A nice story for the holidays
MONTANA CITY — Angels descended on Ken and Jodi Gardner’s piece of paradise last weekend, clad in Carhartt coveralls and tool belts.
They came to build not just a house but a home, to replace what the Gardner family lost three weeks ago in a fire.
The old-fashioned house-raising began at 7:30 a.m. last Friday. By noon, around 50 people were cutting lumber, setting beams and standing interior walls.
Amid the humming generators, buzzing saws and the THWACK! of nail guns, the volunteer construction crews scurried about like a fast-forward version of the popular television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
By noon Monday, after about 40 hours of work, the walls were painted, the interior doors were hung and the floors were being swept in anticipation of the arrival of the first load of furniture.
“We have beds with drawers underneath them for the kids, and a crib that somebody got for their little girl and she never even slept in it,” Jodi Gardner said with a shy smile, an air of disbelief still hanging around her. “I had four couches to choose from — people donated 11, and not one was orange flowered. Somebody donated an oak table that seats six, and someone else donated six oak chairs.”
She stops as Randy Raymond walks into the room. The four-day build-a-thon was the brainchild of Raymond and his wife Phaedra, and Jodi Gardner’s appreciation is almost overwhelming.
At the end of the four days, Raymond’s eyes look a little glassy from the stress of coordinating hundreds of workers, but a broad smile still fills his face as he takes a minute to play with a child.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “You start off with a little plan to build a house before Christmas, and somewhere in the middle of this, it pulled a community together. It’s given a whole new meaning to the word Christmas.”
OUT OF THE ASHES
The past three weeks were a wild, unwelcome emotional roller coaster for the Gardner family. On Dec. 1, they shut the door on their 100-year-old cabin, and left home with daughters Aimee, 16, and Abbee, 13, and sons Bendigo, 2, and 5-month-old Kentell. When they returned later that day, all that remained of their home was a pile of smoldering, charred timbers.
The fire probably started by an ember from the wood-burning stove. When Phaedra and Randy Raymond, long-time friends of the Gardners, learned of the blaze, it sparked an idea — why not build the Gardners a new home for Christmas?
They decided not to rebuild on the old site, but instead chose to re-orient the new home toward Strawberry Butte.
As the owner of a construction company, Randy Raymond used his expertise to gather equipment, materials and strong backs. Volunteers poured the foundation Dec. 8, but the real building began Dec. 15 as crews worked throughout the day to frame the house and interior walls. By nightfall, the windows were set and the house was fully enclosed.
On Saturday, Dec. 16, more than 100 people sheetrocked, shingled, and nailed tongue-in-groove planking on the ceiling and rough-hewn timber on the walls. More volunteers came on Sunday, setting cabinets in place and painting the three children’s bedrooms a bright blue.
With temperatures hovering in the teens for most of the weekend, workers took respite inside a dark green wall tent, where tables displayed donated food — crock pots of stew, homemade rolls and boxes of sub sandwiches. Cocoa, coffee and spiced cider warmed workers from the inside out, and another table full of assorted cookies, candies and donuts fueled their activities.
Harvey Turnbow from Christoval, Texas, didn’t know the Gardner family. But he helps build homes and churches with his congregation down south, and heard about the Gardner’s plight recently while he was in Helena visiting family members.
He was amazed at the outpouring of expertise here.
“Normally, we do this with retired volunteers, not the professionals that I see here,” Turnbow said. “This is really something, without a doubt.”
Mike Ryan came with a group from St. Paul’s church.
“Obviously, we feel bad with what happened to them and the family, and want to help out,” Ryan said, adding that he built the Gardners an antique-style “pie safe” cupboard as a little gift.
Roger Udovich said even though he didn’t know the Gardners, he committed to helping as soon as he heard about the house raising.
“I was able to do a little bit here and there,” he said. That “little bit” included bringing in Christmas decorations and a wreath crafted by his wife.
Steve Fonger was working the saw, cutting boards to lengths called out by others. He’s known Kenny Gardner for years, and managed to get a few days off of work n at the post office, no less, during the busiest time of year n to help his friend.
“I figured I’d come up and give him a hand,” Fonger said simply. “This couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
MIRACLES HAPPEN
On Monday, the Gardners were still a little shell-shocked at the preceding three weeks’ activities.
“I’m overwhelmed, but that seems like such a small word when you look at all of this,” Kenny Gardner said, looking around in awe at the earthen home that’s arisen from the ground. “The word generosity is so small.”
But this generosity, at times, has been difficult for him to accept. From the goats and cows in the nearby pasture to their generator shed, it’s clear that this is a self-sufficient family, who has prided themselves on their ability to take care of their own needs.
Kenny Gardner readily acknowledges that he’s been wrestling with how to accept the unconditional giving from friends and strangers alike.
After talking with a close friend, though, he came to the realization that while this was for him, it wasn’t about him.
“He said people aren’t building this house for you n they’re building it for God,” Gardner said. “This is God’s work and not man’s work. I have nothing to do with this. All I have to do is accept it, as difficult as that is for me.
“That’s part of God’s work, bringing all these people together. It’s a miracle.”
