday had been dreamt about, praised, and cherished in our minds as the day we wouldn’t have to be out long in the sun. At twelve o’clock, we were sent home with the satisfaction of fulfilling the duties we were sent here to complete so far. The roofing team almost done constructing, and the main sight is finally clean! We caught a glimpse of the house we will be ripping down tomorrow and Friday (the weeds, thorns, and exotic bugs gave us a minor heart attack).

After lunch at home, we split into groups with one group going to Breaks Interstate Park, and the other making a stop at Wal*Mart. At BIP on the KY-VA boarder Peter, Alex and Charlie enjoyed a leisurely paddleboat ride. While out in the water, Joey decided to play a joke on them by telling the man managing the boats to let Peter and the rest think they owed money for every extra minute they were out there. When Peter heard of this, he didn’t exactly take it well, especially when the boy managing showed him the contract he “signed.” At least Joey got a laugh.

The group leaving for Wal*Mart stopped to get groceries and showed up at the park just a little late (right when the park was closing). The shopping got done, and we took a few dips in the pool to relax after this 110-degree weather! The car rides were filled with laughs and giggles and Dennis gets an incredible amount of credit for listening to five teenage girls gabbing all day!

Roger went to an underground coal mine owned by an old friend and took a tour around. The coal seam was 7 feet thick and is extracted mechanically with very little labor. Surprisingly, the air in the mine is very clean and the whole operation is designed for safety. The coal is dumped in a truck and taken to a processing plant where it is cleaned and grated. It is then shipped out by train to power plants across the country.

We all met up and went out to dinner at the Pine Mountain Grill. The food was amazing and we all had a wonderful time.


What else can I rake?






Swimming anyone?





With a pick and shovel...






No sittin' down on the job here...

We did it with music...






Who took da ladder?






Shade, beautiful shade!






Ahh, the Paparazzi






More soda, please!

Tuesday, August 6

Journalist and Photographers: Alex King, Caroline XXX and Drew YYY.


The two demolition groups massed at the Warm Springs site for the final push, punch list, and sweep up. First to go was the ground floor, including a rug with odors CSI Las Vegas can not identify, and the remnants of the foundation.

Assembly lines were set up between various classifications of garbage and the pickup trucks to take them to their final resting place. Wood came to our home base for a week-ending marshmallow roast. The bricks and concrete blocks were stacked for recycling. The incredible amount of garbage was raked and shoveled into garbage cans and sent to the dump. Innumerable blisters were a testament to the numbers of fully exploited garbage cans and shovels that also ended up in the dump.

The piece de la resistance was left for after lunch. Plum in the middle of the property sat ominously the ex chimney’s concrete base, and the boss man said make it disappear. Muscle Beach came to Neon, and the boys got a chance to show off the fruit of years in gym class. Muscle shirts turned to sunburns as the block gradually chipped away under the hot afternoon sun and rain of sledgehammers.

At the end of the workday, all that was left of the two-day’s effort was clean dirt and a clear space for building a new home in the community.

In a more pastoral setting along Doty Hollow, the rehab crew finished the porch work and expects to top off the metal roof and plaster in the new bathroom tomorrow. Jim Smith became the first medical victim, cutting his arm on the roofing material. It only took six stitches and an hour at the doctor office. $95 cash money and blood dripping in the receptionist room moved him to the front of a long line. As the population in this area continues to grey, fixing up the older homes is a much more attractive option to many residents than nursing homes.

Doc and Clyde, leading local bluegrass musicians in the area’s arts renaissance, came to Neon and gave a public concert showcasing local history through music. Our group learned about the difficulties of crossing the front ranges of the Appalachians, digging out coal, and the omnipresent regional poverty.

(note: photos can be enlarged by clicking on them)



Brick Brigade





Dumpster Girls






Water Shots






Chips off the Old Block






John Henry Who?






Leave No Footprints






Where is the Next Job?






Roofing Team...Watch out for the electrical wire!






I should have watched out for the edge of the roof instead!






The Doty Hollow Tan-A-Rama






Tuesday Evening: Doc Frazier






Our Night out in Neon






Ahh...Music to my NY Ears






So we didn't shower...

Monday, August 5

Journalist and Photographers: Dan Gilbert & Peter Smith

Breakfast was from 7-8 and beautifully prepared by Susan, Colleen, Meredith, Ashley, and Allegra. The kitchen was spotless after the clean-up crew Kevin, Carolyn, and Joey were through with it. The meal was sausage, pancakes, and fresh fruit. Everyone packed their own lunches.

HOMES team leader, Greg Hawkins, gave us an overview of the project and we split up into three groups. Team One was Dan, Peter, Charlie, Merrie, Joey, Colleen, Susan, Carolyn, Linda, Allegra, Kristen, Greg, Graham, and James led by HOMES leader, Harrison. Harrison organized the group quickly and efficiently. We formed a line to pass cinder blocks and bricks to another part of the work site. After the cinder blocks and bricks were moved we began cleaning up the rest of the site by dumping all the leftover garbage into two dump trucks. This was physically demanding work. The temperature was mid-low 90s, and it was very humid. Much of the wood was rotten, and was infested by bugs of all types and sizes. We raked and shoveled beer bottles, needles, plastic, and other random household material. We worked for an hour, and then took a 10-minute break. Joey, Peter, and especially Greg had a scary experience with a spider the size of a quarter. The spider crawled up onto Greg’s neck. Luckily he swiped it off in time.

We were fortunate to have a neighbor stop by. His name was Ray, and was hurt in the coal mines in 1958 and has been out of commission since. He is stuck in an electric wheel chair. We left the site at 12 for a lunch break. We ate back at the HOMES house. Our eating area is air-conditioned. Getting out of the heat felt terrific. We ate the sandwiches, which we prepared individually. We were back at the site by 1 o’clock. We found that if several people began raking the debris, other team members could shovel. This was the most effective way in picking up the debris. The debris was put into garbage barrels and then dumped into a dump truck.

Everyone worked hard and at the same time enjoyed each other’s company. In particular the high school students did most of the heavy lifting. We finished around 3:30, and headed back to the HOMES site. If you’d like to get a sense for how much work the team did, look at photograph #3(the beginning), and then photograph #12 (the final product).

Everyone showered off the immense amount of dirt on their skins. The hot water felt great. The cooking team prepared baked ziti and garlic bread. For dessert we had strawberry shortcake. After dinner we had devotions where we talked about the difficulties experienced during the day. At 7:30 Father Devore held mass. We think everyone will sleep very well tonight. And then tomorrow morning at 8:00 we will be back at the site.


OSHA speaks




Hail, hail, the gang's all here.





In the beginning of the END.






Anything in there for me?






Give me a hand, please.






Which team is this...






Should I say what I'm thinking?






Wait 'til Weston sees this!






Keep that dog away from me!






Toto, we're not in Weston anymore...






Which ones are working?






1,2,3,...4,5...






Is it time for lunch yet?






Tote that barge! Lift that bail!






Eight hours later...