Frank Denzler
On the blustery morning of Jan. 2, 2008 a fire claimed the life of 5-year-old Braden E. Westmoreland and the home he shared with Josh Davis, Ashely Watkins and a 5-month-old brother.
In the days and weeks following the fire the two-story structure, located in the 100 block of East Street in Carthage, was torn down and the property cleaned up.
In the face of adversity and as a result of the loss of a young life the rural community pulled together, vowing to help the family in any way they could.
Skip ahead five months to June 2. Thanks to the efforts of individuals and businesses, the rebuilding process is well underway. It is hoped that the family will be able to move into the residence in the near future. The once older two-story home is being replaced with a single-story ranch style home.
What is surprising is how the necessary supplies were gained and how the home is being built.
According to Westmoreland’s grandfather and home owner Glen Davis, a number of businesses — Carter Lumber in Rushville, Knauf in Shelbyville, Wheeler Corporation and Home Depot, to name a few — have donated supplies used to rebuild the home.
“This is truly God’s work. No one person could have brought all of this together and the people who just show up to help rebuild this home,” Davis said Monday as he looked around the structure.
“We have set a target date of July 1. It is kind of a wild guess. I don’t know that we’ll make it, but it is a good date to shoot for,” Davis said.
More surprising to Davis are those who have showed up to offer their assistance.
“I haven’t asked anyone to show up, they just appear and want to pitch in. Like the Saturday that my son and I came down here to start laying blocks. We thought I’d get a little bit of the process at least started and some people showed up and together we got it all done that day,” Davis said.
A similar thing happened when it came time to frame the house and roof the structure. Again when those efforts began people just showed up and offered their help. Again in those cases the project was completed in short order.
The family is looking forward to getting back into their own home.
“This kind of thing could only happen in a smaller community like this. Through a tragedy the entire community has pulled together and this means so much,” Davis said.
A seemingly simple but moving aspect of remembering Braden E. Westmoreland will be a part of the rebuilding process. Members of the community, those who are helping with the rebuilding process and others will write notes and they will be contained within the framing before the wall go up.
According to Davis, the idea was started by member of the church he attends.
“This is kind of a neat thing, the words and notes will always be in there,” Davis said.
Frank Denzler can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 106 or via e-mail at frank.denzler@rushvillerepublican.com. To add a comment to this story visit our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.
