HATFIELD — For nearly two months George Emeny, 86, slept in his car outside his home after the Board of Health condemned it last January.
“These premises unfit for human habitation,” reads one of the posted signs that Emeny showed Gazette photographer Carol Lollis for a story in early March.
Since the order was issued Jan. 12, Emeny had taken to warming up his 2003 Mercury Sable, folding down the front seat before he got inside a sleeping bag that could keep a body comfortable even at 60 degrees below zero. His dog CC and cat Pumpkin joined him in the car.
A Housing Court hearing permitted him to be inside his house only during the day. But he couldn’t sleep there because of numerous problems the Board of Health identified that included serious issues with the house’s electricity and plumbing, the accumulation of garbage, obstructed exits, etc.
The photos taken by Lollis demonstrate many of those concerns.
But in Emeny’s mind the house he bought in 1978 was still his home. As he told Gazette reporter Scott Merzbach, “I don’t want to live anywhere else.”
That story appeared in the Saturday, March 6 paper, and by Monday, volunteers gathered at Emeny’s home to help clear the broken equipment, wood, and junk left in the yard, plus the trash inside. They loaded them into garbage trucks, trailers and a roll-off container.
Electricians, plumbers and carpenters were on the scene to assess what needed to be done so Emeny could once again live inside his home. People were eager to help him for free.
“Just being local, we couldn’t sit back any longer; we had to help this man,” said Jessica Moody, of South Deerfield, one of the lead organizers.
Hatfield resident Danielle Stanisewski, another lead organizer, said, ” It’s amazing how everyone is coming together for this.”
This story with its accompanying photos is an example of how local journalism can inspire a positive community response.
As a reporter and then an editor, I have witnessed so many occasions in which people went out of their way to help after they read or heard that somebody was in need. Sometimes that person lived in their town. But often they were complete strangers.
I can recall how people have rallied to help after a house fire or when someone was badly injured in an accident or had health problems. That generous spirit certainly has been evident during this lingering pandemic when so many have volunteered at food distributions and vaccine clinics.
And in Hatfield last winter, volunteers were moved to help a man be able to live in his home.
Emeny is a Korean War-era veteran who flew planes in the U.S Navy. He was a science teacher for 30 years and a flight instructor until the pandemic started.
He lived alone.
But thanks to the community, he didn’t have to go through this experience alone.