BY MATT SCHOOLEY
The Herod family will be home again.
After having their house severely damaged by floods in 2006 and 2007, Gary and his wife Kelly were given a surprise when they arrived at their Goffstown neighborhood to see volunteers and television crew members ready to deliver a new home to a waiting foundation on Tuesday, Oct. 23.
Students at Somersworth High School had built the home with plans to donate it to the Voisine family in Manchester, but after “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” surprised them with plans for a new home, the Herods were next in line.
“They get to be a family again. It’s just not the same when you’re not at home,” said Kelly’s mother, Pat McDonald, whom the family was staying with after they were forced out of their home.
“People have gone through a lot trying to get them what they deserve. You don’t realize how much goes into this.”
A yellow school bus parked in front of the large crowd of volunteers and friends blocked the Herod’s view of what was going on when they arrived at the site. Minutes before the bus was moved, Kelly Herod’s brother, Jim McDonald Jr., said he was thrilled for his sister.
“I’m excited that the community could come together and help them with the new home,” said McDonald, who was trying to hold in some of his emotions. “I’ll try not to shed a tear (when they move the bus). I’m ecstatic and just happy to see that my niece can get her room back. It’s the little things that we take for granted.”
Stacey Edgar, a neighbor and close friend of the Herods, was very excited as well.
“There’s nothing better. We’ve been friends for six years, and we just want her home,” she said. “I’ve gotten more joy over the last few days than I have out of anything else in a long time.”
Another friend and neighbor, Deb Gaudette, agreed.
“It’s been a ride like you wouldn’t believe,” she said. “I was up all night last night and just couldn’t wait. I’ve been dreaming of this for months.”
As the bus moved, the crowd walked toward the waiting family, and the process of putting the home together began.
After nearly two years away from home, the Herod family is finally back in the neighborhood.