What Difference a Day Makes!

We had our first volunteer work day at the 1802 Madison Project today, and around 25 people came out to help with some major yardwork and housecleaning!  Before today's labor, the yard looked like this:

Yes, there is a house in there somewhere.  Give me just a minute and I'll prove it to you.  After 7 hours and a whole lot of sweat, this was the result:

The labor started early as Carole King and Paul Rawlinson from Capitol Heights arrived to help tame the yard along S. Madison Terrace.  You'll also see Brett from Jack Ingram Motors:

Brett arrived with tools, equipment, and something we needed a lot of today:

A special thanks to Brett and Jack Ingram for keeping us hydrated!    Folks dropped by throughout the day, and we managed to clear most of front yard.  Below you'll see Leon Darby who put us all to shame with one heckuva work ethic:

Leon was hard at work while Terry Robinson slacked off as usual:

Brett and Paul (sorry, didn't catch your last name) tackle some of the cherry laurels growing below the Magnolia on the East lawn of the house.

Paul contemplates entering the jungle as I cut out some cherry laurels in the background:

Reinforcements arrived in the form of Tim with a second chainsaw:

Okay, so maybe Terry did some work:

Scott Page was monkeying around with the ivy that had taken over the Magnolia in the East yard.

We had a rare sighting of Martin McCaffery (of the Capri Theatre) in the wild.  I think he's like Bigfoot, because we couldn't seem to get a clear picture of him:

The overgrowth was everywhere!  We pulled vines out of trees, out of bushes, and out of the Perry House itself.

At the end of a hard day's work, the old girl's potential is starting to become visible.  Thanks to everyone for coming out!