Almost 100 people showed up with tools and work gloves to be a part of the community event on April 11, 2015. Young and old, black and white, men and women, deaf and hearing were all willing to get dirty and scratched in the effort to reveal the Avery Vann Cherokee Log Cabin. First there was Gorg Hubenthal, Tripp Johnston, Eric Gresham and their friend scaling 40 foot ladders at 6:30 AM to the top of the structure in order to remove the old tin and the three large dormers. Lester Tierce and son, Jason, supplied their magic machine “The Lull” and expert operation to help the workers maneuver and to remove the roof of the second addition in about four hours.
In the meantime, Board members Pete Mathis and Steve Craw were opening up the cabin, the work area and the lumber storage area. Board members, Billy Wayne Abernathy, Anne Montgomery and others were setting up tents, chairs and tables for the nurses and registration. Board member Chris Lemons was providing 100 warm sausage and biscuits and gallons and gallons of hot, black coffee with all the fixings. Board member, Linda Hall,supplied red warning flags and armbands to our safety folks who made sure no one was injured by falling debris or big machinery. The nurses, Teresa Wood and Julie Fellers, pulled out splinters and patched a number of scratches, but only one injury required additional care. Sam Craw was helping his father remove the staircase from between the buildings when a board came loose throwing him down on his on his back on a pile of rocks causing bruising, but an X-Ray showed no broken bones. Clint Maynard, after working five days doing construction was putting up scaffolds and tear off the north end of the roof. Charlie Malone and Nord Patterson were removing all the plywood covering the windows and removing the windows.
The Cave Spring United Methodist Church was well represented with Pastor John Page removing lumber while his wife Stacy and daughters Kasana and Marisa were pulling nails from the hundreds of boards as they came off the cabin. John Johnston, a spritely 69 year old, was at the ridge of the building removing 5 layers of shingles including tons of original wood shingles as was 67 year old Terry Lemons. Curt Burch found one shingle that had been stamped with a company name that we hope to research. He worked two days in some of the most difficult spots removing siding and flooring. John House had provided our large food tent and then worked in the grime removing lumber until he was covered in sweat and soot. Friends Larry and Ann Gore drove up from Powder Springs to help move lumber and be on the safety team. Doyle Albritton and Tony Elicker represented the deaf community extremely well as they put in two days of hard work in some of the roughest areas with their good friend Eric Whitworth working along side them every step of the way. It was great seeing Lydia Trimble and her husband Ralph (my colleague from “Floyd College”) helping move lumber. Annie Shields who is reconstructing a 150 year old African American church in Texas valley brought her documentarian from Los Angeles to film a great deal of the process since some of the cabin materials will be recycled in their project.
David Stiles came all the way from Dallas, Texas to get a proper workout as he moved scaffolds and shoveled debris in the dumpster provided through Larry Hesterly. Randy Williams and his sister Susan cooked 25 gallons of Brunswick Stew that fed everyone at lunch. The smell of the wood fire and the stew cooking certainly was an incentive to work harder. Eddie did the important work of stirring the stew for 4 hours to prevent it from scorching. Former President, Peggy Allgood, provided water and other drinks as did Linda Hall and others to help keep everyone hydrated.
A small army of folks, Mike Atkins, Glenda Williams, Gola Burton, Lori Posey, Timothy Reeves, Shawna Rocka, Nell Mc Cain, Edda Hood, Eric Gresham, Haydon Yoder, Mike Ragland, Christy Stansell, Joseph Grigsby, Sandra Lindsey, LeAnn Watson, Stan Watson, Jan Musick, Kenneth Grindstaff and others who did not sign our register were removing siding, pulling nails, sorting lumber, stacking in wood bins. Let me know who is left off this list. I know there were many others working but did not get their names written down. A prodigious amount of work was done in 8 hours by volunteers that would have cost the community thousands and thousands of dollars if we paid someone to do it. At the same time, we had great camaraderie and a shared experience that will last a life time. There was not an ill word uttered all day. “What can I do now?” And “Can I help” were the by words for the day. A glorious day for the citizens of Cave Spring Ga
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