Christmas comes early for a Snoqualmie woman

Published 2:51 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

About 30 men and women armed with rakes, lawnmowers, hammers and clippers invaded the property of

83-year-old Nova Reed last week as part of the nationwide campaign

called Christmas in April.

Reed was among the 15 other homeowners on the Eastside that

were given a boost with their spring cleaning and renovations this year. This

was the fourth time that Christmas in April Eastside participated in the project

that aims to “keep people safe and warm in their homes,” said Ron Krueger,

an area coordinator for the organization.

Christmas in April was founded in 1973 in Midland, Texas, in the

tradition of neighbors helping neighbors. Now 27 years later, thousands of

volunteers across the nation devoted their energy last Saturday to

rehabilitate about 80,000 homes like Reed’s.

“It’s the joy of giving,” said Cadman Inc. worker Ron Bell,

who helped install a fence on Reed’s property. “They asked us and we

volunteered.”

Cadman and Baugh Construction spent the day at Reed’s home in

the 44600 block of Southeast 71st Street mowing the lawn, cutting down

dangerous trees, trimming the hedges, installing a fence and replacing

old storm windows _ which was a big leap from Reed’s original request.

“I was worried about my chimney deteriorating and it was beginning

to be an eyesore with pieces falling,” she said. “But they kept asking what

more they could do and I kept adding.”

Reed has lived in the log cabin home since 1960 where she and

her late husband Ed “Red” Reed would maintain the house and yard. But

since Red passed away six years ago, the duties fell upon Reed’s

shoulders. Though her neighbors and family would help as much as possible, it

still wasn’t enough to control the growing jungle that was overtaking her yard.

“After I lost my husband it wasn’t easy, but I kept on moving and

doing things,” Reed said. “I’m thankful

that it has gotten back into shape and maybe now I can keep it up.”

The volunteer crew managed to fill one dumpster with yard debris

and branches, which mostly came from a 15-foot hedge that almost reached

the nearby power lines. An unhealthy 40-foot tree was also brought down

and the workers were amazed at how bright and clean the property

looked after just a few hours of work.

“It’s amazing what a bunch of people can do,” said Barry

Meade, Cadman’s general manager, as he surveyed the volunteers’ work.

“Giving back to the community is critical for the company and it’s a super way

to spend a Saturday.”

Reed was also impressed with the transformation her property

underwent during the six hours the volunteers were there. She confessed

that at first she was skeptical that Christmas in April _ an organization she

had never heard of until she read about it in the Valley Record _ could do all

of the work in one day. But now Reed said she is a believer.

“I think it’s fantastic. It was hard to grasp what could take place

here until it started,” she said. “I

couldn’t believe that this could take place and now that I see it, I’ll believe it.”

“I’ve had a lot of nice Christmases before, but this gives me faith in

the human race that I’ve been losing for years,” Reed added.

But Reed wasn’t the only one to benefit from this weekend’s

experience; the volunteers also received an invaluable reward.

“Our motto is working together to build our community,” said

Tom Whiteman of Cadman. “We benefit from team building _ getting out

of the office and showing what we can do together.”