Photo by Michael Kelly Sophia Boyce, 3, watches as her dad, Braden Boyce, unfolds a housewarming gift from his great-grandmother, Ona Dennis, right, at the dedication Thursday of the Boyce family’s new Habitat for Humanity House in Belpre. Candace Boyce and Bob Dennis look on at Sophia’s reaction to the handmade child’s quilt.

BELPRE — Habitat for Humanity of the Mid-Ohio Valley dedicated its first house in Belpre Thursday night, the 101st home the organization has built in the region.

The house was purchased by Braden and Candace Boyce, who will live there with their children Aidyn, 5, and Sophia, 3.

Belpre Mayor Michael Lorentz was among about 50 people who crowded into the front yard of the new house on Grant Street to mark the occasion. Speaking from the front porch, Lorentz said, “It’s a great day for this couple, and for us … this is what we ought to be about in Belpre, helping each other. Kids, remember this day.”

Alvin Phillips, Habitat executive director, said land in Belpre is difficult to come by, but he remembered the day more than two years ago he met Darwin Mayle at a service club meeting.

“He said in 2016 he had a lot he wanted to give us but couldn’t work it out for another year,” Phillips said. The dedication had a bittersweet quality because Mayle died unexpectedly in 2017, but his wife, Diane, honored his wishes and hers, and donated the lot on Grant Street to Habitat last year.

Photo by Michael Kelly Sophia and Aidyn Boyce charge through the patio door at their new home in Belpre. The children of Candace and Braden Boyce were attending the dedication Thursday of the house, the first built in Belpre by Habitat for Humanity of the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Phillips said it was “one of the fastest starts we’ve ever had,” with the land donated in September and construction starting the following month. He said he hopes this will lead to more land being offered to Habitat in Belpre.

Candace Boyce, 26, grew up in Belpre. She works part time as a cashier at Gabe’s in Parkersburg, and her husband, Braden, 25, who grew up in Marietta, is the manager of the McDonald’s restaurant in Belpre.

She said she first started thinking about a Habitat home when she saw a post inviting applications on the Habitat Facebook page. The couple was accepted, and after that came many weekends volunteering on Habitat projects.

They’re still living in a one-bedroom apartment in Belpre – “lots and lots of steps,” Candace said — while the finishing touches go on to the house, which is a three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,300-square-foot single floor home, and the paperwork gets completed.

“Habitat,” she said, “has been great, wonderful volunteers. It’s a great thing, helping people like us.”

Aidyn will change neighborhoods but not schools, she said. He’ll still go to Belpre Elementary School.

The house has given them confidence and stability for the future, she said.

“This is going to be a home for our family, our kids are going to grow up in this house,” she said. “We are going make lots of memories here.”

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Home Dedication

* Location: Belpre (first for the organization)

* House number for the organization: 101

* Occupants: Braden, Candace, Aidyn and Sophia Boyce

* Start to finish: October 2017 to May 2018

* Land donor: In memory of Darwin Mayle