©
By Chuck Martin
Correspondent
JAMESVILLE, N.C.
Never mind that superstitious talk about Friday the 13th. For Jeff Cooper and his family, Friday may have been the most fortunate day of their lives.
For the first time Friday night, the Coopers - Jeff, 44, his wife, Clara, 40, and their children, Windy, 16, and Aaron, 13 - saw their new home, built by hundreds of volunteers in this small community in northeastern North Carolina. It was all for the production of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," the reality ABC-TV series.
A week ago, show host Ty Pennington surprised the Coopers by coming to their door and announcing that they were about to get a new house for free.
Cooper, a decorated Army medic who served in Operation Desert Storm, has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. Local builders and architects designed the new home to be more accessible for him.
The one-story house has a contemporary style. It's made of log and wood veneer with an arched, standing-seam metal roof.
The network sent the family to Washington, D.C., for a weeklong vacation. Volunteers demolished their double-wide mobile home and began construction immediately.
"One of the biggest challenges we faced was not knowing when all of our volunteer workers would show up, and how long they would stay," said architect Jonathan White of Kitty Hawk.
John Norris, president of Edenton Builders in Edenton, said his crews stayed on schedule until about midweek, when they needed to get the roof on quickly.
They sent an emergency call out, and skilled volunteers responded quickly.
Hundreds from the area braved the rain, cold and mud on Friday to see the unveiling of the family's new home.
"I came with a friend and his girls to see if they could get Ty Pennington's autograph," said Bill Walker of Columbia.
They stood behind barricades for several hours while TV production crews rehearsed the last scenes in the show, cueing the crowds to cheer. At about 7 p.m., the Coopers arrived in a white stretch limo. Pennington opened the doors for them, and a few minutes later, the spectators got their chance to shout: "Move that bus!"
When the huge bus pulled down the gravel road, the Coopers saw their new home, cried and reached out to hug someone close.
The Coopers toured the house, but won't move in until this weekend.
No one else gets to see the interior until the show airs May 3.
"I think Jeff will be ecstatic," said his younger brother, Joe, who lives nearby.
"Our dad, who passed away, always wanted to build a log home, and I guess Jeff kind of inherited that wish."
Chuckmartin1@embarqmail.com
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Quiet Observer
Congrats on helping out! It's people like you and yours that made this happen. And, you are finally someone who knew there was no one there from Jamesville who volunteered with anything. That's what I was getting at, in a round about way. Jamesville didn't come thru for this family, once they learned WHO the family was. A sad shame there was so much bad blood between the family, and the small town folk there. I chose not to divulge what was spoken, entirely, from the townfolk, but if you read between the lines, everyone else would know what I heard, and what you observed. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out something is not right in the little town of Jamesville, when it comes to the family and the folks who live there....THAT'S why no one showed up to volunteer....THEY lived there, and THEY know how they felt about this family...regardless...Jamesville should be ASHAMED of themselves, and stepped up to the plate and HELPED OUT...REGARDLESS!!!!!!
I was there! Volunteered
I was there! Volunteered more than 35 hours! My wife and child also volunteered. We traveled the hour from Hertford, with glee. I needed to help without knowing or caring about any of the muck and mud that has been swirlling about.
Had a ball. Wished I could have done more but was restrained as I was not a professional.
But I can tell you what I did see, even though the community is small and going in, the volunteer help would be limited, of all the people I asked who were working, NOT ONE was from Jamesville. Made me wonder but also I didn't care. I justed wanted to be involved and did a good job of it.
KJohnson
missy???LOL!!And, no one was wanting fame,LOL,just knew what the "locals" said.And, what we experienced out there in all that rain/cold/mud.And, the ones that were "begged" to come in from the OBX to help,(twice!) since originally (supposedly) there were 5,000 volunteers,and HOW MANY really showed up?Yea, thought so.I KNOW there were some "locals' there,but remember, those behind the scenes know REALLY what went on, and have spoken about it.(so did some of your "locals")So, if you're implying that I didn't have my facts straight, well, one up on you, ok? You REALLY read into my post,didn't you? YOU are stating things, by going WAY too far into my post, and misreading it, so you blast ME? Blast the ones who never showed up, after volunteering, but when they learned who the family was, they backed out, was all I was getting at. You do the math. Then, go find some more of your "locals" to verify what I have said is the truth. Anything else?PLUS, I said, GOD BLESS THE COOPER FAMILY, AND ALL THOSE THAT VOLUNTEER TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN! (yea,you seem to have forgetten THAT, though, DIDN'T you?)
