'It was a privilege to work alongside him': Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex joins worldwide memorial for Jimmy Carter

Habitat’s Jimmy Carter tribute Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex is joining a memorial for late U.S. President Jimmy Carter. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske explains.

Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex is joining a worldwide memorial for late U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Volunteers, including three who worked with Carter in 2005, have signed a door with messages of gratitude which will be used in future builds.

Joe Haggith, a volunteer with 25 years e

xperience, thought he was just signing his name Friday.

So, when he was asked to add a message, he says it didn’t take long to decide what to write.

“What else can you say? But thank you. You know, thank you for all the time and effort and work you put in to it,” says Haggith.

Habitat Windsor-Essex has mounted a blue door in the corner of the ReStore on Dougall Avenue.

The public is welcome to come in and sign the door or the wall studs around it.

According to Habitat CEO Fiona Coughlin, the autographed door will eventually be installed in future homes or for repairs to existing ones.

“These doors are happening, at affiliates across the globe where folks are signing the doors and the studs, with their thoughts and remembrance of our beloved friend Jimmy Carter,” says Coughlin. “And, we promise, of course, to keep (his) legacy going.”

First international build was in Windsor

In 2005, former president Carter was in the city for this first ‘international build’ for the Carter Work Project.

“If you were to go to the houses that Jimmy Carter built on Bruce Avenue and open up the drywall, you would see on the studs’, signatures of all the volunteers that helped on that project, including Jimmy Carter's signature,” says Coughlin.

Haggith, and Barb and Dave Bjarneson worked alongside Carter.

“Jimmy Carter, he was never afraid to just pitch in,” says Barb, who also worked on a build with the former president in Alabama. “He went straight to the door, which is a hard thing to put up.”

Bjarneson admits it was emotional signing the door Friday in Windsor in memory of a person she’ll never forget.

“He's a very approachable man. And it was just a privilege to work alongside of him,” she said.

“Just such a humble man and a legacy that few will match,” husband Dave adds. “He was there to work. He wasn't there for show. He worked along with everyone else and, he was very often the last person at the worksite.”

“It's tough to put your finger on the feeling we're feeling right now,” says Coughlin. “We're sad to have lost somebody. But what a life well-lived. What a legacy.”

In his lifetime, Carter helped to build, renovate or repair more than 4,400 home in 14 countries, according to Habitat for Humanity.

Carter died on Dec. 29, 2024. He was 100 years old.