MARYVILLE, Tenn. — After Pamela Bradley lost almost everything she owned in a house fire, she's found a silver lining.
"It was a trauma. It wasn't a tragedy," Bradley said. "I didn't lose anything. There's some sentimental things that I did lose. But for the most part, the dogs are fine, I'm fine. And the rest we can either build or recreate."
Around 60 eighth-graders and ninth-graders in a Maryville Junior High shop class started their biggest project yet: a new dog house for Bradley's dogs — Ranger and Jax.
Their shop teacher, Jeremy Russell, said his students were excited to see a larger project with a deeper meaning come to fruition.
"They finally have got to create something. And it's more than just something they can hold in their hands," Russell said. "It's something that they see the transition, the relationship between, 'Hey, this is what a home potentially could be, and looks like.'"
She said students, faculty and staff, along with family and some close friends, helped her get through the rebuilding process.
"When I had gone back to school, they all knew and it was amazing," Bradley said. "Their response, and how much they cared, and, 'What can we do? Can we help you?' From the kids, faculty and staff."