REALTORS HELP `NEIGHBOR' WITH DAY OF FIX-UP WORK

Joyce Kowal couldn't believe her eyes as she watched cars, vans and trucks pull up to her small, five-room house at 1221 S. Pacific late last week.

Paint, ladders, flowers, cleaning supplies and gardening tools were unloaded at 9 a.m., and more than a dozen workers started a one-day project that ended about 5 p.m.

"I'm still in shock," said Kowal, who is disabled because of a heart condition. "People are wonderful."

Kowal's house had been selected by the Community Services Committee of the Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors for the one-day "Help A Neighbor" clean-up, fix-up and paint-up project.

More than 35 volunteers worked in two-hour shifts throughout the day, repairing and painting doors and windows and the house. Others planted flowers.

"We wanted to sponsor a community spirit project to help someone who was disabled," said Sue Bellis, chairman of the Community Service Committee. "We had great cooperation from everyone."

Members of the Board of Realtors who could not be present for work provided supplies and food for the workers. Sander True Value Hardware, Michael Annis Construction and Moge Construction provided paint and paint brushes; Cape Garden Supply provided plants; Food Giant provided doughnuts and cleaning supplies; and Capital Bank, Boatmen's Bank and Schnucks provided sandwiches and drinks.

Kowal, a native of Cape Girardeau, was a factory worker for a number of years.

"I was away from Cape about 20 years before returning," she said. "I suffered a heart attack in 1986, and following bypass surgery was placed on the disability list."

Kowal has managed to completely redecorate the inside of her home.

"I didn't know what I was going to do about the exterior," she said. "It needed some repair work and it needed painting.

"When I was told that my house had been selected for the realtors `Help a Neighbor' project, I was thrilled," she said. "I've always been a giver, not a taker, but this time God is giving it back."