MACA held a charity workshop on January 25, 2016. Jim Bostaph, Billy Bingman, Sergey
Gardner, and John Kerr from Black Goose Chimney; Wayne VanHoudt from Olde Town
Chimney; Ike Rowland from County Chimney; and Steve Skloff and Larry Banks from Chimney
Doctor all helped with the project. This was the week right after the blizzard, so we were
concerned about the roads and about working on the metal roof. We were lucky and the weather
cooperated nicely — it was fifty degrees and sunny.
The recipient was a family we met through the Department of Social Services. They had seven
children and lived in a house built in 1883 in Boykins, VA. We found out that day that the oldest
section of the house had been the original train station for the town. The house was literally
across the narrow street from the train tracks and the trains definitely got our attention as they
passed by.
The sole source of heat in the house was a pair of wood stoves – one insert and one free standing.
The insert had been installed with only a short connect into an unlined chimney and the stove
door was broken. The free standing stove had an improper connector and floor protection, and
the snout of the tee section had come apart inside the wall.
The tee snout was replaced, the thimble was relocated, and new connector pipe and floor
protection were installed for the free standing stove. The short connect for the insert was
removed, a positive connect liner was installed to the top of the chimney, and a new door was put
on the stove.
Most of the materials were donated by Copperfield Chimney Supply, New Buck Corp. donated a
replacement door for the Buck Stove, and Saver Systems gave us a check to help cover some of
the out-of-pocket expenses. We are very grateful to these companies and hope you will send
them some of your business in thanks for their generous contributions.
We brought in barbeque, fried chicken, and sides for lunch plus the mom cooked us some
Haitian rice (yum, yum!). There was a large amount of leftover food that we left with mom and
her family. As we were wrapping up that afternoon, she came outside, told us she felt blessed,
called us her heroes, and gave us all big hugs.
