Academy family rewarded for ‘extreme’ caring

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  They lined Highway 24 in rural Peyton, Colo., about 30 miles east of here, straining to get a better glimpse of this real life “Field of Dreams.”

A stretched limousine carrying an eager academy family pulled carefully alongside a huge bus so they could not see the miraculous transformation their home had undergone in just seven days while 5,000 Coloradians cheered them on.

The event was part of the ABC network show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition,” which picks deserving families for a complete dwelling makeover. The show, which aired Oct. 2, unveiled a 4,000-square-foot home and schoolhouse built for the Barrett family. The family’s parents, Billy Jack and Anne, were being repaid for the extraordinary confidence they have in children.

The orchestrated setting showed the spontaneous outpouring of emotion directed at this special mom and dad. The Barretts are well known in the area for opening their hearts and home to troubled children by adopting them out of foster care. Of their six children, siblings Dusty and Daphne as well as A.J. and Jennifer are adopted, while Clara and Rebecca are theirs by birth.

“It feels strange to receive all this good will,” said Mr. Barrett, 10th Services Squadron academy equestrian center manager. “Anne and I have to learn how to be receivers. It’s not the easiest thing to do.”

Neither was tearing down their 101-year-old, 2,000-square-foot, too-small-for-the-family farmhouse.

After the Barretts were sent for a weeklong Hawaiian vacation July 10 by the television show, the nonstop project began with a July 17 completion date.

The show’s design team worked with a local home builder and a crew of more than 200 subcontractors and volunteers to build a contemporary farmhouse large enough for the family.

According to a news release from the builder, the new home reflected the heritage and sensibilities of the Colorado prairie -- a solid, practical, timeless home with as much warmth, heart and character as the family who has come together to share it.

But first, the old house had to go. Fitting to Mr. Barrett’s role at the academy, Radar, reportedly the world’s largest horse at 19 hands tall, was imported from Texas. He provided unique visuals for this episode as he helped pull down walls.

It was also fitting because horses play a special role in the Barrett’s personal lives. As the founding parents of the Hope and Home Program, specializing in older, “unadoptable” children, they use the animals to help develop the youngsters.

“We were told by ‘experts’ these children would be institutionalized and on medication their entire lives,” said Mr. Barrett, a former horse buyer for the Army at nearby Fort Carson. “We brought them into our family and put them in the corral cleaning stalls and brushing horses. They accepted responsibility for the horses and it made all the difference. It does wonders for their self-esteem. Working with the animals, in this environment, is what really helped us pull these kids out of where they were.”

They have been in multiple foster homes, but thanks to home schooling by the Barretts, they are excelling academically.

“They reach these kids,” said Connie Ramos, “Extreme Home Makeover” design team member and co-host. “They use every life experience they’ve had to make a difference in their lives. When you meet people who are salt-of-the-earth, hardworking folks who have a belief system that brightens the lives of everyone they come in contact with, that’s something you remember forever.”

Lonnie Aragon, Mr. Barrett’s assistant manager at the academy equestrian center, agrees.

“I first met Billy Jack in 1997 when I was incarcerated working at the long horse inmate program in Canon City,” he said. “When I came up for parole, he said he’d like to be a support for me, be there for me and help the best way he could. He’s been like a dad to me ever since.”

And now Mr. Barrett and his entire family have a new home -- a home that represents more than a place to live.

“The house is important, but the heart of the community really made an impression on us,” he said. “It’s unbelievable how all those people came together and did that. It really hit home.”