I was interviewed by the local newspaper yesterday. The article didn't say all of what I was asked, but it did at least mention my name!
Here is it:
Ten thousand nails.
One thousand two-by-fours.
Three hundred and eighty building panels.
All of it in preparation for today, the day that will change Clara Ward's life.
If all goes as planned, Ward will arrive at 650 E. 21st St. sometime between 1 and 2 p.m. to see a dream made real: a new house, built from the ground up by a small army of volunteers in just 106 hours.
John Maleno has pictured her reaction, and has one simple goal for the day.
"I want her to be in awe," said Maleno, president of Maleno Real Estate Development, the local construction firm chosen to build the home for ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
Hundreds of spectators are expected to be on hand this afternoon to help Ty Pennington, the show's team leader, shout the three words that will kick off the unveiling: "Move that bus!"
With that, the "Extreme Makeover" coach so familiar to fans of the show will move from a parking spot in front of the house to reveal the work of the past week: a 3,700-square-foot home built with Ward's needs -- and the needs of the children she has served through her Youth Development Center -- in mind.
The two-story home features a finished basement, two bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two kitchens, one for Ward and one for the center, a place for abused and neglected children that she'll operate from the home.
It also includes a lift for Ward, who suffers from myasthenia gravis, a degenerative muscular disease, and uses a wheelchair.
By early Wednesday afternoon, nearly 300 spectators had gathered across the street to watch workers put the finishing touches on the new home. Some had visited the site on several days and had seen the demolition of Ward's old home -- a building with a leaky roof, sagging porch and faulty sewer line -- and the transformation that followed.
"I couldn't even imagine going from what she lived in to this," said Marcia Cabaday, 30, who watched with her husband, Brian, and their 5-year-old daughter, Mackenzie. "To come home to this has to be overwhelming and amazing."
It was Luane Martin's first time at the site.
"We wanted to see history made in Erie," Martin said. "It's a great experience."
Andrew Delgado, a soon-to-be eighth-grader at Erie's JoAnna Connell Elementary School and a friend of Martin's son, did her one better.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said.
Maleno started handing over the keys to the "Extreme Makeover" team at around 3:45 p.m., a process that took nearly 30 minutes as the film crew shot the scene over and over again. Each take ended with an exuberant call to action from Pennington: "Let's move in some furniture!"
Volunteers quickly emptied a van of $50,000 worth of new furniture donated by Schultz Furniture Superstore. Out went queen-sized mattresses for the bedrooms, clear lamps with white drum shades for the great room, and artwork to fill the walls.
Ward's story was the inspiration the furniture store needed to get involved, said John Schultz, president and chief executive.
"It's just unbelievable," Schultz said. "She's given up most of her personal time and resources to (help the community) and she's going to be in a much better position to continue that."
Schultz said he expects today to be emotional for all involved in the project.
"I'm sure there'll be a lot of tears coming down, not just from her but from everybody," he said. "A lot of people have put a lot of work into this."
The Maleno family donated thousands of man-hours in planning and construction time.
Of the many construction projects they've done over the years, the Ward house is the "most special, for sure," Maleno said.
"I don't think I could build a house for anyone that could mean more," he said.
**I have bolded the part with my interview.
No comments:
Post a Comment