An $85,000 townhouse sponsored by the Great Falls Ecumenical Council is nearing completion in Fairfax, where Habitat for Humanity is building a section of nine new homes.
The level of activity at the townhouses on Stevenson Street last week was normal for a Saturday, according to one volunteer who has seen them grow from ground level.
It was “swarming,” said volunteer Carleton Ruthling, a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Great Falls . He remembers days when “You heard hundreds of hammers,” he said. “It was a dull roar.”
Volunteers from Great Falls mingle with others who wear strips of tape with their first names written on them.
Ruthling, a retired computer program and system analyst, has enjoyed construction work since he graduated from high school and took a summer job in construction with his brother, he said.
“It’s has been too many years since I graduated from high school,” Ruthling said Monday. “The codes have changed.”
But one thing that’s remained constant is the sense of satisfaction he gets from building.
With computers, Ruthling said, “You don’t ever see a lot happening. But with building, you put up a wall and it’s there. You put up joists and you see something. It’s there.
“It’s very rewarding in that respect,” Ruthling said. “If you put some wood together, and throw up a wall, you really feel a significant change. You feel something happening.
“I enjoy the work. I enjoy the people. The camaraderie and the esprit de corps is terrific,” Ruthling said.
THE SEVEN CHURCHES provide volunteers on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
But Ruthling is one volunteer who doesn’t wait to be assigned.
“I ignore the schedule. I just go there. I have worked in every house that’s there,” Ruthling said.
Of the nine townhouses in the first phase of the Stevenson Street project, the Great Falls group's is closest to completion.
“Our volunteer base has been so much more faithful than a lot of the other houses, that we have been able to move ahead much more consistently,” said Bonnie Anderson of Christ the King, the project coordinator.
“We are the only house finishing woodwork right now,” she said.
“We’re so wonderful. We’re so fast. We help the other houses,” Ruthling said.
The completion date is scheduled in mid-July, with a move-in date of Aug. 1.
Yeonhi Parker and her two children, ages 13 and 15, will live there. They often work with the volunteers to complete the house.
The Great Falls group has also raised, or has pledges, for the entire $85,000 cost of construction. “Most of the churches have come in over their pledges,” said Anderson.
Even before sources of funding had been identified, Anderson told the other volunteers that “The Lord’s hand’s in this project. We will build a house, and pay for a house,” she said. “It has worked. We built a house.”
A TOTAL OF 450 volunteers have worked to complete the house, or support the volunteers, said Anderson.
St. Catherine of Siena, the largest of the seven churches, has contributed 52 volunteers. Christ the King Lutheran and Great Falls United Methodist have also “really taken it seriously,” said Anderson.
Two tiny churches, Dranesville Church of the Brethren and Smith’s Chapel United Methodist, have consistently provided volunteers.
The other churches involved are Andrew Chapel United Methodist and St. Francis Episcopal Church.
Ruthling said he’s been impressed by the women from Great Falls who’ve volunteered. “The level of effort of the women has blown my mind,” he said.
“Those gals were really just terrific. The stuff they hauled around was not light. It was cumbersome and difficult to maneuver around the partitions and up the stairs. And they just did it.
“There are several who come very frequently. They don’t just come once, and never show up again. They have been stalwart,” Ruthling said.
The volunteers will be honored with a special church service in Great Falls, scheduled at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 30.
“The Ecumenical Council is considering becoming a Habitat Partner,” said Anderson. “We will give them money every year, and work every year. We will stay involved.”