News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Dan and Susie Campana RV’d into Sisters to help Habitat for Humanity.
Lots of folks roll through town in their RV to enjoy all the beauty and recreational activities the Sisters Country has to offer. Dan and Susie Campana came to work.
The couple, who hail from La Crescenta, California, were in Sisters last week as part of the Habitat for Humanity RV Care-A-Vanners program. They camped at Creekside Campground and worked on two Sisters Habitat for Humanity builds.
"You give a two-week commitment," said Susie. "You come to a campground and you work two weeks on a house."
Most Care-A-Vanners are of retirement age. The Campanas, in their late 50s, aren't quite there yet.
"We're a little young to be in the game," Dan said.
However, he's a professor of philosophy and religious studies at the University of LaVerne, and has summers off. He's also taken sabbaticals devoted to Habitat work.
"We love to travel," Susie said. "We like to give back and do something other than just travel."
Their Care-A-Vanners travel has taken them to Tillamook and as far away as North Carolina.
"We've been up at Tillamook for the past four years and just decided to see a different part of Oregon," Dan said.
They were welcomed with open arms as they helped install rigid insulation in Habitat homes.
"The people of Sisters were awesome; they just took us in to their family," Dan said.
Dan brings a fair amount of construction experience to bear in his Habitat work. Their home town of La Crescenta has become an expensive place to live, so to make things work, the Campanas have purchased several homes in bad shape, remodeled them, lived in them and then sold them. Now they are established in their "final" home and are able to devote their skills to helping others.
The Campanas appreciate the model that Habitat represents.
"There's no handout going on at all," Dan said. "It really moves people into a place of responsibility and a place to raise their children. Great management and just a great vision."
It's not all work and no play for the Campanas. They make sure they get a full complement of recreation in on their trips.
"When we're not working we're hiking, biking, kayaking, out meeting people - or sitting under a tree reading a book," Susie said.
The couple was preparing last Sunday to hit the road again. But it's likely not the last Sisters have seen of the couple.
"We will be back," Susie said. "This is just too great of a place."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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