HARRISON – Fifty volunteer workers from the Bridgton Alliance Church assembled at the VFW Post in Harrison on May 19. They partnered with men from VFW Post 9328 and American Legion Post 139 and worked alongside Auxiliary and Woodland Rebekahs in a building renovation day.

The day was a culmination of two months of planning; coordinating manpower and donated materials to support one joint community effort.

The VFW Post has been a landmark in the town for 40 years, serving the needs of veterans and supplying a home for other civic organizations and town events. The building is in need of repair and maintenance.

The Bridgton Alliance Church congregation was just finishing up its campaign, “40 Days of Community, We’re Better Together.” The campaign focus was to reach out to the local communities in a more active way, with a combined community project as the highlight. Local leaders submitted project ideas, with the VFW renovation being the first chosen.

Wayne Cadman, VFW post commander, formulated a list of short- and long-term repair projects with the church. Crews were assigned exterior/interior painting jobs and grounds landscaping in addition to cleaning in preparation for a summer of hall use.

Local merchants covered most of the supplies for a major work day. Russ Bohl, Bridgton contractor, donated his labor to spray the VFW roof. He had painted one fourth of the roof before the week’s rain began. As Saturday morning arrived, the rain held off, but damp surfaces put outside painting off to a later date. Workers quickly traded brushes for shovels and rakes.

Incoming Post Commander Skip Mowatt kept the crew on task, with the women covering the supervision of painting and cleaning inside the hall. At day’s end, the lawn was raked, loam was spread, beds and shrubs planted, brush cleared, drain ditch cleared, debris hauled off, kitchen and bathrooms painted, ceiling tiles replaced, closets cleaned, walls and floors scrubbed.

The Bridgton Alliance Church has started a relationship with the post to continue working on the maintenance projects. The exterior block painting and trim painting will be completed by crews during the coming month. Inside painting is scheduled to be finished within two weeks.