Locals Backed Out??
What are you talking about , saying that locals backed out???? you might wanna check yourself on that . i was there monday from 2pm till 3:30am , wednesday from 8pm till 5pm framing with a crew of 20 guys that were local construction workers. before you say something you know nothing about you might wanna know the facts. i can see your just another person that was trying to get in the spotlight,while the rest of us were working!by the way i was suppose to have 3 guys on our crew that was from the OBX , but guess what they never showed up.there's ya facts missy!LOL
Similar Story of "BANKERS" Helping Folks
http://www.islandfreepress.org/2009Archives/03.13.2009-ExtremeMakeoverHatterasStyle.html
BTW no intent to imply there was a "local" problem. Just thought the Hatteras story sort of went along with this one
LaughingOutLoud
Also....to shed light on the locals, since you call yourself one, because you were less than an hour away....the actual locals chatted on the shuttle and were more than eager to share things. One said she was ashamed of the townfolk in Jamesville, that they should have shown up as they committed to. They didn't, they backed out, and so, MANY had to be asked in a panic to help get it done, and most were from far away, not locals. There were even people out there standing for hours, that said there was an article in some newspaper, that stated the possible disgruntled remarks of a "near by" family member of Mr. Cooper. Others verified this, and had their own remarks. But bottom line, they felt the town folk should have been more helpful, even if it was a small town. Did you know the schools refused to let kids go to this? And teachers gave tests on Friday, and wouldn't allow the kids to make them up on Monday? Were THEY jealous THEY couldn't have the day off, so they had to make it miserable for the kids, who wanted to go with their parents and be a part of this great thing in their small hometown??? SHAME ON ALL THE TEACHERS AND PRINCIPAL! You should be proud, and there shouldn't ha
LaughingOutLoud
I, actually, find YOUR rendition of all this kinda funny, somewhat. True, it took EVERYONE there to get this done. But, there were tons of things behind the scenes that most would NEVER know about, unless they were a part of it. And, no one is trying to claim fame here, and if you THINK they are/were, then you completely misread the post. I, personally thanked the ones I KNEW were there and helped. But, while you were on the building end of this, others were on the outside, looking in, if you will. YOU don't have a CLUE what went on. And, the people I knew, said the floors were scratched all up, from non-regards to this, as well as the cobalt blue sink in the bathroom that had to be refixed, as once the power was permanent, all the sinks leaked. It was a busy, busy place with a deadline, that didn't make it, more or less, but enough for the tv cameras to get their show. I said, GOD BLESS TO THE FAMILY, AND TO ALL THOSE WHO VOLUNTEERED, etc., which would include YOU, too, right? Just trying to share the REAL experience from the outside, and getting the inside scoop from those who were inside, not out, as well as the locals talking on the shuttle bus. Nothing more.
to laughingoutloud
I didn't make any assumptions. Why did you assume I did? All I asked was for PattyOBX to explain what she meant by her statements of "there's more to the story" and "makes you wonder why local people blah blah blah etc." It seems to me that Patty knows something we don't know. I was just wondering what the rest of the story is.
To the previous two posters
I think you are both incorrect in your assumptions. I live less than an hour away (I'd consider that local) and I stayed on site working from Sunday, March 8th at 7:30 am until Friday, March 13th at 4:00 am. I don't understand why everyone wants more credit than others that worked at the site. Everyone had to work together to get this project completed on time. If it wasn't for the concrete workers there would be no foundation, if it wasn't for the framers there would be no walls, if it wasn't for the roofers there would be no roof, if it wasn't for the the electricians there would be no light, and so on and so forth! Get over yourselves. I think this project was wonderful and couldn't have been given to any one more deserving than the Cooper family. I met so many wonderful people throughout the week who, while they had never met the Cooper family, put 100% in this to give Mr. Cooper the same freedoms he fought so hard to preserve for us fellow Americans while he served overseas. Welcome home Cooper family, welcome home!
patty
What are you implying when you say it makes you wonder why the local volunteers didn't show up? What more to the story is there?