(PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
HOME SWEET HOME … Fulton County resident and U.S. Air National Guard veteran Bob Peters stands in front of his County Road 5-2 home along with his 9-year-old rescue dog, Cookie, while receiving a new roof for free as part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
A U.S. Air National Guard veteran has a new roof on his home south of Delta thanks to a local roofer and the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project.
81-year-old Bob Peters went on the internet to ask for recommendations for a roofer and was pointed toward Roof Ohio. Peters also saw they occasionally help out veterans, so he called up owner Gene Wilson, who came out for a visit.
Peters asked if they offered a veterans’ discount, and Wilson told him about the opportunity, and how to apply – filling out a form with his military records and honorable discharge, which are reviewed by Owens Corning and Purple Heart Homes.
“He came back a couple weeks later and said we got accepted for a new roof,” Peters said. “I’m very grateful about that too, because we never could have afforded it. My wife was jumping up and down she was so happy.”
Peters was born in the County Road 5-2 home in 1943, delivered by his father and grandmother. When the doctor made a house call to check on them after the birth, Peters’ father told him “You shouldn’t charge us, we did all of the work.” “And he didn’t, either,” Peters said.
Growing up, Peters’ family was in the egg business and had between 4,000 and 5,000 laying hens. Then, at the age of 22 as the United States was just entering the Vietnam War, he joined the U.S. Air National Guard.
“We came close to getting deployed a couple of times there during the Vietnam War, I was in from ‘65 to ‘71,” Peters said. “When I left, I was a staff sergeant. If I’d have re-upped, I’d have gone to tech sergeant right away, but when you’ve got a family and stuff, well I decided not to re-up.”
While in the military, Peters served as a cook and found a love for all things culinary.
“That’s where I got my passion for cooking,” Peters said. “I love to cook; I love to bake. I made a big pot of chili today. Chili, spaghetti, different soups and stuff. My son he went to Pennsylvania Culinary and learned to cook there.”
In 1984, his parents had a house built next door to their home and moved into it, while Peters moved back into the home in which he had been born. For many years he worked at a computer business on Holloway Road. By the time he retired in January 2002 he was working rebuilding laser printers.
Peters also continued to farm, growing mostly corn, soybeans, and some wheat. He continued farming until 2004.
“The big thing when I retired, I thought I had plenty of money in my 401k, but that’s 22 years ago, and this inflation’s pretty well eaten most of it up,” Peters said, joking “maybe I wasn’t supposed to live this long.” He said his own parents both lived to be 86 years old.
According to Walton, the roof program was started in 2016 to give back to veterans. “To this point we’ve done over 600 roofs,” he said.
“Our contractors bring a veteran that they’ve either met or they can think of, and then in conjunction with Purple Heart Homes, we qualify them as an honorable discharge.”
Owens Corning then provides all the materials, and the roofing contractor provides all the labor.
“Everybody can help in any way,” Walton said. “Maybe you don’t have to do a whole roof for a veteran, but maybe just a visit. Maybe some garden work, running some errands for them or helping them out or just checking in on them.”
“You don’t have to go all the way to doing something like this, but just think of your veterans and do something for them to help out in their daily life.”
Wilson thanked Owens Corning, Purple Heart Veterans, and Peters himself. He said Roof Ohio tries to get involved with the project at least once a year in addition to helping out with Habitat for Humanity.
“There’s nothing I can do in return for what he’s done for our country,” Wilson said.
“This is nothing compared to what he’s given up in his life for us. I’m more thankful for him than he is for us.”