As Paul and Melinda Wilkes help paint a house for Lewis County’s Paint the Town project, you would think they had always had a certain connection. But not all stories start out like fairy tales. Luckily, Melinda laughs about that now.
About 23 years ago, Melinda was living in Twin Falls, Idaho, and was a member of the Jaycees. “I was a manager of a camera store and portrait studio. One of my things to do was to get out in the community and take pictures. I was under 40 so the Junior Chamber of Commerce was the place to be, a really fun group,” Melinda explains.
Every year the Jaycees, along with other community groups such as Kiwanis and Optimists, organized their version of Paint the Town called Paint Magic, because the Twin Falls area is known as the Magic Valley. With so many groups and members participating, they were able to paint an incredible 12 houses per year.
Paul was part of the Jaycees as well, because he was a hospital administrator and also valued the work of community service. However, Paul and Melinda had never met until they were placed together to paint one of the houses.
“At first I just thought, ‘What a butt!’” she laughs. But then they talked more. “The next day he came by my work. He didn’t ask me out. This was in August. Then his father died the following week and understandably I didn’t hear from him again until October. He came by my work again, but still didn’t ask me out, then finally he called me and asked me out over the phone,” Melinda says. “In October of 1993, we went to dinner – and were married December 30, 1993,” she laughs.
Now, she says, “I tell every woman I ever meet that’s single and wants to meet someone, I tell her to go find a man that volunteers. Then you’ll know his heart. You can’t meet that in a bar. You meet them painting houses or handing out food at a food bank,” Melinda advises
Two weeks after Paul and Melinda were married, they moved to Maryland, then to Washington a few years later. “Paul loves moving, and he loved the Pacific Northwest,” explains Melinda. “He came out first, three days before the flood of 1996. He had to evacuate the nursing home he was running.” Melinda and their children came out about a month later. “We’ve been here 20 years now, that’s the longest I’ve lived anywhere,” she marvels.
Even while owning Mrs. Klean Janitorial, the Wilkes’ still spend a lot of time volunteering, active in the Moose and the Miss Lewis County Program. However, they only recently became involved with Paint the Town. “For some reason I didn’t notice it before then saw it on Facebook. I said, ‘Honey look!’ He said, ‘We have to go do it.’ We didn’t call, we just showed up. [Co-organizer] Jana [Dean] was so gracious and happy to see us. We just started painting and had a great time, eating and laughing.”
Paint the Town was originally organized by Providence Centralia Hospital. However, as they had to step back from it they reached out to Lincoln Creek Lumber Company to see if they were willing to take it on. “We had donated painting supplies and volunteers for many years and didn’t want to see the program go away,” explains Lincoln Creek’s Dulcey Lamotte.
So for the past several years, Lincoln Creek has sponsored the event. Other donations to this year’s event included paint donated by Valspar, paint brushes from Purdy, and tape from 3M. “A big community donation this year came from Lexar Homes, who provided all the food for the volunteers both on prep day and paint day,” says Lamotte.
The impact to the homeowners is greatly appreciated. Melinda reports, “Betty Rivas, the owner of the house we worked on, was so gracious and so thankful. Her house turned out really pretty.”
Lamotte also says that homeowner Pennie Miller can attest to the impact of the project as well. “She said, ‘You have no idea how much this means to me’,” Lamotte says. Her home had been her grandmother’s home and she takes great pride of ownership. “It’s like my favorite doll got a new dress,” Miller told organizers.
“We are really hoping to see the program grow, and will start planning in September for next year. We hope to apply for non-profit status, so that we can reach out to other clubs for donations and volunteers. We would like to get the word out, to encourage anyone who needs their house painted or needs minor home repairs to please apply. And of course, we would like to recruit more volunteers as well,” says Lamotte.
If you would like to apply for help for your home from the Paint the Town project, or are interested in volunteering contact co-organizer Jana Dean at 360-219-5142 or Dulcey Lamotte at dlenae00@gmail.com.
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