Aaron Berry sat in front of the antique cash register last Tuesday at Garipay House as his father, Clayton Berry, took his hand to guide his fingers over the buttons.
“Wow,” said 10-year-old Aaron, of Quechee.
Hartford Historical Society volunteer Martha Knapp leaned over.
“Want me to show you how they opened it?” she asked Aaron before turning the cash register’s crank to make the drawer pop open. “How’s that for a surprise?”
“Good! Can I take this to my house?” Aaron replied to laughter from the rest of the room.
In June 2018, Aaron arrived at Garipay House with the rest of his fourth-grade class at the Ottauquechee School, but he was unable to tour the historic building.
Aaron, who uses a wheelchair, had no way of entering the building.
Berry emailed the historical society and then Hartford town manager Leo Pullar to ask why Garipay House wasn’t handicapped-accessible.
“We didn’t think anything of it,” Berry said.
That was until the Hartford Historical Society reached out to let them know the news: The Historical Society had raised the funding to put in a ramp, and its members wanted Aaron to be the first person to use it.
“It was so overwhelming. We weren’t expecting this at all,” said Mari Berry, Aaron’s mother. “To have Aaron cut the ribbon was very special.”
After entering Garipay House (and being greeted by apple cider and cookies), Knapp gave Aaron the tour that his classmates had gone on, accompanied by Aaron’s little brothers, Ben, 7, and Nathan, 5.
“We were just happy to be the spark that ignited that,” Clayton Berry said. “Accessibility is everything. You look at the world through different eyes. Everyone gets to enjoy this now.”
The ramp was built by volunteers from Cover Home Repair, the White River Junction-based nonprofit that upgrades homes for people in need throughout the community. A handicapped-accessible bathroom was also installed.
Making Garipay House accessible had been on the historical’s society’s project list for a while, President Judy Barwood said, but it had to put the plan aside as it worked to raise money to buy the former Elks Lodge building next door, which was already handicapped-accessible. After that effort was abandoned, the nonprofit began thinking about ways to improve its current space.
“It’s been at the back of our minds for a lot of years,” Barwood said. “It’s great for us and it’s great for the public as well.”
The ramp is attached to the back of the building and leads into the kitchen, where the bathroom also is located. Some cabinets and storage space had to be removed to make room for the renovations.
“Public buildings should welcome everyone, and the Hartford Historical Society really stepped up and did that,” said Mary Alice Leonard-Heath, volunteer and outreach coordinator at Cover. “It’s about inclusion. It’s about community-building. … Seeing (Aaron) today, it really takes my breath away.”
Cover Home Repair stepped in with a team of 20 volunteers to build the ramp. The process included widening doorways and replicating the historic trim, which was done by volunteer Dave Sherman, said Bill Neukomm, Cover’s executive director. While the organization typically focuses on building ramps for private homes, it takes projects for nonprofits a couple of times a year.
“It’s just as important for them to access other community buildings,” Neukomm said.
At the end of the tour, there were smiles all around.
“Would you like to come back someday?” Barwood asked Aaron.
“Yes!” Aaron replied.
And just like that, another community connection was built.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
