Joplin One Year Later: Tulsans build a little blue house ... and hope

BY KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Sunday, May 20, 2012
5/20/12 at 8:25 AM

See videos, photo slideshows and all of the Tulsa World’s coverage about Joplin since the tornado hit the city.

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JOPLIN, Mo. - Carrie Cook warned her boys not to get their hopes up: Lots of people need new homes after the tornado, so don't go counting your chickens before they're hatched.

But Zachary didn't listen to his mother after the family's apartment was destroyed. He prayed, then prayed some more, and then told his mother to go ahead and start counting - they were going to be part of Tulsa Habitat for Humanity's "Ten for Joplin" program.

"We never, ever thought we were going to own our own home," Cook said. "That was never going to be an option for us."

It became one because men like Paul Kent, the executive director of Tulsa Habitat for Humanity, and Cary Evert, CEO of Hilti's North American division, thought, "Why not?"

"He (Cary) was coming through Joplin one day on a trip and saw the devastation," Kent said.

Within a few months, thousands of volunteers had committed to the project and $1.2 million in donations was collected.

The homes were built in a little more than two weeks beginning in early November. The Cooks - Carrie, 38, Zachary, 9 and Aidan, 7 - moved in Nov. 19.

"I remember walking in," Carrie Cook said. "We were overwhelmed, a lot of people coming in. They had Thanksgiving dinner for us."

The little blue house on Kentucky Avenue is about 1,000 square feet and has three bedrooms. Appliances came with the home, as did a 20-year interest-free mortgage.

"I want to thank Tulsa for coming together and doing this for Joplin," Cook said.

And she's not just talking about the home she never thought she would own. A few weeks ago, Habitat for Humanity paid for storm shelters, and the Cooks had theirs installed.

This was especially good news for Zachary, who is fascinated and frightened by storms.

When he grows up, he wants to study weather.

Says his mother: "Maybe he wants to be a meteorologist so he can understand it better and not be afraid."

Original Print Headline: Habitat built a little blue house ... and hope

Kevin Canfield 918-581-8313
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Carrie Cook (left), listens to her sons Aidan, 7, and Zachary, 9 (right), with her mother, Jan Kent, on Tuesday on the front porch of their new Joplin home. The house was completed in November as part of the Tulsa Habitat for Humanity's "Ten for Joplin." JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World