Meet Jim Barshaw

Jim Barshaw has been on the board of Habitat for Humanity and is in charge of completing the current home on Lafayette Street in Shawano. Barshaw was born in Neenah and graduated from Menasha High School. He worked in the printing business for a short time before he volunteered for the draft. After his service in the Army, he attended Utah State University. Barshaw married his first wife and moved to Oregon, where he worked for 40 years in the printing business. When he could do remote work for his company, Barshaw moved to Shawano 18 years ago. He never really retired from the company but stopped working for the firm when asked to move back to Oregon. Barshaw drove school bus and the handicapped bus. Next he worked for a while at Austin Straubel Airport in Green Bay, where his wife, Gale, is employed. Then Hurricane Katina hit the Gulf Coast, and Jim and Gale went there to build and rebuild homes. Three years ago Jim and Gale moved to Green Bay to be closer to her job. They volunteer at Freedom House in Green Bay and at their church, Green Bay Community Church. Between them they have six children, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Q How long and how did you get started at Habitat for Humanity? A “Gale and I were involved in helping rebuild the Gulf Coast after Katrina. I learned a little about construction. We were asked to be on the board of Habitat for Humanity. We were there several years before we resigned and moved to Green Bay. But I continued to lend Habitat a hand.” Q What do you do? A “I’m in charge of its completion,” said Barshaw, referring to the home being built on LaFayette Street in Shawano. “I’ve had great help from Steve Fellman and Greg Brown and from the kids in Brown’s classes. Now we’re doing finishing and getting ready to clean the place up.” Barshaw said tools have been loaned to them and many businesses have donated either goods or services. “Nobody ever really turns us down,” Barshaw said. “Others provided things at the lowest possible cost. It’s a collective group of people who make Habitat a quality house.” Q Why do you volunteer? A “We just like volunteering. I need a place to go and be productive, and Habitat is a properly run organization.”