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Demo Day One, Friday, 18 August 2006
At 9 a.m., in pretty soggy condition, Paul Zindars, Frank Peters and Eileen Gebbie made their way to the top floor of 125 E University Street. Although the task of making the space ready for retail sales and administrative offices could have been intimidating, all three began removing carpeting and baseboards without pause. George Kieffer, a longtime HOMEWORKS volunteer and Habitat Board member, stopped by to say hi and ended up working with Paul on the stickiest, most stubborn carpeting of all. Frank spent a large part of his time parsing out the water sources for four of the bathrooms and began taking down the fixtures.

Later Friday afternoon, Mike McMillan arrived on site. Alone, he hauled most of the upstairs carpeting down two steep flights and around a corner to our Dumpster. He even finished pulling up the rest of the mess - alone! Another example of the stupendous work done by Habitat volunteers. Thank you!

Demo Day 2 - Tuesday, 22 August 2006

At 1pm, Marjorie Williams (co-chair of our 2005 ReMax/Huff build), Frank Peters, Board members Jerry Zachary, George Kieffer and Steve Clarkson as well as Paul Zindars and Eileen Gebbie began their path of destruction. Frank actually arrived at 9 a.m., dismantling a bathroom (shower, sink, walls), leaving only a toilet in the middle of the enlarged office space.

George focused on pulling out drywall and pitching studs down the staircase. Marjorie and Eileen hauled waste material between the top floor and the parking lot Dumpster. Down in the basement, the crew was joined by Ricky, a local "scrapper," who took down a large chain link cage. That metal, as well as the air duct running the length and height of the building, will go to salvage, rather than the local landfill. Thank you, everyone!

Demo Day 3 - Wednesday, 23 August 2006

Frank Peters, plumber and house inspector, spent another full day on demolition. He was joined by fellow "repeat offenders" Mike McMillan and George Kieffer. George Daigh, another long-time volunteer, took his first shift in the afternoon. Five more walls came down and the debris piles grew knee-high. So far 45 volunteer hours have been donated to building the capacity and future of your affiliate. Thank you!

Late in the afternoon, Habitat staff met Dan Hosier and Mike Hosier, owners of the building and primary donors, for a tour of some of the work remaining: elevator installation, rewiring, air flow, a new east entrance, access from receiving to the sales floor and a new face.

Demo Day 4 - Thursday, 24 August 2006

Believe it or not, we are wildly ahead of schedule on demolition! Frank Peters and George Kieffer were on site removing plaster foam and metal studs. Bob Craft and Tom Napier, dedicated HOMEWORKS volunteers, joined in as well. Tom is actually using vacation time, spending two days on demo, in addition to his usual Saturday volunteer shift at the store. He thoughtfully brought along a compliment of tools and a jug of water. In the afternoon, chemistry grads Lindsay Elliott and Scott Shaw arrived, quite eager to fling that sledgehammer.

The biggest hitch so far has been getting the water to our Dumpster around the block. As the Salvation Army winds down over the next two days, we will be installing a chute directly from the first floor to the bin. We are so grateful to the fast, efficient and dedicated work of our Teams of Destruction. Thank you!

I-Help Pitches In on Saturday, 30 September 2006

Thank you to all of our wonderful University of Illinois I-Help volunteers for their work in hauling pound upon pound of pea gravel from our new basement!

Historical Timeline for 119 - 125 E University, compiled by Kathy Kummer at PACA

1902: George Lutz; cigar and tobacco factory, residence over
1906-1908: Abraham Bund; shoe shop, residence over
1909 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a cobbler shop; dwelling to rear

1910: Jacob and Sadie Greenberg; shoes
1914: Max and Anna Susler; tailor and second hand clothes

1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a tailor shop; dwelling to rear
1916: Klorfine Bros. (William and Harry); second hand clothes and shoes (also had a store on E. Main)
1918: Twin City Fish Market, George O. North (also had a store on Hickory)
1919 - 1921: Vacant

1922: White Mattress Factory, Charles and Anna White; residence over
1924 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows mattress factory; dwelling is gone
1926: C.E. White, mattress manufactory; residence over
1927: Vacant
1928: Boyd & Davis, second hand goods; Irene Davis residence over
1929-1930: Marvin C. Boyd, hand goods; June Davis and Marvin Boyd, residence over
1931: Vacant
1932-1938: Central Tire Company, Benjamin Baker owner; lived over, used tires, used clothing

1940: Vacant
1941: Arthur Deach, jeweler; Russell McElhaney, stokers; Chas. Trowbridge, lived over
1944: Arthur Deach; jeweler
1945 (updated 1951) Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the commercial building with a one story section to its rear and connected to rear building

1950: Arthur Deach; jeweler
1952: Ohio National Life Insurance; John Miller, accountant; Webb C. Evans, insurance agency
1954: John W. Miller Banking Service
1960: Ralph Campbell Insurance Agency
1962-1963: George Carragher; insurance
1964: Inez Schaer; tailoring

1976: Inez Schaer; tailoring
1977-1990: Noriko's Tailoring
1994-2006: Salvation Army
2006: Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County and ReStore

Ongoing support of the ReStore

and home building provided by our friends at