Reunion Celebration!

We had a blast reconnecting with 100 friends from throughout the farm’s 20-year history, including a few founders - Eric and Colleen Fitts, Tom and Pat Ruggaber, and Julie Tracy-Prieboy.

There were so many wonderful conversations, delicious food, a square dance at dark, and a variety show featuring an eclectic range of performances from sibling trivia, puppet shows, garlic presentations, arm wrestling, and awesome music. Ryan Smith made his Caretaker debut with a sit-down joke punctuated by a live buzz cut.

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Worksite Updates

By Anna, Caretaker

We've had a busy summer here at the Farm! Volunteers, Summer Servants, and Caretakers worked hard in rain and shine to serve with homeowners here in WV. These are some highlights from our summer:

Allison had nowhere to turn when her ceiling finally collapsed in several places after years of water damage spots slowly getting larger gave way to the rot coming through the roof. She has lived in that holler her entire life; her mother lives up the road, her grandmother lived a little higher up the mountainside, and her daughter lives down the holler in the other direction. A former rodeo star and steer wrestler, Allison could no longer try to patch the roof herself (and it needed more than a patch job) with her back pain and other chronic conditions. It is already a lot for her to care for the numerous animals she rehabilitates and either rehomes or releases to the wild. Allison’s roof had been leaking for so long that Bethlehem Farm knew when we arrived that we’d have to replace a good amount of her roof decking as well as rotted rafters. From where her ceiling fell through in several places, we could see moldy insulation, a lot of rot, and the beginning of growing wet spots on her walls and floor that would only get worse as the roof continued to deteriorate. Allison’s roof now has new decking, rafters, and metal, and the interior of her home has had the moldy insulation removed, replaced, and covered up with new drywall. She is beyond grateful for a roof that protects her from the elements!

Lisa survived leukemia five years ago and has been in remission since then. One of her comforts is painting, which she discovered while going through chemo treatments. A friend bought her a paint by numbers set and she took right to it. She had never painted before, as her family couldn’t afford any art supplies as a child and she never had the time as an adult. Four years later, she paints beautiful landscape scenes, abstract images, biblical scenes, and much more. She sells them around the area and it keeps her in touch with the rest of the local community. She contacted Bethlehem Farm to help stop her trailer roof from leaking – which she has recoated every two years for the last eight years. The trailer roof was dented in and also had an awkward transition between the roof and an addition. The Projects Team concluded that it would be best to built a separate roof structure over her trailer. Marcus led volunteers with many Summer Servants in the construction. Everyone had a blast listening to Lisa's stories about her many jobs and her newfound passion for painting while working to finish her new roof.

Dan and Patti both grew up in Summers County and raised their family here in the mountains they’ve always called home. Now that their kids have grown up and moved away, Dan and Patti have had to take care of each other through numerous health issues. These health issues can carry a heavy weight, further exacerbated by worrying if they are going to fall through their floor. Dan and Patti had a lot of sinking spots underfoot in their trailer, especially in the bathrooms, bedroom, and kitchen. This became an even greater priority when the sinking spots turned to holes in the floor, allowing animals, cold drafts, and dirt into their home all the time. They needed most of their subfloor replaced, as well as the flooring on top. Bethlehem Farm agreed to replace subfloor where needed and flooring across their entire home. Patti and Dan loved praying with us before and after the work day, and would often come back from errands in the morning to eat lunch with us and express their gratitude, as well as share many stories of life on the mountain. 

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Beauty is Everywhere

By Anna, Caretaker

Laughter and mischief follow wherever Helena goes around the Farm, whether it’s out to the garden (to befriend a wily groundhog), the orchard (to continue the legacy of battling weeds in the raspberry bushes) or out to the pasture (to visit the donkeys of course!). Helena’s relationship with the Farm began after being transformed the second time as a volunteer after not remembering much her first time (“The difference?” she tells every volunteer, “Give up your phone!”) After that second time she knew she would be back, and she was: first doing two stints as a Summer Servant (meeting her future fiancé on the second time) and then as a Caretaker.

Helena joined Bethlehem Farm in order to lean into living simply and find joy in a faith-filled community, and has succeeded well beyond measure! Her openness to fearlessly trying new things and her quick learning served Helena well. She jumped right into leading home repair sites soon after her arrival with her characteristic playfulness. Homeowners quickly warmed to her presence, and referred to her as “charming." Her skills and determined work ethic were also on display in the garden – where vegetables, bugs, and critters alike were all nurtured by Helena’s care. This care extended to our animals when she tended the chickens and was a beloved cat aunt – providing the cats with much affection and plenty of catnip. Her ever-expanding multitude of houseplants was a testament of her plant-enthusiast ways.

Helena was no stranger to getting messy when it came to work; her training as a master ceramicist is evident in her passion for anything involving dirt/clay/mud. Artistic talent permeates her life, and we’ve appreciated her creative touches around the property. From drawing pictures of donkeys, to watching her design a book cover, to seeing her painting commissions, it was a joy to watch her create!

Helena is leaving the Farm for good things ahead: she is discerning how she can keep engaging her art practices and continually connecting work with her faith, and is looking forward to being near extended family back in Cincinnati while she prepares for marriage to Caretaker Jack.

Helena brought a hard work ethic, and while she could engage in any variety of serious or philosophical topics, underscoring her interactions was always her quickness to turn to her silly goose antics, claiming the title of the Farm’s Silliest Goose. We will miss her cheerful optimism, her caring heart, and never-ending pun attempts. Best of all good things on your journey, Helena!

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Help us Serve Our Neighbors By Donating a Tool!
Here are some that we need:

• Dewalt Impact Driver (some of ours are starting to wear out)
• Makita Impact Driver (Same issue)
• Fall Protection Kit - we could use up to 3. Something like this or similar. 
• Metal Roofing magnetic mat for fall protection - we could use up to 5. Something like this or similar. 
• Torpedo levels
• N95 masks
• Cut resistant gloves