A road trip inspired by faith
Frank Zikowitz and Shawn Fahy made the trip from Maine to Mars Hills to help rebuild after Helene. (Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald) MARS HILL — From his home in Maine, Fred Zikowitz watched news reports of the devastation Tropical Storm Helene left behind in the western North Carolina mountains and knew he had to do something.
“I’m a semi-retired contractor who is growing in my Catholic faith,” he said. “I felt like I have a gift that God gave me and I wanted to use it to help others before I get too old.”
His wife encouraged him and suggested that he should look up Catholic churches in the region to learn where help might be needed.
Zikowitz found the website of St. Andrew the Apostle in Mars Hill and was drawn to the parish partly because his oldest son is named Andrew.
He connected with a fellow Knight of Columbus there who said people needed help rebuilding. In early November, Zikowitz and his daughter’s father-in-law Shawn Fahy hit the road for North Carolina. Within days they had tools in hand and were helping people in Mars Hill and in other places hit hard by Helene.
In making the journey, the two men from Maine joined hundreds of volunteers from across the country who have poured into western North Carolina since the storm hit in late September, offering everything from donations of fuel and supplies to boots-on-the ground labor. St. Andrew, which has served as a local relief hub since the storm, has received donations and help from Louisiana, Texas, Missouri and many other states. Some people from out of state have even donated vehicles to help residents begin to rebuild their lives.
“I realized I have a skill from my experiences over the years doing building and renovating, and I believe that whatever the need is, just do it,” Zikowitz said.
Zikowitz drove to North Carolina in a camper he owns, which he winterized before making the trip. Fahy made the 16-hour trip in his camper van. The two men met in Mars Hill and got permission to park their vehicles at the church, which would be their home base while they spent the next two weeks working.
First came roof repairs for two St. Andrew parishioners, then more roofing work for a woman who attends its mission church, Sacred Heart in Burnsville. Fahy paid for supplies to complete that project with donations people gave him before he left Maine.
After those jobs were complete, the men looked for other people to help. They heard from a St. Andrew parishioner about a coffee house to the southwest in the town of Spruce Pine, one of the hardest hit communities. DT’s Blue Ridge Java, like many other downtown businesses, was largely wiped out by the North Toe River flooding.
“They had no flood insurance and watched everything they had go down the river, and then were doing a lot of the rebuilding work themselves,” Zikowitz said. He and Fahy helped the business owners with framing and other repairs.
Owner David Niven said the three days Zikowitz and Fahy spent working with him and staff members on the restoration were greatly appreciated.
“He and the two gentlemen he was working with did a fabulous job and really cared about what they were doing,” Niven said. “It was priceless to me. They are great people, and he is a wonderful craftsman.”
His time in the mountains left such an impression on Zikowitz that he is hoping to return to western North Carolina in the spring to do more work. He and friends are reaching out to an organization called the Appalachia Service Project to see if they can get assigned to other rebuilding projects.
“I have an ability and I’m able to do something, so I’d like to come back,” he said. “If you want to know the reason we did this work, point to Jesus. He’s the example. He’s the reason.”
— Christina Lee Knauss