Ohio widower paints the town to make it a brighter place
(CBS News) GLOUSTER, Ohio - Most of us face a rough patch at one time or another in our lives.
CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman met a man who can teach us all something about how to turn sadness into joy.
After Jim Cotter last his wife last year, he set out to paint the town. But, don't judge him too harshly for that -- not until you hear the rest of the story.
"I miss her," he told CBS News. "And this just gives me something that keeps me from missing her more."
The own Jim set out to paint is Glouster, Ohio, population 2000. Once a thriving coal community, it's been peeling - and therefore somewhat unappealing - for years. Cotter says he's always wished someone would fix it up, and so after his wife died, he decided to be that someone.
"I can do something about the town. We'll paint it," he explained.
"The whole town," he added.
He started with a fire hydrant, moved down the road to the guardrail and then hit a home stretch.
Cotter painted house after house, business after business - all for free.
Bonny Shifflet owns the newly painted Bonnie's Restaurant. She says she cried when she saw her business. "I tell you, it did something to me," she said.
"It's just amazing what a little bit of paint will do," Cotter said. "It changes people's hearts."
It also inspires them to join in. Over the last few months, volunteers have been coming out of the woodwork to paint the woodwork and help Cotter reach his goal. "It's just gone like topsy," Cotter said.
Today, you can't walk more than a couple blocks in Glouster without finding someone painting something. Even the high school kids have been Tom Sawyer-ed into helping.
Not a painter? Not a problem. Jim has found a way for pretty much everyone one to contribute. And again, these are all volunteers donating their own time and often their own materials to work on buildings that aren't even their own. "We're getting something out of it because it makes us feel better about our town," one volunteer said.
"It's just what a community ought to do," Cotter said.
So far Jim and his volunteers have painted or fixed up more than 20 buildings. Although they may never get to all the ones that need it, their effort alone has already made this community a brighter place to live --- and given this widower all he ever needed -- a fresh coat of purpose.
If you'd like to donate to the folks in Glouster, checks can be made out to 'Glouster Volunteers' and sent to this address:
Glouster Volunteers
c/o Jody Moore
134 Allen Road
Glouster, OH 45732
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Thank you Mr. Hartman for wonderfully carrying on in a similar tradition to Charles Kuralt's, On the Road. The U.S. needs highlight the decency of ordinary striving citizens.
Again thank you.
This is a great story, and it left me wanting to know more. How did paint and paint supplies get financed? Did Jim use only his own money? It seems that he may have received some donations, as shown from a brief part of this story where someone hands him some money and he thanks them for the donation. I think it would be instructive to all of us to understand where he got the money for the materials.
It seems all the work was volunteer and this is a key part of the story which was well told. He did not seem to need a grant from the government at any level. He just galvanized people to make their town better, and somehow made it easier for people to volunteer. If you can dig a litte deeper to understand what galvanized the volunteers, that would also be interesting.
So, here is a very quick overview of what we have learned and how this ball got rolling...
Just get started!
Paint one house, even if it is just you and perhaps you have to spend some of your own money, get the ball rolling.
Lead, don't follow
You'll want to get people to follow your lead, but what you'll probably find out is there are plenty of people willing to volunteer, but just have no idea where to start. I did not have a playbook to start my effort, but once I got going, people came out of the woodwork to donate their time, energy and resources.
Ask around for supplies
Often times paint stores, hardware stores and local community action offices have resources and supplies that may surprise and reward you.
Talk about it
Connect with local community media, even if it is the smallest of small newsletters about even one community - word still spreads this way.
Keep going
The weather will not always participate, keep pressing on as you can.
Back to the top
Again, the most important thing to do is just get started and get one house done, you will probably be surprised at what happens from there.
GOOD LUCK!
If you have any specific questions or are curious about anything else we've been up to, drop us an email, we will try to assist you in following such a rewarding journey!
You can find us at:
GlousterVolunteers.com
One of these kind of articles makes up for 10 about the bad stuff that goes on.