Lending a Helping Had - Martha Knox, Western Wildlands

Over the course of my 2009-2010 winter working for the Montana Conservation Corps and Warm Hearts Warm Homes I lent a hand to many in need of a warmer home and the company of another person. Working with folks in their time of need has not only kept me feeling equally human, but has brought out the compassionate side of me more and more everyday. Bringing smiles and tears of joy to little old ladies as well as younger folk and their families has brightened my winter, bringing a sense of completeness.

All winter my week days have been filled with greetings from fury friends, young children’s laughter, and older women looking for help staying warm. Not only were they hospitable, offering us food, drinks and funny stories but they were also so thankful. They gave back to us any way they could, by offering us a hug, maybe a candle they hand made, or even plants to help brighten our homes. Some folks who didn’t have much even tried to offer donations in the form of the little money they had.

One client, from the beginning of our season, has stuck in my mind and filled me with joy everyday. She was an older woman who lived with her small and very sweet doggie. From the moment we walked into her home she was overjoyed, thanking us over and over. She was just so happy to have younger folks out helping those who need it, such as herself. As we worked she told us stories of how her daughter, who had been sick for a long time, was finally coming home for a visit. By the end of the appointment she gave us hugs and a can of home grown tomatoes she canned herself. With tears in her eyes she bid us farewell, and showed us to the door. Leaving her house that morning I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness, and a little misty in the eyes. I knew the work I was doing was important for all people who needed some extra help and it was important for me.

This winter has been a learning process of being human, letting go of judgments, and instead offering a warm smile and free supplies to help seal up a leaky home. Thanks to the MCC I have been able to reach out and help my community and the surrounding communities while learning new skills and meeting friendly faces. Thanks guys.

Reflection On a Rare Winter Season - Eric Milliken

Weatherization was supposed to be the end of my MCC term but it has become more of a time of transition and growth than an ending.

In October, crews from every region converged on Bozeman for a four day weatherization training seminar. The idea was to teach a handful of people from each region basic weatherization theory and application, so we can turn around and teach our peers. We spent time in the classroom studying materials, tools, and application. We also had extensive hands on training on: Caulking, weather stripping, window coverings, using expanding foam, and water heater wrapping. On our last day, a Department of Energy representative attended our training to award Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer millions of dollars to reduce our state’s dependence on fossil fuels.

We left Bozeman in a snow storm with eight crews headed for Glendive in Northeastern Montana. We spent a total of two weeks in Glendive, Miles City, the Northern Cheyenne and Fort Peck Indian Reservations. We typically had four appointments a day, where we meet with clients, address their energy needs, and then do as much as we can to help them. The actual weatherization varied from home to home. Sometimes it was as simple as putting up some interior window plastic, and screwing in compact florescent light bulbs. Other times we spent hours covering missing or broken windows, sealing gaps, insulating pipes that freeze, and making doors airtight. It was admittedly trying, yet immensely rewarding hitch, helping people that need it.

After graduation, I was asked to return to MCC as a crew leader , with training to start mid February. A couple weeks later I was asked to return for three ten day weatherization stints through December and January. I accepted and have spent the better part of the last two months in some of the poorest parts of Montana, helping people stay warm and save energy. Every day we help people keep the minus twenty degree temps from creeping through cracks, crevices, windows, and doors. Being given the materials, the know how, and the opportunity to help has been a blessing. It hasn’t always gone smoothly. We helped a client’s friend who broke her ankle until the EMTs arrived, went to the hospital to get some sewing done to my forehead, and we towed our suburban out of a ditch.

That was just the last three days.

But we have certainly made an impact on the people we have met, and hopefully with our training they will be able to weatherize their own houses next fall.

I am writing this as a sort of reflection of the past three months, today is Sunday the 24th of January, and I am writing this in a Billings motel. Tomorrow we are going to Red Lodge to weatherize our final three homes of the season, and then packing up the trailer and heading for home.

I have certainly come away from this experience with an appreciation of the gifts and opportunities that I have had in my own life. It is easier to focus on what I have rather than what I don’t. I have been given the opportunity to lead, to teach, to learn, and to listen.

I don’t know when it happened. My guess is somewhere around sophomore year of college. I stopped listening to what teachers where saying in lecture halls. It was probably apathy, boredom, or a combination of the two. What started in the classroom started expanding into my life, and eventually into my relationships. Sometimes I would find myself with a close friend talking to me, I would make eye contact and nod occasionally but never really hear what they were saying.

I never really realized how far I slipped until this moment.

Sitting down with people I don’t know, and filling out paperwork has forced me to start listening again. It always starts with the paperwork, but now I am finding myself asking about a sculpture, their grandkids, or their story, and being genuinely interested in their response.

We have been given a rare opportunity, we are treading in waters that MCC has barely dipped it’s toes in. We have designed our own kits, and with Julee’s persistence on the phone, developed our own clientele. I hope that if funding allows this is a program that will continue. When all is tallied we will have weatherized more than two thousand homes.

It is late, and we start early, I will leave you with this:


I found that through helping others, I have helped myself grow in ways that I have yet to grasp.



Eric M.