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Letter to the editor

Looking to rebuild

Many want to help Thelma Louise Baker rebuild after a fire destroyed her home.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
Published December 30, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Thelma Louise Baker, the 78-year-old woman who lost her home in a fire in October, is still unsure how her house will be rebuilt.

"Some days she might be up, but a majority of the days she's down," her daughter Ernestine McCrone said.

"She's constantly worried about her house."

For now, the woman who made a living cleaning homes and who took care of two mentally ill sons, a nephew and a visually impaired brother-in-law, is living with her daughter.

A few days before Christmas, her brother-in-law died.

Through the sadness, though, Baker has been buoyed by the kindnesses of people who read about her plight.

A Randy's Electric has agreed to do all of the electrical work, McCrone said, adding that they have received an offer from someone else who will install the air conditioning.

"We got a lot of furniture. Some people gave towels, sheet sets. I got some furniture from a real estate lady who was on the beach. She's got some clothes now," McCrone said.

"I got a few Home Depot cards, because we need it for material. We got about $770 in Home Depot cards. We have big items to buy, like wood and concrete and stuff like that. I have two contractors who are going to step up to the plate as far as labor."

Her mother's house at 927 10th Ave. S will have to be demolished, she said.

"If I could get her house built back quickly, that's all I would ask God for," she said.

Waveney Ann Moore can be reached at wmoore@sptimes.com or 727 892-2283.

[Last modified December 29, 2007, 23:09:04]