The motto of Brooks-Howell Home
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God had Other Plans for the Howes
While the Dew is Still on the Roses
Volunteering in Different Ways
Brooks-Howell Has a "Peace Garden"
Volunteerism - a Natural Thing
God had Other Plans for the Howes
Dulac, Louisiana is beautiful. Graced with mighty
live oaks softened by trailing Spanish moss, it sits on a spit of
land between two lakes–thus the name Dulac. Crisscrossed by
bayous and undershot with water, the village literally rests on
floating ground. John and Coy
Howe had spent the decade of the 60's in Houma,
Louisiana–just seventeen miles north of Dulac. We formed
warm friendships with the directors who were at the Dulac
Methodist Community Center at that time. Coy was able to share in
their program from time to time and fell in love with the
beautiful children who were everywhere.
In October 2002 the Howes had the opportunity to go to Dulac and
fill in a spot of two where the staff was stretched thin.
Whatever the plans were, they changed when the NE Quadrant of
Hurricane Lili roared ashore at Dulac on October 3. The Howes
arrived on Sunday, October 6, just as the folks of the area, who
had been evacuated, were returning to their homes. They gathered
at the Center to talk about the storm and how to start the huge
job of clean up and recovery. The terrific winds had stirred up
mud and muck from the bottom of the bayous and blown it ashore at
levels of three to four feet. By the sixth about two feet of
water remained. We were puzzled on arriving to see that everyone
had white boots, all a perfect height to trudge through the mud
and water. We discovered they were shrimper’s boots and we
headed out to the nearby store to be effectively outfitted for
the task at hand. The group shared supper that evening and as we
were introduced we recognized some of the names of the children
we knew in the 60's–the adults of today. One who remembered
us said she knew me as the lady who always wore shoes that tied
and little tiny short white sox. She was pleased to see that I
still did.
The folks of Dulac and other villages in the marsh area are
members of the Houmas Indian Tribe. They have a directing council
that speaks for the tribe officially, and in 2002 elected their
Principal Chief of the tribe, a woman who had been very active in
the Council for many years. The inauguration of the Chief was
held at the Center. It involved a dignified program of many short
speeches followed by a dance led by the new Chief and her
husband. She began to circle the room in a dignified step and
after one circle others joined in until all who wished were in a
huge circle doing the same step. Music for the dancing was played
on very large drums and everyone playing knew just how the
intricate beat was to go. In the days after Hurricane Lili an
amazing number of trucks rolled up, bringing clothing, food,
clean up supplies (from UMCOR). Long lines formed, and each
person explained their specific needs (in French) as Coy tried to
fill in blanks in English. We finally resorted to sign language
and wound up laughing as husband or wife held arms far apart
trying to show the size their partner would need. Sometimes one
of the children who had been to school piped up in English and
saved the day.
Many work teams came through the summer of 2003. John worked
on clean up the entire nine months we were there, and Coy just
worked with people. The program for the year was recovery.
While the Dew is Still on the Roses
You see him every day in the gardens and in the pottery room-sometimes at the piano in the chapel. And recently he and his wife observed their 50th wedding anniversary at a lovely affair in the Activities building. Leon Strunk is a volunteer gardener and a pottery maker who knows more about orchids than anyone here and whose pottery is "nice stuff." After working in Brazil for forty-two years, he and his wife, Martha, came to Brooks-Howell and in the five years of their residency they are the kind of people who make this Home a great place in which to live.
Leon calls himself a
"self-appointed assistant gardener," as he works with
the staff responsible for keeping the yards looking beautiful
year around. Leon plants seedlings in the greenhouse, at the back
of the main building, and watches as the gardener re-plants them.
Many are perennials and return to the light of another year, as
are many of the bulbs across and around the grounds. He keeps up
with the latest developments as a member of the Asheville
Botanical Gardens and attends their show each year, especially to
see plants native to North Carolina. Orchids are favorite flowers
and when in Brazil, where many kinds grow, Leon was an orchid
gardener, mentioning that most of his one hundred forty different
kinds came from nearby, because Espiritu Santo State where they
lived is famous for its native orchids. Now here in North
Carolina, Leon has introduced wild flowers at Brooks-Howell and
they can be seen from time to time in an area east of the Village
parking lot. This kind of work sometimes takes him, with his
watering and checking other flowers, two to three hours a day.
His early duties were weeding, now he does that and much more.
