Fraternity put fresh coat on the Strong House

By Mary Carey
Staff Writer

Published on December 05, 2008

The Historical Society could have hired a professional painting company to refurbish the outside of the Amherst History Museum. But it got a village to do it instead.

Spearheaded by executive board member Henry Pope III, the society employed a work force of fraternity brothers to scrape, prime and repaint the 1750-era Strong House at 67 Amity St. this past spring and fall.

Sherwin-Williams Co. donated the paint and supplies; residents loaned the crew a commercial-grade airless sprayer, ladder and tools; and Athena's Pizza and Subway of Amherst contributed pizza, salad and subs to keep the painters going.

The Historical Society had been quoted a price of $44,000 to paint the building, but Pope's crew did it for a fraction of that, for a savings of about $37,000, said Elizabeth Sharpe, the society's president.

"I can't thank them enough," she said of Pope and company. "We couldn't have done it without their help."

The Strong House got more than a face-lift, Sharpe said. "I think the spirit of having the students at the museum was a wonderful byproduct. It made us feel more of a part of the community."

Getting the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity involved was Pope's idea. When he moved to Amherst from Virginia several years ago, he and his family bought a house on the corner of Amity Street and Sunset Avenue, a few houses down from the fraternity, whose members he got to know.

They helped him with odd jobs around his house, which he has subsequently sold. "I could see how it could be scaled up and handled," he said of tackling the Strong House.

Pope also got the local businesses involved along with a half-dozen or so other contributors, including Randall Bruursema, a woodworker from the Netherlands and former resident of Amherst who was homeless at the time but had an impressive array of tools stored at a friend's house.

The fraternity members, who were paid $10 an hour, said their participation wasn't about the money - it was about being part of the community.

Pope, who made an effort to introduce himself to members, "took us for who we were. We're not horrible kids," said Daniel Ochs, a University of Massachusetts junior from Monson, majoring in economics.

"I think the common perception is we don't have great relationship with the town. That's not our goal," Ochs said. "Our goal is to have an outstanding relationship with the town. We've got a lot of guys, a lot of manpower. We live here, too. It was enough to help out. The pay was just a bonus for us."

Mike Deford, a senior economics major from Newton, who owns his own landscaping business, was the foreman, so to speak, managing a work force of about 40 students.

"We have a really negative reputation," he said. "But we do a lot of work for the community."

The Strong House was in disrepair, and "I guess we kind of came to the rescue, as Henry puts it. It looks infinitely better," Deford said. "I think people now see - maybe they do care about the town."

Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.