Eula Hickam: Strengthening humanity in the world

Eula Hickam may be freshly retired as of New Year's Day, but her adventures are far from finished.

The 81-year-old Coeur d'Alene resident has stepped down after serving two years as the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho, which is part of the global, nonprofit organization that operates on Christian principles by building houses, strengthening communities and generating hope.

Hickam was born in Tacoma, Wash., and grew up in Puyallup, Wash. She had five brothers and sisters and was one of two who graduated from high school. When she went to the employment office eager to find work, she was asked if she had any disabilities and was amazed to find the heart murmur she was born with actually helped her pay for college.

"We grew up in a poor family," she said. "I was able to go to college in the vocational rehabilitation program ... That was a real break for me because I was able to get a college education and become a teacher, which put me into the middle class. I'd say that was my best break."

Hickam always loved school and taught elementary, special education and junior high school classes in the Seattle area and Wenatchee. She got married and moved to California and her heart once again became a concern. Doctors found out the murmur was actually a hole.

"Serendipity, as it happens, I was living in California where there was an actual heart and lung machine being used in Los Angeles in a hospital there," she said. "In 1962, I had open-heart surgery, and that was very high tech and really pioneering in those days. They fixed the hole and I lived. That was a real life-changer, too ... out of five people who had open-heart surgery, two died and either one or two more were somewhat brain damaged from lack of oxygen. I did lose some of my memory, but it's not serious. But just to think: I survived all that. I've always felt that I'm alive for some reason, you know, and it left me with a normal heart. It's kind of tired now, but it ticks along pretty good. I've just always felt that I was alive for a purpose. Not that I dwell on it, but I don't want to waste life, either."

Hickam retired from teaching and moved to Idaho in 1991. She was too young to permanently retire, so she went into real estate. Serendipity again struck and set her on a path where her heart would once again rule, but in a different way.

"I was driving around in Athol one day and I saw a foundation, or unfinished house, with a sign leaning on it saying, 'Habitat for Humanity is building here,'" she said. "I thought, 'You know, Jimmy Carter's thing,' so I thought, 'If I sell a house, I'll give a donation to that.' So I did, I gave a donation, and that speeded back to the local area and of course, they sicced right on me. So I've been involved with Habitat since 1993."

Although Hickam spent the last two years in a paid position, the rest of her endless work with Habitat has been completely volunteer. She has a strong sense of paying it forward because of the good things that have come her way. And it shows - Hickam was named the Panhandle State Bank's Community Star of 2013, she implemented the "Our Daily Bread" Sunday lunch program at Lutheran Church of the Master, she was instrumental in starting the Habitat ReStore where people can purchase building supplies and home furnishings for low prices and she has been described as "truly a jewel in our community" by friend Jill Dougherty.

And even though Hickam decided to officially retire, she won't be far from Habitat and other community-oriented projects. She has been working on an endowment fund with the Idaho Community Foundation for Habitat for Humanity and she intends to continue building it up to $50,000.

"If anybody wants to donate money in my name, we'll use it for that," she said with a chuckle.

How does it feel to be finally retiring?

Well, you see, it's kind of mixed. I mean, I'm the one who said I was going to retire, because as I said, I don't have the energy now to do what needs to be done. I'm doing it because I want to, and that's the way I wanted it. I didn't want them saying, 'Oh boy, will she ever leave?' But it's mixed. Some days, I think, 'Eh, I've done this so many years, what am I going to do now?' But I have other interests, I do other things, and I feel that this is what I'm supposed to do and God will be with me, no matter what.

What are some rewards that have come with working for Habitat?

I think the main thing is, as I said, I grew up poor, we lived in rentals. My parents, sometimes they worked in fruit, you know, traveled, and we did have a house once or twice but we never kept it to buy. My dad couldn't make enough money. So, I guess one of the rewards is when you see these families who are working so hard, but they could never, never buy a house. They get this opportunity and it changes their lives. They just pay a payment, no interest, on what it costs, so they have money that they didn't have to get a better car, to send their children to college, to have a stable place to live.

Are there challenges that come with this role as well?