Next time you look at the Rose Garden, remember
Leonā€“he was instrumental in getting it started, and
much more.
But to know Leon you must also know that he has the pottery shop
in the main building and recently he "threw" ten pots
in one afternoon. When completed they are displayed in the
cabinet near the swimming pool area. Visitors and local folk look
them over for purchases regularly. This part of his volunteering
began after he came to the U.S. for retirement, and like the
gardening, it is well done. Proceeds from sales go to the Martha
Strunk Community Center in Brazil.
Leon says his interest in gardening is a natural; he grew up on a
farm and continued his interest in gardens all his life. His
piano contribution in chapel once a month is the same, always
with him as a talent and enjoyment. He enjoys photography also,
and develops and prints black-and-white photos. He and Martha
served in various places in Brazil and at the last he helped
build a church at Nova Almeida. There she was a pastor and
creator of the Martha Strunk Community Center, which is a mission
for children for tutoring, noon meals, medical and dental care.
Their anniversary gifts of over $1500 were sent to this program.
The Strunks have two daughters, one who lives in Asheville, and a
son. Their family visited here for their anniversary celebration
and shared Brazilian goodies with all. Why does Leon give of his
time and talents? "I volunteer as a thanksgiving for living
at Brooks-Howell." These words explain why all here share in
the same thanksgiving.
In mid afternoon of March 12,
fourteen members of the Western North Carolina Conference Work
Team #7 took an overnight flight to Santiago, Chile. Fabiola
Grandon, the team coordinator for the Methodist Church in Chile,
met us, along with other members of the church. Soon we were in a
bus, en route to Llo Lleo, our work site. After almost two hours
we arrived at Hotel Alhambra, where Pastora Hilda, along with
other members of the Llo Lleo Church gave us a very enthusiastic
welcome.
The work site, construction on a parsonage, was
within easy walking distance of the hotel. We found that the
church and parsonage compound was located in the center of the
small town Llo Lleo, which was part of the greater San Antonio
Metropolitan area. San Antonio is the oldest harbor and port in
Chile. Another team from WNCC, as well as some of the local
people, had already worked on the site. Several walls had already
been constructed. The next day we began in earnest.
Several members of the team had been on many work teams
throughout Latin America, and a few to Africa and Europe. The
inexperienced builders like myself were in a minority. The local
pastor and her members did not speak English. The team leader,
Rev. Donald Newman, was fluent in Spanish and the GBGM
missionary, John Elmore, knew Spanish and is experienced in
construction work. He, along with a Chilean construction engineer
hired by the Methodist Church in Chile have been appointed to
supervise the building of many new churches and parsonages in the
next few years. tire time Four were assigned They and the
supervisors of our work. My very first task was to help the
Chilean construction engineer use the plumb line on the walls as
he lined up the new columns which the team was constructing.
John, the missionary, made the assignments of our task. Four were
assigned to lay the bricks for two more walls. One man was their
helper in carrying bricks and mixing the cement. A local man
operated the motorized cement mixer. Another group was making
forms for the columns and pouring cement in them. My second job,
along with another woman, was to chip out the cement in the brick
walls and to make them look like a plain, brick wall is supposed
to look. One wall was a challenge. They explained that the reason
was that the new wall had been constructed against an old wall,
and the brick layers could not clean it as they went along. The
old wall was torn down as we arrived. Off and on 
during
the two weeks we worked on that wall. In the meantime I did other
jobs like cutting wire strips for those making the forms for the
columns and varnishing wooden beams. It is amazing the simple
jobs available for the inexperienced and elderly. Some of the
younger women used a hammer and trowel as well as the men.
It was not all work and no play. There were worship services in
the local church with translations. Some of us participated in
the services. On Sunday afternoons we went sightseeing. The local
people had a cultural evening where we tried to learn the
national dance. Meal hours were a time of feasting and fellowship
with each other and the local members who prepared and served
sumptuous meals, nutritious and digestible, of fruit, vegetables
and rice.
Before taking our night flight back to the United States we spent
a night and day in Santiago, sightseeing and shopping. Santiago
is a large city of almost seven million. It has more than a third
of the total population of Chile. The people rushing to and fro
reminded me of New York City. Our impressions of Chile are very
good. We did not see any beggars. And we found that bargaining
was not useful. The Chilean people seemed to us to be very honest
and hardworking. The Methodist Church is alive and has a great
vision for the future. We believe our presence there, and the
second work team with many more to follow, were a great
encouragement to them.
