Haggis
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An outstanding story about some outstanding heroes of another sort, shared with the usual disclaimer:
Fallen soldier's home reno finished
By DON PEAT, QMI Agency
TORONTO - Before Pte. Kevin McKay left for basic training, he started building a studio for his mom to work on her quilting and stained glass.
He built it while his parents, Fred and Beth, were on vacation and surprised them when they got home.
As time went on, the studio started coming together but McKay didn't have time to finish it. First came basic training. Next he was off to Afghanistan.
He died in Afghanistan in May, days before his tour was to end. The studio became one of those things the 24-year-old would never finish.
When his dad's fellow Toronto firefighters came up to the family's Horseshoe Valley home to pay their respects, they vowed to help the fallen soldier finish his last mission.
Firefighter Dan Hjelholt, an electrician by trade, noticed the studio behind the house.
"I didn't want an unfinished project that he started for his mom to be a loose end," Hjelholt said Wednesday. "(Kevin) had planned to take care of it.
"I wanted it to be done right so Kevin would have been proud of it."
He said the project made sense because it honoured a fallen soldier, helped McKay's father -- who was Hjelholt's first fire captain -- and gave McKay's mom a special place to spend time.
He started planning with fellow firefighters and the McKay family, all in an effort to surprise Fred and Beth. They appealed for donations from businesses around Barrie and the GTA and were overwhelmed with the response, receiving supplies ranging from wood to food for the construction crew.
Early in July, the makeshift construction crew, trailers of tools, equipment and supplies showed up.
McKay's parents were overwhelmed with joy.
"All of a sudden I lost it, I went in the house and sat in the bedroom and just cried," Beth said.
She wiped her tears and went out to help, cooking up a storm to keep the crews going and shaking her head at how wonderful people can be amid such a tragedy.
"I'm just amazed they did it ... I would never have been able to make it as beautiful as it is," she said, adding she feels bad she hasn't written them thank-you notes yet.
She adds the studio project would have been something her son -- a carpenter by trade -- would have done for someone else.
"He was the one who brought everybody together," she said. "He was the kind of guy who did stuff like that."
Fred said it's hard to describe how good it felt to get a helping hand from friends.
don.peat@sunmedia.ca
Fallen soldier's home reno finished
By DON PEAT, QMI Agency
TORONTO - Before Pte. Kevin McKay left for basic training, he started building a studio for his mom to work on her quilting and stained glass.
He built it while his parents, Fred and Beth, were on vacation and surprised them when they got home.
As time went on, the studio started coming together but McKay didn't have time to finish it. First came basic training. Next he was off to Afghanistan.
He died in Afghanistan in May, days before his tour was to end. The studio became one of those things the 24-year-old would never finish.
When his dad's fellow Toronto firefighters came up to the family's Horseshoe Valley home to pay their respects, they vowed to help the fallen soldier finish his last mission.
Firefighter Dan Hjelholt, an electrician by trade, noticed the studio behind the house.
"I didn't want an unfinished project that he started for his mom to be a loose end," Hjelholt said Wednesday. "(Kevin) had planned to take care of it.
"I wanted it to be done right so Kevin would have been proud of it."
He said the project made sense because it honoured a fallen soldier, helped McKay's father -- who was Hjelholt's first fire captain -- and gave McKay's mom a special place to spend time.
He started planning with fellow firefighters and the McKay family, all in an effort to surprise Fred and Beth. They appealed for donations from businesses around Barrie and the GTA and were overwhelmed with the response, receiving supplies ranging from wood to food for the construction crew.
Early in July, the makeshift construction crew, trailers of tools, equipment and supplies showed up.
McKay's parents were overwhelmed with joy.
"All of a sudden I lost it, I went in the house and sat in the bedroom and just cried," Beth said.
She wiped her tears and went out to help, cooking up a storm to keep the crews going and shaking her head at how wonderful people can be amid such a tragedy.
"I'm just amazed they did it ... I would never have been able to make it as beautiful as it is," she said, adding she feels bad she hasn't written them thank-you notes yet.
She adds the studio project would have been something her son -- a carpenter by trade -- would have done for someone else.
"He was the one who brought everybody together," she said. "He was the kind of guy who did stuff like that."
Fred said it's hard to describe how good it felt to get a helping hand from friends.
don.peat@sunmedia.ca