Yes, I work with a bunch of volunteers. It's like making sausage. You take this family you've just chosen, and they have to put in 100 hours of 'sweat equity,' what they get no money for. They have to change their ways. They take the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class, it's a 9-week course that helps people manage their finances. They have to tell people their budget. You get kind of a rough relationship sometimes. Then you find a lot and you start building a house, used to be with all volunteers. So you take volunteers, you take money, you take lumber, you push all the way through all these different ingredients and sometimes there's trouble. Sometimes people don't want to do this. It's a long story, people are people. But anyway, finally, out the other end comes a family standing on the porch of their new house. Then, there's still problems, but at least they got their house and they make payments, and that's a big issue for people who've never owned a home, to know they have to make payments. That's the thing about the challenge and reward, is when you see this happen time after time ... It's a big challenge but it's a big reward. It's like, you have to kind of guide people that sometimes want to be guided and sometimes don't.

Do you have a great accomplishment that you're really proud of in your work with Habitat, with getting the Restore going, 38 homes built, etc.?

Any of those things. And we also have a second program now called 'A Brush with Kindness,' that's the second Habitat program where there are people who live in homes that they buy, maybe a little trailer or something, but they don't have the money to keep them up. So we paint, we repair, we clean yards sometimes. That's another program that Habitat has to help. Everybody's not going to be able to get a new house, so that's another one of our programs. We've done about 50 of those projects in the last couple years ... If I had any accomplishments, it's my ability to take something and convince others to do it. It's not because of me that this is done so well. I've just been kind of a catalyst here, I think. It couldn't have been done just with me. This whole business couldn't be run by any one person. Sometimes, (it's just) being lucky and finding the right folks to step up and help ... If I have a good quality, it's to cudgel others into doing things.

What is it about Habitat that attracts you or motivates you?

When people get a house, it changes their lives, forever. They just become different people. They become taxpayers. They pay their property taxes, they become members of the community. Several of our families have become partner families for new people to help somebody else along with that, so to me, I think that's the real reward. And to help society, because the more people you have in your community that are responsible, the better off society is. They become givers, not takers. I would say that's the thing that keeps me in it. I grew up poor, and when I was married we got a mobile home, that was the first thing we could buy. We paid that off and were able to sell it and then had enough to make a down payment on a "house" house, so then we gained equity in that, and so these people can do the same. It's their house, they can sell it, but they mostly don't because they don't have to pay interest with us and they would have to with somebody else, but there are people who are paid off now, so they have no house payment. They just live there, and they're all very high-level, economic, energy-efficient houses we build. Their living expenses are lower. And around the world I think there's about 90 countries involved in Habitat, and there's probably 300,000 or more people living in Habitat homes.

Have you ever gone on a mission to build houses with Habitat somewhere?

No, I never have. It would have been fun but it just never happened for me. I've traveled quite a bit but not to do that.

Are you ever on site doing the building?

You know, I've hardly ever done building. We built a women's build house, I think it was our 10th house, and I did help with that, but mostly I just raise money or run things, or persuade others to give money (chuckles).

Do you have any big plans for your retirement?

Oh, I just keep on doing what I'm doing. Playing cards, taking naps. I'm part of the Friends of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, I help with that, and I sing in the Coeur d'Aleers. I'm involved in my church, Lutheran Church of the Master. But I might travel more. I've been to quite a few countries over the years. This last year I went to Norway with a friend. We went on what's called the Hurtigruten, which is a ship that goes up the outside of Norway and stops just like the mail ships. We just did that last summer. So, as long as I have funds, I'd like to travel because there are other places I'd like to go yet, if I can.

If you could jump on a plane tomorrow and go somewhere, where would it be?

I think I'd go to India, because I've been to China, I've been to a lot of places but you know, I think it would be really interesting to see how that culture lives. That's what I've found interesting about traveling. I've been to Africa, China. It's how the people live. That's what I think is interesting. So I would like to go to India, maybe I'll be able to go on one more trip, or maybe more. Who knows? ... All of these cultures are so different from ours, and it's interesting to see how people cope within them, or don't.

Is there anything that you would like to say to people about your time here, now that you're going to be done with Habitat after so long? Any wisdom you want to share?

I think that almost everybody that I know, that I've known over the years, have had 'habititus.' That's what I call it. It's a disease of the heart. Most people just see it as such a worthwhile thing to change the world.

Do you feel like you've changed the world?

No, but I've changed a few of the people's lives here, and it goes around.