Welcome to the Cobb County Habitat for Humanity Gray Ghosts homepage

E-mail a Ghost (just click on the name)
        Neil Booth
        Roy Brumley
        George Davis
        Chris James
        Steve Janas
        Chet Ladd
        Ken Miller
        David Martin
        BillMauldin
        Mary Svendrowski
        Jim Tabb
        Harold Tatz
        Bob Webber

The "Gray Ghosts" are a group of volunteers dedicated to the task of helping bring home ownership to hard working lower income members of your community. Qualified families purchase their homes much like others with one large difference; no interest loans. Although most of the "Ghosts" are retired, a few are younger and among the 40+ hours per week workers. The "Ghosts" are not "casual" volunteers as many work two full days a week the year around. In real life they work or worked in engineering, accounting, management, nursing, sales, flying, the military, geology etc.. Wednesday and Saturday are their usual work days. Jim has worked on a number of Jimmy Carter Habitat for Humanity "Blitz" builds as a house leader. Jim and Ken are past co-chairmen of the Cobb Habitat Construction Committee. Ken, Roy, Jim, Mary and Bob are recipients of the "Golden Hammer Award" presented annually by Cobb Habitat's construction committee. Ken & Jim are past members of the CCHFH Board of directors. For the past three years, Ken has been modifying and drawing all of the house plans for the CCHFH affiliate. Since the beginning in 2004 the plans for all CCHFH houses have been outsourced.

If you are a CCHFH SPM and want Wed. layout, prep or rework done by the "Gray Ghosts" prior to next Saturday's build, please e-mail your request to Roy by clicking on his name [above] by Tuesday morning.

As a friend to Habitat for Humanity, "Atl-Connect" has provided gratis hosting of this site since its inception in Dec 2000 and continues to do so under the name "zConnect". Same good people, but an easier name to remember. They have an idea how they may be able to help you fund raise for your group's next Habitat house through their AdvantageConnect program. E-mail Eric at webwiz@zconn.net or check the web site at http://www.zconn.net/fundraising/index.asp for details

I am sad to report that we have lost one of our original Ghosts, Bob "Roof Man", "Energizer Bunny" Webber. Death came suddenly on Sunday morning, Jan 27, 2008; he will certainly be missed by his family, the Ghosts and Habitat.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, January 30, at2 P.M. at the Medford Peden Funeral Home, at 1408 Canton Highway, Marietta, GA.

The "Ghost" webmaster has no plans to update this site in the near future. Thank you for your interest over the past five years. [I can be contacted by clicking on Ken on the Ghost list.]

As a final note, Ghost Harold is recovering well after his recent surgery. Thank the Lord.

August 03, 2005 Ghost Ken was able to get out today for the first time in a long time so here are a few pictures. A big welcome to the web for Ghosts David & Steve. Work was requested on two job sites. One required squaring the foundation walls and installing sill plates while the other required framing the front and back porches.

May 20, 2005 Interest in this site continues at the same rate as in the past [hit rate], However, since the site can no longer continue to provide up-to-date construction information because of the amount of outsourcing, changes and confusion I am seriously considering discontinuing it, Anyone wishing to comment please e-mail the webmaster, Ghost Ken.

May 20, 2005 The Ghosts have been working most Wednesdays recently but the webmaster [Ken] has stepped back from participation and is not current on the specific activities. They have been helping clear up items required before C.O.'s can be obtained on several homes that were built last year.

Jan 12, 2005 There were 4 houses on Pat Mell that were not completed before the end of 2004. The Ghosts spent the day today installing interior doors in one of them.

October 18, 2004 The amount and scope of the Ghosts work has been rather limited this summer partly because Cobb Habitat is building 40% fewer houses this year but also because the some of the SPMs are not finishing the porches and steps. Much of the Ghost's work has been to complete these parts of the houses.

Some of the Ghosts have been working on Wednesdays with the "Lutheran Coalition" building a house in Woodstock with the Cherokee County Habitat affiliate. This is a two story house with witch the ghosts have no previous experience. It's a little hard to tell from the photo that there are two full levels because the front of the lower level is underground.

July 18, 2004 The Ghosts have been helping SPM Mike Turner on some Wednesdays and Saturdays with the "Home Bank" house in Marietta. This "Experimental" house has been a challenge to say the least; New materials, multiple materials on the one house, new drawings requiring many corrections and changes and ongoing design changes during construction. The Ga. Tech football team has been a major part of the build team. Mike provided the pictures .

