Over 80 and still working

After retiring from 30+ years as a university professor, my son and I purchased an old feed and grain store to renovate for as an upstairs apartment for him and a commerical business below. We decided upon a gelato shop and have been working to complete this project since 2010. My son passed away this past Easter Sunday morning and I'm determined to complete what we started in his honor. By this time, however, my retirement funds are extremely limited and there is much yet to be completed. Nonetheless, my puppy (Lola) and the cat Bryce willed to me (Michael Jackson) are living in his apartment. We are waiting to get a Certificate of Occupancy as I write this.

Before he passed away, Bryce purchased a surpluss 4-way traffic light, so we decided to call our shop the Stoplight Gelato Cafe, LLC. Fortunately, a local BizSense newspaper reporter wrote a story about our efforts to help restore an old historic district in Richmond, VA. As a result, several college students volunteered to help me. For example, I taught a predental student how to trim a door; a physics major learned how to make gelato; several others painted walls and ceilings, while others helped with woodwork trim.

Of course, most of my funds are going to pay for necessary upgrades such as all new electrical, plumbing, HVAC and heart-pine floor installation. Some of Bryce's friends gave of their expert ceramic tile and woodworking trim skills to finish two bathrooms and a loft. We still have more trim, equipment cleaning (it was all purchased over the five years from auctions), remaining electrical and plumbing to complete, but we are gradually making progress.

Other neighbor volunteers painted book shelves, sealed more brick and made window posters. After stopping to sell me products, a salesman decided to volunteer by staining and varnishing waincoting in the cafe, and the electricians volunteered to hang the enormously heavy traffic light. My California cousin came for a week and painted doors and helped seal brick.

There are so many involved that it is difficult to give tribute to each of them, but they know that part of this business belongs to them and their efforts.

At 80, I work hard each day. Yesterday, for example, a lawyer husband of a former student, and I trimmed another door. He comes once each week from Williamsburg to help me and this is how the project is getting finished; one helper at a time.

The key to our continued progress is giving a sense of ownership to each volunteer with the knowledge they are building voiuchers for free gelato once we are open. In fact. I owe so much gelato to volunteers that it may be several years before a profit can be made, but that's as it should be. Afterall, this is a community affair and it is such fun to get to know wonderful college students and other adults as we work together to create something we can all be proud to "own.'