BEMUS POINT, N.Y. -- Their life-changing conversation began with a cough.
"Are you getting a cold?" Yevet Anderson asked Sarah Evan as they drove home to Erie from Kent, Ohio,
this past August, where they ran a hockey camp together.
Anderson, founder of the Erie Lady Lions hockey program and Evan's coach on its 19-and-under team, was
unprepared for Evan's response. Her family's dream home, a turn-of-the-20th Century farmhouse with the high ceilings and architectural
character born of Evan's native England, was infested with black mold.
It made breathing difficult for her mother, Jeanne, who had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia
-- a fast-advancing cancer of the blood and bone marrow -- in July 2007.
"That's how it started," Anderson said of what the Lady Lions call Hockey Home Makeover -- a home renovation
that has involved two dozen volunteers and an array of supplies from individuals and businesses in and around Erie and Jamestown,
N.Y.
The project began in December, when volunteers remodeled a shower riddled with mold. They moved on to
the basement, where workers laid a cement floor and sealed the floor and walls. They continued an addition at the back of
the home that Sarah Evan and her father, Jim, worked on before his death in February 2008. Final touches, such as painting
and carpeting, should be completed this spring.
"You've gone from a conversation," Anderson, 58, said, "and it materialized into the Stanley Cup, where
the proceeds from the passion of the game reaped the benefits of a hat trick -- the basement, the back room and the original
shower."
Needing a normal life
The Lady Lions draw players not only from Erie and Jamestown, but also from as far away as Pittsburgh,
Cleveland, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. No matter where they're from, Sarah Evan, 18, is her teammates' adviser on typical
teenage concerns -- family, school, boyfriends.
"She's real perceptive with the girls," said Jeanne Evan, 55, whose daughter leads the Lady Lions into
the 16th annual Sarah Backstrom Memorial Tournament this weekend at four Erie rinks.
Like many teenagers, Evan wanted to earn her driver's license at age 16. This past summer, she also began
to realize her dream to become a pilot.
She attended aviation camps at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Michigan Technological
University in Houghton, Mich. She flew a plane for the first time -- a two-seat, single-engine Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper
-- at Michigan Tech.
She's come early to realizations other than her love of flight.
Her father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the fall of 2007, shortly after Jeanne Evan learned
she had leukemia. He underwent successful prostate surgery in January 2008, Jeanne Evan said. A month later, Jim Evan died
from what doctors initially determined was fatal cardiac arrhythmia, although Jeanne Evan believes her husband might have
suffered a blood clot.
Given her mother's ongoing battle -- and with older siblings living in Texas, England and Germany --
Sarah Evan took control. She drove every other day to Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo to help her mother, who was
hospitalized almost constantly from July 2007 to August 2008.
Evan, who is home-schooled, spent many hours at home finishing schoolwork -- often alone after her father's
death -- so she could focus on her mother's recovery during her time in Buffalo.
Sarah Evan also maintained the home and completed daily tasks her parents once had handled, such as car
repairs and inspections.
"I was going to grow up," she said. "It just happened a lot quicker."
Her mother is home now. But Sarah Evan's hard work continues.
"This has been her life," Jeanne Evan said. "The only normal thing she's had in her life is hockey."
One day this past October, the Lady Lions were in Buffalo for games. While eating in a mall food court,
Anderson asked Sarah Evan about the mold problem. Nothing worked on it, she said, not even bleach.
Warren Hiles was listening.
Needing to help
Stacey Hiles, 16, is a captain on the 19-and-under team, just like Sarah Evan. They are good friends
and teammates and nearly always can be found together.
Stacey Hiles also is a thyroid cancer survivor.
She's healthy now. But her father, Warren, understands the sacrifices families make in times of need.
His son, Michael, 22, continues a lifelong battle with kidney problems, including a second transplant about a year ago.
The Lady Lions, which began in 1993 as part of Erie Youth Hockey Association and spun into the separate
Erie Lady Lions Girls Hockey Association in 2004, also understand the meaning of family and sacrifice.
On four occasions in Anderson's coaching career, she has told players that teammates had been diagnosed
with cancer. Three times, she has told her teams that a teammate or coach lost the fight.
This weekend's annual girls and women's tournament honors Sarah Backstrom, an original Lady Lion who
died in 1999, at age 18, after battling leukemia.
"It is the spirit of Sarah Backstrom that overlooks the Lady Lions and those who know her," Anderson
said.
So helping Evan and her family was a no-brainer decision for the Lady Lions program, Warren Hiles, 47,
said.
"She's a unique individual," he said. "Even though she's going through some of the most heartfelt trials
of her life, she maintains a smile and an upbeat attitude like I've never seen before."
