Feature Story
Most could not imagine how life has changed for Barbara. At age 61 she appears more fragile than her years. For the last 5 years she has slept in a chair a few feet from an oil stove. She once had a bed but the weight caused the walls of her bedroom to separate from the foundation. The result was a hole where the bed belonged.
Although built with love by Barbara's late husband almost 40 years ago, the home was simply a three room shack. Framing was from barn wood and other discarded lumber he could pick up around town. Ceilings were only six-foot high and supported with rafters from trees he chopped down with an ax. Siding was tar paper and until recently a rickety, unpainted wooden outhouse stood in the back yard. There was never running water. If you drove by, you would not think anyone could possibly live there.
Now Barbara is settling into a new life in her home built by East Tennessee Human Resource Agency. Costing around $60,000, it was built using standard plans ETHRA developed for a two bedroom one bath house. While ETHRA has built a number of homes using grant funds, the program primarily upgrades housing stock to improve living conditions without a total rebuild. However, in instances such as Barbara’s, there was nothing to build on so the entire structure was razed.
Now the old hand-wringer washer is gone and the clothes line is only used by choice on the sunniest of days. There is new sofa, recliner, end tables, bed, dresser and dinette table courtesy of a local furniture store. A new washer and dryer were given courtesy of another commercial area business.
"I got use to living like that. And now it's kind of strange to have hot water and be able to take a bath anytime I want." The new house and new furniture were almost too much for Barbara. "I never had new furniture," Barbara said with a child like giggle. "Just when you think there ain’t no good people left, they start coming out of the woodwork."
A special patchwork quilt was also given to Barbara on the day she took possession of her new home. It was pieced from clothes cast-off by others, much as her husband built their original home from cast-off supplies.