Bon Voyage to Ghost Jim Landis who has moved to the Midwest. Jim, you are a friend and were an asset to our group. You will be missed.

Feb 11, 2004 Too many questions about the materials required for this years build so the Ghosts have not been doing any pre-building on Wednesdays so far this month. It's been too cold and wet to hang screen doors.

Jan 08. 2004 The new year is here creating new challenges for the "Ghosts" and CCHFH. Ghosts "Pretty" Jim and Roy are helping the Habitat staff to add sections to the "Construction Manual" covering the new materials to be used on some of our houses this year. Ghost Ken has stepped back from all his Habitat activities [with the exception of this web site] for the indefinite future to support a close family member with a very serious medical condition. The 2004 construction class will start later this month.

Dec 20, 2003 The Ghosts were called upon to re-install 9 interior/exterior doors in 2 completed, occupied houses during the past couple of weeks; necessary work, but work that should not have been required. Some work is being done on pre-building parts for next year but until the new facades are available we are limited as to what we can do.

Nov 22, 2003 A hardy welcome back among the sighted to Ghost Ernie. Cataract surgery and new glasses complete. The Ghosts have been working every Wed but mostly doing the not very exciting, end of the year storm door installations. Very few of the SPMs put the doors on so we hang about 30 of them most years. It is a challenge however, since the high quality doors that are donated often have miss-matched parts and require a box of spare parts and more than a little ingenuity to hang. We have also been building stairs for three houses that were built on crawl spaces.

Oct 22, 2003 Dean Byers & Henry Brooks [Cobb County Habitat for Humanity construction staff] hosted an appreciation lunch for the Gray Ghosts at Longhorn Steak House. Jim Gray [a Cobb Habitat volunteer SPM] arranged for the Longhorn corporate office to provide the lunch. From all the Ghosts: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Ghost Ken was the SPM for the first Cobb Habitat house sponsored by Longhorn Restaurants; Jim gray has led the construction of their houses since then until Longhorn began partial funding for two high school builds each year.

Oct 08, 2003 Another busy day at 5 sites: lined and applied starter shingles on two roofs, Installed porch posts on one house and installed storm doors on three other houses.

Sept 23, 2003 With 11 houses under construction, every Wednesday is a busy day. Four sites to work on again tomorrow to fix up, catch up or ready up for Saturday. Ghost Ernie is recovering nicely from last weeks cataract surgery. Bob & Lynn Weber hosted a 70th birthday party for Ghost Ken at their house on the 12th. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was was a lot of fun with a great bunch of friends. Pictures in "Party Pictures" link. Ghost Jim will be working with Bartow County Habitat for the rest of the year

Sept 03, 2003 Completed work on three houses in Smyrna. Jim Landis is the SPM on the WorldSpan house that starts next Sat.

Aug 20, 2003 A very, very busy day. Nine "Ghosts" worked 5 sites in Smyrna, Mableton & Powder Springs. One new house was laid out, two houses were plated & pre-built, roofs on three houses were "paint" lined and one house had vinyl starter strip installed.

Aug 17, 2003: "Ghost" Jim Miller had knee replacement surgery earlier this month and is recovering in record time.

Because the construction schedule has exploded in the past month, the "Ghosts" have been very busy laying out, plating, straightening walls, etc. in Marietta, Smyrna, Powder Springs & Mableton. On one recent Wednesday we had work to complete on six houses. Jim Miller has finished his "blitz" house, Ken is in the fourth week of the Lutheran house in Powder Springs [with help from Harold, John, Stutz, Ernie, Chris & Bob], Jim Landis has been running the Assurant house, Chris is crewing with Jim Gray in Mableton, Roy and Mary have been crewing with Russ Marshall in Marietta, George is crewing on the Smyrna Coalition house and Bob is where ever there is a roof under construction. The construction committee picnic at Lutherwood is this afternoon.

July 23 More work than we could complete. We plated and pre-built components for 1 1/2 houses and put starter strip on a third in marginal weather with intermittent rain showers

July 02 Five "Ghosts" turned up in the rain at 8 A.M. knowing we had much roof work to do. The rain stopped later in the morning and the roofs on the two houses were made ready for the volunteers to shingle on the next regular build day. Vinyl starter strip was installed on one house, doors were shimmed and other miscellaneous work was completed. Next week we will have another house to lay out [this one in Marietta].

June 23 [Mon] George, Chris and Ken laid out the Lutheran house. Construction will start on July 26. Ken will be the SPM.

June 11 A very busy day. We laid out and plated two houses, pre-built the window units, tees and corners for one house and started the pre-build for the second house in sunny, 90 degree weather. Thanks to John, Bill, Jim M., Jim L.., George, Harold, Ken, Roy, Bob and two non-Ghost, Cobb Habitat crew leaders Debbie & Fred. These two houses will have to be dried in on the first build day. Jim [pretty] Miller and Mary will be running these two houses on the first build day.

Mary poses with her "Mousemobile" as painted by the Pope High School volunteers.

June 04 Welcome to our two new Ghosts: George Davis who retired from flying Continental's Boeing 737s last October and Jim Landis who just retired from "Worldspan". George has worked with the Smyrna Coalition for a number of years and went through the 2003 construction class. Jim has been an SPM for several years and runs the houses sponsored by his former employer.

May 21 was a busy day for the Ghosts. We tore off and reinstalled the vinyl siding on three gables that were not up to standard, repaired roof damage on two houses and wind damage to a number of storm doors. There have not been the number of new house starts this spring as in the past but activity will be heating up next week as we layout and plate two new starts and a bunch more to follow in the weeks to come.

Mar 19 - 20 A nasty day on Wed but we did Saturday prep work on the Campbell High School house including slapping paint lines on the roof [with Bob's famous "Paint Box"] and installing vinyl starter strips, exterior doors and bird boxes. On Thursday afternoon, Bob and Ken finished the drip edge and marked the roof on the Pope High School house.

Jan - Feb 2003 The Wednesdays we worked have been spent preparing trim kits for the 2003 build season: making plates for & fluting porch posts, building mail box posts, cutting bird box triangles etc.. Ghosts Jim and Ken are teaching sections of the 2003 CCHFH construction class that takes place for seven three hours sessions on Thursdays. Joe Loviska teaches the framing, Ken teaches vinyl siding and Jim teaches trim & other topics. Roy will be in this week to demonstrate the proper way to install a door.

Dec 11 2002 A very busy day. The ghosts removed and rebuilt the damaged part of the roof, mudded the drywall repairs, tore out the old vinyl flooring, replaced the back door and did prep work for painting the interior.

Dec 04 Nine of the Ghosts came out on a cold, soon to be rainy day.

Rain shut them down about 10:30, but most of the damaged vinyl was replaced and the drywall was repaired where a couple of limbs came through the wall. That's Chris, Dan J. and George ["New kid on the block"] in the picture.

Nov 27 Bob & Ken removed a fallen tree that hit a vacant CCHFH house, replaced a smashed window and removed some of the damaged vinyl siding.

Nov 06 Three of the ghosts spent the entire day reworking 4 sad exterior door installations. The "Ghosts" have been asked to install all of the exterior doors. We will if necessary but it would be far better for the crew leaders to install the doors as they have been taught.

One of the doors had NO shims at the lock, one required tapered extension jams and one did not have the required long screw in the top hinge.

Oct 18 Bob Webber has been under a doctors care for the past two weeks and was in the hospital yesterday. Best wishes from everyone for a full recovery.

Jim has been SPM with the Pres. Coal, Ken has been the SPM on the Lutheran Coal. House & Roy has been sharing SPM duties on the Covenant house, all in Smyrna.

Sep 18 We worked on 4 houses in Smyrna & Powder Springs. Here are a few shots of Macedonia Station. New photo of porch ceiling details for the "Creekside" plan [see Construction Details link].

Sep 11 We Plated the Lutheran House and prepped the FNANB House for trusses [Bates Street in Smyrna]. Another very hot 90 degree plus day. Good turn out, thanks to all.

Sep 05 Question: How many Ghosts does it take to screw in a light bulb? Er, ah .... build a set of trailer stairs.

[We had already finished laying out one house, plating another, lining off the roof on a third and putting vinyl starter strip on a fourth.] This was a very hot, busy day.

Aug 31 Ghost Bob turned 70 today; a few pictures of last nights celebration at "Longhorn" are attached.

May 08, 2002 Congratulations to to our next "Golden Wedding" celebrants, Harold and Vi Tatz on May 10th.

March 08, 2002 Congratulations to John & Pat Lundborg as they celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

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Welcome

"Gray Ghosts"