Local Organizations Help Rebuild Veteran's Home

An 86-year-old Korean War veteran teetering on the edge of financial ruin, has some new friends.

Harold Edwards and his wife Minnie have lived near Northeast 36^th Street and Kelley in Oklahoma City since 1957.  On January 6, the city notified them their home was in disrepair, and was going to be demolished.

Mr. Edwards has been in bad health in recent years, and readily admits the house had gotten away from him. In fact, he and Minnie have not lived in the home for the past few years.

Three weeks ago, Scotty Deatherage of “Honoring America’s Warriors” got involved. He mobilized a handful of local organizations including Habitat for Humanity to help.

“Team Rubicon Region 6, Midwest Wrecking, Northeast Landfill, McRoof OKC, and O.C.T. Equipment is providing all the CASE equipment being used in the demolition process,” said Deatherage. 

Friday, February 10, that large group of volunteers tore down the Edwards’ home—for free.

The city was going to charge the Edwards at least $6,000 to do it, and Edwards would have surely faced other fines as well. 

Not only are these organizations tearing the house down, they also plan to build Harold and Minnie a new “Habitat” home on the same property.

“You trust in the Lord, and that’s what I have been doing,” said Harold.

These great acts of kindness give new hope to Harold, who is fighting early onset dementia. 

Scotty Deatherage said this kind of work is why he sleeps well at night.

“How cool is that? I have got to tell you I have been involved in a lot of projects. But, I have never had one that really kind of defines what we do, and this one kind of defines what we are all about,” he said.

Deatherage also said once the city learned of the volunteer effort, “They were on top of it, they were fabulous to deal with.”