Labor of love brings Spearfish family a new home

By Jill Broecher, Journal correspondent | Sunday, February 24, 2008

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SPEARFISH -- Building a house is hard work, but for homebuilders and volunteers who donated their time and materials to create a new home for a family here, "It wasn't like work at all," Curt Wieman, president of the Black Hills Home Builders, said.

"It was a labor of love."

Mike and Julie Naumann and their daughters Natasha, 18, and Nicolle, 21, are the proud new owners of Spearfish's first Care Project home. The project is a new wheelchair-accessible home, built through the leadership of the Black Hills Home Builders and completed with the help of more than 100 volunteers from the Spearfish and Rapid City communities.

"I received a call one day to put in a ramp," said Ralph Siemonsma, owner of Siemonsma Construction and a member of the Home Builders. "And we ended up building a house."

Siemonsma said Saturday it was on a cold morning only 72 days earlier when he and other volunteers began moving dirt to build the Naumanns' house. Everything -- including building materials and financing -- was donated, and the work was done entirely by volunteers.

In order to make this project happen, many members of the community and from the Naumanns' family came together and put in many long hours, drawing on the different talents of everyone involved to complete the project. Many of the homebuilders who assisted are competitors, but that didn't matter when it came to this job.

In the past few years, Mike and Julie Naumann's home had become increasingly difficult to manage as the couple coped with health issues.

Five years ago, Mike became disabled as a result of an arteriovenous malformation, the illness that also struck Sen. Tim Johnson. The problem affected Mike's speech and required him to use a wheelchair for independent mobility.

In February 2005, Julie suffered a grand mal seizure, permanently affecting her left side and requiring her to use a walker for mobility.

Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the home represents a new chance at comfort.

"I can't even count the ways this new house is going to help us," Julie said as she wiped tears from her eyes. "It's going to make so much of a difference in our lives."

The new house has larger hallways, so Julie and Mike can more easily navigate. The corners of the house's walls are rounded, so Mike's wheelchair won't damage them as he passes through. The bathroom is wheelchair accessible and will make it much easier for showering. The counters are at a level that Mike will be able to reach.

"They've really thought of everything," Julie said. "Some things, I never would have thought of."

More than 50 people gathered Saturday in the driveway of the Naumanns' new home to witness the ceremony.

During the ceremony to officially open their new home, the Naumanns placed their hands on a pair of giant wooden scissors and prepared to cut a ribbon on their new home.

"Shall we cut on the count of three?" asked Spearfish Mayor Jerry Krambeck, who also had his hands on the scissors. "One..." Laughter rolled through the crowd as the ribbon prematurely cut and each end fell to the ground.

The Naumanns will begin bringing personal items into their new home Sunday night and will officially move in Monday.