THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 30, 1995 TAG: 9506010633
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
Two well-worn sawhorses are stacked on the front porch of Jeanette Haas' brick bungalow in Norfolk.
They're not the sort of thing most women keep handy. But then, Haas is not most women.
For becoming a leader on a construction site, a Habitat House built last summer in Portsmouth by an all-woman volunteer crew, Haas received the Pioneer Award at the recent Outstanding Professional Women of Hampton Roads Awards.
``She's a motivator,'' said Kathryn Ogg, the friend who nominated Haas and who calls her one of the area's pivotal people.
Haas tells a different, more modest story. She says she got involved with Habitat two years ago for purely selfish reasons.
``I wanted to see what I could get out of it,'' she said. She'd always wanted to learn how to build a house from the ground up - she never intended to lead a project. In fact, Haas she says she got roped into becoming the job's construction supervisor while working on the Portsmouth house last summer.
As the house went up, she fast became a familiar sight, light brown curls sprouting from under the same purple cap every day during her two-week vacation and each afternoon after work for months after that.
``I don't think I've ever seen anyone work quite as hard,'' said Sylvia M. Hallock, executive director of South Hampton Roads Habitat for Humanity Inc. ``She really drove the second house. It wouldn't have happened without Jeanette. Some people grow to fit the job and Jeanette grew.''
Haas is a one-time Army brat who graduated from Virginia Tech in 1975 with a degree in biology. She joined the Fish and Wildlife Service and learned woodworking in her spare time.
``I'm pretty nontraditional,'' says Haas, 41. ``I'm not afraid of math and science and building things and getting things done. I don't accept any kind of a role that someone is going to impose on me. I'm not going to let somebody else dictate how I'm supposed to be.''
About 13 years ago, she heard about openings at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth.
``I thought, electronics, that would be a good field to get into,'' she said.
She went through the apprenticeship program and is an electronic technician who repairs shipyard machinery.
When she saw the notice in the paper two years ago asking for women interested in learning how to build a house, she took another plunge into the unknown.
That summer, Haas signed up to work on The House That Jill Built, on 28th and Llewellyn in Norfolk.
``I was hooked, totally enchanted, totally won over,'' she recalled. When she showed up again on the second all-woman job site the next summer, 1994, she was talked into taking charge of parts of the project.
``I ended up as chairman of the construction committee, then became sort of the construction supervisor,'' she said.
Working with an all-woman crew for six months was especially satisfying, Haas said.
``You don't have any idea what it's like to get with a group of women and build something tangible, real and long lasting. It's almost a spiritual thing, the camaraderie.''
She says she learned more and faster than she would have, had men been involved.
``Men aren't comfortable with women wanting to learn how to do stuff. They don't want to explain. They want to get the job done. Like reading a tape measure - guys aren't going to have the patience to slow down and do that. I showed a woman how to use a circular saw and she actually had tears in her eyes at the end.''
Haas shared her accomplishments when she brought the Girl Scout troop she leads to visit the house. As Troop 257 saw where Haas had squared the door frames and hefted the roof trusses into place, she said told them, ``Women can do this. You can do this. Don't sell yourself short.''
What surprised her was how she felt when the job was done.
``I went back a couple of weeks ago to put some shoe molding up in the kitchen, and the homeowner is just so excited to be in that house. Six months ago it was just a dirt lot, and now here is this home and it's warm inside and lived-in. It feels good and those were the bonuses I didn't anticipate. There's a sense of home - it's your house and your grass and your trees. We created that for these women.``
Haas plans to take this summer off, spend time with Henry, Lewis, Sara and Jamaica - her four cats - rebuild her own kitchen cabinets, and leave the third Habitat women's project to other volunteers. She's agreed only to dispense advice.
But Habitat's director is keeping her fingers crossed that Haas will pick up a hammer at the site near Granby Street.
``I'm so optimistic,'' Hallock said. ``I'm not expecting to miss her. I'm expecting her to be here. I don't think she'll be able to stay away.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Always on the lookout for life paths to explore, Jeanette Haas'
interest in woodworking and electronics led her to two Habitat
building projects. She recently received the Pioneer Award for
heading an all-woman crew in building a Habitat house.
Graphic
GROUND BREAKING
The ground breaking for ``Yet Another House That Jill Built''
will be 10 a.m. Saturday at 30th and Granby streets, Norfolk. Those
interested in attending are urged to bring gloves and a shovel.
For details, call South Hampton Roads Habitat for Humanity at
625-1281.
by CNB