By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Stacy Pulliam Jr. will soon be attending the new Dowagiac Middle School and moving into a new Habitat for Humanity home on Maple Street.
He and his wife Lavina have three children: Stacy Jr., 11; Josh, 8; and Alexuss, 7. They currently live in an apartment at Hamilton Square on N. Lowe Street. They are investing a total of 500 hours of "sweat equity."
With four bedrooms, each child will have their own bedroom.
Stacy works for Modineer in Niles. Lavina is employed by McDonald's. He's originally from Benton Harbor. Dowagiac has been her lifelong home for 34 years. They attend Second Baptist Church.
Home ownership had always been a goal for the family. A few priorities for Lavina is having flowers in her yard, a garden out back and a dog.
She hopes to pay forward the kindness shown to her family.
Across town a half hour later, another home was dedicated.
Habitat President Dave Springsteen traced the process which led to completion of the Merrill house at 308 Clinton St. where Lindsay will live with her children, Drew, 9, and Carly, 4.
Stephenson Land Surveying of Edwardsburg "surveyed the land. It all started there. Lindsay's dad (Andy Merrill) came in and dug the basement and provided all the excavating. M&L Construction came in for the basement. From there, Scott Wade Construction put the floor down and got it ready for the stairway that Dave Ottinger of Fryman's helped us do. He also helped us build the garage. Walls were pre-made by Michiana Truss. Roof trusses were made by Midway Engineering. Both companies out of Dowagiac. Jim Moore came in and helped us with his crane service and helped us put the trusses up. The guys from Judd Lumber came in and decked the roof for us. We didn't have to spend a lot of time on the roof. Fryman Construction shingled the roofs of both the garage and the house in four hours.
To the Family Motor Coach Association members, Springsteen said, "Not only did you build a house, but you took care of the financial responsibilities."
The FMCA dedicated its build and $60,000 contribution to Larry Clark, a chapter founder from Coleman. His widow, Alice, and sons Ken and John were on hand to present Lindsay with a quilt, "though you probably won't need it this afternoon," given temperatures in the 90s.
The Clarks wintered in New Mexico and worked with a Habitat affiliate there.
At the suggestion of Alexuss Pulliam, 7, everyone sang happy birthday to the new homes.