EASTHAM – Inmates from the Barnstable County House of Correction recently completed work on a new roof for outbuildings at the Eastham/Orleans Elks.
Inmate Brian Kelley sharpens up the tangs on his roofing shovel as he prepares to strip old shingles from one of four clustered outbuildings at Eastham/Orleans Elks property off Route 6. The structures, located next to the actual lodge, include a shed, a barbecue cooking area, a pavilion, and a combination bar area and restrooms. Lodge member Arthur Amerault has a foolproof recollection of how old the roof being replaced was; it was hammered into place when he joined the organization – 38 years ago.
While Kelley sharpens down below, three other inmates are busy atop the closed bar area/restroom building. That’s William Prickett (sitting) and Kenneth Ludwig next to him. They work the front side, while an unidentified workmate scrapes shingles off the back roof. As you can see from the exposed wood, the majority of shingles have been stripped at this point. The five-man crew, working three days at the site, re-roofed all four outbuildings and left behind about $3,250 worth of donated labor. “We [the lodge] are short on funds,” says Amerault, “so we couldn’t have tackled the project without them.
Carl Coblyn handles ground duty, picking up the old shingles for the short trip to a nearby dumpster. The lodge does bountiful good works in the community with example aplenty: Area kids having just received donated Christmas gifts; local veterans being treated to summertime fishing trips and outings to Fenway Park; and last month 287 diners enjoying a Thanksgiving meal, courtesy of the Eastham/Orleans Elks.
“The money we save them amounts to dollars that can go to causes like this. My hat is off to the Elks, the Eagles, and dozens of other fraternal organizations on Cape that do such wonderful service in their communities,” said Sheriff Jim Cummings
