Family moves into Habitat home
The Ratchye family cut the ribbon to
their new Habitat for Humanity-built home Saturday in front of a
crowd of about 50 supporters and volunteers. As the scissors made
the cut — signifying that the house was in fact theirs — Jeff
Ratchye promptly announced, “Now everyone, get off my lawn!”
He was joking, of course, but after 30
build-days and more than 300 combined hours of work put in by
himself and his wife Melinda, the family of four is ready to settle
in at their humble abode on East Second Street.
The move into the Habitat home marks
the 43rd for Melinda, who shed tears of happiness as she addressed
those gathered at the home dedication.
“I’m so incredibly excited, and I just
want to thank everyone involved,” she said.
Jeff was glowing as he toured the home
with the many volunteers who helped the building process. The small
two-story house features a living area, kitchen, bedroom and bath
on the upper floor, and three additional bedrooms and a full bath
on the bottom floor. A wrap-around deck offers unobstructed views
of Big Mountain to the north.
“I’m just amazed at how well it turned
out, especially with all the volunteers involved,” Jeff said. “This
has been the best experience of my life, and I want to thank
everyone.”
Chris Hyatt, executive director of the
local Habitat chapter, said the Ratchyes’ home is the 33rd they’ve
built in 21 years. The group’s next project is a 16-unit build in
Columbia Falls that will be completed in 4-5 years.
“We’re building a community with each
of these new homes,” Hyatt said.
He thanked the Whitefish Area Land
Trust for providing the land the Ratchyes’ home is on, as well as
Thrivent Builds and the area Lutheran churches for their
efforts.
“Without their support, this wouldn’t
be possible,” he said.