Nearly everyone at Brooks-Howell is a
volunteer of one activity or another, but there are among the
residents some who are a "volunteer’s volunteer."
Such a person is Frieda Morris.
Frieda spends time each week with the ABCCM and their clothing
shop and knows the ropes of not only how to share, but also the
wherewithal of how people qualify, their needs and what can be
done. The numerous details of how the organization assists those
in need are ABC to her, and she is a whiz at keeping records of
what goes on.
But ABCCM duties are only a part of what Frieda does. She is a
crafts teacher and innovator for those with creative urges and
skills here. At almost any time it is possible to see some of the
homemade arts which she has helped residents make. The Arts and
Crafts group meets with her weekly to design, to draw, to create
the new-- for themselves, for Brooks-Howell, and includes
decorating eggs, making markers for doors, jewelry, paper beads
and gifts for summertime family reunions. Frieda is a teacher
also in the lapidary for those interested in polishing stones and
learning this art form.
She became a deaconess in 1948 after completing college at
Genessee Wesleyan Junior College (New York) and Allegheny College
(Pennsylvania). Her residency at Brooks-Howell began in 1993 and
since he has adapted to the southern way of life with the variety
of volunteer activities. Frieda’s life goes on as well with
church activities, again in keeping with her commission as a
deaconess, facing new challenges with grace and blessing.
Volunteering in Different Ways
While there was no White Elephant Sale this
year the C.E.H. (Chief Elephant Herder), Jayne Smith, did not
cancel her usual volunteer services. She continues on committees,
distributing mail to the health unit, and at present she is
recovering from a hip replacement. Jayne’s contributions
here also included time in literacy classes with wives of Spanish
workers in the Asheville area. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she
found this a rewarding task.
But these few lines do not do justice to a "real"
volunteer both present and past. Jayne and her husband, LeGrand,
came to Brooks-Howell in 1998 after serving in Bolivia, Uruguay
and Argentina with the Methodist Church.
Jayne’s experiences during the many years in Latin America
are significantly marked with volunteer work, beyond her
church-related responsibilities, with ecumenical groups. In
Argentina, she was a member of a Protestant group of women
(Baptists, Pentecostals and Methodists) who took on a special
ministry with children and mothers in a local hospital where
people of low incomes were largely ignored. Jayne became the
statistician for the program and enabled the doctors to know what
deformities and illnesses might be present before babies were
delivered. Her ministry and that of those with whom she worked
was one of "tender loving care." The background she and
others lived in was one of changing social and political
conditions in the northern Argentine area of Tucuman where people
had formerly held jobs in the sugar industry. It was in this area
where workers started the first strikes against the military
dictatorship. Many were arrested, killed, or simply disappeared.
In this same area with an international group, Jayne worked with
grandmothers and children whose parents had disappeared. In the
church, children were helped with after-school classes by
students living in the Methodist hostel. Now in more settled
conditions, Jayne remains alert to helping in new voluntary ways
and enjoys her family of three sons, one daughter and ten
grandchildren.
Wintringham
Winter Toboggans
When some of the people at Brooks-Howell were growing up, the
word "toboggan" meant going downhill on a big sled.
Would anyone then have imagined that today "toboggan"
means a knitted cap–and is a project for ABCCM (Asheville
Buncombe Community Christian Ministry)? It is just that, and with
pleasure Jeanne Wintringham knits and also helps distribute the
caps as she works with the clothing unit of ABCCM.. Her volunteer
work there is a nine-year record of service which she says is an
important activity for the cause and for herself. Jeanne spends
Monday mornings sorting and helping recipients get what they
need–shirts, coats, dresses and, of course, caps. She is one
of several from Brooks-Howell who work hard and enjoy the
fellowship of sharing in the ministry of those in need.
Jeanne’s background is as a deaconess and also as a
missionary. She served three years in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon,
Myanmar) and following long time interests she continued in
pursuit of music and teaching after her return. She took
deaconess orders later and for many years served on the faculty
of Sue Bennett College. Her musical background has qualified her
for other volunteer work. Here she is a member of the chapel
choir, the bell choir and sits at the reception desk on other
occasions. She is also active in Groce United Methodist Church.
And still she finds time to knit the "toboggans."