One early December day, Anderson and contractors Patrick Harmle and Bob Reichard headed to the Evan home
to assess its condition. Harmle and Reichard have family members in Timbits, the Lady Lions' learn-to-play program for children
ages 4-10.
"They needed a lot of help," said Harmle, 48, of Millcreek Township, who owns Harmle Construction.
Anderson and other volunteers contacted others to help or make donations. On the project's opening day,
Anderson and contractors arrived at the home with 10 trucks, supplies and volunteers.
Erie native Bob Foltyn, 55, of Foltyn Concrete Construction, found at least 20 volunteers one day.
"We had a bunch of people that really didn't do this type of work," said Foltyn, a Timbits coach along
with his son, Torry, 20. "But it was nice how everybody was doing what they could and helping everybody."
Work began with volunteers shoveling mold out of the shower and then remodeling it. They moved to the
basement, where mold grew from the dirt floor and walls. They poured cement over the dirt floor and mold-proofed the floor
and walls.
Meanwhile, volunteers discovered more necessary repairs -- an unstable chimney, leaky roof and antiquated
electrical setup. Reichard, 49, an Erie native and general contractor with BJS Construction, spent two nights sleeping at
the Evan home to complete the electrical work. Anderson said he likely put in 200 hours.
Volunteers also continued Jim Evan's work on the addition, including a new floor, drywall and windows.
Snow began to fall in late December, slowing the project. But hopefully by Easter, Anderson said, the
addition will resemble the Colonial-era keeping room -- what someone else might call a family room or great room -- that Jim
Evan envisioned.
"It's a different kind of accomplishment," said Warren Hiles, who assisted on various jobs. "It was a
task where there was no monetary return. It's all heartfelt. It's wonderful. It's very satisfying."
Needing to decide
The Evans bought their home sight unseen in December 2005. They arrived from England to find the addition
and an upstairs bedroom unheated and unusable. But the farmhouse instantly felt like home.
The Evans celebrated their first Christmas that year with 17 family members and friends.
"We thought, 'It's going to be a good life,'" Jeanne Evan said, even though the family was aware they
could move at any time if Jim Evan were to be transferred to a new engineering position.
In the summer of 2007, Jim Evan faced a potential transfer to China. Since Jeanne Evan felt ill, she
underwent a checkup in July before traveling to China for a visit.
Now, she is winning her battle with leukemia. Jeanne Evan said her blood counts have elevated and she
undergoes monthly checkups at Roswell.
"We know it was a miracle because so many times I didn't think I was making it," said Jeanne Evan, who
credited her improved health and breathing in part to the mold removal from her home.
She looks forward to the future, namely the start of her daughter's college career this coming fall.
Sarah Evan has narrowed a long list of choices to one, which she keeps to herself; she will share it
when she's ready. But she is willing to forego her top choice and attend Jamestown (N.Y.) Community College, which offers
a professional piloting program, to remain at home to help her mother.
"If she needs me," Sarah Evan said, "I don't want her to be alone in this big house."
That old farmhouse is the family home. Thanks to the Lady Lions-led volunteers, it's safer and as welcoming
as its owners.
"I'm happy," Sarah Evan said. "It's amazing what they've done. It's one less thing to worry about."
VICTOR FERNANDES can be reached at 870-1716 or by e-mail.
The 16th annual Sarah Backstrom Memorial Tournament starts today at 10:15 a.m. and runs through Sunday at
Ice Center of Erie, JMC Ice Arena, Mercyhurst Ice Center and Tullio Arena. For information and schedule, go to www.erieladylions.com.
See who helped
Check out a list of the project's volunteers and donors at www.erieladylions.com/id63.html.
Renovating a life
Highlights of the makeover of the Evan family's home in Bemus Point, N.Y.:
- Renovated shower to eliminate black mold problem (including new tile).
- Poured concrete floor in basement; waterproofed and mold-proofed walls and floors.
- Replaced antiquated electrical system.
- Repaired unstable chimney.
- Checked and repaired roof and gutters.
- Continued and mold-proofed unfinished addition (including a new floor, drywall, door and windows).
- Finishing touches on the back room, such as finishing the molding, painting and installing carpeting, is expected to be completed this SPRING
See who helped
Check out a list of the project's volunteers and donors at www.erieladylions.com/id63.html.
Renovating a life
Highlights of the makeover of the Evan family's home in Bemus Point, N.Y.:
- Renovated shower to eliminate black mold problem (including new tile).
- Poured concrete floor in basement; waterproofed and mold-proofed walls and floors.
- Replaced antiquated electrical system.
- Repaired unstable chimney.
- Checked and repaired roof and gutters.
- Continued and mold-proofed unfinished addition (including a new floor, drywall, door and windows).
- Finishing touches on the back room, such as finishing the molding, painting and installing carpeting, is expected to be completed this SPRING
