David Welton invited This is Whidbey to run his photos from the 32nd Annual South Whidbey Hearts & Hammers event the past weekend. His award-winning photos run in the South Whidbey Record. David’s photos framed my writing when This is Whidbey was first created in August of 2018. We occasionally collaborate still.
Hearts & Hammers is the brain child of the late Lynn Willeford, who founded the non-profit during the 1990s. Her legacy continues on in a number of community-oriented non-profits. Hearts & Hammers began as a simple notion: noticing that some women of her church needed help with house repair and gardening, Lynn, a self-described “serial starter-upper,” organized people to gather and help their neighbors. With initial sponsorship by the Langley United Methodist Church, Hearts and Hammers began as a pilot program in 1994 to help repair and rehabilitate homes for those who were either unable or couldn’t afford to do the work alone.
Here is what David wrote:
This was the 32nd Hearts SW Hearts and Hammers. Workday General and H&H Board member Matthew Swett said that this volunteer service project has spread to North and Central Whidbey, and even beyond to Dallas and Twin Cities in Minnesota. Over 400 volunteers spread all over the south end of Whidbey for home repairs to 32 job sites.
The South Whidbey High School cafeteria was not available this year due to construction, so the pre-work day breakfast and orientation were in the high school auditorium. It was fun to see many familiar faces and friends who have participated for years, like Bill Koll, Chris Spencer, Sarah Birger, Dyanne Sheldon, Blake Willeford , Peter Oakley, Bob Dalton and Allyson Meyer and others.
My first stop was the home of Olaf Sanders, a native Swede who lived on Goss Lake for 16 years He is very affable and enjoyed the crowd cleaning his deck and providing covered parking for his scooter. I first met Olaf a few years ago at the Nordic Festival where he was competing in the lutefisk eating contest.
Detta Gentry delivers meals-on-wheels to Olaf and was delighted to be assigned to his work party, captained by Bob O’Neil and Julie Enderle-O’Neil. It seemed to me that there was a relative scarcity of young people at the orientation.
So I asked twenty -something Hanna Mack why she was clearing brush from Olaf’s home rather than partying with friends on the weekend. She told me she was discouraged and upset by current events and decided to do something positive in her local community, where change starts. This is her second year. She hopes H+H will inspire others. So do I.
Next stop was the home of Josh Hauser who is over 90. She lives on a bluff overlooking Holmes Harbor. The street is narrow with limited parking. Access to her front door is difficult due to overgrowth and and an irregular path.
Bruce Schwager and wife Kristy have supported H+H for at least 30 years and have passed that spirit along to daughter Karen. Karen and her husband Isaac Leitz encourage their son who is too young to participate this year but did come to orientation. He is a physical therapist at Whidbey Performance Physical Therapy. He and his family, staff and associates cleared brush, rain gutters, pressure washed the deck, cut danger trees, built railing and provided Josh with a parking space for her car. By the time I left at 11:30 they had hauled three trailer loads to the dumpsite. Josh, the owner of Moonraker Books in Langley, was extremely grateful. She went to Freeland for coffee and doughnuts for the crew but forgot her purse. She scrounged her car for change and loose bills and returned in time for group hugs and photos.
Next I went to Wagon Wheel Estates where a team captained by Sarah Birger weeded and tidied up the yards of two homes. Homeowner Lynn Little cooked up a batch of her special cupcakes and cookies for the appreciative team.
Kevin Lungren was there with his daughter Emma, a graduate of SW High School. She has followed Kevins’ voluneer spirit and points proudly at his Woodchuck captain hat from 2017. She is 29 and will continue helping others when she completes her nursing training.
