Crystal
02-14-2005, 09:45 AM
A new year brings a new home for elderly woman
Elfriede Turek now living in house that was built, paid for with donations
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON, Staff writer
First published: Monday, February 14, 2005
GLENVILLE -- Elfriede Turek leaned back in the overstuffed chair, petted the cat in her lap and smiled.
"You can't get lost in here, but I'm warm and dry," she said recently in the living room of her new home on Rectors Road.
It was mid-December when a local contractor learned about the plight of the 84-year-old woman, who was spending her days in an unheated garden shed and her nights at her daughter's house. He promised to have a house built for her by Christmas.
But just days before the new house was livable, Turek thought she needed to see a doctor. She was in a hospital for almost two weeks after tests confirmed she had a leaky heart valve.
On New Year's Eve, she moved into the 18-by-24-foot house. "We watched the ball come down, sitting right here," she said recently.
Turek said she was not sure what she would have done without the help of Kregg Grippo, the contractor who came to her aid.
The house and appliances were paid for with donations that came in after her plight was publicized.
She pointed to a wall of appliances, cabinets and kitchen sink fixtures that were given to her. "And there was the insulation, and someone who put in a new well, and the discount of the building materials," she said.
Grippo said the list of donors is lengthy, but thanked Clune Electric, Bonded Roofing, Craneville Block and Allied Building Supplies, among others, for their help.
Grippo said almost $10,000 in materials was donated and another $20,000 was given at cost. About $25,000 in labor was donated.
"We definitely had some bumps" in getting the house built, he said.
But he made some fast friends. "We've talked about doing another project in the future, maybe something for Habitat for Humanity," he said.
Grippo said he is working on a personal response to the more than 600 cards and letters he and his company received. "I got maybe half of them sent out," he said.
Turek's daughter, Diana Turek, said money donations from citizens also poured into the First National Bank of Scotia, along with Christmas cards, letters and notes.
Among the different efforts, she noted some kids collected bottles to come up with money and Lincoln Elementary School students took "a bag of money" to the bank.
At the heart of the older woman's problems was the family farm, which she and her late husband owned. In 1970, he bought an $18,000 insurance policy on the farmhouse.
He died in 1986, and over the years while premiums were paid, the coverage was never increased. So when the house burned in May, the insurance company only provided the $18,000 check.
Over the summer and into the fall, Turek and her two children, Diana and David, tried to clean up the lot and get things ready for new construction. But contractors called to the property all turned the job down.
Turek said there are plans to expand the small cabin-sized house. "But this time, I'm paying for it," she said.
Elfriede Turek now living in house that was built, paid for with donations
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON, Staff writer
First published: Monday, February 14, 2005
GLENVILLE -- Elfriede Turek leaned back in the overstuffed chair, petted the cat in her lap and smiled.
"You can't get lost in here, but I'm warm and dry," she said recently in the living room of her new home on Rectors Road.
It was mid-December when a local contractor learned about the plight of the 84-year-old woman, who was spending her days in an unheated garden shed and her nights at her daughter's house. He promised to have a house built for her by Christmas.
But just days before the new house was livable, Turek thought she needed to see a doctor. She was in a hospital for almost two weeks after tests confirmed she had a leaky heart valve.
On New Year's Eve, she moved into the 18-by-24-foot house. "We watched the ball come down, sitting right here," she said recently.
Turek said she was not sure what she would have done without the help of Kregg Grippo, the contractor who came to her aid.
The house and appliances were paid for with donations that came in after her plight was publicized.
She pointed to a wall of appliances, cabinets and kitchen sink fixtures that were given to her. "And there was the insulation, and someone who put in a new well, and the discount of the building materials," she said.
Grippo said the list of donors is lengthy, but thanked Clune Electric, Bonded Roofing, Craneville Block and Allied Building Supplies, among others, for their help.
Grippo said almost $10,000 in materials was donated and another $20,000 was given at cost. About $25,000 in labor was donated.
"We definitely had some bumps" in getting the house built, he said.
But he made some fast friends. "We've talked about doing another project in the future, maybe something for Habitat for Humanity," he said.
Grippo said he is working on a personal response to the more than 600 cards and letters he and his company received. "I got maybe half of them sent out," he said.
Turek's daughter, Diana Turek, said money donations from citizens also poured into the First National Bank of Scotia, along with Christmas cards, letters and notes.
Among the different efforts, she noted some kids collected bottles to come up with money and Lincoln Elementary School students took "a bag of money" to the bank.
At the heart of the older woman's problems was the family farm, which she and her late husband owned. In 1970, he bought an $18,000 insurance policy on the farmhouse.
He died in 1986, and over the years while premiums were paid, the coverage was never increased. So when the house burned in May, the insurance company only provided the $18,000 check.
Over the summer and into the fall, Turek and her two children, Diana and David, tried to clean up the lot and get things ready for new construction. But contractors called to the property all turned the job down.
Turek said there are plans to expand the small cabin-sized house. "But this time, I'm paying for it," she said.