He’s Building On The Future
Cody Wright can’t pinpoint what lured him back to Habitat for Humanity.
Maybe it was the memory of being out in the sun, a tan and dirty Coeur d’Alene teenager pounding nails with a dozen friends. Or the power he felt wielding the biggest framing hammer his parents could find for him.
“It was just awesome,” he says, his eyes wide. “We didn’t just sweep up. We got to build. I was a framer.”
Cody had gone to Yakima to build a Habitat house with his church youth group. It was the summer of 1988. Coeur d’Alene hadn’t yet adopted the non-profit, volunteer program that helps low-income families own a home.
A concrete foundation awaited Cody and his friends when they arrived in Yakima. They built a house complete with plumbing and wiring before they left a week later. “Those vibrant memories keep me going,” he says.
Maybe Cody returned to Habitat because he needed an outlet for his abundant energy.
Jobs and the U.S. Air Force took him from Coeur d’Alene the years Habitat took root in Kootenai County. Now, he’s 24 and a full-time law enforcement student at North Idaho College. He holds three jobs and models for NIC’s life-drawing class.
But two months ago, he decided to make time for Habitat. “This is the mortar that holds my life together,” he says. “It’s so incredibly much fun.”
Cody likes the variety of people who donate time to build houses for struggling families - from the 7-year-olds who pick up rocks to the 80-year-olds who fix sandwiches. Most likely, Cody jumped back into Habitat work because having fun while improving the world is too good to pass up.
“It’s an outlet for people who are frustrated like me. It’s a way we can show the world our community isn’t just about sales tax and physical growth but human and spiritual growth,” he says. “Plus, there’s enough bad stuff out there. I want to make some good stuff happen.”
Habitat for Humanity always needs volunteers. Call 667-3116.
Born to be wild
Coeur d’Alene’s Kaye Wilson is probably the only person in town who spent 19 years in Forest Cemetery and left smiling. Her father was cemetery superintendent. Kaye was born in a white house in the northwest corner of the cemetery 57 years ago.
“For my first three years of school at Winton, no one would come home with me to play,” Kaye says.
Her father expected her to behave with appropriate respect for mourners at all times. So Kaye couldn’t wear shorts and swimsuits outside to play. But she also grew up with no fear of cemeteries.
“They’re the first places we visit whenever we move,” she says.
Kaye left the area after graduating from Coeur d’Alene High in 1956. She returned five years ago to take care of her 95-year-old mother, who still tells people with a smile that the cemetery just couldn’t hold on to her daughter.
Garden glory
Sharpen your garden tools today. North Idaho College’s Community Garden opens its gates at noon Sunday for anyone interested in mini-farming. Grow carrots for munching or marigolds for admiring. And if you want to garden but not eat, grow vegetables for the food bank.
The garden is on the corner of River and Hubbard. Bring a friend.
Mud pie
My shiny clean minivan sunk to its hubcaps in mud a week ago while my family hunted the eastern side of Hayden Lake for a weekend retreat site. But the spatters and splotches on my car are nothing compared to the earthy shells encasing some four-wheel-drive monsters around Coeur d’Alene. They look like they had fun.
What’s the muddiest ride you’ve taken in North Idaho? Get dirty for Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene ID, 83814; fax to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo