Raising the roof

Last Thursday, several members of the Lincoln Community gathered at Ellie Schouten's home in the Sleepy Hollow Trailer Park to begin construction of a roof over her trailer.

The older trailer, which has a damaged roof that cannot support any type of weight, became a concern for Schouten over the summer. She was told the easiest way to protect the roof and keep it from collapsing was to build a second roof over the original roof.

A letter, hung at the post office and posted on Facebook, written by Schouten, asked the community for help in getting the roof up.

Volunteers, led by Rich Paul who acted as the de facto foreman, donated their time, brought tools and worked in record speed to get things set for a new roof to go up.

At the beginning of the project last Thursday, Oct. 8, more than 20 volunteers showed up to show support and help however they could. By Saturday, workers had used all of the materials purchased, and more materials were scheduled to arrive Tuesday, Oct. 13, for the project to be completed.

When volunteers were asked why they came out to help, there was a resounding, "Ellie is just a good person, and we're happy to be able to help her in any way that we can."

Schouten is no stranger to Lincoln and has made many friends over her last 25-plus years here. Chances are, if you've lived here for any length of time, you've had the privilege of having her pour you a drink or serve you a meal at one of Lincoln's bars or restaurants.

She is also an amazing volunteer helping with local events like Community Blood Drives, The Lincoln Putt Putt, Ducks Unlimited banquets, Fireman's Ball and more.

One volunteer last Thursday said, "Ellie has always been there for the community, now it's our turn to be there for her."

If you would like to help raise the roof over Ellie's trailer, please give her a call at 362-4225.