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work of hundreds of local volunteers.
As Anders prepared to watch the episode tonight, she reflected on how some aspects of her life have changed while others have stayed the same since getting the new farmhouse-style home in July.
The elementary school teacher said she no longer has to worry about repairs on her home, which was in poor condition with a leaky roof, crumbling walls and a vermin infestation, among other problems. Her five children are happy, she said, that they can invite friends over and live in a comfortable house, which was designed by lead builder Veridian Homes.
But many of the forces that prevented Anders from being able to renovate her home still exist.
She is a single mom with two children in college, a third who is considering going back to college, and two more at home. She still has bills, faltering cars and mouths to feed.
“A lot has changed,” Anders said. “It would be great if everything changed. I still have the old bills that kept me from really being able to fix up my house.”
Anders said she and her husband Gary Beatty had high hopes when they bought the old home, which they considered a fixer-upper, on a picturesque homestead just southwest of Richland Center.
But over the years the bills piled up, she and Gary divorced and they never quite had enough money to make they repairs they had once planned. The home’s condition continued to degrade. Then, Gary died after a heart attack four years ago.
Anders, a self-described private woman, said she had to “push” herself to apply for the show because she knew it would involve airing her troubles nationally.
“I don’t like to let people know I struggled,” she said. “People didn’t know. I just went on. You just do what you have to do.”
But she said the experience was worth the decision to put herself in the center of attention.
Her 18-year old son, Drew, who attends UW-Richland, agreed. For the first time in his life, he has his own bedroom.
“It’s made me overall happier,” he said. “Everybody just wants to come talk to you and congratulate you about it.”
Anders said she occasionally sees a sight-seer stop in front of the house, but the show’s producers instructed her not to show the inside of the home publicly until the episode airs.
She put an ad in a Richland Center newspaper thanking people for their help building the home, but she still feels a debt of gratitude.
“The hardest part for me is there were so many people that helped out there to make this for us and there’s no way we can thank everyone.”
The show will air at 7 p.m. today on ABC.
Deborah Ziff is a report for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison.
