See more photos of the family in the March 10 print edition of The Monroe Times
MONROE - From a 4,000-square-foot house in the country to a single hotel room in the city.
That's the scenario an Argyle couple is coping with as their Rat Hollow Road home is remodeled following a Jan. 12 fire.
"We are playing lots of (Nintendo) Wii against each other," said Becky McCauley, who with husband, Patrick, is living at the Super 8 hotel on Wisconsin 69. "It helps us get out our stress."
The game console belongs to hotel manager Rick Rogers, who set it up in the hotel conference rooms. It's one of several little niceties the staff has offered the McCauleys, who will be living there, at a reduced rate picked up by their insurance company, for at least another month.
"We asked them which room they wanted and we make sure they don't have to worry about breakfast," said Art Bartsch, the hotel's majority owner. "We want to treat them like guests. And you should see the nice write-up they gave us on Trip Advisor."
A few years back, Bartsch did the same for a family of four that needed two rooms for more than three months. He also provides lodging and serves a donated meal during between Christmas and New Year's for the less fortunate through the 26-church Family Promise Coalition of Green County.
"Life can be difficult, so we try and help when people need it," Bartsch said. "I myself am legally blind, so I know how challenging it can be."
***
The friendly accommodations notwithstanding, Becky McCauley's 16-year-old daughter, Cassidy Pivonka, only lasted one night with her mother and stepfather, even though she had her own room.
"It was a bit cramped for her," McCauley said. "I mean, she's a teenager. That was a lot to ask."
Said Pivonka: "It was too quiet, lonely and boring."
Thankfully, another generous host came to the rescue, as Monroe High School classmate Hannah Vetterli took in Pivonka to live with her family.
"It just seemed like the right thing to do," said Rita Vetterli, Hannah's mother. "She fits in well and I know things can be hard enough at that age."
McCauley misses her daughter, but is pleased she is in good hands.
"I'm happy she's in a family setting," McCauley said. "She has been good about keeping in touch as she visits every day and tells me what she'll be having for dinner. I know she's getting more vegetables than she did at our house, which is good."
Pivonka is striking a balance.
"I'm making sure our connection isn't lost," she said of her mother. "But it's also nice to be with a supportive friend (Hannah) - we've been close for a long time. And I like the environment and I like having dinner at a home instead of going out to a restaurant."
Vetterli is also dealing with the challenge of keeping balance. Her daughter Kirsten is off to college, but she is keeping her room open for her to give her a feeling of being home when she returns for visits. As a result, Hannah and Cassidy are sharing a room.
"It's amazing how well they're doing, being put in that situation," she said. "They get along remarkably well, but still the girls deserve a lot of credit. I can't believe we're coming up on two months already.
"And when my oldest daughter comes home, they're like three sisters."
Once softball season starts, Pivonka well fit in even more as part of the family.
"She and Hannah will be teammates so they'll be going to the same practices," Vetterli said. "That will be easy."
***
As for the rebuilding process, Patrick McCauley goes out to the house on a daily basis to check on the progress.
That helps provide breathing room for the couple, considering they don't have traditional jobs for which to report.
"Patrick retired last year last year after 41 years with what is now Titan Tire," McCauley said, "and I do book work from for our rental properties. They brought in an extra desk for us and we bought two new computers so we'd each had our own workstation, side by side."
Couldn't the couple have lived in one of their rental properties instead of a hotel?
"They are all occupied," McCauley said. "Isn't that ironic? Here we have all these rentals and we're in a hotel."
Becky McCauley said she chooses not to visit the house because she wants to stay out of the way and that the sight of it all is too painful.
"I think about all the stuff we lost," she said. "All of our pictures, my china, and many keepsakes that were handmade by my father (Steve)."
The restoration work has already reached about $200,000 in contractor costs, she said, with possibly another $100,000 remaining for replacing things like fixtures, trim, mechanicals and furniture. Seventy-percent of the house was damaged, requiring that most walls and floors be torn down to the studs.
Building new was not an option, McCauley said.
"Can you imagine what a new 4,000-square-foot house would cost?" she said. "This is what the insurance company wanted to do."
The work is more than half done, so there is light at the end of the tunnel. And the less-than-ideal conditions have not fazed the couple one bit.
"We get along so well, it really doesn't matter where we are," McCauley said. "We're pretty strong."
And as fortunate as Pivonka has been to have a temporary home, she's eager to return to her real residence.