Brooks-Howell Has a "Peace Garden"
Sylvia Smyth has worked on a garden ever
since she moved here three years ago. It is nestled between
neighbors’ gardens behind the triplex. The upper of three
terraced levels now has two raised planting beds which enable the
creaky-jointed gardener to play in the dirt without actually
bending over! September’s bumper crop of sunflowers were a
treat for the acrobatic Chicadees and Goldfinches, who relish the
drying seeds. The raised beds hold these saucers of gold right up
to the triplex windows. This affords the viewer a bird’s eye
view.
The lower level hosts a natural wood arbor with local limestone
floor. A lavender wisteria vine is just beginning to hoist itself
up over the top grid. Some day soon this will provide a shady
sitting area to repot plants, meditate or enjoy tea with a
neighbor. Local limestone was also used for the stackstone
retainer which helps both topsoil and moisture around a pair of
lovely old dogwood trees. Hardy groundcover adds a splash of
green year round.
The middle level is the walking path. Eventually it will be
finished with some covered rain drain areas topped with wood
chips to make it comfortable for foot and wheelchair visitors.
One side of the path was used to create a drought-friendly
"Oriental Garden." It includes lots of small and
medium-sized rocks dug up from the planting area. They represent
a miniature slice of Brooks-Howell geologic history. The curious
Cardinals, Towhees and Carolina Wrens don’t give a tweet
about history, but they love poking under and perching on top of
the larger stones.
What started as a clean up operation to remove non-biodegradable
landfill turned into a terracing/planting project to preserve the
top soil and protect the trees. Now it is emerging as an exercise
in habitat creation. What fun! Provision of food, water and
nesting sites attracts a variety of feathered friends year round.
A white dove has become a regular visitor, so some refer to this
as our "Shanta Vana/Peace Garden." The garden is
attractive to people as well as to bees, butterflies and birds.
Non-feathered friends stroll through and pause to enjoy a
peaceful moment with nature.
Volunteerism -a Natural Thing
When
Pat Richardson came to Brooks-Howell she left behind years of
experience in the Methodist Church of Argentina, even her title
as a minister of the Annual Conference. Here she has taken on new
responsibilities and applies to them the skills of a missionary
pastor.
Pat spends one morning, and sometimes more time, with the
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM), the
large ecumenical group involved in crisis concerns–medical
clinics, a jail ministry, shelters, provisions of food, among
other services. As people have needs, so does ABCCM, and
Pat’s job is to help with the information for folders and
computerization of the data gathered daily.
This work is supplemented weekly in another role with the
Literacy Council. She tutors a Mexican man twice a week in the
reading and writing of English, a cultural and vocabulary
building process. She says it is exciting to hear him say as he
enters, "Coming in." When the teaching session is over,
he comments, "Thank you for coming to teach me."
There is more to Pat’s ministry. She is an active member of
the Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church and sings in the
choir. To this she adds being a member of a group which ministers
in the "Room in the Inn" program. This is a program
among about twenty-five churches which assists women who are
homeless, and her group provides for some of the homeless for one
week each quarter.
"Why all the volunteerism?" She replies,
"It’s a natural thing to be doing and involves me in
being in activities where there are no pushes or pulls. Voluntary
work is what it means, possibly doing something useful, without
the restrictions of a paying job, and so I am free to do things
without a structural load."
United Way Campaign The United Way Campaign at Brooks-Howell Home was held in September for two weeks, with a box in the lobby for contributions.The residents are enthusiastic about contributing, because they are aware of what United Way does, and many have been in situations where their work has received help from United Way. The goal for this year was surpassed, with contributions of $4300, more than last year. It is estimated that 70 persons, residents and staff, contributed. Jesus said, "As you have done to the least of these, you have done it for Me."
Howes
Return to Mission Work John
and Coy Howe have answered a call from the General Board of
Global Ministries to return to the Dulac Community Center in
Louisiana, where they once worked among the Houma Nation. coy
will act as Program Director and John will work with the
Administrator with books and records. They expect to be there for
3-6 months. When they left, Hurricane Isadore had just cause
people in the area to evacuate, and Hurricane Lily arrived
shortly after. We were not surprised to hear they they are busy
helping clean up after the storms.
May Update: The learning center, consisting of several school rooms, was under three feet of water. The rooms had been used to teach computer classes to the women to give them skills for better jobs. John's chief task has been to tear down walls, tear out insulation, kill mold, and restore the learning center. Coy's job involves determining what programs the community wants, to obtain materials, and to write grants. They love the people, but are looking forward to getting home, probably by the third week in June.