Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can. -- Ashleigh Brilliant
In August, 2013, we received a telephone call from someone who wanted to give the garage a much-needed facelift.
As you can see,
the garage was badly in need of assistance.
Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them for better viewing.
It was explained that in order to earn an Eagle Scout badge, this individual needed to put in some volunteer time and wanted to bring a team to the Farm to paint the garage.
Little did we know how much this project would impact us and the Farm.
President, Mel Hursey, met Tyler Juranek at Carstens Farm one bright, sunny afternoon to have a look at the garage and discuss the project.
In listening to Tyler talk about the Farm, Mel said he learned a lot by seeing the Farm through Tyler's eyes. Tyler tends to see humor in everything and genuinely sees the good in everything. Tyler told how he had come to the Farm for Kid's Day when he was in 5th grade and how he had been coming to Farm Days as often as he could since then. He added that he thought it was important to preserve the Farm for everyone to be able to enjoy. In listening to Tyler talk, Mel said he even learned a few things about the Farm that he hadn't known. "Being around Tyler is inspiring. He has such an infectious personality that he makes you stop and look at things," says Mel.
Tyler and Mel then walked around the garage with Tyler asking questions about the history of the garage, asking about the height and width of the garage, asking where the windows were and about spots that needed to be fixed. Arrangements were then made to begin painting the garage.
After the garage was voluntarily powerwashed by Russ Willis's crew at SWI Windows of Logan, Iowa, Tyler and his crew set to work applying a new coat of white paint to the garage.
While there was certainly a lot of hard work put into this project, there was also a lot of laughing and story-telling going on.
The finished product is quite impressive and brings a whole new meaning to the word "volunteering".
Whoever said the following quote surely had Tyler Juranek in mind:
"Some people want it to happen,
Some wish it to happen,
Others make it happen."
Many thanks to Tyler Juranek and his crew, Gary Juranek, Kim Juranek, Brady Patterson, Austin Patterson and Cole Wieteel.
Special thanks to Russ Willis and his crew at SWI Windows in Logan, Iowa, for power washing the garage to get it ready for painting.
Carstens 1880 Farmstead, Inc. PO Box 302 • Shelby, IA 51570 (712) 544-2341 www.carstensfarm.com