“The stage coach is coming.” It’s not something you hear every day in Crawfordsville, and this was no ordinary day. Not for Wabash, not for Crawfordsville Habitat for Humanity, and not for Jimmy Haffner H’98.
This was Jimmy’s 30th birthday, and he was about to receive a gift he’d once thought was out of his reach.
“It’s on its way,” called out one of the 30 or so people packed into the new scarlet red house on Liberty Street. They’d been gathered since before I arrived on this December afternoon, many of them telling stories about Jimmy. It was all news to me—I’d only known that he worked at Walgreen’s, was an honorary alumnus of Wabash, was well-liked in the community.
I learned that day that “well-liked” doesn’t begin to cover it.
The guests rushed to the south side of the house, a few stepping onto the front porch that overlooks the College’s Goodrich Ballpark. And making its way down Russell Avenue from the train tracks was the Wells Fargo stagecoach, its deep red frame a stark contrast to the mid-December snow on the ground. I raised my camera and snapped photos as the horses pulled the coach alongside the ballpark and turned left toward us. I joined several more people walking toward the coach, all of us raising cell phones and cameras. Two men stepped out, while another placed a walking chair near the wooden ramp attached to the house.
Then it was Jimmy’s turn. Wearing a Wabash jacket and Indiana Pacers cap, he stepped out, waved at the crowd, and made his way toward the ramp. Grasping the handles of his chair, he walked up the ramp and into the house—his new home. A Wabash scarlet red house built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers. His friends and family called out “Happy Birthday” and followed him inside, where local Habitat for Humanity President Keith Strain presented him with the house key.
Jimmy looked around the room, smiling and grateful, but this dream house was no surprise. He helped build it. To qualify for the house, he had to put in at least 200 hours of his own sweat equity. Jimmy had completed more than 140 of those hours before Habitat had even broken ground on his house.
“Even after he got his 200 hours, Jimmy kept coming to help,” Strain announced as he handed him the key. “He has been a part of this from beginning to end. Jimmy, you are the poster child for partner families. So, I present this to you as a token of congratulations and well wishes.”
“As far as Habitat families go, Jimmy has stepped up and been the perfect family,” building coordinator Kym Bushong added. “He has reached out to the community, and a lot of what happened here is simply because Jimmy helped out. He has touched so many people.
“This has probably been the most remarkable journey that I have been on with Habitat.”
The journey to his new home was even more remarkable for Jimmy. He was born with cerebral palsy, but friends say he never let the disability keep him from work or life. The son of Kitty and Herm Haffner ’77, he began rooting for the Little Giants when he was a little boy. As the citation naming him an Honorary Alumnus of the Class of 1998 reads: “You’ve cheered on and supported literally thousands of Wabash student-athletes and attended hundreds of games…That you have overcome a disability and never, ever use it as an excuse sends an important message to our student-athletes when they see you behind the basketball bench or on the football sidelines. And, of course, that message is ‘Wabash Always Fights!’”
But building a house to meet Jimmy’s needs presented challenges. Bushong confirmed that the place was practically built around Jimmy. The interior contains grab bars, lower counter- tops, lower light switches and a walk-in shower, in addition to the ramp on the south side of the house. Each possible turn inside the house has a 60-inch radius to help Jimmy maneuver more easily.
Watching Jimmy walk up the wooden ramp to his front door, I thought about all that care and attention to detail that had gone into planning this place. Jimmy can get into and move around in his home without struggling, without facing many of the obstacles he has to overcome every day when he goes out.
“There is no way we could have afforded to get a house constructed that suits his needs,” said Herm, a longtime volunteer for Habitat. “This means the world to us. We will be forever in debt to Habitat and the community for all the effort and time put into making this happen.
I didn’t want to take Jimmy away from his party, but he seemed glad to be interviewed. I wished him “Happy Birthday” and congratulated him on the house. He immediately credited Habitat volunteers and praised his community.
“Being right here is what I have always wanted,” he told me. “I have been looking for a house near Wabash for seven years, but I could never find one in my price range. Now I have it, and I will be here the rest of my life.”
A former manager for the Little Giant basketball team, Jimmy mentioned that he’d recently accepted a volunteer position with the Wabash baseball team.
“I already feel sorry for DePauw with their bullpen across the street from me,” he joked.
His plans for the house reflect his passion for Wabash. He requested the scarlet red siding—the house stands like a Wabash banner next to the ballpark. He plans on dedicating a room to each of his favorite sports teams—Wabash, the Indiana Pacers, and Indianapolis Colts.
“Jimmy can just ride to the field on his scooter,” Herm said.
For many years, Wabash was Jimmy’s second home. Now, thanks to several groups working together as one community—Crawfordsville, Wabash, various churches, and Habitat volunteers—Wabash is home.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” Bushong said. “We certainly all came together as a village and made this happen for our child, who has put in as much effort to make this happen. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of having a house here than Jimmy.
“I want to thank everyone who has helped make this possible,” Jimmy said as the party began to wind down. “It is a dream come true.”
—photos by John Dykstra, Crawfordsville Journal Review