Published Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Before dawn Monday, the men began to gather, some wearing black, broad-brimmed hats and holding shovels or hammers, others sporting camouflage caps and driving backhoes.
Less than a week after a devastating fire destroyed an Amish family's home in Pulaski and killed five of its nine children, work began on a new house, with more than 50 workers -- Amish and "English" alike -- volunteering in the subfreezing cold.
"I just have to help out. I've known the Amish for years," said 51-year-old Raymond Matey, a building contractor from Butler who drove over with a ladder and nails and an offer to help in any way that he could.
Working next to a mound of dirt covering the remains of the old structure, the men dug a space for a new foundation, passing concrete blocks from one to another to form a support for the home. Lumber and stone and new windows were stacked nearby, and the backhoe scooped out a hole for the new house. Much of the material had been donated by local companies.
Typically, it would take the Amish two or three weeks to erect a new home. With help from the "English" -- the word the Amish have for their more modern neighbors -- they expect to have Rudy and Lizzie Wengerd and their four surviving children in the house by week's end.
And it will be done without blueprints or plans of any kind, said Bob Glenn, a nonAmish friend who has been acting as a spokesman for the family.
"They just know. It's in their head," said Glenn, who lives in this Lawrence County community. "It's just progressing real fast. ... I saw these guys build a 40-by-70-foot barn in eight hours."
According to investigators, a wood and coal furnace caused the fire the night of Dec. 3, consuming the wood-framed home and sending its structure collapsing inward to the basement. The parents managed to escape into the bitter cold night with four of their children, but the fire was too intense for anyone to rescue the others.
By the next morning, a single wall and a brick chimney were all that remained of the home.
Killed in the fire were Katie, 14; Levi, 12; Neil, 11; John, 4; and Jonathon, 2, police said. They were buried Saturday.
The workers hope to have the family into their new home -- directly behind the old one -- Friday night or Saturday, depending on how work progresses. As long as the weather remains clear, without snow or rain, the house should be done on time, Glenn said.
On Monday, the community's involvement in the rebuilding process was evident. Food was donated for the workers; companies volunteered equipment to help.
The Amish often use nonAmish companies to help with their homes, at least for the pouring of the concrete foundations. On Monday, the English did that and also worked side by side with their neighbors, men in insulated coveralls standing next to Amish wearing denim work coats, their beards hanging down to their collars.
"It was a tragedy and everybody wants to help out," said Alice Womer, who brought pizza and sandwiches from her restaurant in nearby New Wilmington.
Through it all, the Amish worked diligently, trying to avoid the attention of the media.
"We appreciate all you English have done for us," said one Amish man, who declined to give his name, "but we don't want to talk."