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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Volunteers build new home in Ely

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ELY – The tap-tap-tap of hammers pounding nails and the whir of power saws cutting wood could be heard in Ely this past weekend as a new home went up through the efforts of dozens of volunteers and North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity.

A “blitz build” began Friday morning with the goal of erecting the structure, located in the shadow of the Ely water tower, by Monday. Mother Nature threw in a couple of rain showers and downpours over the weekend, but community members persevered.

Branden and Kaylen Carlsness-Anderson and their young son will move into their new home by the end of summer.

“I can’t believe all these people are here just for us and to help us build our new home,” said Kaylen Friday morning as she finished a quick lesson in reading house plans from a UMD architect student. “We are just so thankful for all this support.”

Community volunteers, alongside volunteers from Olympic Framers from the Twin Cities worked to get the entire house dried in, with walls, roofing, siding, windows and doors all installed.

The work site was vacant Monday afternoon as showers inundated the area, and work resumed later in the week.

Doug Gettle, a member of the board of directors for the Habitat organization, trimmed flashing between the raindrops Saturday afternoon. “We made really good progress despite all the rain,” he said. “Many people just continued working when they could. There are lots of wet people here.”

Work will continue this summer on painting the exterior and landscaping. A tentative schedule of insulation and drywall activities in July and final interior finishing work in August and September are anticipated.

“The community of Ely is showing their support and enthusiasm for this project with so many area volunteers stepping up to the plate,” said Lauren Johnson of the organization.

Members of the Ely Memorial High School National Honor Society and Voyageur Outward Bound School, along with many individuals, helped throughout the weekend. “A build day is a wonderful project for a family or as a means of increasing teamwork among your colleagues,” Johnson said. “We had a great turnout.”

Habitat for Humanity has another building lot located next to the current project. Both lots were donated by the city of Ely.

“If you know a family that would meet Habitat for Humanity’s three criteria, a need for housing, a willingness to be a partner in the process, and a stable income that can handle an affordable zero-percent interest mortgage for the home, contact the Habitat offices, 218-749-8910, or have them visit our website at www.nslchfh.org,” Johnson said.

For more information on how to help build the new home, contact Susan Garrett, Community Resources Manager, at 218-750-7391 or via email at susan@nslchfh.org.