By A.M. Kelley
Superior Catholic Herald
Local volunteers 'paint the town'
|
|
SUPERIOR -- About 30 people from the Cathedral of Christ the King got up early on a recent Saturday morning with a plan: They were aiming to paint the town red.
Lest anyone jump to conclusions and think that they were hooligans gone wild, their motives were wholesome and all the painting was done with actual paintbrushes. And the color was truly red, a traffic stopping, fire engine red.
The painters were all participants in the city of Superior's annual Paint the Town project, which this year made it possible for six homeowners to have their house exteriors painted all in one day free of charge.
Helen Carlson, 88 years old and a cathedral parishioner, knew her relatively small two-story house had been chosen for this year's Paint the Town. Still, on Sept. 15, a surprised, grateful and very happy Carlson said, "I'm flabbergasted," when she saw the crew arrive and then saw how quickly they worked and how stunning the final project was.
She wanted the house painted red with white trim (the colors of the flag of Poland, the birthplace of her parents), and said that the finished product is visible from "afar."
"A lot of my friends are painting. It's beautiful," she said. "It really stands out. It's little bit bright but it will fade in the sun."
Parishioners Brendan and Sara Fouts organized the cathedral team and Andy Lisak was one of the citywide chairmen of the event. This is the fourth year he's been involved.
"It's pretty exciting," Lisak said, adding that it's good for the homeowners, good for the volunteers and good for the city.
Carlson's home is in an unusual part of the city on Main Street, and in spite of its name, it's definitely off the beaten path. The area is known as Connors Point and is an interesting but not your typical residential neighborhood, according to the City of Superior planning director Jason Serck.
"The City of Superior began here," he said.
Main Street was at one time the main throughfare to what was once the only bridge over the St. Louis River to Duluth, Minn. Many houses lined the street in those days but with that old bridge long gone (the Blatnik Bridge dwarfs its remains), Connors Point is now largely an industrial park on a dead-end street; it is zoned manufacturing and waterfront, Serck said, and there are only three homeowners left.
Carlson has always lived on Connors Point. The first house she lived in burned down when she was in the second grade. Her parents bought the house she now lives in and had it moved across the street. Carlson and her husband, Leonard, raised their five children there. The children are grown now and live in Florida, South Carolina and in three different Wisconsin towns, and Carlson has been a widow for 41 years.
Serck said that Carlson and the other two homeowners on Connors Point are "very good neighbors for the businesses. We are behind (Paint the Town) 120 percent. It's a great program and a great idea from a beautification standpoint. Otherwise it's pretty stark down there."
Lisak said it's amazing what a difference a coat of paint can make.
"Even years after (painting houses) and driving through a neighborhood, you see what a positive change has taken place," he said. "Homeowners have an increased sense of pride and there's a ripple effect. Neighbors start to spruce up their homes and yards."
Neighborhoods where significant improvements have already been made are usually targeted for inclusion in the program. For instance, Lisak said when the cathedral was undergoing its renovation, Paint the Town took on the surrounding neighborhood.
Besides the many hands-on volunteers, The Superior Kiwanis Club prepared lunch for all the volunteers and many local businesses chipped in. Sherwin-Williams is one such supporter. The Tower Avenue store manager, Mitchell Cote, donates 50 gallons of paint each year.
"I look forward to it," he said. "It's being part of the community. It helps improve the look of our town."
Another corporate sponsor is Lakehead Constructors Inc., and the city receives a grant from Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. WHEDA has been around since 1972 and is a state program that assists the sponsors of projects that construct, rehabilitate or make mortgage loans to low and moderate income households.
The homes chosen for a Paint the Town spruce up are usually clustered in the same neighborhood. This year Carlson's is the only house on Connors Point. The others are closer to the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus. Lisak said the cathedral team is involved every year and they asked if Carlson's home could be a Paint the Town project this year.
Carlson remembers getting the good news: "A gentleman came to my house and said, 'We're going to paint your house on Sept. 15.' I never expected it. It's great."
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2007