Family moves into Habitat home

The Ratchye family cut the ribbon to

their new Habitat for Humanity-built home Saturday in front of a

crowd of about 50 supporters and volunteers. As the scissors made

the cut — signifying that the house was in fact theirs — Jeff

Ratchye promptly announced, “Now everyone, get off my lawn!”

He was joking, of course, but after 30

build-days and more than 300 combined hours of work put in by

himself and his wife Melinda, the family of four is ready to settle

in at their humble abode on East Second Street.

The move into the Habitat home marks

the 43rd for Melinda, who shed tears of happiness as she addressed

those gathered at the home dedication.

“I’m so incredibly excited, and I just

want to thank everyone involved,” she said.

Jeff was glowing as he toured the home

with the many volunteers who helped the building process. The small

two-story house features a living area, kitchen, bedroom and bath

on the upper floor, and three additional bedrooms and a full bath

on the bottom floor. A wrap-around deck offers unobstructed views

of Big Mountain to the north.

“I’m just amazed at how well it turned

out, especially with all the volunteers involved,” Jeff said. “This

has been the best experience of my life, and I want to thank

everyone.”

Chris Hyatt, executive director of the

local Habitat chapter, said the Ratchyes’ home is the 33rd they’ve

built in 21 years. The group’s next project is a 16-unit build in

Columbia Falls that will be completed in 4-5 years.

“We’re building a community with each

of these new homes,” Hyatt said.

He thanked the Whitefish Area Land

Trust for providing the land the Ratchyes’ home is on, as well as

Thrivent Builds and the area Lutheran churches for their

efforts.

“Without their support, this wouldn’t

be possible,” he said.