When Morgan Hill resident and World War II veteran Earle Dart
needed modifications to his home so it would be easier for him to
get around as he ages, a group of volunteers from throughout Santa
Clara Valley eagerly responded to his request for help.
When Morgan Hill resident and World War II veteran Earle Dart needed modifications to his home so it would be easier for him to get around as he ages, a group of volunteers from throughout Santa Clara Valley eagerly responded to his request for help.
In just a few hours one morning last week in an effort coordinated by Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley, about 15 volunteers installed new stairs leading up to Dart’s carport door – the main entrance to his Hacienda Valley mobile home off Burnett Avenue. They also replaced an exterior post in the carport, made repairs to the bathroom, replaced all the home’s light bulbs with energy efficient devices, installed a motion-sensor exterior light in the driveway, installed new smoke detectors and made other improvements.
“I really appreciated all those people coming out and doing this for me,” said Dart, 87, in his newly improved home Wednesday after returning from a round of golf.
The most important part of the project, to him, was the replacement of the outdoor stairs with a prefabricated set of half steps, making it easier for him to climb up to the house. “It was getting kind of hard to get up and down those stairs, especially if I was carrying something heavy,” he said.
It made a big difference for Dart, but it was just another day for the volunteers. Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley is a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving affordable housing and revitalizing neighborhoods. The project at Dart’s home last week was one of hundreds of similar small-scale projects the group has completed for veterans throughout the South Bay.
Dart’s project was completed through the organization’s “Heroes at Home” program, which focuses on making safety and energy efficiency improvements to the homes of military veterans – “a lot of things you don’t think about as a young person,” said volunteer Jon Perryman.
Heroes at Home is also sponsored by Sears Holdings.
Many of the volunteers at the site last week are also retired, and most of their projects, though essential to the residents, are not that time consuming.
“This is instant gratification,” said volunteer Roger Wedel, 72, of Saratoga. “We make a difference in someone’s life in one day.”
Dart couldn’t stop smiling as he watched the volunteers carry supplies and bolt stairs and hand rails into place. He has lived in the home for about 25 years, the entirety of the time he has lived in Morgan Hill since his retirement.
In 1942 at the age of 18, Dart enlisted in the Air Force. After about two years working in the supply depot, stationed in South Carolina, he transferred to the Army’s infantry. He was sent to Europe to fight in the war effort, but soon after he arrived the Allied forces won and he became part of the occupying army.
“I was real lucky. I was only overseas for about a month and then the war was over. I got shot at, but they missed me – not by very much though,” Dart said.
He remained in Europe – mostly in France and Germany – for about another year before he was able to go back home to the Sacramento area. After taking up work in the construction remodeling field, he eventually moved to San Jose as the manager of a company that builds awnings.
He went into business with his own awning and remodeling company, which had a shop in Campbell and one in San Jose. The first time he retired, at 50, he soon realized he didn’t have enough money to live the way he wanted, so he went back to a series of part-time jobs and made some shrewd investments in the stock market.
He has been retired in Morgan Hill since he moved here, and he stays active by playing golf twice a week and volunteering at the senior center. Dart has survived two wives and his daughter, and has two grandsons.
Most of the work performed by Rebuilding Together is done by volunteers, according to Mitchell Davis, repair technician for the organization. Other programs coordinated by Rebuilding Together are two annual “Rebuilding Days,” in which volunteers are mobilized throughout the valley to do home modifications similar to Dart’s at several homes throughout the valley. The next Rebuilding Day is April 30, and includes a home in Morgan Hill, according to Rebuilding Together executive director Bev Jackson.
About 1,900 volunteers a year perform projects with Rebuilding Together, not only for veterans. Last year, the organization improved 230 homes and nonprofit facilities, and since its inception in 1991 has improved more than 1,200 homes and facilities, Jackson said.
Rebuilding Together welcomes volunteers to help on April 30, and those interested can do so by visiting the organization’s website at www.rebuildingtogether-sv.org.