"It will be exciting to see the new changes," she said. "I'll be ready to go home."
That's the scenario an Argyle couple is coping with as their Rat Hollow Road home is remodeled following a Jan. 12 fire.
"We are playing lots of (Nintendo) Wii against each other," said Becky McCauley, who with husband, Patrick, is living at the Super 8 hotel on Wisconsin 69. "It helps us get out our stress."
The game console belongs to hotel manager Rick Rogers, who set it up in the hotel conference rooms. It's one of several little niceties the staff has offered the McCauleys, who will be living there, at a reduced rate picked up by their insurance company, for at least another month.
"We asked them which room they wanted and we make sure they don't have to worry about breakfast," said Art Bartsch, the hotel's majority owner. "We want to treat them like guests. And you should see the nice write-up they gave us on Trip Advisor."
A few years back, Bartsch did the same for a family of four that needed two rooms for more than three months. He also provides lodging and serves a donated meal during between Christmas and New Year's for the less fortunate through the 26-church Family Promise Coalition of Green County.
"Life can be difficult, so we try and help when people need it," Bartsch said. "I myself am legally blind, so I know how challenging it can be."
***
The friendly accommodations notwithstanding, Becky McCauley's 16-year-old daughter, Cassidy Pivonka, only lasted one night with her mother and stepfather, even though she had her own room.
"It was a bit cramped for her," McCauley said. "I mean, she's a teenager. That was a lot to ask."
Said Pivonka: "It was too quiet, lonely and boring."
Thankfully, another generous host came to the rescue, as Monroe High School classmate Hannah Vetterli took in Pivonka to live with her family.
"It just seemed like the right thing to do," said Rita Vetterli, Hannah's mother. "She fits in well and I know things can be hard enough at that age."
McCauley misses her daughter, but is pleased she is in good hands.
"I'm happy she's in a family setting," McCauley said. "She has been good about keeping in touch as she visits every day and tells me what she'll be having for dinner. I know she's getting more vegetables than she did at our house, which is good."
Pivonka is striking a balance.
"I'm making sure our connection isn't lost," she said of her mother. "But it's also nice to be with a supportive friend (Hannah) - we've been close for a long time. And I like the environment and I like having dinner at a home instead of going out to a restaurant."
Vetterli is also dealing with the challenge of keeping balance. Her daughter Kirsten is off to college, but she is keeping her room open for her to give her a feeling of being home when she returns for visits. As a result, Hannah and Cassidy are sharing a room.
"It's amazing how well they're doing, being put in that situation," she said. "They get along remarkably well, but still the girls deserve a lot of credit. I can't believe we're coming up on two months already.
"And when my oldest daughter comes home, they're like three sisters."
Once softball season starts, Pivonka well fit in even more as part of the family.
"She and Hannah will be teammates so they'll be going to the same practices," Vetterli said. "That will be easy."
***
As for the rebuilding process, Patrick McCauley goes out to the house on a daily basis to check on the progress.
That helps provide breathing room for the couple, considering they don't have traditional jobs for which to report.
"Patrick retired last year last year after 41 years with what is now Titan Tire," McCauley said, "and I do book work from for our rental properties. They brought in an extra desk for us and we bought two new computers so we'd each had our own workstation, side by side."
Couldn't the couple have lived in one of their rental properties instead of a hotel?
"They are all occupied," McCauley said. "Isn't that ironic? Here we have all these rentals and we're in a hotel."
Becky McCauley said she chooses not to visit the house because she wants to stay out of the way and that the sight of it all is too painful.
"I think about all the stuff we lost," she said. "All of our pictures, my china, and many keepsakes that were handmade by my father (Steve)."
The restoration work has already reached about $200,000 in contractor costs, she said, with possibly another $100,000 remaining for replacing things like fixtures, trim, mechanicals and furniture. Seventy-percent of the house was damaged, requiring that most walls and floors be torn down to the studs.
Building new was not an option, McCauley said.
"Can you imagine what a new 4,000-square-foot house would cost?" she said. "This is what the insurance company wanted to do."
The work is more than half done, so there is light at the end of the tunnel. And the less-than-ideal conditions have not fazed the couple one bit.
"We get along so well, it really doesn't matter where we are," McCauley said. "We're pretty strong."
And as fortunate as Pivonka has been to have a temporary home, she's eager to return to her real residence.
"It will be exciting to see the new changes," she said. "I'll be ready to go home."