Shelter Institute in the News
Time Magazine September 1979
Have Hammer, Will Teach
Mon.-Sun. for 3 wks. Tuition: $300 each; $450 per couple. If the Shelter Institute had a printed catalogue, that is how its one course entry might read. Located in the shipbuilding city of Bath, Me. (pop. 9,679), Shelter has a curriculum that could be outlined on a matchbook cover. If it had commencement ceremonies, its new graduates would probably sport construction helmets and carpenters' aprons instead of caps and gowns. Yet they leave knowing how to do something that most Americans only dream about doing: build a house.
The New York Times October 11, 1981
Schools Teach Homebuilding
On a steaming day laced with periods of rain, Carl and Dotty Albright worked against time to finish building their house. Camped out in a tent on their 21-acre property with their four children, they were trying to get in before winter. But they were behind schedule, . . . .
The New York Times February 2, 1989
House-Building 101: A Hands-On Class
Joyce Cowfer was in tears when she called Pat Hennin to say she had miscalcuated the size of her foundation and realized it would cost $1,000 more to build her Maryland house.
Not to worry, said Mr. Hennin, a co-owner of the Maine Shelter Institute and Ms. Cowfer's former instructor. He patiently explained how to correct her blunder and even drew diagrams and mailed them to her.
Wiscasset Newspaper March 2000:
New Shelter Institute Campus Inspires Future Homebuilders
"Our excitement comes from being on this new campus. Students come here and see our building and explain, 'This is like what I want to do.'" -- Patsy Hennin
Who has not dreamed of building his or her own home? That's as far as it gets for most people, however. Cost factors, lack of skills, and what seems like an overwhelming task keep most people from fulfilling their dream.
But Pat and Patsy Hennin of Woolwich have been in the business of helping people see things differently and make such dreams a reality as operators of the Shelter Institute -- even for those who have never lifted a hammer.
