Among the many quotes the famous Booker T. Washington gave us include, “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” And so goes Love Thy Neighbor, a still unofficial collection of individuals bent on improving the lives of those in the community. It all started when an individual posted on Carmi Chitchat community facebook page a picture along with a frustrated commentary airing his grievance for a neighbor’s overgrown property. That prompted Silver Barnes to step up, rather than scroll on. She responded with a call to action and inspiring others to take up their rakes, weed eaters, and wheelbarrows to help out.
Read more at Lemons to Lemonade; McLeansboro Woman Gets the Last Word with Action Following Carmi Chitchat Post – WRUL-FM
On Saturday (May 17th), we caught up with that homeowner who agreed to sit down for an interview. The homeowner says the house he bought with his wife is a fixer upper for when he retired; circumstances have kept him from getting to that point.
Well, I was a carpenter for a lot of years. This was a house my wife and I bought for a fixer upper when I retire. I hoped to be done by now, but that’s going to happen for a few more years. So I’m doing what I can which is not much because I don’t have time or energy working third shift and being in my 60’s.
With a broken-down mower and vehicle, he is still doing what he can including walking to and from work 2 miles a day, about 45 minutes each way. He was hesitant to accept help, which is common.
It’s mine…it’s my responsibility. I have to do it. I don’t have a back up. I am the back up. It’s my thing…I got to do it. I don’t know how, but I have to do it. If I want something, I have to go out and work to get it. I was a trust fund baby. My parents trusted me to go out and fund myself.
Still yet, he says it’s so nice to know there are still people looking out for others and he genuinely appreciates the help.
They’re such good people. I didn’t know there were that kind of people left in this world. They’re so few.
On Sunday afternoon, just under a dozen folks gathered at the gazebo across from the Carmi Library with aims on assessing the problems that exist and trying to get organized moving forward with how to best tackle helping the community. Silver shared her story showing how going through a hardship herself (and the reaction she received) gave her a unique perspective. It’s a big part of why she couldn’t just scroll by when she came across the social media complaint. She moved to McLeansboro knowing no one and onto land that wasn’t set up for utilities. Barnes says she lived on that land, sometimes in a tent, with seven dogs for protection for years while her husband was an over the road trucker. What she needed was an easement to get electricity.
My neighbor that was the pastor refused to give us an easement across a cow pasture so I lived 3 years out there without electricity. I was using money, that I was wanting to use to build, fast on batteries and kerosene. And then I got really sick. I had to have a couple surgeries and chemo. Temperatures got into triple digits. My husband went down to ask our preacher neighbor if he would please give us an easement. He walked up to my husband and said, ‘I can’t do it brother.’ Did it make me mad that he said no? Not really. But it got my goat that he called my husband brother. Because that’s not how you treat a brother or a neighbor in need. I just wanted to go across a cow pasture. I wanted a fan. I wanted a cup of coffee without having to fire up a grill. I wanted to be able to take a bath without having to fire up the grill.
The inspired group on Sunday was made up of Chris Bowles who will head up home repairs. Katrina Hines is focusing on outside projects including mowing. Nancy Riggs will be making the rounds as a community liaison hoping to network with other agencies that may be able to lend a hand. Anita Newingham will handle any donations. They’re hoping to have a dedicated facebook presence in the near future and to further coordinate other projects.
Barnes says by the end of the day on the Saturday they cleaned up the first property, she had received about 70 requests for assistance in some form or fashion. She says that alone demonstrates the need is there. Barnes says the next two projects include a property that needs gutters cleaned out for a homeowner that simply can’t get to them and a good size lot that needs some attention. Stay tuned for more on those projects.
