HATFIELD — Broken equipment, scrap metal, wood and other junk left in the yard, along with several bags filled with trash and other belongings from inside the home, quickly filled garbage trucks, trailers and a rolloff container outside a home on Routes 5 & 10 Monday morning.
With 86-year-old Navy veteran George Emeny facing eviction from his 320 West St. residence, recently condemned by the Board of Health with signs stating that it’s unfit for human habitation, volunteers from throughout the area, including electricians, plumbers and carpenters, began cleaning up the property and assessing the condition of the deteriorating home.
“Just being local, we couldn’t sit back any longer; we had to help this man,” said Jessica Moody of South Deerfield, a lead organizer of the workdays that began on Sunday and aim to ensure Emeny can remain at the home where he has lived for more than 40 years, rather than being forced to sleep in his vehicle. “It’s inhumane for him to be living in his car.”
Hatfield resident Danielle Stanisewski joined Moody in coordinating the effort, describing what was happening as heartwarming and an appropriate action, a year into the pandemic, by bringing people together to help someone in need.
“A lot of people have jumped in to help out,” Stanisewski said. “It’s amazing how everyone is coming together for this.”
Though Moody and Stanisewski didn’t know each other, they joined forces after the Gazette reported Saturday on Emeny’s situation prior to a Housing Court hearing Monday.
Emeny was delighted with the outpouring of support.
“I think it’s a miracle,” Emeny said. “I am, by my nature, a lone wolf. Now I’m reforming, I’m changing my style.”
The cleanup, though, was not enough yet to get him back into his home permanently. In Housing Court on Monday, Judge Jonathan Kane said he was heartened to hear about the work being done, but agreed with town attorney Thomas Mullen that the home continues to be a danger.
“It’s not an appropriate place for anyone to live, especially at this time of year,” Mullen said.
Until electrical, plumbing and heating issues are corrected, the judge suggested Emeny bring a camper to the site, where he could live for up to six months as improvements are made.
Emeny’s attorney, Trant Campbell, said the volunteer help is already paying dividends. “The changes are dramatic,” Campbell said.
Still, Health Agent Charles Kaniecki said that the home is not habitable, though if permits for work are expedited, it’s possible Emeny could move back in at some point.
A follow-up inspection will be done March 17 at noon and the Housing Court hearing continues March 18 at 9 a.m.
As people tossed bags of garbage into a truck supplied by S.T. & I Services of Ashfield, they sorted various other items in the home to give Emeny more space. Several piles from unswept floors were picked up, such as clothes sorted and hung in another room.
Moody said her husband, Rich, who runs R. Moody Machine and Fabrication, knows electricians, plumbers and other handyman services who were more than happy to drop by, while other businesses made donations. LTS Tools in South Deerfield, for instance, donated work gloves, sanitizer, face masks and bottled water for the volunteers, while another company made sure a port-a-potty was on site.
“It’s incredible the amount of people who have come out, and overwhelming, the support from the community,” Moody said.
Moody didn’t know Emeny before, but has a connection through her grandfather at the Northampton Airport, where Emeny has been a flight instructor.
Dave Strassburg of Northampton, who has seen Emeny teach flying at the airport, said helping him out was returning a favor, though he wishes he had heard about the health board process as it was playing out
“Had we known six to eight months ago, this would have been done already,” Strassburg said.
He explained that he and friends got together to purchase and install four new smoke detectors in the home and made sure pathways inside are clear of debris.
With 14 planes at the Northampton Airport flight school, where young pilots practice ground-reference maneuvers over the fields in Hatfield, Strassburg said he expects some would be making it a point to give Emeny a “wing wag” in salute.
Erik Vangeel of Hatfield said the actions taken against Emeny are disruptive, especially in the middle of the pandemic.
Vangeel said the past shouldn’t be held against Emeny, but instead he should have a clean slate. “This shows there are commitments not there before,” Vangeel said.
“There should be a step-by-step opportunity to get him to where he needs to be,” Vangeel added. “He deserves to stay in his home.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
