Published: October 26, 2009 01:36 pm      

A home of their own

Habitat for Humanity enables Page family to live in their own home for the first time

SOMERSET — The Tina Page family officially has a home of its own today. The celebration took place Sunday at 8480 Lower Lake Road with more than 100 people taking part in the Habitat for Humanity dedication and singing “Bless This House.”

Tina Page and her sons Clark, Travis, Darrin and Jonathan and her mother, Judy Ames, put more than a 1,000 sweat equity hours into the building partnership. Volunteers added love equity, faith equity and hundreds more hours of work.

Colonel Silas Molyneaux and his wife, Marilyn donated more than an acre of land for the Page family and another lot for a project in the future.

“I’m 93 years old and it’s time for me to finish up my business,” said Molyneaux, who enlisted after Pearl Harbor and served as a pilot in World War II and the Korean War.

The lifetime Barker residents owned a couple-hundred acres of land and sold the property, but reserved the frontage for homes to be built. Lower Lake Road has good frontage for sewage as well as electric and gas lines.

Building supervisor Carl Stieffenhofer recognized the town officials and community for its exceptional cooperation. “I have never seen it to the degree that I’ve seen here,” said Stieffenhofer.

Stieffenhofer, who has worked on all 13 houses built in the Lockport area, was rewarded with the gift of an apple pie from Tina Page.

“We sign the papers tomorrow and we can start moving in,” Tina Page said. “It’s a gorgeous house. I’m very thankful. I like the area. I like everything. I never thought it would happen. It’s a dream come true.”

While mom and grandmother collected most of the work hours required, Clark, Travis, Darrin and Jonathan also worked on the house.

Clark, 19, has enlisted in the Army National Guard and lives in a Lockport apartment. He’s a forward observer with the 2nd Squadron 101st Cavalry in Buffalo.

“It’s beautiful,” Clark said of the four-bedroom house. “My mom deserves it. She’s worked hard her whole life. A single mom with four boys, she’s working all the time. My mom did a lot of work.”

Clark tried to get to the house once a week to work.

Travis, 17, a Barker senior, logged 52 hours. He noted that his mother and grandmother were at the house almost every day.

Travis has also enlisted in the National Guard and will leave for boot camp and advanced individual training after graduation on July 14. “It’s rumored we’re going to Afghanistan, but nothing is finalized yet,” he said.

Darrin, 15, worked on the railings, porches and walls. He’ll have a room to himself now and intends to keep it white on white — with a picture of the band Green Day.

Jon, a seventh-grader at Barker, swept, worked on the roof and took wood out to the burning pile. “My mom and grandma put in all the time,” he said.

Jon will also have his own room. “It’s a lot better,” he said. “All our old homes had bugs and stuff.”

The Page family are old neighbors of Supervisor Richard Meyers, who did electrical work, framing and roofing. “She’s a very dedicated mother, a very hard worker. She deserves this completely,” he said. “She raised the boys by herself and did a heck of a job.”

Meyers added, “The people of this town really want to go good by their neighbor and this just proves it. We had a lot of people from the community.”

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian housing ministry with the mission of providing decent, affordable housing in partnership with families of modest income. Because Habitat collects no interest, the monthly mortgage payment is less than $500.

“This is a true partnership,” said Rev. J. Fay Cleveland, president of the Habitat for Humanity, Lockport.

Contact reporter Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, ext. 6246.