Slipstream - April 2010

Mavericks Build With Habitat
by Tom Snodgrass
Maverick Region volunteers joined many
others for the first build day on the 50th
house for Habitat for Humanity of South
Collin County. Saturday,
February 20th started with
a pleasant, cool morning.
Standing on the concrete
slab surrounded by dirt, it
was hard to imagine that we
would have all the inside
and outside walls up by the
early afternoon. Prominent
is the homeowner who gets
to drive the first ceremonial
nail. Jasmine Anderson was
all smiles as we were about
to get started building her
house!
It probably seemed
more real as everybody
loaded up with hammers, nail
aprons, and big 16 penny nails. Maybe we were going to
get some work done after all! Then we walked half a block
Great job at helping build the community
away to a parking lot that was big enough to spread out the
wall sections and put them together. Jasmine worked on the
slab, so we weren’t exactly elbow-to-elbow with her, but
whenever we went back,
she was right there earning
her sweat equity. Of course,
building walls isn’t all that
simple! The 2x4’s need to
be lined up exactly, and the
right number of nails need
to be pounded in straight.
If they get bent, they have
to be pulled out and started
over again. Once the walls
were done and quality
checked, they were carried
down the middle of the
street back to the slab where
they were put together like
puzzle pieces.
Lunch time was well
received. Not just because it was late, but because we also
needed a break. Most weekday office dwellers are not used
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