Local Volunteers Repair Joe Gomer's Home
Posted at: 10/19/2012 4:29 PM
| Updated at: 10/19/2012 6:09 PM
By: Travis Dill
Joe Gomer helped prove African American pilots are just as capable as their white counterparts when he served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II.
This weekend his Duluth neighbors are helping to pay him back for his service.
“Well, I find out I have lots of friends in Duluth, and they're really coming to my aid,” Gomer said.
Skylights in Gomer's home were leaking and causing water damage, but it will take a contractor just a day to seal them up for the 92-year-old veteran.
Gomer wishes he could help out with the project.
“It's frustrating when you can no longer do the things you used to do, but when you get 90 plus you finally get some sense and slow down,” Gomer said.
A local contractor and others volunteered to do the work, and the Duluth Home Depot donated materials for the project as part of their yearly “Celebration of Service” event.
Home Depot Store Manager Mead Bradley was leading the work effort.
“It absolutely speaks to the character of Duluthians, especially when you've got a World War II veteran in need of some help. It was a project a lot of people want to be involved in so it's great,” Bradley said.
Joe's new friends also spread over 1,200 bags of dirt to turn a muddy mess into a green backyard.
The landscaping will continue on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Locals hoping to help out can stop by and sign up to volunteer.
Joe was happy to meet all these new friends.
"Well, Duluth's been very good to me...and thank you Duluth for all that you've done for me," Gomer said.
If you can't make it out this weekend you can always make a donation to the Joe Gomer Professional Pilot Scholarship, which assists students enrolled in the Lake Superior College aviation program.
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