|
Toby
Codding – Chair, Building Committee –
Interview by Bud Macy
Lewis ‘Toby’ Codding feels somewhat embarrassed to
be chair of the Building Committee since he is not a professional
builder. However, he has to admit that
in his years working with Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard he has
learned a lot about building.
Toby’s connection with
the Vineyard goes back to his great-grandfather Lewis Codding who became
minister of Trinity Methodist Church in Oak Bluffs in the 1860’s and bought a house
here. Members of the Codding family
have been summer or year-long residents of the Vineyard ever since. Toby was a summer resident from the time he
was one month old until he made the move to year round status in 1973. He had become a public school teacher in Connecticut after the Vietnam War. “It was about the only job available in
those days. But it wasn’t what I
really wanted to do, and I needed to get away from the urban
Connecticut lifestyle.”
What he found most appealing about the Vineyard in
the early ‘70’s was its rural unpretentiousness, the independence of the
people and yet the obvious sense of community which existed here. It felt like the ideal place to live for
his wife and himself and their three-year-old daughter. With almost no money he bought six acres in
the woods on time and started building a house. His first job was unloading fishing
boats. Then he worked for Vineyard
Yachts. He was a DJ at the Hot Tin
Roof. In 1975 he helped a friend open
and run a record store on Beach Road in Vineyard Haven, where Net Result now is. After eight years of buying and selling
records Toby decided he would like to go into business for himself. He
started a trucking business.
“I’ve
done a lot of things I think the ordinary person doesn’t do, a range of
different things that has given me a perspective on the different ways people
tend to look at other people. When I
was doing my trucking business, for instance, moving things in and out of
these big impersonal summer homes, I was sometimes asked, ‘Do you speak
English?’ Things had changed since I
first came here. I remember the first
Community Services Possible Dreams Auction in 1978. The winning bid for having dinner with
so-and-so was $25 and the winning bid for going sailing with so-and-so was
something like $100. Now those bids
are up in the thousands. The result
is it’s becoming increasingly difficult if not impossible for young kids to
make a home here. I was looking for a
way to counter the changes that were taking place.”
It was Island builder Tom Burke who suggested Toby join Habitat. Tom had been active with Vineyard Habitat
from the beginning. Toby had been a
long time admirer of Jimmy Carter and knew about the latter’s close
association with Habitat. But he was
reluctant to join because he didn’t know any of the people involved here except
Tom.
With Tom’s encouragement he overcame his reluctance. That was five years ago. Now, except for Ron DiOrio, Tom and Toby
are the longest-term members of the Board.
This year Toby is the maintenance person for Camp Jabberwocky. The job is
a good fit for the skills he has acquired over time. Right now he is busy painting, especially
demanding as he must do over painting done by volunteers. But he doesn’t mind. In addition he does landscaping and keeps
the automobiles in good repair. What
he likes most about the job is working for an organization whose emphasis is
upon service - like Habitat.
|
Ron DiOrio Letter continued from Page 1
-
with you. A
gift acknowledgement is included on the insert for your use. What a great way
to celebrate this holiday season by being a part of making life better for a
family that may not have as much as others. The Holiday season gives us a chance
to reflect on the meaning of who we are and all that we have to be thankful
for and allow us an opportunity to share with those that may not have as
much. This is really the true measure of who we are as Islanders.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Habitat for
Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard, I would like to extend to you our best wishes for
a Healthy and Happy Holiday Season.
Julie Willett Letter continued from Page
1 -
overwhelmed and
ask what improvement we can make? It
is not easy to change the entire world, but we can start making a difference
right here, right now! You can add your
one piece to the puzzle and thereby make a distinct difference here on our
Vineyard. There is no better time than
the present to help meet the needs of our community.
“Gratitude
unlocks the fullness of life. It turns
what we have into enough, and more. It
can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a
friend. Gratitude makes sense of our
past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~
Melody Beattie, author
Once again, a heartfelt thank you to those of you
who have given your time and resources in the past, as well as to those of
you who will help us today and in the future.
It is because of you that we are able to collectively help make Martha’s Vineyard a better place to
live! To our new Bennett Way homeowners, Melissa and Ashley, Victoria and Wesley, we wish you a
very happy holiday season and it gives us great comfort knowing that you are
home for the holidays. Happy
Holidays to All!
A special thanks to Island
Affordable Housing Fund and their generous grant to Habitat for Humanity of
Martha's Vineyard.
Update from the Site Selection Committee
- Alan Wilson and Jack Ross, Co-Chairs
It is always a busy time
for the Site Selection Committee but one that is frequently disappointing. Our assignment is to scout out and acquire
building lots on which we can build Habitat homes. As you well know, land is very expensive –
prohibitively expensive for our purposes.
Our are options: gifts of land; economical lots that are divided off
of larger lots in Chilmark or West Tisbury where recent bylaw changes permit
this approach to affordable housing lots; more dense development through a
friendly Chapter 40B undertaking, or other creative approaches. We have examined possible sites in Edgartown,
Oak Bluffs, Aquinnah, West
Tisbury, and Tisbury. We are anticipating our build in the Jenny Lane community.
We are hoping to have an RFP (Request For Proposal) to respond to in order
to access an affordable lot in West
Tisbury. We are looking forward to working with the
newly formed Island Housing Trust as it works with the Land Bank to create
both land in conversation and lots for affordable housing. How can you
help? Provide any leads and suggestions
however ‘creative’ that you have – we’ll pursue them.
|
