Bob and Mary Jane
Dynamo on the Roof-Bob Wiethe, with Mary Jane on the Ground
Written by Florence "DeeDee" Riffe
Some Habitat of Durham volunteers call Bob Wiethe "the youngest Geezer" because he's two decades younger than most of them. But fact is, he's worked more years on Habitat houses in his hometown than some of the official old-timers. (His name is pronounced WEEthee.)
Bob grew up in Braggtown and left Durham for college and graduate school, returning in 1991 to work as a medicinal chemist. He wanted something useful to do on Saturday, and volunteered one day at a Habitat build. "I realized over the years that my own family could have been Habitat homeowner applicants. A couple of turns of bad luck was all it would take."
For 18 years Bob has spent hundreds of Saturdays pounding away at Habitat sites, working on every detail in home construction. "Framing is the fun part," he said, "so I like it a lot, but my favorite task is roofing." He is so spirited about Habitat that friends and family wondered how his marriage to Mary Jane in 2000 would dovetail with his first love. The groom's cake Mary Jane ordered for their wedding reception answered that question. It was covered with wrenches, saws, nuts and bolts, pliers and screwdrivers (toy ones, else Bob would have rebuilt the reception hall).
Bob was named Habitat of Durham's 2009 Volunteer of the Year, but not only for his indefatigable energy on site. He and fellow parishioner Gerry Griffin (a bona fide Geezer) took Habitat involvement at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church to the sponsorship level. "There was fund-raising to do, volunteers to rally, other churches and sometimes businesses to coax into partnerships," he explained. While Bob has worked on all of the 15 homes sponsored or co-sponsored by Immaculate Conception, he has also worked on homes on so many streets in Durham that the list would not fit this space. Though there are no awards for vehicles, volunteers say that Bob's 1986 pickup truck, often pressed into service as a recycling bin, should get one, too.
As if nearly two decades of muscling and organizing weren't enough, Bob engineered the rain barrel project for Habitat a couple of years ago. He drives to Mt. Olive to pick up pickle barrels, takes them to the Habitat Re-Store, and coordinates a cadre of young people to convert them to rain barrels. Each Habitat homeowner is given one while the extras are sold in the store.
At the builds, Bob the whirlwind is teaching volunteers how to accomplish construction tasks, and doing many himself, while Mary Jane is groundside--serving refreshments, making sure all the volunteers have tasks and taking photos. "I put the photographs into an album for the homeowner to keep," she said, proving that wielding tools isn't the sum total of contributions at a construction site.
Ask Bob what his strength is and he replies, "being a perfectionist." Ask Mary Jane the same question and she replies, "Bob's strength is building coalitions and being a good teacher." They are both right. Only they left out the most salient quality-dynamism.
This is one of the 25 stories included in Habitat of Durham's 25th anniversary history book, Building Hope Equity: 25 Years With Habitat for Humanity in Durham, NC. The book was written by DeeDee Riffe and designed and produced by Linda Barnett as their gift to Habitat of Durham. To learn how you can purchase this book and support Habitat of Durham's mission, click here.
