By A.M. Kelley
Superior Catholic Herald
Need something done? Ask a retired parishioner
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ASHLAND -- Fr. Vernon Olmer had a job for the handymen in his Ashland parish. The Our Lady of the Lake rectory ceiling needed work. A strip of plaster was loose and hung down. It didn't look very nice. Olmer, a Franciscan, was being transferred from Ashland. By all accounts he asked the men to fix the ceiling before the next priest arrived. Witnesses remember him calling it a "four-hour job."
More like four hours and six years. Bless you, Father, for you have underbid that one.
Dick Swanson, one of the workmen, said that after the plaster was repaired, they looked around at the shabby room and said: "We should paint the whole ceiling," then "We should do the walls," and "Before you know it we were doing the whole building."
In conversations with Swanson and his crew, it's impossible to find a complainer in the bunch. In fact, the men view their countless hours of repair and remodeling work with pride. And while agreeing to talk about the accomplishments, everyone wants the spotlight to shine on someone else.
Dick Mercer is another of the workmen. He said a cross-section of people with many different skills have been involved over the years.
"There's cement work, painting, finishing, cleaning, scrubbing," he said. "People step forward and do what they can."
Cracked plaster and Sheetrock had to be replaced. There was lots of caulking, and cosmetic work, Swanson said.
Most, but not all, of the workers are retired.
"(When we're working on a job) if someone's tired, he leaves and someone else comes in," Mercer said. "There are no deadlines."
Fr. Henry Willenborg OFM, Our Lady's current pastor, said the talented men draw from skills honed in their work lives and from hobbies.
"(Their work) highlights the generosity and dedication of these men and their love for their church," he said. "It's been an annual, great gift to the parish in terms of man hours."
They've completely gone through nearly every room in the former friary/rectory (the site of that troublesome hanging plaster). Renamed the pastoral center, the building now houses parish offices and meeting rooms.
They've moved across the street to the De Padua gymnasium and the jobs there are nearing completion. They've hauled out four decades worth of stored junk, and painted old showers, locker rooms and offices.
Swanson said they usually work two or three months in the winter. One of the crew called him the "straw boss," but he said, "I just make suggestions."
As members of the Knights of Columbus Council 832, he and the other Knights have taken the responsibility of coordinating the projects. But not all of the workers are Knights, according to Mercer.
The school cooks also get into the act when the workmen are there during regular school days. The cooks prepare coffee breaks (with hot-from-the-oven cinnamon rolls) and lunch for the men. The custodian and maintenance supervisor help out too with supplies. Parishioners Paula and Brad Lundmark, who own a local business, The Color Center, lend their expertise and paint, at cost. Another working professional, John Schmidt, helps them when a dropped ceiling goes in.
None of the men have forgotten how this all began and "Fr. Vern" is part of every conversation about their volunteer work.
"I think he tricked us," Swanson said.
When the Catholic Herald reached Olmer by phone at his home in Teutopolis, Ill., this good-hearted accusation made him laugh and respond a little sheepishly, "I thought there was a lot of work to be done in that old building."
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2008