Simply serving: Amish community lends a hand to Valley View family
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VALLEY VIEW — It took just a few moments one chilly January afternoon for Wes and Tammy Barr’s Valley View home to burn to the ground. It’s taken nearly a year for Wes, a roofing contractor, to rebuild with the help of a couple of friends. But last week, the Barrs got some much-needed help from some friends they didn’t even know they had.
Wes got a phone call from Tim Schrock of Seal Proof Roofing in St. Ignatius with an unexpected offer no one could refuse: a group of carpenters from the Mission Valley’s Amish community wanted to donate their time to get the Barrs’ new roof built. And on Friday morning, 10 men showed up ready to spend a frigid day helping a neighbor.
“It’s totally awesome. It’s amazing. We live in an amazing community,” Wes said. “They do an awesome job; I’m really thankful.”
The 10 Amish men joined Wes, his right-hand man Jason Taylor and friend Robert Dibble on the job for the day. With the extra pairs of hands, progress on the construction took off, and Taylor expected to be able to put the finishing touches on the roof over the weekend.
“I don’t think we would’ve gotten it done without this many people,” he said.
He and Dibble were also moved by the neighborly kindness the volunteer laborers showed the Barrs.
“And they’re excited about doing it; that’s what really neat,” Dibble said.
The Barrs and their three children have called Valley View home since moving into their original house on Valentine’s Day 11 years ago. Wes plans to work on the new house full-time until it’s done, going only off of the vision in his head — there are no plans on paper. If all goes well, the family will move back from their rental home around the corner on Eli Gap Road in February.
“I hope to have my wife in by Valentine’s Day,” Wes said.
