By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
It's a good thing Lindsay Merrill's first home will be dedicated June 24 because she can't take many more sleepless nights.
Each daily development - Thursday it was installation of windows - in the Habitat for Humanity Dowagiac blitz build in tandem with Benton Harbor's Jimmy Carter Work Project sets the 28-year-old to tossing and turning in anticipation.
Her son Drew, 9, a McKinley third grader, has a more pragmatic reason to leap ahead three Fridays on the calendar.
He craves the privacy of his own room apart from his sister, Carly, 4. No more living in his aunt's basement.
Lindsay said she learned about Habitat working at Bender Electric. "Butch, my boss, had donated money to Harbor Habitat." She phoned Tom Deneau at Wightman and Associates, who referred her to Ned Sutherland.
Though she is committed to provide 500 hours of "sweat equity" on the project, another thought gnawing at her dreams is how she will ever adequately thank these strangers who descend on Dowagiac every summer.
Her mother, the former Debbie Davis, will be coming up from Florida.
You think author Michael Collins has adopted the Grand Old City, some Family Motor Coach Association members have been coming back with the regularity of snowbirds three, four, five years.
For Don and Marilyn McBain, of Toronto, Canada, who shared the table with Lindsay's family, this is their third year here from Toronto, Canada, in their Elkhart, Ind.-built motor home.
Eight coaches were here Thursday night to dine at Wood Fire with Habitat board members.
The first wave of FMCA's Habitat for Humanity chapter began arriving about a week ago and will be encamped at the Cass County Fairgrounds in Cassopolis until next weekend, when they will be followed by a second contingent of about 10 coaches.
In addition to giving their labor freely, the FMCA, established in the early 1960s, is sponsoring the build at 308 Clinton St. to the tune of $60,000.
Habitat's success depends on a sturdy foundation of dedicated local board members to provide support the other 50 weeks of the year, he said. "The involvement of the community is just phenomenal."
McBain had no experience in building homes prior to hooking up with Habitat except being interested in learning more about construction while "giving something back."
States represented at Wood Fire included Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and Connecticut. One couple is leaving Dowagiac to continue on to another build in Port Huron.
Weather has been more cooperative. "Last year we had a couple of days where we were rained out totally," McBain said. "We've got a good mix of experienced people and people who are here for the first time, willing to learn."