Found in the Archives…
While cleaning up my electronic files this afternoon, I found this invitation created in 2007 when we first acquired the motel. What a project that was. We had so much help from our friends getting the motel just habitable (trust me, the place was in quite a state when we arrived). Here is the letter our dearest buddies responded to (thanks, guys!!):
Barn Raising occurs when a community actively decides to support one of their members by coming to the same place at the same time to help achieve some specific goal.
So, we may not be raising a barn, but we do have a motel on hand that needs a little lifting up. We’ve got funky floors, desperate paint jobs and a long list of other fix-it projects. We are asking our community, our close friends and family, to join us in Seaside, Oregon on the fourth weekend of April, to help us achieve a specific goal: Get this motel up and running, habitable and comfortable – and have fun doing it.
Historically, Barn Raisings always ended with a heck of a party. We can only imagine the need to party after a barn has been erected. However, we’ve decided to take it one step further. We’ve got a party planned for the entire weekend. Just imagine – plenty of friends, food and beer not to mention bumper cars, pinball machines and cotton candy.
It’s a bit of a stretch on our end to ask for your help and trust that help will come through. Just as well, we understand that it’s an even bigger sacrifice coming from you. To give up your weekend to dig in and get dirty – not everyone would go that far. And because we recognize your sacrifice, we’ve got a little thank you gift all set up: For helping us with our Motel Raising, we are inviting you back to our motel (once it’s all pretty and done up) for a free weekend stay. Come back to Seaside and enjoy the coast without having to put on a pair of work gloves.
Think you can join us?
We had so much help from our friends and for that we were so grateful! Nearly every time I walk around the building I am reminded of all the work we did. Walls, old and scary furniture, smelly things – too much to list. And now? We’ve got a special motel that was raised by our close community of friends. A special place indeed.